Marlins hire Tino Martinez to be their new
hitting coach

[...]

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http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/11/marlins-hire-tino-martinez-to-be-their-new-
hitting-coach/

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Kuroda On Red Sox Radar

Regardless of this rumor, I think the Yankees should do everything they can to make sure Kuroda is back next year.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/x2lnIYNd7s4/kuroda-on-red-sox-r
adar.html

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Dave Parker 1984 Fleer Dave Flashes Us His
Million Dollar Smile!!!

Dave Parker 1984 Fleer – Dave Flashes Us His Million Dollar Smile!!! Dave Parker played in an era when player salaries started to blossom.  He was not part of the period in which players were signing hundred-million dollar contracts, but … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/dave-parker-1984-fleer-dave-flashes-us
-his-million-dollar-smile/

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Pirates hire Bill Livesey as senior adviser
(Yahoo! Sports)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates have hired Bill Livesey as senior adviser to general manager Neal Huntington.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/08/pirates-hire-bill-livesey-as-senior-adviser
-yahoo-sports/

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Victor De Leon Prospect Profile

Ranked the ninth best prospect in the Appy League by Matt Eddy, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Victor De Leon has generated some buzz among the prospect community as of late. Let's delve deeper into him as he prepares to make the jump to full-season ball next spring.

Physical Profile

Bats: R Throws: R

Height: 6'2 Weight: 190 lb.

Scouting Report

Victor De Leon has a huge arm.

That was worth its own paragraph, because it's true. Victor De Leon will always show up on prospect lists because of his fastball, which consistently sits 60-65 on the scouting scale, with potential to be more. I saw De Leon pitch twice this year, once in late August and the other in the Appalachian League playoffs. Both outings featured a big fastball, sitting 94-98 and occasionally showcasing arm-side run that made it lethal. He struggled to spot this pitch, and would overthrow at times when he was ahead in the count, trying to blow batters away instead of finish them off by spotting his pitch.

His delivery has a lot of effort in it, involving a herky-jerky motion that is difficult to repeat, and it appeared to affect him at times. This concern has me questioning whether or not he can stick in the rotation, or if he will be limited to short stints.

His main offspeed pitch was a curve that sits 76-80, which flashed above-average to plus. He struggled to consistently spot this pitch in the zone, lacking both command and control. At times he could take some movement off of it to be able to throw it for strikes, but the pitch became more hittable when he would do that, leading to more contact off of it.

His second offspeed pitch was a perplexing one, a change-up that sat 85-87 and flashed some fade. The pitch excited me the most when it showed the fade, as it really became a weapon for him against left-handed hitters. Although the arm-action on it was far from perfect, the movement should balance that out. The development of this pitch will be crucial if De Leon is going to become a relief-ace type, as he will need to get both handed hitters out.

Statistical Analysis

De Leon's heavy fastball appears to have lead to a low amount of home runs, as he only surrendered one for the entire 2012 Appalachian League season. His HR/9 has steadily decreased in the minors, going from 0.92 in the Domincan Summer League in 2010, to 0.36 in the GCL in 2011, to 0.20 in the Appalachian League.

Although De Leon has seen his ERA rise from his DSL days, his FIP has improved each year. As you can see in the better than 1-run decrease, his improvement in K/9 (8.53 in 2012) along with the drop in home runs has led to a dramatic increase in FIP, one of the few stats worth looking at for a minor leaguer (table below looks at aforementioned stats).

With De Leon, it will be important to watch the walks as he progresses to higher levels and therefore better, more experienced hitters.

Season

Team

IP

K/9

BB/9

HR/9

FIP

Overall Summary

De Leon is an interesting pitching prospect, and depending on if he can improve his command, we could be looking at a very good reliever.

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Pitching is the Currency of Baseball: Royals
Trade Jeffress, Hottovy For Cash

The Royals continue their off-season roster shakeups this week with two separate deals, sending right-handed pitcher Jeremy Jeffress to Toronto for cash considerations, and left-handed pitcher Tommy Hottovy to Texas for a player to be named later and cash considerations. Dayton Moore once said pitching was the currency of baseball and it appears today he meant that literally.

Jeffress, 25, was acquired as part of the Zack Greinke deal. A one-time Top 100 Prospect for Baseball America, the hard-throwing righty hurt his stock in Milwaukee by being suspended for substance abuse, and never harnessed his control in Kansas City. In 27 relief appearances for Kansas City, he posted a 5.65 ERA, with 26 strikeouts, 24 walks, and 22 runs allowed in 28 1/3 innings. Pitching for AAA Omaha this year, he posted a 4.97 ERA in 37 relief appearances with 9.7 strikeouts and 3.9 walks per nine innings.

Hottovy, 31, was a local kid having graduated from Park Hill South in the Kansas City metro area. He was signed as a minor league free agent after a career in the Boston organization. Hottovy pitched 9 1/3 innings for the Royals with a 2.89 ERA, five walks, and six strikeouts. Lefties posted a .650 OPS in 24 plate appearances against the southpaw. Hottovy posted a 2.52 ERA in AAA Omaha with over eleven strikeouts and 2.9 walks per nine innings.

Both players had been designated for assignment last week and removed from the 40 man roster.

