New York Yankees: 2012 Resolution Thats Easy

post from Lady Loves Pinstripes on 02 January 2012 11:23:40 PM. © Lady Loves Pinstripes

Making a New Year?s resolution is a time-honored tradition, and after going to the gym today I can tell you that it is still done, as it was jammed packed. Certain resolutions are irresolvable; such as I will never win a World Series for the obvious[...]

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So between the two, Longo has provided $53.7M
more than Cano in surplus value. Is it even possible...

post from Beyond the Box Score on 02 January 2012 11:02:48 PM. © Beyond the Box Score

So between the two, Longo has provided $53.7M more than Cano in surplus value. Is it even possible for Cano to make up that difference during their current contracts? Let?s lay out the most favorable scenario for Cano?s case. Let?s say that Longo[...]

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Happy Birthday to Michael!

post from Fish Stripes on 02 January 2012 07:01:21 PM. © Fish Stripes

Happy Birthday to Michael!

It's not just new years, Fishstripes readers, it's your bloglord's birthday.

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Transactions involving former Twins - December
edition

post from The tenth inning stretch on 02 January 2012 06:02:01 PM. © The tenth inning stretch

Happy 2012 to everyone!Last November I started a list of the player who used to be with the Twins at some point of their careers and have changed teams this offseason. I am continuing this exercise through the off-season (and probably keep at it during[...]

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Marlins Ramirez says hell switch to 3B (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 02 January 2012 05:12:28 PM. © MLB News Blog

Hanley Ramirez says he’ll accept a position switch to third base so Miami Marlins newcomer Jose Reyes can play shortstop. When Reyes signed a $106 million, six-year deal with Miami last month, there was speculation Ramirez was unhappy about being supplanted at short. But new manager Ozzie Guillen sold Ramirez on the idea.

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The Royals Should Sign Edwin Jackson

post from Royals Review on 02 January 2012 05:01:06 PM. © Royals Review

Kings of Kauffman Senior Editor Michael Engel sent out a tweet Saturday that echoes my personal belief. His tweet read:

I think I've turned a complete 180 on Edwin Jackson. From fearing they'd sign him to now thinking they should (but won't).

Offline, I argue with most who will listen that Edwin Jackson is a great fit for the Royals, and helps the Royals compete next year and in the future. With each day that passes that Jackson seems to get no attention on the free agent-market, I only become more convinced that singing the right-hander could benefit the Royals greatly. Jeff made a table of his career numbers in an earlier post.

YearTeamGGSIPK/9BB/9HR/9BABIPGB%HR/FB%ERAFIPxFIPWAR2006Devil Rays23136.16.76.20.50.33652%5.4%5.454.525.240.22007Devil Rays3231161.07.24.91.10.34145%10.2%5.764.904.821.52008Rays3231183.15.33.81.10.30239%9.6%4.424.884.971.32009Tigers3333214.06.82.91.10.27639%9.9%3.624.284.323.620102 Teams3232209.17.83.40.90.31349%10.6%4.473.863.713.820112 Teams3231199.26.72.80.70.33044%8.2%3.793.553.733.8

3.8 WAR would have led the Royals starters last season, and I think it is likely that it will lead the Royals starters next season as well. Jackson represents a clear improvement over almost all of the Royals projected starters next season and is still available in free agency.

At first blush, it seems hard to believe that Edwin Jackson, he of the eight-walk no hitter, really would be the Royals best pitcher next season. Thankfully, Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wrote a post comparing him to John Danks, someone I expect more Royals fans would accept as being a better pitcher than the Royals current starters. Cameron's table shows that the two have pitched at similar levels over the last three seasons.

Name BB% K% GB% ERA- FIP- xFIP-Edwin Jackson7.918.544.0939295John Danks7.718.244.5909296

The two pitchers skill sets are very different, but both yield similar results. Danks just inked a five year, $65 million extension, showing the White Sox appreciate a pitcher with these results. Yet Jackson continues to be readily available in free-agency. Reports leaked out Monday claiming Jackson is holding out for a five year, $60 million deal, and the general reaction on Twitter seemed to be condescending. While it might be tough for the Royals to fit that contract in their payroll, Jackson certainly may be worth the contract. Over the last three seasons, the starter has provided $48.5 million dollars worth of value. While the proposed contract leaves little margin for error, Jackson certainly has every right to ask for it. Those that think the proposed contract is outrageous are not properly valuing Jackson's worth.

Part of the reason Jackson appears to be undervalued by fans and general managers is his rocky start to his career. The 5.45 and 5.76 ERA for the Devil Rays in 06 and 07 certainly are tough to look at, and he had a career ERA of 5.50 in 75.1 innings for the Dodgers. While those years cannot be completely ignored, those numbers were posted when Jackson was young and arguably not ready for major leagues. His more recent numbers are much stronger indicator on what the Royals could expect from Jackson, especially since he has posted them over 623 innings.

Another part of the Edwin Jackson narrative is that he is inconsistent, making him less desirable than a pitcher like Danks. Cameron also discredits this belief in the comments of his post by looking at their Game Scores, a metric designed by Bill James to give an estimation of how well a pitcher performed. Cameron wrote:

Their average game scores for 2011 were nearly identical – 50.77 for Jackson, 50.67 for Danks. The average standard deviation for Danks was 18.61, much higher than Jackson’s 15.6. This suggests that Jackson was actually more consistent than Danks last year.

Narratives are powerful, but evidence is telling. Edwin Jackson is a young, above-average starting pitcher readily available in free agency. None of the Royals prospects need to be surrendered for the Royals to acquire Jackson and unless the Royals make an unforseen blockbuster trade, Jackson likely will give the Royals similar production to any pitcher the Royals might trade for. If the Royals are serious about making noise in the division next season, adding another quality pitcher seems more like a necessity than a luxury from where I am sitting.

