Orioles Adams suspended for banned amphetamine
(Yahoo! Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) — Baltimore Orioles shortstop Ryan Adams has been suspended for the first 25 games of next season after testing positive for a banned amphetamine.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/02/orioles-adams-suspended-for-banned-amphetam
ine-yahoo-sports/

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Yanks offer $13M deals to Kuroda, Soriano,
Swisher (Yahoo! Sports)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees have made qualifying offers of $13.3 million to pitchers Hiroki Kuroda and Rafael Soriano, and to right fielder Nick Swisher.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/02/yanks-offer-13m-deals-to-kuroda-soriano-swi
sher-yahoo-sports/

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Indians claim RHP Blake Wood (Yahoo! Sports)

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Indians claimed right-hander Blake Wood on waivers from Kansas City and activated pitchers Carlos Carrasco, Josh Tomlin and Rafael Perez from the 60-day disabled list.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/02/indians-claim-rhp-blake-wood-yahoo-sports/

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Got Juice

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http://www.ladodgertalk.com/2012/11/got-juice/

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Rockies Outright Process Begins, Lose Four
Players on Waivers

UPDATE 1 (2:18 PM): The Rockies have purchased the contract of RHP Josh Sullivan, to prevent him from leaving via MiLB Free Agency. The Rockies have also outrighted Carlos Torres, who was not claimed on waivers. Torres will be allowed to elect free agency at any time. The Rockies have also activated their 60-day DL players, putting the roster firmly at 37.

The Minnesota Twins claimed two Rockies in the form of Tommy Field and Josh Roenicke. Field was not a particularly surprising outright candidate, and he was one of the five I predicted to see outrighted from the roster. His status in the organization fell after a weak year for the Sky Sox that saw him fall behind on the depth chart y a number of spots. The only notable hole this leaves is the Sky Sox without a shortstop, which may increase the likelihood of the Rockies holding onto Jonathan Herrera, perhaps via minor league contract.

Roenicke is the first major surprise, as I expected the Rockies to old onto the right hander. While it was clear that Roenicke was overperforming to an extent last year, he was our best piggyback reliever by far and I felt he had earned another shot at the job in 2013. This move, as well as the one below, clearly signifies that the Rockies are going to be looking to fill the piggyback slots with a different kind of pitcher this year, and raises my curiosity that perhaps we're going to see guys like Alex White and Tyler Chatwood in the role instead, or perhaps Rob Scahill.

I had my doubts that Guillermo Moscoso would be with the Rockies next year, but I didn't expect him to be let go at this stage of the offseason, as I felt he profiled better as a trade chip or a non-tender candidate if not enough interest was gained. Moscoso was claimed by the Kansas City Royals. The out of options starter/reliever should compete for both jobs there. Not really a surprise end result, just a timing surprise.

Finally, the Rockies also chose to outright Zach Putnam despite the relief prospect's ease in terms of team control. Right now, being a one inning relief type in the Rockies organization must look pretty bleak, as the team pretty much has all four available slots assigned to Rafael Betancourt, Matt Belisle, Rex Brothers and Matt Reynolds. This was likely a factor in this decision, but with Putnam being claimed by the Chicago Cubs, it probably lands as the biggest surprise thus far.

This is where the news ends for now, but I don't expect this to be the final word on outright assignments. Edgmer Escalona, Will Harris, Carlos Torres (whom we now know has cleared waivers and has been outrighted) and Matt McBride, among others, remain outright candidates that may be currently in the process of clearing waivers. In one or two days, do not be surprised if the Rockies outright these or other players.

So what does this mean for the roster? The Rockies are now outside of their miniature roster crunch, with the current 40-man roster standing at 34, with 37 total players. The Rockies may now activate Todd Helton, Christian Friedrich and Juan Nicasio from the 60-day disabled list with ease (which we now know has been done), as well as leaving room to protect players such as Tim Wheeler, Joe Gardner and Cristhian Adames at the Reserves Deadline in a couple of weeks. If the Rockies end up outrighting more players, which I still believe they will, there may be room on the roster for fringe protection candidates like Kent Matthes, Ben Paulsen, Coty Woods or Parker Frazier. The Rockies may also choose to leave that roster space open for free agent signings or waiver claims of their own, but none of those things are really on our radar right now.

