Other Baseball

There is a fascinating and important article in the Athletic, with in-depth reporting (and a lot of anonymity) about the terrible wages and living conditions of minor league players. It’s an eye-opening piece, behind paywall. Here is a short excerpt, but the whole piece is worth the read to get a sense of the difficulty facing all of the minor league players: “Triple A: $2,150 per month in their first year, $2,400 per month in their second year and $2,700 a month in their third year. (Estimated $11,825-$14,850 per year.) ... Double A: $1,700 per month, which goes up by $100 per month for added years. (Estimated $9,350+ per year) High A and Low A: $1,160-1,500 per m…

In my opinion this has to be one of the dumbest moves they came up with. I have a few things that bother me about it. 1. Taking away strategy from the manager you are putting pitchers in danger as well. In a pennant race teams will not be able to use relievers in back to back days anymore. 2. Will turn into a massive advantage to large market teams. Relief pitchers that can get out both left & right handed batters will command money that small markets can't spend on that part of a team. 3. How about if a team wants to bring in a lefty to face a batter they need to have the next pitcher come out of the bullpen the same time and have him in the dugout so he can ju…

The Ringer magazine acquired 73,000 old scouting reports from the Reds. There are five reports spread out over 10 days. They missed out on several reports. It is good insight on how different scouts evaluate the same player. This link lists players with 20 WARP and do not acquires. https://www.theringer.com/mlb/2019/3/6/18252369/cincinnati-reds-scouting-report-series-part-2-player-projections

I have a long standing fantasy baseball league for which I'm looking for either 1 or 3 new teams. We've had a few deflections in the last 2 years (children are largely to blame) and went from a long time 10 team league to 8 last year and are currently at 7. Would love to get back to 10. 5x5 (OBP, HR, R, RBI, SB / W, K, SV, ERA, WHIP) 2 player keeper (first year kept is a 1 round raise, 50% of the rounds for the next 3 - so 20th round drafted can be kept for 4 years = 19th round/9th/4th/2nd) $100 via leaguesafe. Good group of guys, mostly Twins fans, 1 Rockies fan. Live online draft tentatively scheduled for 3/24. Let me know if anyone would like to play.

Apparently, the Hartford Yard Goats are the first team to ban peanuts and cracker Jacks stadium wide. https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/02/13/minor-league-team-takes-peanuts-cracker-jack-out-ballgame/ Not sure what I think of this. They make a good point that there are many other concession options, but those are baseball staples IMO. Does Target Field even have a peanut free section? I know a couple people with peanut allergies, and I know one of them goes to at least two or three Twins games a year. His allergy is bad enough that he always has his epi-pen with him. Is this common sense, an overreaction or a club trying to get publicity? Or, is it so…

wow. https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/yankees-sign-aaron-hicks-to-dollar70-million-seven-year-extension-officially-out-on-bryce-harper/ar-BBU3Og1?ocid=spartanntp

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/02/phillies-reportedly-agree-to-sign-bryce-harper.html Apparently for $330 million for 13 years. Unsure on all the details such as opt outs.

I have been to 41 MLB parks so far with 4 more to go. Anyways, I see that baseball is going to play in Japan for 2 games on March 20-21. Monterrey, Mexico is hosting 4 games in April and May. Omaha, Nebraska gets a game in June. London, England gets 2 Yankees and Red Sox games in June as well as if this will really increase baseball popularity there. Williamsport, Pennsylvania will get a Pirates/Cubs game. In the past they have played in Puerto Rico for several games when the Expos were on their way out of time. Las Vegas hosted the A's whenever their field was being fixed for the return of the Raiders. Hawaii has hosted opening days. One game has been played …

I have never found a site that told how many blown saves and holds that your team caused. Also, in the past there was a site that had an umpire's batting average, number of walks and strikeouts he called. Also, a site that tells you how many blown saves and holds your BP has given up.

