Home add your blog Archives Search Forum Contact RSS FEED

This site is an rss/xml news reader containing our favorite feeds. All articles are the copyrighted material of the blogs that wrote them.

Rate changes

post from Philliesflow.com on 04 November 2009 11:53:05 AM. © Philliesflow.com

Through five games of the World Series, the Yankees have outscored the Phillies by a run, 25-24. Here’s how the Yankees pitching for the World Series so far compares to their pitching in the regular season: NYY, All pitchers ERARatioH/9 BB/9SO/9HR/9WS4.911.307.773.898.802.05Reg Season4.261.358.603.567.821.12 [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.philliesflow.com/2009/11/04/rate-changes/

Digg this

AJ Burnett Ready if Needed

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 04 November 2009 11:51:03 AM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

According to Mark Feinsand of the Daily News, Yankees starting pitcher AJ Burnett will be available[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.baby-bombers.com/2009/11/04/aj-burnett-ready-if-needed/

Digg this

Same Card, Different Paths Card #13

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 04 November 2009 11:47:07 AM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

?Same Card, Different Paths? ? Card #131968 Topps - Card #177 – AKA – ‘The Nolan Ryan Rookie Card’Jerry Koosman – Koosman started 527 games during his career going 222-209. He has a career ERA of 3.36 and struck out 2,556 batters. Koosman is a 2-time All-star and was a member of the 1969 World Series champion New York [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/%e2%80%98same-card-different-paths%e2%
80%99-%e2%80%93-card-13/

Digg this

Atlanta Braves sign reliever Scott Proctor

post from Talking Chop on 04 November 2009 11:43:00 AM. © Talking Chop

Here is the scoop from TCPalm's (regional Florida newspaper) website:

Pitcher Scott Proctor will return to the mound in 2010.
Proctor, the Martin County native, has reached an agreement with the Atlanta Braves on a one-year contract for the 2010 season, according to Proctor's Palm City-based agent Mark Rodgers.
Proctor was released by the Florida Marlins in October after missing the entire 2009 season because of Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
"The Braves were very aggressive in their pursuit of Scott," Rodgers said Wednesday "They made it clear from the day the Marlins' released Scott that they had a strong interest in signing him to help improve their bullpen. It was obvious to me that the Braves appreciate Scott's track record with the Yankees and Dodgers. I am confident that Atlanta's needs in the bullpen best matched up with Scott's abilities."

The Braves had pursued Proctor way back in 2006 and 2007, so he is a guy they have long coveted. He'll be coming back from Tommy John Surgery, but if can do that successfully, then we have just added a strong and experienced bullpen arm for under a million dollars who doesn't yet have to occupy a space on the 40-man roster. It's a very worthwhile gamble to take on a reliever who could have a huge impact at some point next season.

Good first move of the off-season, Frank Wren. Now we're just waiting on the official word about Tim Hudson.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2009/11/4/1114513/atlanta-braves-sign-reliever-scott

Digg this

Hunter Pence and the Astros Outfield Defense

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 04 November 2009 11:25:00 AM. © The Crawfish Boxes

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Congrats to the second-best right fielder in the majors.

Browse more photos »

Don't know if you noticed, but Hunter Pence was a close second to Ichiro in the third annual Fielding Bible Awards, which were announced Monday. It was a nice finish for Pence, who has worked hard to turn himself into a very capable right fielder. Since Michael Bourn also finished in the top five in center field, it gives the Astros two premier defenders patrolling the vast expanses at MMP.

Still, that leaves one very big hole in left. Here is a snapshot of the most interesting section of votes to me, the left fielders. Note that Carlos Lee got three votes from his mother, his agent and his horse. If you look at the top vote-getters, though, something very interesting stands out. The winner, Carl Crawford, spent the majority of his minor league games in center field. David DeJesus, Nyjer Morgan, Lance Nix, Juan Pierre and Chris Dickerson all played the majority of their games in center field. Why does this matter? Well, I'll tell you after the jump...

So, everyone knows Carlos Lee isn't the best fielder. He looks slow, sometimes takes bad angles and can look disinterested at times. However, it's interesting to note that Lee had his highest total of outfield assists since 2004 last season with nine. The problem with Lee isn't his instincts or his arm, it's his range.

