Weekly Rundown: Peña, Marko Mitchell, O's baserunning

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• Zachariah Blott gives the current Wizards logo an F -- the only team to receive a failing grade:
  

  
  I suspect a club executive doodled this on a pad at some meeting in 1997 when the Bullets decided to change their name. There is no way this is the work of an actual artist who knows anything about aesthetically pleasing designs. Someone decided to go with curvy, so all of their logos—primary and alternative—are now made out of scythe blades. There’s no excuse for this amateur trash. Maybe it’s just tradition. The Wizards started as the Chicago Packers back in 1961, and their logo was downright pathetic.
  

  
  Ouch. [Empty the Bench]


• In case you didn't know (I didn't), Carlos Peña currently has hit more home runs (37) than singles (36). [FanGraphs]


• Kelly Dwyer lists the top 10 lottery busts of the decade. Surprisingly, Kwame Brown isn't No. 1. [Ball Don't Lie]


• Caron Butler is looking forward to an exciting season. [Washington Wizards Blog]


• Brandon Marshall at practice on Wednesday:
  
  
  
  Now that guy is a team player. The best way to get a new contract is definitely to act like a jerk in practice by punting the ball away from the ball boy. Nice going. [Larry Brown Sports]


• Defensive coordinator Greg Blache thinks Chris Wilson has "done a good job" switching from defensive end to linebacker. [Redskins Insider]


• Peter Schmuck thinks that the Orioles need to make "a legitimate run at a high-quality veteran starter either by trade or in the free agent market." [The Schmuck Stops Here]


• Marko Mitchell's new name is apparently Lanky Livingston. Confused? Don't be. Fred Smoot is involved. [D.C. Sports Bog]


• In something that needed to happen months ago, Dave Trembley and third-base coach Juan Samuel ripped the Orioles for their awful baserunning this season. The best quote(s) came from Samuel:
  

  
  "For some reason, they're not processing it," said Samuel, who has served as the Orioles' base running coach the past three seasons. "It's just a lack of concentration because they know. They are major league players or at least we think some of them are. To me, some of them are not. Some of them to me have to be thankful that expansion came because some of them wouldn't be here. Some of the stuff that you see them do is not OK. You're going to tell me that they are in the big leagues and don't know how to run the bases?"
  
  . . . "It has never bothered me to take criticism," said Samuel, who stole 396 bases and was a three-time All-Star during his 16-year career in the big leagues. "I'm man enough to do it. If they don't want to make the players accountable, then I'm going to be accountable. But to me, players need to be accountable. If you make a mistake, you need to take responsibility for your mistake. You have to do it. That's why you see teams that are up here [in the standings] and teams that are down here, because they don't want to be accountable. It's always somebody else's [fault], and that's a problem."
  

  
  For the most part, I agree with him. Poor baserunning can definitely be attributed to a lack of concentration, or just not caring enough about it. Several O's make some terrible mistakes on the bases, though I wouldn't say that they don't deserve to be in the majors because of it. On the basepaths, most O's runners don't get great primary and secondary leads, don't take the extra base, and take chances when they shouldn't and give up outs. Apparently the O's worked hard on baserunning in spring training, but they need to do it again. [Baltimore Sun]


• SI's Chris Mannix ranks the Wizards eighth. [Sports Illustrated]


• According to DeAngelo Hall, he dominated J.J. Redick in high school. [D.C. Sports Bog]

Should Pie start in LF next season?

If you haven't been watching the O's for a while, then you probably haven't noticed how well Felix Pie has been playing lately. In 74 at bats since the all-star break -- yes, a small sample size, but still -- Pie is hitting .324/.378/.568 with four home runs and 13 runs batted in.

And although he'll probably never be an on-base machine because he doesn't walk very much, his walk percentage numbers are still up (8.6 percent), and he's cut down on his strikeouts (23.8 percent).