This shows what I know. I didn't even know MLB had a "Gambling Deal". Someone should have told Pete Rose, it would have saved him a lot of trouble. This from Ed Thoma's most recent deserves sharing. http://fpbaseballoutsider.blogspot.com/ It alms or sounds like the commish wants to give the boys with the crooked noses a heads up?

Has anyone ever seen the televised Homerun Derby that featured top Homerun hitters in baseball? There were 3 Senators who played for the Twins in 1961 including Killebrew, Jim Lemon and Bobby Allison. The derby was filmed in Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The winner won $2000 and played the next session. Killebrew appeared on 4 sessions, Allison 3, and Lemon 2. The players talk to the announcer when they aren’t batting. You get to see them in a different light. Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Banks, etc. as well.

Here is my first ever ranking of the MLB jerseys/color/logo schemes. I'm sure this list will be ripped to shreds by others, but hey, this is just one man's personal preference. Athletics - only team to prominently feature green or yellow, plus cool alternate logo Cardinals - festive, timeless jerseys with bats and birds Braves - much like Cardinals, like the tomahawk Mariners - need way more teal, but always a fan of the color scheme Mets - the bright blue and orange really pop to me Cubs - good classic circular logo Rockies - only team to prominently feature purple Dodgers - timeless script White Sox - effective use of colorless scheme Yankees - would be much lower i…

http://m.startribune.com/brian-dozier-tries-fresh-start-with-washington/506610782/?fbclid=IwAR2D1C2o7u0rlvCMGLqHcbpw2OhGcDS89kLy1ho52gzWxjfe4mY277kN8Ug Phil Miller went to West Palm Beach and spoke with Brian Dozier about getting traded, playing in the playoffs and World Series, free agency and more. No quesiton that Dozier wanted to stay with the Twins but the front office had no interest.

What do you guys think of 6 man rotation? It could be a modified one where your #1 and #2 pitch on 4 day rest where you use 4 other starters. Perhaps one is used in long relief. 5 or 6 innings starts depending on pitch count. You may have to carry 13 pitchers or rotate them with AAA team. A pitcher may have to pinch hit or run. This changes in September if you have pitchers as rosters expand. Well, you could do what the Rays did last year and the Twins 1 game: have a reliever start the game and pitch an inning or two.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/03/salvador-perez-diagnosed-with-ucl-damage.html Stuff Happens I know that almost everyone has minimal expectation for the Royals in 2019 but... Depth is important... Teams need to raise that floor because stuff happens. Like Butch Cassidy said... It's the floor that'll kill ya.

https://www.minorleagueball.com/2018/11/30/18119650/a-note-from-john-sickels Sad to hear. Vox is closing it down. I've always enjoyed Sickels' work and it was nice that a national voice was a Twins fan. Hope he lands on his feet.

According to Jeff Passan, the first big domino has fallen as the Padres and Manny Machado have agreed to terms. Recent reports were that the Padres had offered somewhere between 8 years and $240-280 million. Apparently no one topped it. Itll be interesting to see what the final tally is. Mark Feinsand is reporting 10 years, $300 million. https://twitter.com/Feinsand/status/1097911249399177221

https://www.mlb.com/news/niko-goodrum-to-get-chance-to-use-many-gloves?tcid=tw_article_ With their signing of Josh Harrison to be their regular second baseman, manager Ron Gardenhire is going to have to work to get Niko Goodrum at bats, but he is expected to get at least as many as he got last year and probably even more to keep his bat in the lineup. Essentially this is the role that Marwin Gonzalez will have with the Twins, playing almost every day but at different spots. And as for the gloves, I remember 2-3 years ago at spring training, I talked to Niko about his gloves. After a minute, I asked him if he was going to get a catcher's mitt... He laughed, shook…

Michael Busch is from Inver Grove Heights and went to high school at Simley. He went to North Carolina to play baseball and after a very strong sophomore season last year, he is in line to be a 1st round draft pick this year. https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2019/02/michael-busch-feature

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/former-mlb-pitcher-chris-capuano-wants-to-help-reinvent-the-future-of-the-league-through-innovation-and-negotiation/ I ran across this article about ex-MLBer Chris Capuano. He seems to be maintaining an active role with the players' union. Sounds like a constructive influence, paying at least lip service to the overall health of the game.

