Other Baseball

An arbiter ruled today on the Alex Rodriguez case. He will miss the entire 2014 season after being given a 162 game suspension. Previously, he had been given a random 211 game suspension. He appealed, and it went to the arbiter. Now, A-Rod is likely to appeal this suspension. And he should. The Joint Drug Agreement says that a first suspension is to be 50 games for a first failed drug test. Of course, Rodriguez has not failed a drug test since MLB set its rules and procedures for testing. Rodriguez has been suspended, in part, for his associations with Bosch (the Miami guy). Ryan Braun accepted a 65 game suspension late in the 2013 season when his Brewer team was…

Incredible article on Grantland about how some super smart guys have been able to create a model for the NBA that advances the ongoing efforts to evaluate the game. The model runs off an immense amount of data that tracks the position of each player on the court along with the different potential outcomes. That data is then used to find changes to the Expected Point Value (EPV) for the possession. Some folks criticize the use of expected run values in baseball because they generally go off an average, while individual situations often aren't average. This model goes as far as tracking each player and can then compare them against a more accurate, weighted average. This…

Just ran across this @ the Guardian. Predictably, for a British paper, long on Hollywood and short on baseball. Also screams "legacy project", but still... http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/30/kurt-russell-battered-bastards-of-baseball-documentary-sundance Has anyone seen "The Battered Bastards of Baseball? Is it any good? Also, I have little knowledge of the Portland Mavericks- was age 4-8 during their run. If anyone can fill me in on their story beyond what Wikipedia has to offer, I'd love to hear it!

This is a really interesting read. http://www.hardballtimes.com/the-strike-zone-during-the-pitchfx-era/ TL;DR the zone that umps call today is lower, and tighter than it was in 2008. Overall, its bigger. And it looks like pitchers are slow to take full advantage of the (new) low strike.

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 8m BREAKING: Tanaka to #Yankees, seven years, $155M, opt-out after fourth year.

7 years, $215 million. That's right, over $30 million per season. http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/10298436/clayton-kershaw-los-angeles-dodgers-agree-seven-year-deal-worth-215-million

Given the recent Hall of Fame vote I thought this video was topical:

Peter Gammons reports on Gammons Daily that Stephen Drew (via his agent, Scott Boars) is willing to play other positions (utility) as to secure a contract. I don't know if this is to secure a more desirable contract or just secure a contract in general. More likely the former. As Gammons sites the Yankees were interested last year, but Drew was not interested in playing another position. Stephen Drew's range factor (Putouts + assists/9 or g; which is somewhat pitching dependent) has been below the league average for his career. At 30, going to be 31 for the 2014 season, and the ankle injury, perhaps it's a league wide held belief that his range will only continue on…

How many foul balls and/or HRs have you grabbed in the stands during the game? I've gotten 1 in 120 games. A foul ball behind home plate from Eli Marrero that rolled to my feet in which I picked it up. There had been a rain delay so I was given two tickets to a seat near the field at the old Busch Stadium in St. Louis. I've had a couple of balls thrown to me before the game.

You're a senior BBWAA writer, you get 10 votes. How does your ballot look? The candidates: • Jeff Bagwell • Craig Biggio • Barry Bonds • Roger Clemens • Tom Glavine • Jeff Kent • Greg Maddux • Edgar Martinez • Don Mattingly • Fred McGriff • Mark McGwire • Jack Morris • Mike Mussina • Rafael Palmeiro • Mike Piazza • Tim Raines • Curt Schilling • Lee Smith • Sammy Sosa • Frank Thomas • Alan Trammell • Larry Walker http://www.mlb.com/news/article/mlb/greg-maddux-tom-glavine-headline-stacked-baseball-hall-of-fame-ballot?content_id=64183074&partnerId=as_mlb_20131126_14982564&vkey=news_mlb&ymd=20131124

I haven't seen it for a number of years but there was a website that kept track of hitters' batting averages for each home plate umpires for the season. The home plate umpires will average around 40 games a year behind the plate. Does anyone keep track of this anymore? The one year I remember there was a large gap between the highest and lowest batting average.

