The Florida Marlins have become known as an organization that just continues to win without breaking the bank for any player. Well that has now changed, somewhat, after the Marlins and SS Hanley Ramirez agreed to a six year, $70 million contract extension. For a team that tends to let their top talent go year after year, it is surprising to see them actually put up the money for anyone. Fortunately for them, they have put their money down on a great talent in Ramirez.

As one of the top shortstops in all of baseball, Ramirez is a complete player. He can hit for average, power, and has great speed on the basepaths. Currently he is hitting .336 with eight HRs, 31 runs, 21 RBIs and 13 SBs. In just his third season, Ramirez has a career .314 average and has hit 54 HRs, driven in 161 run and stolen 115 bases. Those are solid numbers and very much worth the bargain price the Marlins paid for him.

While the $70 million price tag may seem reasonably low for a player the caliber of Ramirez by today's standards in MLB, it is actually the biggest contract in Marlins' history. With the team's track record for catching and releasing players, that's not all that surprising really. They've let great players like Gary Sheffield, Moises Alou, Carlos Delgado, Paul LoDuca, Mike Lowell, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, Dontrelle Willis, and Miguel Cabrera go and be signed by other teams. Yet that didn't stop them from winning two World Series championships in the last several seasons. Ramirez actually came to the Marlins in a trade with the Red Sox a few years ago that sent Lowell and Beckett away.

The signing of Ramirez is a smart move by the Marlins front office. The future of the team lies with Ramirez and what the team is able put around him now that they've blown their budget on one player. Does this signing mean there's a change taking place in the organization? That they're going to actually start paying and keeping their young talent? Doubtful, but Ramirez is definitely one worth holding onto for years to come.

Baseball is always full of surprises, and thus far the 2008 season has been no different. Here's a quick look at some of the teams that have surprised me most.

St. Louis Cardinals (22-15)
The Cardinals were another team that was supposed to be rebuilding in '08, but six weeks into the season they find themselves in a familiar position, atop the NL Central. Albert Pujols is doing his normal damage (.349, 7 HR, 25 RBI), but nobody expected youngster Ryan Ludwick to have already hit 7 HRs and drive in 21 RBIs while batting .347. Former pitcher Rick Ankiel continues to succeed in his transition to an everyday outfielder and the makeshift staff of Branden Looper, Kyle Loshe, Adam Wainwright, Todd Wellemeyer, and Joel Piniero has combined for a 16-8 record.

Florida Marlins (21-14)
Quick, how many Marlins can you name? Exactly, this team is seven games over .500 in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year. The organization just rewarded Hanley Ramirez with a $70 million contract. The team has five guys in the lineup with 5+ home runs, including Ramirez, Mike Jacobs, Josh Willingham, Dan Uggla, and Jorge Cantu. Outfielder Jeremy Hermida hasn't found his power stroke, but is clearly turning the corner and beginning to live up to the hype. The no-name pitching staff, has been led by Mark Hendrickson, who is sporting a 5-1 record with a 3.56 ERA.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (19-16)
I knew they had good young talent, but they may still be a year away. Someone forgot to tell the Rays though they entered Saturday just 2.5 games back of the Red Sox and two games ahead of the Yankees. They have gotten very little from ace Scott Kazmir, but James Shields and Andy Sonnastine have combined for nine wins and new closer Troy Percival has been nearly perfect, converting 7 of 8 saves. If youngster Evan Longoria develops quickly and BJ Upton and Carl Crawford continue to hit the ball, the Rays are going to hang around all summer long.

Detroit Tigers (16-21)
The Tigers were my World Series pick entering the season. After a horrific start the team has rebounded a bit, but there is little room for error in the AL Central where 3.5 games separates first from worst. The bullpen is a wreck and the rotation has been inconsistent. Curtis Granderson missed most of April and has been slow to get his bat going and despite his decent power numbers newcomer Miguel Cabrera is batting .252.  The team has a whole is only batting .265 and misses a productive Gary Sheffield (.204, 2 HR, 7 RBIs) in the middle of the line-up.

