He has tossed only 28 innings over the past two seasons due to a number of injuries, though, and hip surgery sidelined his 2010 campaign on April 30. He also suffered from clinical depression while with the A’s…then again if I was on the A’s I’d be depressed too.

He was filthy as a starter in 2008, but a hip injury ended that season in mid August and elbow surgery the following February (presumably from switching over to a starter in ’08) wiped out his 2009.

The guy put up solid numbers as a reliever from 2004-2006 (237.2 IP) but has been on the 60-day DL thrice and the 15-day DL as many times since ’04. He’s an injury concern. However, he “only” made $1.75 million last year, so if the Yanks can get him cheap on a minor league deal — and hope for a bounce-back season — it might be worth it.

They took a shot with Mark Prior, why not with this guy?

The season starts tonight when the Atlanta Braves visit NL East rival and defending World Series champions, from the City of Brotherly Love, the Philadelphia Phillies. Looking at last year before the season, some people didn’t think the Phils would win their division, let alone the ultimate MLB prize, a championship ring. People just get it wrong sometimes. However, the exercise of predictions is always a fun one to partake in, particularly for a writer that loves baseball. So, that said, below are my prognostications for the upcoming 2009 season with some brief comments for each division results. After choosing the World Series champs, I’ll predict the individual awards as well. Agree or disagree, leave a comment!

(more…)