Michael Rand spells out the 2015 HOF results a year ahead of time. http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins/239357021.html I won't ruin it, but I'll say this - I think he nailed it.

It was nice to see Frank Viola was named the AAA pitching coach for the New York Mets. Too bad MN didn't need any help in grooming their younger pitchers.

ESPN's Jayson Stark published his 2013 edition of 'Strange But True' which recaps all of the wacky things that happened in MLB this year. I love reading it each year. It reminds me of why baseball is such a fun game to watch and follow. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10210242/mlb-strange-true-2013 Our local 9 are mentioned just once in reference to the unfortunate feat accomplished by our bullpen and rotation: At least we aren't that poor city of Cleveland?

We all have read it by now. Alex Meyer is working as a substitute teacher during the off-season and makes $63 a day. That is the story. It was first told by David Woods, and Indy Star reporter. The original story is here. Now either Woods or his editor, to make it "more interesting", gave it an interesting title: "Millionaire pitcher Alex Meyer subs for $63/day". Probably "millionaire" refers to his signing bonus when drafted, which was $2 million dollars. No mention to the fact that he might not even make $50,000 a year in baseball and has about $20 food per diem by the team. The story moved to every news outlet in the US and even crossed the ocean, where an A…

Sad news. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10198794/paul-blair-former-baltimore-orioles-great-dies-age-69 http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/orioles-notes-starters-tanaka-wright.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MlbTradeRumors+%28MLB+Trade+Rumors%29 http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/blairpa01.shtml

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2013/12/mlb-pitchers-to-wear-protective-headgear-in-2014/ Looks like another step to reduce concussion issues and promote player health. The title of the linked article is somewhat misleading; it sounds like it will be optional and not mandatory, but it does say that MLB has verified at least one option would be ready for next year.

Don Mattingly accused the Cardinals of stealing signs. He said that they have a system that uses the 3rd base coach. He pointed out that with RISP the Cardinals batting average was .330 while hitting only .236 with no runners on base. The Twins hit .247 with no runners on base. Seems like it would have to be an elaborate system over a whole season in order to get away with this. If the Cards hit the NL average with RISP they would score 100 less runs. Notice any sign stealing going around the league?

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-acquire-outfielder-david-lough-in-exchange-for-danny-valencia-20131218,0,7915908.story Danny Valencia is going to his 4th major league team, the Kansas City Royals. The Orioles received OF David Lough in exchange. And to think someone like Valencia can get you a decent outfielder. Since Plouffe is nearly the same guy, could we get a player like Lough back for him? At first glance, the Orioles won this trade, but then someone will mention Valencia is better if he only faces lefties.

I know they have not finalized any deal yet. The question I would answered is how many years must a player sign a contract for? If it would go worst team (Houston) a pitcher like Tanaka if forced to sign with the winning bid what would stop the player from saying "fine I will be an Astro but I will only sign a 1yr deal and become a free agent. Then the player could go to NY or LA where they want to be and get a huge deal. They should also make it if let's say Houston posted $20M and won the rights to sign Tanaka they should have to surrender their 1st round pick in the up coming draft. So every team would move up 1 slot in the draft.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/maurybrown/2013/12/17/major-league-baseball-sees-record-revenues-exceed-8-billion-for-2013/ "It was a very good year for Major League Baseball; as in historic. According to a source speaking on condition of anonymity, for 2013 MLB gross revenues will exceed $8 billion for the first time, ever. While exact figures were not revealed, baseball will end 2013 with revenues between $8-$8.5 billion." This is compared to about $7.5 billion the previous year despite flat attendance. The thing this story highlights is again the TV revenues question. And the Dodgers' reported deal again points out the disparities in local TV revenues. TF is good f…

Okay sabermetrically inclined - I'm ready to be enlightened by your wisdom... What are your top three favorite stats to look at when evaluating pitchers and why? Feel free to post different lists for starters and relievers. Go!