Cincinnati Reds (14-22)
I may have been a bit overboard to pick the Reds to win the NL Central, but you can't call me a homer for thinking the team would stay in the hunt longer than 2007.  Somehow though the Reds have once again managed to lose fans interest by Mother's Day.  You would think that a new manager, a $46 million closer, and two of the best young arms injected in to the rotation in decades would have been enough to keep this team afloat in a weak division. You can't win a division in April, but the Reds continue to provide annual examples that you can lose one during the opening month.

The Diamondbacks' Brandon Webb scattered six hits and did not walk a butter as he threw his first complete game shutout of the season on Thursday night to move to 8-0 on the season.  He became the first pitcher to win his first eight starts since Jon Garland of the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and the first in the NL since Pedro Martinez for Montreal in 1997, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Webb has been nearly unhittable all season and is the clear front-runner for the NL Cy Young through the first month plus. He has logged 56 innings and allowed only 40 hits and 16 walks in that span while posting a 2.41 ERA. 

Arizona is blessed to have him and now they must try to lock him up. Webb turns 29 on Friday and after compiling a 42-18 record over the past three years, the D-Backs are going to have to buck up to keep baseball's best pitcher (sorry Johan Santana).

Webb is one of baseball's biggest bargains, or one of the most underpaid depending on the perspective, but the Diamondbacks are trying to work out a new deal.

He is scheduled to make $5.5 million this season as part of a four-year contract that originally guaranteed him $19.5 million and potentially is worth $27.5 million over five seasons. He is due $6.5 million next year, and the Diamondbacks have an $8.5 million option for 2010 with a $1.5 million buyout.

I don't what it is about sports fans, or at least Reds' fans, where someone always has to win in a trade. Too many people that follow the game think that their team can trade away all the players they don't want and get another's team coveted treasures. However, in an ideal world both parties in involved in the deal improve. I guess after years of a snake like Jim Bowden at the helm it's hard think of anything that is fair and honest.

Like Wayne Krivsky or not, you have like the fact that he was shrewd enough to make the deal to get Josh Hamilton as Rule 5 draft pick and then ballsy enough to then go and turn them in to Edinson Volquez, the top pitching prospect of the Rangers.

After five weeks of the season, the trade is working out for both sides better than even the team's themselves ever imagined. Josh Hamilton leads the majors with 36 RBI's and Edinson Volquez (5-1) leads the National League with a 1.06 ERA and leads the majors with 52 K's.

Volquez didn’t allow more than one earned run in any of his first seven starts.  No Reds pitcher had accomplished that feat since earned runs became an official statistic in 1912.

PLAYER COMPARISON
Hamilton - .292 AVG, .346 OBP, .533 SLG, 7 HR, 36 RBI, 17 R, 0 SB, 20 K
Volquez - 42 1/3 IN, 7 GS, 4 QS, 5-1, 1.06 ERA, 52 K, 24 BB, 28 HA

Texas is tickled with Hamilton and the Reds are looking like they knew what they were doing, it's just too bad Krivsky didn't get to stick around to see it.

The Reds have been rumored to be shopping players, amongst them Ken Griffey Jr.  It is pretty clear the Reds are not going to get much in return for the 38-year old right fielder, but anything is better than nothing.  The team has a $16 million option for 2009 with a $4 million buyout. Trading if nothing else will save the club the buyout money.

While Griffey is always an injury risk and his skills are diminished, he still is capable source of left-handed power and a hitter than many pitchers still fear. If it wasn't for the fact that they play in NL Central the Reds would already be out of the race and if they can't turn it around soon they will be by next month at this time anyway. Trading Griffey makes to much sense.

Let's take a quick look at some teams that would make good fits:

MARINERS
Seattle is the most logical choice. After watching the reception in a brief three-game visit last year the Mariners' fans love this guy. There is not a better place for him to finish his Hall of Fame career than the city where most of his Hall of Fame accolades were earned. Junior would immediately step in and help pick up the slack left by the disappointing Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre. Not to mention the man will sell some tickets.

