Yankees Hot Stove: Are you ok with Josh Hamilton
needing a SWAT team

post from Lady Loves Pinstripes on 08 December 2012 04:38:29 PM. © Lady Loves Pinstripes

The latest hot stove rumor circulating is that the New York Yankees have inquired about slugging outfielder Josh Hamilton. USA Today Bob Nightengale reported the news via twitter but who knows if this was purely to generate attention as the source, an[...]

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Rumor: Yankees worried about A.J. Pierzynskis
defense

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 08 December 2012 04:17:04 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

[...]

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The Dodgers Have Changed It All

post from LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers on 08 December 2012 03:01:14 PM. © LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

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Saturday Rockpile: Dale Murphy's Hall of Fame
conundrum

post from Purple Row - All Posts on 08 December 2012 02:01:02 PM. © Purple Row - All Posts

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One-time Colorado Rockies outfielder Dale Murphy is making his final appearance on the Hall of Fame ballot this year. In an effort to presumably sway voters into putting Murphy into the Hall, the longtime Atlanta Braves star's son wrote an open letter to the BBWAA to make a case for his dad's candidacy.

The one thing that will come from this probably won't be Murphy's induction into the Hall of Fame. He has been on 14 ballots, and has only received about 13 percent of votes, on average, during those years. But, what will happen is that traditionalists and SABR folks will continue to bitch and moan at each other about which stats matter and which ones don't. Murphy's son certainly didn't do the old school group any favors by taking a completely unnecessary pot shot at the SABR crowd:

Next, I really want to dive into his sabermetrics, starting with his JAWS, WAR, and WAR7, and then moving on to his JPOS, WPA, OPS, and -- last but certainly not least -- the all-important holy quadrinity of VORP, GORP, SCHLORP, and THUNDERCORK.
Oh wait, no I don't.
Stand down, statistics nerds.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. You are cordially invited to shut up, people.

Links

Longtime Rockies minor league coach P.J. Carey has passed away, according to Tracy Ringolsby. Carey spent 13 years in the Rockies organization, and spent one year (1997) as an instructor at the major league level. May he rest in peace.

Finally, not really a link, but the exhibition game between the Rockies and Seattle Mariners on March 30 in Salt Lake City sold out in less than two days. That is very promising stuff in terms of the Rockies' efforts to expand their brand into one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country. I'll have more on that later, possibly in next Saturday's Rockpile.

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Harmon Killebrew 2012 Topps Tribute Base

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 08 December 2012 01:56:30 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Harmon Killebrew 2012 Topps Tribute – Base I tell you what, these cards from the Topps Tribute set are outstanding!!! It doesn’t seen to matter what player’s card I grab from the set, they all look great. Legends are captured … Continue reading →

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A-Rod committed to hard road back after surgery
(Yahoo! Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 08 December 2012 01:00:58 PM. © MLB News Blog

MIAMI (AP) — Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees says he’s ”fully committed to a very hard road back” from hip surgery.

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Around the SaberSphere 12/7: Ben Revere, the
Angels Rotation, Michael Bourn

post from Beyond the Box Score - All Posts on 08 December 2012 12:02:06 PM. © Beyond the Box Score - All Posts

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Dave Cameron of FanGraphs thinks the Phillies overpaid for center fielder Ben Revere: Phillies Pay Premium For Ben Revere | FanGraphs Baseball

And, if Revere is a +5 defender in center field, even with his elite baserunning value, then he’s more of a +2.0 to +2.5 win player than the +3.5 win guy he graded out as last year. An average starter, essentially. With five years of team control, including two more at the league minimum, an average player is a valuable asset. But, to acquire that average player, the Phillies parted with a Major League average starting pitcher — and that may be underselling Vance Worley — and their best prospect, Trevor May.

Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation questions the strength of the Angels new-fangled rotation: So, about the Angels' "strong" rotation ... - Baseball Nation

That depends on how you define "strong", I guess. Jered Weaver's so good, and C.J. Wilson potentially so good, that the Angels should have, at the least, a decent rotation and perhaps even a good one. But as currently composed, the Angels' rotation isn't really a strength. It's sort of ... there: interesting because of Weaver, but nothing that the A's and the Rangers and the Mariners will fear (the Astros, maybe).

Dave Schoenfield of ESPN SweetSpot looks at how recent moves may be affecting the market for Michael Bourn: Where does Revere trade leave Bourn? - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

The Philadelphia Phillies filled their hole in center field by acquiring Ben Revere from the Minnesota Twins for right-hander Vance Worley and pitching prospect Trevor May -- Keith Law breaks down the deal here -- which leaves Michael Bourn still spinning on the center-field merry-go-round. With Bourn's asking price reportedly higher than the $75 million B.J. Upton received from the Braves, where does this leave him? If there's a declining market for his services, does he end up signing for less than Upton money?

Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus looks at some crazy trade rumors of the past that never came to be: Baseball Prospectus | Pebble Hunting: Hottest Rumors From Baseball's Winter Meetings in Nashville!

The Diamondbacks and Rangers may pull off a trade involving one of the best pitching prospects and one of the best hitting prospects in baseball! But don't get your hopes up; these trades are super sexy to talk about but very hard to pull off, as each team is understandably gunshy about trading The Next Big Thing for a potential bust. That's why the Rangers have refused to part with Eric Hurley to get Carlos Gonzalez. A guy like Gonzalez is just too risky.

Oh and don't forget #DontSignLohse

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Around the SaberSphere 12/6: Managing the Astros,
Quiet Winter Meetings, The New Yankees

post from Beyond the Box Score - All Posts on 08 December 2012 12:02:06 PM. © Beyond the Box Score - All Posts

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David Laurilla of FanGraphs sat down with Bo Porter, the new manager of the Houston Astros: Q&A: Bo Porter, Managing the Analytic Astros | FanGraphs Baseball

Jeff [Luhnow] and the entire group we have is extremely entrenched into the analytical side of the game, which is something I’m extremely interested in. There are a lot of values that can be found when you look at the analytical side and get away from just the numbers everybody looks at every day. In doing so, you’re able to understand the true value of a player. That’s going to help us from an organizational standpoint

Zachary Levine of Baseball Prospectus discusses why for some teams a quiet winter meetings was a good thing: Baseball Prospectus | Skewed Left: How the Teams That Did Nothing in Nashville Did

A three-year deal for $12 million like the White Sox gave out would have been a long commitment to the meh Jeff Keppinger, whose best asset is an uncanny ability not to strike out—6.4 percent of his 2,705 plate appearances were K’s. That doesn’t play all that well with the advantages Yankee Stadium could provide, but as a competent utility man, he’d do well to play third base regularly in A-Rod’s absence and then settle into a role where he would spell fragile players for a day and let them DH.

Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation takes a look at how the Dodgers continue to resemble the Yankees: The Dodgers and Yankees keep their promises - Baseball Nation

As long as there's an offseason bogeyman to scare the other 29 teams, salaries will go up. That's how it's been for the last 15 years. There's a new bogeyman for the first time, though. It's not going to change anything that drastically. It wasn't exactly a surprise. But there's a decent chance that when the Dodgers go into Yankee Stadium next June, Zack Greinke will be on the mound for the Dodgers, and he'll be trying to retire Chris Stewart or Francisco Cervelli.

Dave Schoenfield of ESPN asks real Zack Greinke to please stand up:Just how good is Zack Greinke? - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

OK, a lot of you know this already. That leaves us with this: There's a huge difference between the seventh-best starting pitcher and baseball and somebody more in the 25 to 30-ish range. We're talking an ace versus a No. 2. Certainly, at $150 million, Greinke will be paid like one of the best pitchers in baseball.

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Around the SaberSphere 12/5: Optimizing a lineup,
the Red Sox, Scouting Canada

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Bill Petti of FanGraphs looks at how teams have done at optimizing their batting lineups: Optimizing Batting Orders Across MLB | FanGraphs Baseball

At an aggregate level, the league hasn’t learned much. The best hitters at avoiding outs are primarily hitting third, while lesser on-base hitters occupy the first and second spots. If we looked at this by team, I’m sure we’d see greater variation. Perhaps some teams recognize the advantage (however slim) of placing greater value on out-avoidance at the top of the order? Still, the league-wide data make clear that those teams are in the minority.

Matthew Kory of Over the Monster explains why the Red Sox recent acquisitions actually may make sense: On Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, And Having Options - Over the Monster

The reason the Red Sox can "explore" like this is because Victorino can play center field if Ellsbury isn't on the roster. We've talked about whether or not dealing Ellsbury now is a good idea in this space before, but no matter which side you come down on, the ultimate arbiter will be the return.

Hudson Belinsky of Baseball Prospectus discusses scouting in Canada: Baseball Prospectus | Scouting the Great White North

Every organization now has scouts who cover Canada. Just about every young player, even those with a remote interest in baseball, can find a place to play the game. The talented players are on everyone’s radar. One such player is Cal Quantrill, a projectable Stanford commit who can run his fastball into the low 90s. Cal’s father, Paul, enjoyed over a decade of playing in the big leagues.

Shane Tourtellotte of the Hardball Times takes a look back, with a sabermetric eye, at the history of double-headers: An incomplete history of the double-header--THT

Back in "The Double-Header Hangover Effect," I found that for each double-header a team played, it lost an extra three-fourths of a game over the next month. Okay, that's pretty close. There may be something I haven't taken into account: hangover effects might last longer than 30 days, for instance, or there might be a multiplier effect when you play a lot of twin-bills. For a back-of-the-envelope check, though, it's good enough to see that the new numbers are, ahem, in the ballpark.

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