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Trade winds begin as a breeze

Gordon Edes

By Gordon Edes

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HITTING THE CORNERS

Advise and consent: As if Stephen Strasburg, the consensus first pick of the amateur draft in two weeks, was not enough of a reason to make Scott Boras smile, the uber-agent also is advising the players who may be chosen immediately after Strasburg. One veteran scout whose team has a pick in the top 10 predicted Tuesday that after the Nationals take Strasburg, the Mariners will take North Carolina first baseman Dustin Ackley, considered the best hitter in college baseball and athletic enough to move to center field, and the Padres will opt for Georgia high school outfielder Donavan Tate, the son of former NFL running back Lars Tate. Donavan Tate has committed to playing football and baseball at UNC.

The Manny effect: While the Dodgers have maintained their hold on the NL West without him, Manny Ramirez’s(notes) absence already appears to have had an effect on young outfielder Andre Ethier(notes). With Ramirez on the roster, Ethier batted .285 in his first 33 games, with six home runs, 27 RBIs and 23 runs. In hits first 11 games since Ramirez’s suspension, Ethier was batting .162 with no home runs, three RBIs and three runs. “He thinks that with Manny gone, it’s his job to be the star,” said one NL executive, “when all he has to do is just be part of the team. Sometimes guys can get caught up in self-importance. He’s a good player, but he’s swinging and missing pitches that he was hitting the heck out of earlier. Just relax and play.”

More power to him: Even while Gary Sheffield(notes) has proved to be a productive hitter for the New York Mets after his sudden release this spring by the Tigers, one Detroit official said the team has no regrets about letting him go. “We felt Sheff could still hit,” the adviser said. “We didn’t think he could play the outfield every day at age 40 without getting hurt, but the real reason we made the move was we wanted to change the dimensions of the club. Better defense, better speed, younger, more athletic.

“We traded for Josh Anderson(notes) and we brought up Clete Thomas(notes). Those guys have given us good defense in the outfield, and also have contributed offensively, too. We’re a much better team defensively this season, with Adam Everett(notes) and Brandon Inge(notes) on the left side of the infield, and Gerald Laird(notes), the catcher we traded for, has had a real positive impact on our pitching staff.”

The biggest difference in the Tigers, of course, is their pitching. Justin Verlander(notes) has a 0.85 ERA in his last six starts, striking out 60 in 42 1/3 innings. New acquisition Edwin Jackson(notes), acquired from Tampa Bay, and rookie Rick Porcello(notes) have been consistent, and Fernando Rodney(notes) is 8-for-8 in save opportunities. Now? Dontrelle Willis(notes) has made two good starts since returning from treatment for an anxiety disorder, and Jeremy Bonderman(notes) is close to returning from a rehab assignment, so the Tigers look well-armed to maintain their lead in the AL Central.

PhotoDavid Ortiz lost his spot in the No. 3 spot in the Red Sox lineup.

(Charles Kupa/AP Photo)

Parsing Papi: The Red Sox, as expected, dropped David Ortiz from No. 3 to No. 6 in their batting order Tuesday night, replacing him with J.D. Drew. The left-handed hitting Drew took over the 3-hole last June when Ortiz was hurt and had a monster month, hitting 12 home runs and knocking in 27 runs in 26 games while batting .337.

Ari Kaplan, a sabermetrics analyst who runs AriBall.com, broke down Ortiz’s at-bats this season compared to 2008 and made the following observations:

1. Ortiz has shown “no” power to right field compared to last season. Almost no balls have been hit to deep right field, which is where he hit most of his home runs in ’08.

2. Ortiz hit 17 of his home runs in 2008 off fastballs inside the strike zone, five on changeups up in the zone, and one on a curveball down the heart of the plate. This season, he is not swinging at his previous power spot – fastballs up in the zone even though he is getting pitches there. Also pitchers have adjusted in that they are throwing him sliders much more often in 2009 than in 2008.

3.  Ortiz got singles off pitches in the lower half of the plate in 2008. He is swinging and missing at the same locations in 2009.

4. Ortiz is swinging 7 percent more often at pitches this year (48 percent vs. 41) but putting balls into play less often. His big difference is that he bats .245 when putting fastballs in play, compared to .326 last year. He is doing much better this year against sliders (.385 when in play vs .132 last year) but swinging less often (41 percent vs 44 last year).

5. Ortiz isn’t hitting changeups nearly as effectively as last year (.200 vs .556 when in play).

6. He is putting balls into play later in his at-bats, averaging 4.7 pitches per plate appearance compared to 4.4 last season. He is swinging at the first pitch the same as last year – 27 percent.

Mets infielder Alex Cora(notes), a good friend and former teammate of Ortiz, got a first-hand look at the travails of the Red Sox DH last weekend.

“He needs to make adjustments. he really does,” Cora said. “It’s hard, because everybody’s saying, ‘It’s long, it’s slow, he’s old.’ He’s 33 years old. He’s healthy. He has to understand that. He has to act like David Ortiz. It’s hard, I know it’s hard. Those numbers are going to be up there everywhere he goes. And everywhere he goes, he will be the topic, not the Red Sox. They’re going to talk about that. I knew it was bad, but not like that. That’s a polite way to say it, I guess. He has a track record.

“To be honest with you, from tomorrow until we hopefully face him in October, I’m pulling for him.”