CUBS
Lou Piniella is screaming for left-handed pop and let's face it Felix Pie doesn't appear to be ready. If the Cubs are serious going to make a pennant run like so many of their fans claim, they better beef up that line-up a bit.

INDIANS
At 14-17 Cleveland is off to a disappointing start. The team is 24th in MLB in runs and desperately needs some offense. Griffey could take over in left field for Dave Delluci or in right for Franklin Gutierrez. Jason Michaels has fizzled too and the Tribe needs to score to compete in the AL Central.

TIGERS
The future of Gary Sheffield is in doubt and it's not like Marcus Thames is ripping the cover off the ball. Griffey would nicely in the middle of the Tigers' right-handed thump of Magglio Ordonez, Miguel Cabrera, and Sheffield if he plays. If I'm the Reds I trade him straight up for Brandon Inge, and maybe even include Josh Fogg in the deal.

Everyone knows that the major league baseball teams that spend the most money end up performing the best, right?  Well, in 2008 it isn't working out quite like that.

A stat geek named Ben Fry has put together a pretty cool looking graphic that orders each team's record and payroll, and it's pretty clear that, in the season's first month, there's about zero correlation between salary expense and performance.  They also have graphics for the previous three seasons, I can't get them to show on my screen, but your computer may be more advanced than mine.

It's still very early in the season, so it's hard to read too much into this analysis, but it's still an interesting item to keep an eye on.

One month down and five to go! The first month of the 2008 baseball seaon is complete and there were more than a few surprises. The Orioles and Rays are competing for the top spot in the AL East while the White Sox hold the lead in the Central. Over in the senior circuit the Marlins are in first place and the Cardinals got off to a great start. There has also been numerous players that got off to a hot start. Here is a look at the best performances around the league.

Two years ago Brandon Webb won the Cy Young Award with 16 victories, a 3.10 ERA and 178 strikeouts. He followed that up with 18 wins, a 3.01 ERA and 194 strikeouts last year, but watched Jake Peavy walk away with the CYA. This year he wants it back. Webb has won all six of his starts for the Diamonbacks and owns a 1.98 ERA while striking out 34 batters. No one has been better than Webb in the NL.

It took an outing against the Royals for last year's AL Cy Young winner to get things straight. C.C. Sabathia has gotten off to a horrible start with just one win and a 7.88 ERA. But all is not lost in Cleveland. The best pitcher in the AL so far this season is another member of the Tribe - Cliff Lee. After battling for a job in spring training, Lee has had an amazing April. He won all five of his starts while posting a major league best 0.96 ERA and striking out 32. And he has only walked two batters. Amazing!  

Another incredible story is that of Josh Hamilton. After falling out of baseball for a few years - and nearly falling out of society - Hamilton made a fantastic comeback with the Reds last year. Now with the Rangers, he is continuing his turnaround. Hamilton leads the majors with 32 RBI. He also has six home runs and posted a .330 average in the month of April.

There are 13 players that hit at least seven home runs last month. And only two of those players are in the AL. In other words, if you are looking for power it can be found in the National League. And no one provided more power in April than Chase Utley. The Phillies second baseman leads the majors with 11 home runs. He also scored 25 times, drove in 23 and posted a .360 batting average. At this pace Utley is well on his way to become the third consecutive player from Philadelphia to win the MVP Award. For now he can hold the trophy for the GSI Player of the Month. 

The Reds' young right-hander Johnny Cueto has fallen on hard times of late. He allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits in only 1 2/3 innings in his latest setback Tuesday against St. Louis. After dazzling hitters with seven innings of nearly perfect baseball when he picked up a win in his major league debut, the Reds' top pitching prospect is winless.

Cueto has yielded 26 hits, six walks, and 18 runs over his last four starts pitchinig 21 1/3 innings he pitched in that span. One look at him tells you everything you need to know, the kid has lost his confidence.