Let's make one thing clear though: I'm definitely not counting out Nolan Reimold or what he has accomplished this season. However, Reimold may fit in as the designated hitter next season, especially depending on how well Luke Scott can impress the coaching staff at first base. If Scott can play average or above average defense at first, then having Pie in left field (5.7 UZR, 16.6 UZR/150) would be a defensive upgrade over Reimold (-7.5 UZR, -11.3 UZR/150). Again, those numbers are just from this season, but I'd trust them from what I've seen. Pie seems to cover more ground and chase down more flyballs, even if he isn't exactly the most graceful outfielder.

It's also interesting to note that even though Reimold is performing well at the plate in his rookie season -- out of all MLB rookies with 300 plate appearance or more, Reimold is second in home runs (12), t-fourth in average (.274), second in OPS (.823), and third in walks (42) -- Felix Pie, according to FanGraphs, has been worth $4.6 million while Reimold has been worth $4.4 million -- and that's with about 100 fewer plate appearances. Playing solid defense really does help.

Even if Pie continues his strong performance at the plate for the rest of the season, though, it's unlikely that he'd be the unquestioned starter in left field, probably because he doesn't get the chance to hit left-handed pitching very often. Pie is hitting .286/.354/.460 in 161 at bats against righties this season, but in just 20 at bats against lefties, he's hitting .150/.143/.300. It's hard to gauge anything from only 20 at bats, but there's obviously a reason why he doesn't play more when a lefty is on the mound.

Again, depending on Scott's defense, the O's lineup against right-handed pitching in 2010 could very well include Scott, Reimold, and Pie -- and it may make the O's a little bit better.

Bobby Crosby's dad should calm down

Ed Crosby, a former major league scout and father of A's infielder Bobby Crosby, recently gave his thoughts on A's GM Billy Beane and his unfair treatment of Bobby:

"My feelings are that he has been messed around with, and that Billy Beane (A's general manager) has done a number on him. Right now Bobby's on the disabled list, and he's not even hurt. He had a twinge in his left calf, but it wasn't serious enough to put him on the DL. But they were just looking for an excuse. Bobby's not hurt, period.

. . . He was healthy last season, and played in 145 games. He had to spend the off-season having to hear how the A's were bidding for (Rafael) Furcal (Dodgers' shortstop). He never said a thing, and came to spring training higher than a kite. And then the A's acquire Orlando Cabrera, and turn Bobby into a utility player. He's a shortstop, and a darned good one if they would just leave him alone. Baseball is a tough mental game, and it's hard to play it when a team is messing with your psyche."

Yes, Crosby was healthy last season and played in 145 games, but he also hit .237/.296/.349 with seven home runs and 61 runs batted in. He also is a decent shortstop, posting a 2.8 UZR and a 3.0 UZR/150 in 2008. In fact, his defense at shortstop is where he gets most of his value, which accounted for his $4.9 million worth of value last year according to FanGraphs.

But because of injuries, lack of offensive abilities, or something else, Crosby hasn't improved on his back-to-back strong seasons in 2004 (AL Rookie of the Year) and 2005. He hasn't posted on on-base percentage higher than .300 since 2005, and he hasn't hit more than nine home runs since 2006. So why exactly was it so surprising that Beane went out and signed Orlando Cabrera, who had been very good the last few seasons and was worth much more than Crosby? Granted, Cabrera hasn't been all that good this year, but Crosby has still been worse.

Crosby probably deserves a chance with another team, but his father wasn't publicly complaining about Beane and the A's hitting philosophies when his son was putting up promising numbers earlier in his career. Unless Crosby can stay healthy and get on base more consistently, he may actually not be much better than a utility player/backup middle infielder for the rest of his career. And that's not Beane's fault.

("Father Crosby scorches Beane's handling of son")

Guthrie back on track?

The Orioles haven't had much to play for lately, but with 35 games remaining, the O's can (among other things): give their young pitchers more major league innings; take a look at Michael Aubrey; allow Felix Pie to get some regular at bats; evaluate Luke Scott at first base; and provide some more time behind the plate to Matt Wieters.