If the Royals sign Jackson, I still do not know if I believe they possess a realistic shot to win the division. I do believe that Jackson does push this team closer next season, and because he is only 28 years old, he can be apart of future teams more likely to contend than the 2012 one. It appears that no teams are buying Jackson at 5 years, $60 million dollars (which I understand, even I think he would give a team $60 million dollars worth of value. Those first yeas cannot be completely ignored, and teams should always leave margin for error), giving the Royals a chance to get creative with a contract. I do not know if 4/48 with a club option for a fifth year that pushes the total to 5/60 could get the job done, or more money per season like 4/52 could lure Jackson, but I hope the Royals are trying. Jackson is a great fit for what the Royals still need in 2012.

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Giants Beat to the Punch Again for Quentin

post from The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website on 02 January 2012 05:01:05 PM. © The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website

First post of 2012, and already a tad on the bitter side about this Carlos Quentin trade. Heading into the 2011/12 offseason, the Giants had really one main goal, improve the offense. What was lacking from that offense the most was a right-handed power bat who could strike fear in opposing pitchers, someone exactly like Carlos Quentin.

After getting beat by the Cardinals offer to Carlos Beltran, the Giants again missed a shot at getting themselves the outfielder they really need. Now, I was thinking Kenny Williams was bluffing on offering up Quentin earlier this winter, and was under the assumption he'd only be let go for a sure thing prospect and/or an already proven young player with big league experience. Because the Giants just traded away some of their better young talent and young trading chips in the last couple of months (Thomas Neal, Zach Wheeler, Jonathan Sanchez etc...) I figured a match between the two would be highly unlikely. "The Giants just don't have enough proven prospects or young players they are willing to deal in order to get Quentin" was my exact thinking. Then, after seeing the package the Padres had to give up to get him, two minor league pitchers with track records less-inspiring than Eric Surkamp's, I can't seem to figure why Sabean didn't want to or couldn't come up with a better package than the two arms Kevin Towers gave up. The supposed prize of the deal was Simon Castro, a BA top-100'er before 2011, but at 23 just posted an era just south of 6 in AA ball this year. The other prospect they got was lefty Pedro Hernandez, who probably projects out to be a MLB reliever, though the 22 year-old could end up a back-end starter if he ever makes it to the big leagues. For Quentin, I would have given them Surkamp and Peguero, or someone similar, (a better package in my eyes) in a heartbeat, but would have asked Quentin for an extension.

I don't know though, I don't know a whole ton about Quentin, I know he's a good hitter, but I'm not sure what kind of clubhouse guy he is, and I know ChiSox fans have bickered about his nagging injury problems, but he seems to produce year-after-year and is 29 years old. In just 421 at-bats last year he put up a .254/24/77 line and that was an off-year. Plus, you stretch that out over 600 at-bats and you have .254/34/112. Watch him hit 30 bombs for SD this season as those two prospects they sent Chicago shuffle between AA and AAA and never make a big league impact. A deal the Padres definitely won, and a deal that actually puts them on the radar heading into 2012. After getting Edison Volquez and Yonder Alonso, this team is going youth/power movement and they have some good young pitching. An outfield of Guzman-Maybin-Quentin with Venable as the 4th guy, and in an infield of Headley-Bartlett-Hudson-Alonso-Hundley is a very nice building block they have going on there in San Diego. Kudos to Josh Byrnes for not weighing his team down with huge contracts to aging (sports-wise) vets coming off career years. He's molding this Padre team exactly the way he did that D-Back squad that won the West in 2011 with the team he put together over the previous few seasons! I really like what they've done in San Diego and even though Kevin Towers stole Trevor Cahill from the A's, I still think San Diego, after the Quentin trade, has improved themselves the most!

The Giants were outbid/careless with their pursuit, or lack there of, and then went after guys like Pagan when they already had a similar player on the roster in Torres. I still like the Cabrera trade. I think he's a good ballplayer who's just finding his game, and I think Pagan is a nice player too, but instead of pursuing the power bat this team needed, like Quentin or Upton, or re-signing Beltran to the reasonable deal he got, they added two leadoff hitting-types with similar game. They lost what little pop they had in Beltran and Ross and now are expecting this team to score more runs!? This has been one of the toughest offseasons to be a Giants fan in recent memory. Very tough to get excited about this current bunch when there were options out there to improve!

Anyway, happy 2012 all, hope everyone was safe and had a great time! This will be year 6 here at GBB, hard to believe, but I'm glad it's flowing as well as ever and should be even better with new additions coming this year!

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Now, is a caught looking strikeout somehow worse
(or better) than a swinging strikeout Well, this...

Now, is a caught looking strikeout somehow worse (or better) than a swinging strikeout? Well, this is what we have to research. What if most swinging strikeouts are on pitches outside the strikezone? I have more faith in Tony Gwynn having a[...]

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ut-somehow-worse-or-better-than-a

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Carlos Beltran and Life After a $100 Million
Contract

When the Cardinals inked Carlos Beltran to a two-year deal worth $26 million, I wondered how that deal compared to other contracts that followed a $100 million deal. Here you go: The above graphic shows contracts that have been completed (and what type[...]

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-100-million-contract

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Bo Jackson 1986 Donruss The Rookies

Bo Jackson 1986 Donruss ‘The Rookies’ Arguably the ‘crowned jewel’ of the Bo Jackson collection, this card from the 1986 Donruss ‘The Rookies’ set is the one you had to have as a collector back in 1986/87. So, as you … Continue reading →

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