He will get his next start pushed back two days and will now go against the Cubs on Tuesday May 6 after the Reds' rotation was tweaked.

The Reds may consider sending him back to Triple A Louisville if he can't snap out of big mid-May. Clearly Cueto has all the tools to be a good, if not great pitcher in this league. Like all young pitchers do, he's simply hit a bump in the road. It will be interetesting to see how the team handles it.

Here is another quick look at some of the more 'statistical' things going on in baseball this season.

Consecutive Game Streak - On Sunday Grady Sizemore broke his streak of 382 consecutive games played. Sizemore has now missed the last two games with a sprained ankle. Jeff Francoeur now owns the major's longest streak at 352 games. However, he too is battling some ankle problems.

Stolen Bases - In a post a few weeks ago I noted the increase in stolen bases in the early part of 2008. Well things have not changed. Heading into play on Tuesday there have been 483 bases stolen. Last season in all of April there were only 423 stolen bases. It is interesting to note that the three teams that have run the most so far this year are also three of the biggest surprises. The Giants are at the top with 31 steals followed by the Orioles with 27 and the Rays with 26.

Fessler on the Move - In the GSI Fantasy League, Chris Fessler has now made 49 transactions for his team. To put that in perspective, Jeremy Fischer has made the second most transactions in the league with 15. My team has only made seven moves and I am proud to say I'm doing well in second place. Of course the team in first place is, well, Chris Fessler.

Troy Percival - With one more save Percival will tie John Wetteland with 330 career saves, good enough for 10th place on the all-time list. From there he'll need 11 more to catch Rollie Fingers and six more after that to tie Randy Myers.

Home Run List - Ken Griffey Jr. needs just three more HRs to become the sixth player in history to reach 600 in his career. Meanwhile, Alex Rodriguez is doing his best to become the seventh. A-Rod is alone in 15th place with 522 and needs 12 more to catch Jimmie Foxx who is next on the list. A bitter Frank Thomas is doing all he can to hold off Jim Thome on the HR list. The Big Hurt now has 516 to Thome's 513. And in Boston Manny Ramirez needs just four more blasts to reach 500.

Homerless - Chone Figgins has the most at bats this season, 105, without having hit a home run. His last homer came on August 18th of last year. However, that is nothing compare to Juan Pierre who has not hit a home run since September 23rd of 2006. That is a total of 754 at bats.

Randy Johnson - The Big Unit is currently in 28th place on the all-time win list with 285. His next victory will put him in a tie with Robin Roberts. From there he'll be looking to tie Bert Blyleven at 287 and Tommy John at 288. Johnson is scheduled to pitch Wednesday afternoon against the Astros.

Reds' right hander Edinson Volquez moved to 4-0 on the young season with yet another stellar performance in the Reds' 10-1 win over the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. He once again held down the opponent by working through minor control problems on his way to brilliance. Volquez gave up five hits, walking three, but struck out a career 10 batters.

I have wrote in before on this blog, but with every Volquez start it becomes more true, the Reds' fans still griping about the team dealing the popular and multi-talented outfielder Josh Hamilton are getting fewer and fewer with each trip to the mound by the 24-year old hurler. After Sunday's fifth straight quality start, that group of fans should now be extinct.

The mixture of a 97+ MPH fastball, a wicked curve ball, and a change-up that comes in at 78 MPH, makes it very tough for opposing hitters to have a chance. It's hard to keep in mind that this kid has only had 25 starts, but based off the five he's had in a Reds' uniform it's hard not to envision many All-Star caliber seasons and maybe even a Cy Young ahead. Sure, it's a huge stretch to talk like that right now, but at his age and raw talent who knows where the kid will be at in four or five years from now. Hopefully, he's still on the Reds and still getting me this excited.