The Rockies have already protected Rob Scahill and Rafael Ortega by giving them September callups at the end of the 2012 season.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.purplerow.com/2012/11/2/3591900/rockies-outright-process-begins-lose-f
our-players-on-waivers

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Redmond introduced as Marlins manager (Yahoo!
Sports)

MIAMI (AP) — Mike Redmond is back with the Miami Marlins and eager to be remembered for more than ”the nudity incident,” as team president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest calls it.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/02/redmond-introduced-as-marlins-manager-yahoo
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Twins claim pair from Colorado, including
reliever (Yahoo! Sports)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have claimed two players off waivers from Colorado, middle infielder Tommy Field and right-handed reliever Josh Roenicke.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/02/twins-claim-pair-from-colorado-including-re
liever-yahoo-sports/

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Yankees will make Swisher a qualifying offer,
hope he rejects

[...]

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http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/11/yankees-will-make-swisher-a-qualifying-offe
r-hope-he-rejects/

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One Big Happy Famiy

In a recent interview in the dugout during game 3 of the World Series, one Giant player said, "We're just one big happy family. We play for the love of the game. No bickering among the players. No greed. Lots of teamwork. We entertained our fans. And we didn't get a lot of publicity through the regular season like a lot of other well known players did. And that's the way it should be."

The Giants kept playing from the bottom of their heart's and kept getting better. Even though the Tigers did likewise, there was just a little something extra in the Giants efforts.



Read The Full Article:
http://cornerlotsbaseball.blogspot.com/2012/10/giants-know-how-to-be-successful.h
tml

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Is Dan Haren still the ace that everyone thinks
he is

Yesterday, the Los Angeles Angels dealt starting pitcher, Ervin Santana, to the Kansas City Royals. Now the Angels are focused on dealing Dan Haren. The past few seasons Haren has suffered from back issues, and this season he suffered his worst year as a starter. Going into next season is it something that could be fixed, or is Haren's days as a quality starter over?

Since he he began pitching for the Oakland Athletics in 2005, Dan Haren has been of the more underrated pitchers in the game. He doesn't strike a lot of batters out, and can barely hit 90 MPH. That doesn't mean he isn't a good pitcher though.

2008 was a breakout year for Haren, during which he posted 6.5 WAR and established himself as one of the best pitchers in baseball. In fact, since that time he's arguably been a top 10 pitcher in baseball:

NameIPBB%K%GB%HR/FBLOB%BABIPERA-FIP-xFIP-FBvWARCC Sabathia11580.0640.2260.470.090.7490.29272757993.531.1Justin Verlander1154.20.0720.2420.3990.0740.7290.28276748494.832Felix Hernandez1154.20.0730.2260.5170.0860.7570.29373797993.727.9Roy Halladay1123.10.0390.2180.5050.0960.7710.29569727392.331.9James Shields11140.0570.2080.4560.1180.7270.29794948491.119Cliff Lee11110.0370.220.440.0760.7670.30170697791.232.5Matt Cain1099.20.0750.2010.3750.070.7630.26678909991.819.2Dan Haren1094.10.0450.2180.420.1030.7350.29185818190.324.7Tim Lincecum1063.20.090.2620.4680.0850.7530.29783787992.225.7Cole Hamels10580.0590.2290.440.1110.7740.28179858291.121.1Mark Buehrle10500.0530.1320.4540.0920.7280.295899510185.817.5Jered Weaver1036.10.0660.2140.3350.0780.7680.26878879489.121.1Zack Greinke1035.20.0610.2360.4490.0850.7280.30882737893.128.5Jon Lester1018.20.0840.2230.4960.1030.7480.382818492.924.2Ubaldo Jimenez1003.10.1050.2110.4840.0830.7090.29492869694.720.7Ryan Dempster997.10.0860.2160.4610.1040.7320.29689899290.618.1Clayton Kershaw9410.0890.2540.4340.0680.7720.27572788593.322.3Josh Beckett877.20.0650.2160.4330.1140.7150.29493868693.418.6Adam Wainwright7940.0640.2150.5010.0860.7590.29175798190.718.4Josh Johnson731.20.0730.2250.4780.0680.7580.29674738394.219.5

Since 2008 he's ranked eighth in overall fWAR, with a total of 24.7. It's even more impressive since he had a down year, and only managed 1.8 WAR in 2012. Like I previously mentioned, Haren isn't a big strikeout pitcher, and in this group he ranks towards the bottom half. On the other hand he has excellent control, and his 4.5 BB% ranks third overall.

