The A.L. Manager of the Year Award will be announced today, and T.R. Sullivan writes that Ron Washington is a leading contender for the award.
Evan Grant writes that Chuck Greenberg has moved more and more towards making Nolan Ryan a true partner in his bid to buy the Rangers, with Greenberg and Ryan reportedly working together to involve local investors. Grant notes that local investment groups are preferred to outside investment groups by MLB, and of course, having Ryan as part of his ownership group can only help Greenberg when it comes to seeking MLB approval.
Also from Grant earlier this week is an item I'd missed on his blog, discussing the possibility of trying to trade for Edwin Jackson from the Detroit Tigers. Grant suggests offering Chris Davis, Kasey Kiker, Brandon McCarthy and a fourth minor leaguer, or Justin Smoak, Kasey Kiker, and Brandon McCarthy, for Jackson.
That would be a hefty ROI on Jackson for the Tigers, who picked him up from the D-Rays last offseason for Matt Joyce. And personally, I'm not all that interested in Jackson, and certainly not at that price.
Jackson is a righthanded flyball pitcher, the type of guy the Rangers have historically tried to stay away from. Last year, Jackson had the 11th highest flyball rate of any qualifying pitcher in the majors. That's a red flag, given that he'd be going from a pitcher-friendly park to a very hitter-friendly park (particularly for lefty power hitters).
Jackson also wasn't all that great last year...despite being a power pitcher, he struck out fewer than 7 batters per 9 innings, walked 3 batters per 9, and had a home run per 9 rate of 1.14.
Jackson did have a 3.62 ERA last season, but that was off of a FIP of 4.28 and a tRA of 4.75...and again, this is while pitching half his games in Detroit.
And Jackson fell apart down the stretch after a hot start...in the first half, he had a 2.52 ERA, allowed opponents an OPS of 617, and struck out 7.2 batters per 9 with a 2.77 K/BB ratio. In the second half, he had a 5.07 ERA, an 856 opponent's OPS, 6.2 Ks per 9, and a 1.83 K/BB ratio. And Jackson's hot first half was largely fueled by a BABIP of .249...a completely unsustainable rate.
Add in the fact that Jackson is under team control for only two more years, and it makes sense as to why Detroit wants to move him. Detroit, I believe, sees a guy who has had one great, but fluky, half of a season, and otherwise has been thoroughly mediocre as a starting pitcher, and who is about to start getting expensive. And yes, he has great stuff, but if he puts that great stuff together, he's also close to being able to walk as a free agent.
So on Edwin Jackson, I'd pass.