The numbers speak for themselves (4-0, 1.23 ERA, 29.1 IP, 20 H, 16 BB, 33 SO):

Apr 6 - PHI - 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K's (WIN)
Apr 11 - @Pit - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
Apr 17 - @ChC - 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K's (WIN)
Apr 22 - LAD - 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K's (WIN)
Apr 27 - @SF - 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 10 K's (WIN)

Even with a 10-5 lead coming into the ninth inning on Saturday, Todd Coffey failed to deliver. The Reds' relief pitcher continues to prove that he no longers warrants a spot in the team's bullpen.

Coffey immediately proceeded to allow back-to-back doubles and walked a third batter. The right-hander left without recording an out. Closer Francisco Cordero came in for the save situation and proceeded to give up a base-clearing triple.  Coffey had made four straight appearences without a run before giving up three runs on three hits here. Cordero would settle in and retire the next three batters as the Reds held on for a 10-9 win. Still, how many times can you allow Coffey to blow a game?

The numbers don't lie for Coffey. He has yielded 11 runs, 18 hits, and 6 walks in just 14 1/3 innings. His 6.91 ERA is not a mirage, but a trend. Coffey has a good arm, but for whatever reason it is not translating into good pitching. He is a mental case at times and at this point the best thing that can happen for him is a change in scenery. For the Reds, there has to be a better option in the minors. You can do much worse! I have seen Todd Coffey and what he can do and now it's time to see somebody else.

MLBTradeRumors.com looks back at the moves of Wayne Krivsky:

2-12-06: Scott Hatteberg signed to a one-year, $750K deal.
2-13-06: Adam Dunn signed to two-year, $18.5MM extension.
3-20-06: Acquired Bronson Arroyo for Wily Mo Pena.
3-21-06: Acquired David Ross for Bobby Basham.
4-7-06: Acquired Brandon Phillips for Jeff Stevens.
5-26-06: Traded Cody Ross to Marlins for a player to be named later.
June '06: Selected Drew Stubbs eighth overall in draft.
7-6-06: Acquired Eddie Guardado for Travis Chick.
7-13-06: Acquired G.Majewski, B.Bray, R.Clayton, B.Harris, and D.Thompson for A.Kearns, F.Lopez, and R.Wagner.
7-26-06: Signed Hatteberg to a one-year, $1.65MM extension.
7-31-06: Acquired Rheal Cormier for Justin Germano.
7-31-06: Acquired Kyle Lohse for Zach Ward.
8-7-06: Acquired Ryan Franklin for a player to be named later.
8-16-06: Acquired Scott Schoeneweis for a player to be named later.
8-28-06: Signed Javier Valentin to a one-year, $1.325MM extension.
9-25-06: Signed Juan Castro to a two-year, $2MM extension.
11-20-06: Signed Alex Gonzalez to a three-year, $14MM contract.
11-20-06: Signed Mike Stanton to a two-year, $5.5MM contract.
11-20-06: Traded Jason LaRue to the Royals for a player to be named later.
12-7-06: Acquired Josh Hamilton for cash.
12-7-06: Selected Jared Burton in Rule 5 draft.
12-12-06: Signed David Weathers to a two-year, $5MM contract.
1-2-07: Traded Brendan Harris to Rays for cash.
1-10-07: Acquired Jeff Keppinger for Russ Haltiwanger.
2-6-07: Signed Aaron Harang to a four-year, $36.5MM extension.
2-8-07: Signed Bronson Arroyo to a two-year, $25MM extension.
4-16-07: Signed Ryan Freel to a two-year, $7MM extension.
4-27-07: Traded Chris Denorfia to A's for Marcus McBeth and another player.
5-9-07: Released Rheal Cormier.
June '07: Selected Devin Mesoraco 15th overall in draft.
10-31-07: Exercised '08 options on Hatteberg, Dunn, and Valentin.
11-28-07: Signed Francisco Cordero to a four-year, $46MM contract.
12-21-07: Acquired Edinson Volquez and Danny Herrera for Josh Hamilton.
1-23-08: Signed Jeremy Affeldt to a one-year, $3MM contract.
2-15-08: Signed Brandon Phillips to a four-year, $27MM extension.
2-21-08: Signed Josh Fogg to a one-year, $1MM contract.
3-3-08: Signed Corey Patterson to a one-year, $3MM contract.
4-8-08: Released Mike Stanton.