But besides the O's youth, Jeremy Guthrie is also trying to take advantage of the rest of the season -- at least when he's pitching against AL Central teams. After an ugly start on August 16 against the Angels when he allowed seven runs and 10 hits in 5.2 innings, Guthrie has pitched two impressive games in a row.

Last Friday he allowed one run and six hits over seven innings in a win over the White Sox, and yesterday he similarly gave up one run and six hits over seven innings in a win over the Twins. Guthrie struck out five and walked none -- his first start without walking a batter since June 10. With those last two starts, Guthrie has lowered his ERA from 5.66 to 5.26.

So what has changed? For one, Guthrie kept the ball in the ballpark better against the White Sox and Twins, allowing just a solo shot to Jim Thome. (Guthrie has allowed the second-most home runs in the majors (29).) Guthrie was also able to finish off some batters when he was ahead in the count, which is something he's struggled with the entire season.

I hope that Guthrie is slowly returning to his 2007 and 2008 form, but to continue his string of good starts he'll have to shut down the powerful Yankees offense at Camden Yards on Monday.

Samuels's knee 'likely to be an issue all season'

With there already being at least some concern that the Redskins' offense may not be significantly better even with a healthy offensive line, left tackle Chris Samuels, the line's most important cog, is having problems with his right knee. The injury isn't considered to be serious right now, but it could hamper Samuels throughout the season.

The Washington Post's Barry Svrluga elaborates:

Samuels's right knee, though, is likely to be an issue all season, Coach Jim Zorn said. It bothered the 10-year veteran regularly last year, and he underwent minor surgery this offseason.

"He did great," Zorn said Sunday. "His knee was sore coming into the game. There was some questions as far as whether he felt like he could go, and he and our trainers worked together to put it all together and he had a good 20 plays."

Zorn acknowledged, though, that the athletic training staff, as well as the coaches, will have to monitor Samuels regularly if he is to make it through the season healthy.

"I think the training camp takes its toll," Zorn said. "And then once we get into the season, where you're playing on it once a week and the practices are not as physical -- they're more technical -- I think that will really help him."

Samuels should be fine; he's tough and has played through pain plenty of times before, I'm sure. But if his knee doesn't improve and he's forced to miss time, the Redskins could be in for a long season.

Weekly Rundown: Sproles, Betts, Mickolio

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• Darren Sproles is exciting to watch in real life, but he's pretty entertaining in this NFL.com Fantasy Files video:
  
  
  
  Less Tomlinson, more Sproles. [Shutdown Corner]


• Your eyes may be deceiving you when it comes to arguing against UZR and other advanced fielding statistics. [FanGraphs]


• Brian Orakpo is playing well and impressing the coaching staff. [Redskins Insider]


• Danny Granger had to alter his Batcave plans a bit:
  

  
  Granger: [...] I wanted an underground tunnel entrance. I had to take that out. I found out there's so many state codes and laws against that (laughing) so we had to take that one out. But we still have the underground thing going on and I mean I've got cars and things that turn my cars and I even got sort of like a moat thing going on so it will be interesting to see.
  

  
  Why didn't Gilbert Arenas think of this idea first? [Ball Don't Lie]


• Mike Wise describes Phillip Daniels's determination to return after tearing his ACL last season. [Washington Post]


• Jim Rice doesn't think many of today's major leaguers are good role models for kids. [ESPN]


• Ladell Betts will probably be the main third-down running back this season, and I'm not so sure that's a good thing. [Redskins Insider]


• This just in: The Redskins defense should be pretty good. [ESPN]


• In just under 10 innings pitched this season, Kam Mickolio has been outstanding. [The Schmuck Stops Here]


• Although they've been doing a better job over the last few months, the O's need to play better defensively. [Camden Crazies]

Paulus refuses to go away, named starting QB

On one hand, it's rather impressive that Greg Paulus went from playing basketball at Duke to being named the starting quarterback at Syracuse. On the other hand, Paulus's name will be mentioned in the sports world for at least a few more months. So that's unfortunate.