There's a reason so many former center fielders topped the Fielding Bible list, and I would say it's the same reason why people decry Derek Jeter as a Gold Glove shortstop, even though he may make fewer errors than a Troy Tulowitzki. Center fielders just have more range than your average left fielder. They're (generally) faster and have experience taking better breaks on the ball. Ideally, they have a decent arm, but that's not really necessary. This all plays very well in left field, a position where teams are wont to dump guys who can't play at first. Is hitting really more important than outfield defense, though?

Way back in September, I saw a couple of posts from Joe Posnanski on his blog that got me thinking about this. This first one brought up the idea of team's thinking completely outside the box about things, like making the best defense possible, regardless of how they hit. Would the runs you save equal the runs you give up? This follow-up post talks about whether there SHOULD be a separate Gold Glove for left fielders. Is it an important enough position to reward the best fielder there, or is it a hotbed of guys who couldn't hack it somewhere else?

I saved both of these posts, because it immediately made me think of the Astros minor league teams. For instance, the Express would routinely trot out an outfield with one of the best fielders in the minors, Yordanny Ramirez, and two players who have been center fielders in the past (Brian Bogusevic and Reggie Abercrombie). The same went for Corpus, where Collin DeLome, Josh Flores and Mitch Einertson all shared the outfield together (before Flores got hurt again) and all had played center at times in the past. Add to that another talented outfield in Lancaster of J.B. Shuck, Jon Gaston and T.J. Steele who could all play center. That's nine athletic players the Astros can and did move around all three outfield spots this season. Is the organization's philosophy changing? I think it has under Ed Wade and Bobby Heck.

It seems that the Astros will have more than enough players to fill the hole once Lee departs for greener pastures (in however many years that will take). Will it make them better as a team? Certainly Brian Bogusevic isn't the hitter Lee is, but he has a little pop, some speed on the bases and has a great arm in the outfield. Same goes for Collin DeLome, who's maybe not as athletic as Bogey, but definitely has more home-run potential. Either of these guys could start next season and probably be an upgrade over the sure-and-steady bat of Lee.

Whether this philosophy will work is another story, but for now, it looks like the Astros could have a potentially Gold Glove-caliber outfield in a couple of years. Now, if we can just do something about that infield...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2009/11/4/1114493/hunter-pence-and-the-astros

Digg this

Assorted Links

post from Beyond the Box Score on 04 November 2009 11:25:00 AM. © Beyond the Box Score

Jay at Fack Youk teaches Mike Lupica the difference between ex ante and ex post judgments.Sure, the Nationals have options for their rotation. Are any of them worthwhile?Meanwhile, in Arizona, Strasburg slowly improves. Just sayin'.Maybe Nationals brass[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/11/4/1114479/assorted-links

Digg this

Dodgers Padilla mistakenly shot in leg (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 04 November 2009 11:09:37 AM. © MLB News Blog

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Vicente Padilla is recovering from a bullet wound in his leg after a target shooting instructor accidentally shot him. Dr. Eduardo Reguera said Padilla, who signed with the Dodgers in August, didn't need surgery after spending time at Managua's Metropolitan Hospital.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2009/11/04/dodgers-padilla-mistakenly-shot-in-leg-ap/

Digg this

Game 6 Lineups

YANKEES: Derek Jeter SS, Johnny Damon LF, Mark Teixeira 1B, Alex Rodriguez 3B, Hideki Matsui DH, Jorge Posada C, Robinson Cano 2B, Nick Swisher RF, Brett Gardner CF

PHILLIES: Jimmy Rollins SS, Shane Victorino CF, Chase Utley 2B, Ryan Howard 1B, Jayson Werth RF, Raul Ibanez DH, Pedro Feliz 3B, Ben Francisco LF, Carlos Ruiz C

Full game thread coming.... Live game chat starts @ 7:45 p.m.

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/PRxK3LyYCPg/game-6-lineups.html

Digg this

Front Page of NY Post. ... A MUST See

Read The Full Article:
http://adiehardyankeesfan.blogspot.com/2009/11/front-page-of-ny-post-must-see.htm
l

Digg this

The Curious Case of Alex Liddi

Admittedly, it takes a bit of ?ego? to be in the ?prospect? business. Every time you write something, someone who reads it just isn?t going to agree, and often times how they choose to express their ?disagreement? ranges from the ?nasty? to downright[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://baseballnumbers-diamondfutures.blogspot.com/2009/11/curious-case-of-alex-l
iddi.html

Digg this