Interesting thread. Glad to see someone who is a beneficiary of the MLB's union advocating for other union workers.

As the title states, why it is so hard to build with free agents. This is a look back on what happened after the contracts were signed. What kind of return did the team get for the money. Building blocks are those players that produce more than 2 war. Fangraphs defines a 2 war player as a solid player. They define a 3 war player as a good player. for numbers above that they have superlative kinds of words. For looking up WAR I used baseball reference as it was much easier. I excluded relief pitchers from consideration for several reasons. 1. I am not sure that WAR measures what they do well enough to compare them to position players. Over a 4 year period very few se…

I'm a bit surprised nobody started a thread after he passed the other day so I'll do it. My comment is that if it's possible for a Hall-Of-Famer to be underrated then Frank Robinson is that player. He was a standout stud outfielder in the era of standout stud outfielders and no better player became a better manager. He knew the game inside out both on the field and off. I think he was my all-time favorite non-Twin baseball man.

1year/9M... bit surprised he got that much. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25728219/brian-dozier-agrees-deal-washington-nationals-according-sources

This kid is quite the athlete. He went 42-0 in high school and won multiple Texas state championships. After agreeing with the A's to play 1 season of college football he wins the Heisman, and gunning for a national championship. Will he end up choosing baseball considering how successful he's been as a QB?

Roy Halladay is an overwhelming first ballot Hall of Famer in the esteemed eye of the BBWA. And Johan Santana wasn't worth a vote last year by Mr. Stark or any other prominent media member of the BBWA who have published their ballots. That’s total crap. Here are the two guys’ peaks: Halladay peak 2002 to 2011: 148 ERA+, 170 K/year, 1.11 WHIP, 3.12 FIP, 219 IP Santana peak 2002 to 2010: 150 ERA+, 198 K/year, 1.08 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 198 IP Halladay pitched more innings but that makes Santana's K's even more impressive (9.0 K/9 vs. 7.0 K/9). The awards are similar. The peak is not quick, it's 8-9 years. I’m not saying that Halladay wasn’t better – there’s value to doing i…

Jeez, if the White Sox get him on an 8/250 deal, I'll scream. http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/25755553/manny-machado-8-year-offer-via-chicago-white-sox That's a future HOFer locked in for his age 26-33 seasons. Twins should and could top that. They won't b/c ownership sucks.

This is a no-brainer, must-read. Incredible story. I'll be rooting hard for him in 2019. "He's 37 and throwing 99 mph: Meet MLB's ultimate comeback story." https://t.co/Rn288Ln08R

So, if you were at the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown on Saturday night, you may have seen Mike Bates and his box of 1990 Bowman. Upon signing in, Mike came over to me, we chatted, and I noted his box of Bowman. I asked if it was his big Twins Fest purpose. He handed me a gift, a pack of cards, yes, with 30-year-old gum. Be sure to check out his Baseball Prospectus article on the box of Bowman... How fun! https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/46763/short-relief-time-traveling/ If you like watching people open up 30-year-old packs of baseball cards, you can watch me open up my 1990 Bowman pack and a pack of 1987 Topps and see what I got. Others posted what th…

Many of you may know of Julian Loscalzo, who used to throw a Hot Stove Banquet and was one of the original Save the Met guys. He also does ballpark tours every year, and I got the flyer today. Sounds like he's going to Kentucky (which is cool) and Cuba (which is very cool). Here's the info from the flyer for anyone interested: BLEACHER BUMS XXXVII Kentucky Bourbon Tour June 7–16, 2019 Chicago (Cards/Cubs) • Lexington Legends (A) Louisville Bats (AAA) Indianapolis Indians (AAA) • Kane County Cougars (A) • 5 Cities • 9 nights (3 in Windy City) 8 ballgames • Bourbon Tour(s) Louisville Slugger Factory • Fireworks & BPT Quirks & Hoopla Don’t miss this leisurely jaunt…