And in case you're still wondering (hopefully you're not), Paulus is still a scrapper:

Orange head coach Doug Marrone officially named the former Duke basketball player as his starting quarterback on Monday night, even though Paulus has not played football in four years and has never played a collegiate snap. . . . "He has instincts that are hard to teach," Marrone said. "He knows how to look people off, how to take control of the game and how to change plays.

"If you had ever met Greg Paulus, you'd understand and I wouldn't get a lot of the questions that I get," Marrone said. "If something can be accomplished, he can do it."

Marrone's exactly right; just take a look at how Paulus successfully demonstrates proper defensive positioning:



It's a shame that Paulus won't have any hardwood floor to slap before he takes the field for Syracuse.

Weekly Rundown: J.R. Smith, Bugel, Arenas

Weekly Rundown is a combination of links and brief comments on stories and topics that I couldn't get to during the week. If there's something important that I missed, don't hesitate to send an email or leave a comment.

• Tim Keown on the annual MLB saga involving beanballs and angry hitters:
  

  
  Through it all, there is no end to the hand wringing from MLB headquarters, where everyone furrows their brows and interviews the umpires and issues the fines. They're very serious about this business.
  
  That's their first -- and biggest -- mistake.
  
  If they want to clean up this part of the game, there's a really easy answer: Stop trying so hard.
  
  If you don't want Fielder to rush the Dodgers' clubhouse, let him rush the mound. Get out of the way, and get the umpires out of the way. And for the sake of all that's right with the world, get the suits out of the way.
  
  Think of it as going organic, letting nature take its course.
  
  Let them fight. Let them do what they want to do. Let the game police itself the way it did before every game was televised and every highlight dissected.
  

  
  I don't know if I agree with him or not, but Kevin Youkilis certainly does. [ESPN]


• Adrian Wojnarowski provides an interesting look at J.R. Smith of the Nuggets. [Yahoo! Sports]


• The New Mexico State football program needs some help:
  

  
  In a twist on Little League moms lining up with after-game treats, New Mexico State's budget-conscious football staff distributed an e-mail this week asking fans to donate after-practice or late-night snacks for hungry players.
  
  It's a consequence of the national economy, of course.
  
  "It's a decision we had to make with regard to our meals," first-year coach DeWayne Walker said Thursday. "There are a lot of other areas where we have to make tough choices with how we're going to spend our money."
  

  
  I hope they like oatmeal cookies, orange slices, and Capri Suns. [ESPN]


• Joe Posnanski counts down the worst contracts in baseball and concludes that "we should just start referring to bad baseball contracts as 'Ricciardis.'" [Joe Posnanski]


• Joe Bugel still loves football -- and violence. [D.C. Sports Bog]


• According to several reports, Gilbert Arenas is back on the court and is looking solid. [Truth About It]


• After homering today, Nick Markakis has reached base in 36 consecutive games. [School of Roch]


• Marc Hulet thinks that Brad Bergesen, Matt Wieters, and Nolan Reimold all have at least a shot of winning the AL Rookie of the Year award. [FanGraphs]


• The Redskins have announced changes to their Twitter policy:
  

  
  The Redskins announced Sunday that media organizations covering the team can no longer use Twitter to report updates from the team's preseason practices.
  
  "We, like other teams, are concerned about the type of information that's being reported during practice," said team spokesman Zack Bolno. He said the Redskins don't want sensitive information about injuries and strategy being shared during practice.
  
  Since training camp began more than two weeks ago, reporters from several outlets have used Twitter to give fans practice reports in near real-time, reporting roster updates, injury news, commenting on plays and drills and even sharing photos.
  
  The team's official web site and 980 AM, which is owned by Redskins owner Dan Snyder, are not subject to the ban, Bolno said.
  

  
  None of this news is shocking, especially the part about ESPN 980's exemption from the ban. [Redskins Insider]