The question though is how could Haren go from one of the best starting pitchers in baseball, to one of the worst?

SeasonIPBB%K%GB%HR/FBLOB%BABIPERA-FIP-xFIP-FBvWAR20082160.0450.2340.4420.0890.7340.30374667391.16.52009229.10.0420.2450.4290.1170.770.26771727190.66.120102350.0540.2170.4050.1080.7440.31194898690.64.42011237.10.0350.2010.4250.0750.7150.272817782906.12012176.20.0510.190.3960.1280.7090.3021101079788.51.8

Haren saw some numbers go in the wrong direction in 2012. His strikeout percentage dropped by one percent, but was still average to above average. His walk percentage saw an increase, but it was still excellent. Two concerning numbers were the uptick in his HR/FB%, as well as his decrease in groundballs. 2011 was arguably Haren's best season, and during that season his HR/FB% was 7.5%. According to FanGraphs, that's considered a great number.

Looking at this year we can see Haren saw his HR/FB% skyrocket to 12.8%. FanGraphs tells us that's an awful number, and it certainly didn't help Haren's success. In 2009, Haren also saw a high HR/FB% number, but he was striking out batters over 24% of the time.

Haren also gave up fewer groundballs this year, which in turn became flyballs. That certainly didn't help his success either.

SeasonO-Swing%Z-Swing%Swing%O-Contact%Z-Contact%Contact%Zone%SwStrk%F-Strike%20080.3270.6110.4680.5850.8990.7880.4960.0990.66120090.3220.5890.4550.5970.8660.770.4970.1070.65720100.3220.6230.470.6060.8780.7840.4930.1010.63820110.3410.640.4830.6490.8760.7920.4760.0990.64620120.2970.630.4550.6550.8870.8080.4740.0870.644

In this particular chart there are three things that Haren didn't do so well in. Typically he saw his O-Swing% (outside of zone swing%) sit above 32%, but last year it dipped under 30% for the first time. The past couple seasons he also saw his swing% sit between 47-48%, but in 2012 it was at 45%. It's worth noting that from 2008-2009 it was also around 45% so that may not be all that concerning.

Lastly, he saw a drop in his SwStrk% (swinging strike%). During his best years it was generally around 9-10%. From 2008-2012 league average SwStrk% hovered around 13-14%, so 8% is not a very good number. For what it's worth, I am using the pitchF/X plate discipline values.

Now for the fun stuff, Haren's pitchF/X data.

Haren did see some interesting changes with his pitch usages this past year. Like I've said, 2011 was arguably his best season as a starter, and during that season he exclusively featured his cutter. This season he used his sinker more than last year, but didn't get the results. It's interesting though, because from 2008-2010 he used his sinker a lot more, and was still successful. Haren did suffer from back issues this year though, so that could be a big factor as to why he struggled.

One thing that immediately stuck out when I saw this chart is that none of his Haren's pitches yielded positive results in 2010. His fastball was his weakest pitch, costing -.75 runs for every 100 fastballs thrown. Since league average tends to be round +1.5 to -1.5 runs per 100 pitches, we can't say Haren's results were terrible that year.

2011 was an all new ballgame though. He saw great results with his cutter, as well as his curveball. He saved over 1 run per 100 pitches with each pitch, but saw poorer results with his splitter. In 2012 he didn't see one pitch return positive results, but unlike 2010 he was not good.

It's tough to say what his best pitch is though, because in 2008 his cutter wasn't very good, but the next year it was unusually great. It's possible this type of stuff varies year to year, maybe that's something that I can look at down the line.

Since 2008 Dan Haren has averaged 4.98 fWAR per season. This season he had a down year, and more than anything I think his injury was the main culprit. There many teams that could use a guy like him, and a few teams that I could see taking a run at him are the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins.

I think the Twins could be a sleeper team, because they desperately need pitching. This may not seem like a move they'd make, but they have some nice pieces in their farm system, and the Angels just might find someone that they like.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter Follow @AKienholzBtB

Read The Full Article:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2012/11/2/3586780/dan-haren-pitchfx-analysis-sab
ermetrics

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