He May Have Lost, but.

post from Love My Team on 07 November 2009 01:51:48 PM. © Love My Team

Ryan Howard may have been on the losing team in the 2009 World Series, but that doesn’t mean[...]

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Putz, Pavano file for free agency (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 07 November 2009 01:36:48 PM. © MLB News Blog

Mets reliever J.J. Putz and Twins pitcher Carl Pavano filed for free agency Saturday. Putz became a free agent one day after New York declined his $9.1 million option and chose to pay a $1 million buyout. A total of 120 players have filed for free agency since the World Series, and about 60 more [...]

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Weekend Update ... Talkin' Cubs Rumors

post from ChicagoCubsOnline.com on 07 November 2009 01:27:43 PM. © ChicagoCubsOnline.com

The first two days of the off-season have seen quite a bit of movement across the league ... except for on the North Side of Chicago. The Cubs completed their organizational meetings on Friday in Arizona and other than Reed Johnson and Rich Harden declaring free agency, not much out of the Cubs' camp. Which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Jim Hendry has little payroll flexibility and will likely rely on making trades to improve (or fix) the big league team for next season. It is only the first Saturday in November and the Cubs have a lot of big contracts with no-trade clauses attached to them. Hendry has a lot of work to do ... and Ted Lilly having his shoulder scoped last Tuesday should have changed the direction and/or plans the Cubs had for the winter at the beginning of the week.

With the GM meetings getting underway on Monday in Chicago, here is the latest from the mill ... and a little news too.

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9.php

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The Pittsburgh Pirates designate three players
for assignment

post from Pittsburgh Pirates on 07 November 2009 01:15:32 PM. © Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates have designated 27-year old righty starting pitcher Virgil Vasquez, 26-year old righty starting pitcher Eric Hacker and 25-year old lefty swinging catcher Steve Lerud for assignment. Vasquez pitched in 14 games (7 starts) for the Pirates last season and he was 2-5 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. In [...]

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The Coming Avalanche of Non-Tenders

post from Beyond the Box Score on 07 November 2009 01:00:00 PM. © Beyond the Box Score

More photos » by Charlie Riedel - AP Browse more photos » A team with a player in his "arbitration years" has essentially three options. First,[...]

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Lincecum Marley

post from Jim Walewander's Blog on 07 November 2009 12:58:05 PM. © Jim Walewander's Blog

Lincecum Marley get with the times. Do you think getting busted for possessing 3.3 grams of pot is a scandal? For what? Pot? How quaint. How retro. How cute. I tell you what would be a scandal – you start throwing 85mph. That would make you a scandal or Pedro Martinez.

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With Miguel Tejada most likely on his way out,
Tommy Manzella is in as Astros Shortstop in 2010

post from The Crawfish Boxes on 07 November 2009 12:47:00 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

Tommy Manzella and Michael Bourn would give the Astros one of the best defensive SS-CF combos in the NL Central

Browse more photos »

Straight from Eddy Wade's mouth:

At this point, we’re prepared to commit to Tommy Manzella playing shortstop.

The possibility remains that Tejada could return as a third baseman.

Tommy Manzella grades anywhere from good to very good at shortstop. AstroAndy did a fine comparison between Manzella and former Astro Adam Everett a few months ago. Replacing this kind of defense with Manzella's defensive abilities at short would definitely be a boon.

As far as being able to retain Miguel Tejada as a third baseman, I don't know if that would be in the cards. His Bill James projection for 2010 is actually better in terms of runs created per game as compared to 2009. The million dollar-plus question will be if that production is worth spending X amount of dollars more on the veteran Tejada vs. some sort of platoon with Blum/Kepp/C. Johnson.

With Lance Berkman, Geoff Blum, Kaz Matsui and Jeff Keppinger already assured of spots on the club in 2010, Ed Wade will have decisions to make on which other infielders to bring in. It seems as if Tommy Manzella will play shorstop, as a trade or free agent signing isn't likely. While Chris Johnson has shown promise, don't look past Jeff Keppinger as a good option to be a starter on this team. He's not going to get David Wright AB's, but he is right at the peak of his career and is looked at as being a solid contributor in 2010. A fairly cheap contract makes him nearly as attractive as Johnson for the cost conscious Astros.

Bottom line, this was the first real indication of what changes we can expect in our 2010 Astros. For those who missed having a superb defensive shortstop, your wish looks like it may be coming true. Tommy Manzella will need time to adjust to major league hitting, but he has shown the ability to approach Everett's level offensively. That may not wow you, but remember that the cost is right with Manzella. Get used to hearing that sort of rationalization from the Astros camp. Keep in mind as well that Gio Mier is drawing rave reviews as the best defensive shortstop from the 2009 draft and his bat has been better than advertised so far as a professional. View Manzella however you want- a defensive savant, a stopgap, Adam Everett, 2.0. He makes the league minimum, and when your team is dominated by three player's salaries, those are the sort of trade offs a team must make.

As for Miguel Tejada, it doesn't appear that he will be back as an Astro, despite the door being left open for his return. He turned in a nice offensive season and as stated earlier is supposed to be even better in 2010. It's probable that another club gives him a shot at third, and does so with a contract whose value is close to eight figures per season. The Astros have three serviceable to slightly above serviceable options at third base, which leaves Tejada as the odd man out in my mind.

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1897 DMB World Series-Game #5

Charles Hickman vs Arlie Pond 10/10/1897, @ Oriole Park II When I started this World Series Replay I wanted to make sure, where possible, to use the actual starting pitchers that were used in that seasons post season series. Actual as-played line ups are much more difficult because in the 19th Century the information is very [...]

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1985 Topps Eddie Murray All-Star

1985 Topps Eddie Murray All-StarHey it’s another Eddie Murray card for my player collection!!! And it’s a nice one too…When I look at this card, I cannot help but think that it should have been issued in the decade prior. Murray and his style scream 1970’s!!! If you peeled back the ‘85 Topps design and replaced it with [...]

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/1985-topps-eddie-murray-all-star/

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World Series Ratings Soar

From Maury Brown:

Fueled by outstanding individual and team performances, dramatic come-from-behind wins and the most one-run games in a single postseason, each round of the 2009 MLB Postseason generated double-digit percentage year-to-year increases in average viewership as compared to 2008, capped by the 2009 World Series averaging 19.4 million viewers, a +42% increase over last year and the largest-ever year-to-year gain in viewership (previous high was 36% from 2000-2001, which followed a low viewership showing for the Subway Series).

...

The 2009 World Series will go down in history as the fouth highest viewed World Series of the last decade following 2003, 1999, 2001, and 2004.

Once again, this just proves that the Yankees are great for baseball.