The Reds announced on Wednesday morning that Walt Jocketty has been named President of Baseball Operations and General Manager. He replaces Wayne Krivsky as GM.

Since the hiring of Jocketty in January as a special advisor, there have been many who questioned how long it may be until he would replace Krivsky. They have their answer now and it is 'not very long.'

While the Reds have not gotten off to a great start, it would be hard to blame too many of their problems on Krivsky. Like all GM's some acquisitions work (Edinson Volquez) while others fail (Josh Fogg.) Either way, it is Jocketty's team now.

Here's the official release from the Reds:

Cincinnati Reds President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Castellini today announced that special advisor Walt Jocketty has been named President of Baseball Operations and General Manager. Jocketty replaces Wayne Krivsky as general manager,
           
Jocketty was hired January 11 as special advisor to advise and assist Castellini in every facet of baseball operations, including matters related to the front office, Major League field and support personnel, scouting and minor league and international operations along with training and medical services.
           
A 33-year veteran of professional baseball, including the previous 13 with St. Louis as general manager, Jocketty's Cardinals teams went to the playoffs seven times. He won the National League Central Division six times and the 2001 NL Wild Card while earning two National League championships and the 2006 World Series title. The Cardinals have produced winning seasons in seven of the last eight years.
           
While general manager in St. Louis, Jocketty was named Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 2000 and 2004 and by Baseball America in 2000. In 2004, he also received the Rube Foster Legacy Award from the Negro Hall of Fame as National League Executive of the Year.

It only took 47 plate appearances for Joey Votto to finally draw his first walk yesterday.  This puts the young first baseman on pace to draw nine walks in 2008, a sharp dropoff from his usual 70-80 (I realize "on pace" stats are a bit silly this early, but it's still a troubling trend).

What could be driving this trend?  These quotes from a March 9th Paul Daugherty article might shed some light on that (hat tip to Fire Joe Morgan for noticing this):

The other day, the Reds manager decided he wanted Joey Votto and Adam Dunn to swing their bats more. "I don't like called third strikes," Baker said..."(Votto) needs to swing more. I'd like to see him more aggressive."

Is this something that Baker instilled in Votto, or an idea that he came up with on his own?  Did he decide to start taking more cuts, or did Dusty decide to tinker with the kid's approach at the plate? 

For now, Votto's still retaining his solid batting average and power during this free-swinging binge (.300 average, 4 HR, .600 SLG).  History says that, if he doesn't refine his batting eye, that won't last.  Either way, this is an interesting plotline to keep an eye on.

Josh Fogg was pulled from the rotation after just three starts, and Matt Belisle might be lucky to see it past two. Both starters have contributed to the Reds having serious problems with the No. 5 spot in the rotation.

Through four starts the dynamic duo has combined to allow 27 runs, 29 hits, and 6 walks while logging just 15 innings of work. Conversley, top propsect Homer Bailey is lighting it up in Louisville.

Bailey (3-1, 1.03) turned in another stellar performance this past weekend for Triple A Louisiville and earned his third victory of the season in the process. In 7.1 innings of work Bailey allowed no runs, five hits, walked one and struck out three. As if his 3-1 record with 1.03 ERA, 16:4 strikeout/walk ratio and 26+ innings weren't enough, the radar gun suggests Bailey is on his way back. He has been getting clock in the mid-to-upper 90's on a consistent basis.

It was logical after last year's fall from grace, minor injuries, and a unspectacular Spring performance to see why Reds' GM Wayne Krivsky opted to start Bailey in Louisville, but in less than a month it is pretty clear that he is the team's best option to pitch every fifth day.

The Reds continue to have to cut the dead weight from their roster and on Monday it was Juan Castro that became the latest casualty as the team designated him for assignment.  Will Fogg or Belisle be next?