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Rumor: Red Sox have reached out to Hiroki Kuroda

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/11/rumor-red-sox-have-reached-out-to-hiroki-ku
roda/

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Indians sign INF Hernandez, RHP Rondon (Yahoo!
Sports)

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Indians have signed infielder Luis Hernandez to a minor league contract and re-signed right-hander Hector Rondon.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/08/indians-sign-inf-hernandez-rhp-rondon-yahoo
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Pence to Return, Undecided on Wilson

Well, we were going to use today's post to go back and review what went on down on the farm in the Giants' organization, but the Giants are already making some moves towards shaping their 2013 roster.

Brian Sabean announced Thursday something that every Giants fan was expecting, stating that they will offer arbitration to right fielder Hunter Pence, ensuring he'll be in the orange and black for the 2013 season. There was never really any doubt as to whether or not Pence would be back after he helped spark the team's incredible run in October, but the Giants are hoping his personal production improves next season. Pence hit just .219 with a .671 OPS to go along with 7 HR's and 45 RBI in his 59 games with San Francisco, and struggled even more in the postseason. However, even though he wasn't as prudent with the stick as he'd have liked, he was one of the Giants most clutch hitters with runners in scoring position as evident by his high RBI total, and he also handled right field at AT&T Park exceptionally well. Perhaps the biggest attribute Pence provided though was his stability in the clubhouse. Not necessarily just the 'rah-rah' speeches he gave before those games in Cincinnati, but the example he set on the field with his hustle and all out play. If you look at the back of his baseball card, you see a guy who averages around .285, will hit 20+ homers and drive in 90+ runs, and I absolutely expect a bounce back to that effect out of Pence in '13.

Next up on the Giants arbitration to-do list is mercurial closer Brian Wilson, and this one could pose a much tougher decision than Pence. Wilson has been a face of this team for the last few seasons and was epic in their World Series run in 2010. Although he doesn't always do it it dominant fashion, he does sport one of the better save percentages in all of baseball. But there are two things that come into play with this one. First of all, Willy just went through his 2nd Tommy John procedure in less than a decade, and although he states he's starting to feel as strong as ever, it's really any ones guess as to what kind of shape he'll show up in next spring and whether or not he'd be able to even start the season with the big club. The other factor here is the way that Sergio Romo just took the bull by the horns and really staked his claim to the 9th inning down the stretch. Health aside, many close to the Giants believe Romo could have a leg up on Wilson at this point just because Romo seems to get through the 9th without as much drama as Wilson. The only issue with Romo is he doesn't really have that hard fastball he can rely on to blow by hitters on nights his slider isn't working right or when he's got a bunch of lefties lined up against him.

If I had to venture a guess at this point, I'd say the Giants may be leaning towards not offering Wilson his arbitration, but then possibly try to get him back on a one-year deal with some major incentives tied in. Not sure if Willy would be open to that, but I just have a hard time seeing the Giants guarantee a guy coming off that type of surgery upwards of $10 million for 2013, especially when they have a viable replacement already in house. I'd like to see him back and battling Romo for the ninth, but I can't say I expect it.

Read The Full Article:
http://giantsbaseballblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/pence-to-return-undecided-on-wilso
n.html

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Around the SaberSphere 11/8: The Cy Young and
sabermetrics, WPA and bullpens, the value of speed

Who says everyone in the mainstream media ignores or goes after sabermetrics?

John Grochowski of the Chicago Sun-Times uses sabemetrics to make a case for Justin Verlander winning the AL Cy Young, among other awards: GROCHOWSKI: Sabermetrics can clarify crowded MLB awards picture - Chicago Sun-Times

But park effects at Tropicana Field and at Angel Stadium both favor pitchers, while those at Comerica Park in Detroit favor hitters. Given the context, the Tigers’ Justin Verlander (17-8, 2.64) was more than the equal of Price and Weaver.

Dan Lependorf of the Hardball Times discusses WPA, clutch and bullpen management: .Using WPA to grade bullpen management, part one--THT

Study after study has shown that clutch performance is (mostly) a non-repeatable skill, and as such, the Clutch metric isn’t used very often. Batters generally can’t turn it up when they need to. Weak hitters are sometimes forced to come up to the plate when the game is on the line, and there’s not a whole lot that the hitter can do. But what about relievers? Unlike hitters, a bullpen can collectively demonstrate a repeatable clutch skill, simply because the manager gets to decide when to use stronger arms. If a bullpen needs a clutch strikeout in a tight spot, the manager can tilt the odds to make it happen. So why not use Clutch score to evaluate and grade a manager’s in-game tactics?

Carson Cistulli of FanGraphs discusses how Billy Hamilton's speed could bring value without his bat: The Value of Elite Speed, Measured in Wins | FanGraphs Baseball

So, broadly speaking, we can say that the upside for a player with elite speed — in terms of defense and baserunning — is something like 20-25 runs, or 2.0-2.5 wins

Jason Wojciechowksi of Baseball Prospectus: Baseball Prospectus | In A Pickle: The Two Towers

Does a change of cities change a General Manager's tendencies?

Cliff Corcoran in a guest piece over at Over the Monster questions whether or not David Ortiz should have been re-signed: Was Re-Signing David Ortiz The Right Thing For Boston? - Over the Monster

Still, it's hard to see spending $31 million, which is what Ortiz will make over the next two years if he stays healthy, on Ortiz's age-37 and -38 seasons as the best investment for a team that needs to build a new foundation

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