I've done some reading on baseball transactions, but have a couple questions on players that are out of options. Here's the scenario: Team A wants to move a player to the minors who is out of options, Team A puts the player on waivers, and he is claimed by team B. Team B then tries the player out on the big league squad for a while, and like Team A decides they want the player in the minors, so they have to put him on waivers. Now for the quesitons... How long must team B wait before putting the player back on waivers? Can team A claim the player back? What I'm getting at with question 2 is this... say you've got an out-of-options player with a lot of upside wh…

Plenty of rumblings lately about the Dodgers possibly trading Kemp. Speculation for targets has centered on the Red Sox and Mariners mostly, but the Twins should really be checking in on this. Big time "buy low" opportunity. The Dodgers have said they want to replenish their farm system so, aside from the untouchable trinity of Buxton-Sano-Meyer, would you put together a combo platter of top 10 prospects for him? Back-to-back injury ruined seasons doesn't worry me too much. Doesn't mean he's injury prone, could just be bad luck. Seems like a gamble maybe worth taking. When he was healthy just a couple years ago he was arguably the best outfielder in the game.

They are like a drug addict.....signing Hart and trading for Morrison. Not sure Morrison does much for me. Signing Hart is a decent move, depending on the price.

Just saw that the Twins were supposedly offering Rajai Davis a multi year deal. Not really sure how this will affect the 2014 outfield if he signs.

In 2011, Roy Halladay posted a 19-8 record with a 2.35 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in 233 2/3 innings (8 complete games!) and missed out on his second consecutive Cy Young award (and 3rd of his career) in voting heavily favoring the win stat (Clayton Kershaw had 21 wins, but Halladay had nearly 2.5 more bWAR on the season). Today, Doc Halladay retired. His shoulder was the main reason for his steep decline, but he said in his press conference today that EVERYTHING was hurting him - his back, his knees, everything except his shoulder. I LOVED watching the man pitch. He was a throwback to an era where guys didn't have 99 mph fastballs in the 7th inning to rely on and had to be …

Jayson Stark does some math on the Yankee's budget, if they want to stay under $189M. 1. Does A-Rod get suspended for 2014? 2. Is the staying under $189M threshold just PR? 3. Who wins the Tanaka Sweepstakes? Stark highlights some teams who have all the bullets in their guns so to speak: That is, with the new Posting rules: If you put up $20M you can negotiate. This his far better for small to mid market teams as well as in the best interests of the player (Tanaka in this case). As he can more freely choose where he'd like to play. IT also put the money the player gets as counting more towards the luxury tax vs exclusive contract negotiations for o…

http://seattletimes.com/html/mariners/2022420240_mariners08xml.html I found this to be a really interesting story about how top management of the Mariners functioned. While I have sometimes felt that Jim Pohlad was a little too "hands off", I don't think anyone would want ownership/top management to function in the way described in this story. (Oh, and I do think Mr. Pohlad redeemed himself by making it clear that the Twins needed to spend some money in the free agent market this off-season). Obviously there are two sides to every story and Eric Wedge's is only one but the reporter has a lot of other sources that lend credence to his claims. If even 50% of this…

Per MLBTR: By Steve Adams [December 6 at 9:57am CST] The Mariners and Robinson Cano are in agreement on a 10-year, $240MM contract, according to Enrique Rojas of ESPNDeportes.com (Spanish link). The contract will tie Albert Pujols for the third-largest deal in Major League history. Reports from earlier today indicated that talks between Cano and the Mariners had crumbled after Jay-Z suddenly upped his demands back to $252MM when the Mariners were prepared to offer $225MM over nine years. The two sides appear to have reached a middle ground, with Cano's camp dropping by $12MM or so and the Mariners agreeing to add a tenth season at $15MM. Cano, who turned 31 in October…