Milwaukee Brewers plan Miller Park improvements
(Yahoo! Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 19 November 2012 04:54:33 PM. © MLB News Blog

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers are planning improvements at Miller Park in 2013, including renovating the Dew Deck and Home Plate Lounge.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/19/milwaukee-brewers-plan-miller-park-improvem
ents-yahoo-sports/

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Rumor: Ibanezs 1st choice is the Yankees

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 19 November 2012 04:49:59 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/11/rumor-ibanezs-1st-choice-is-the-yankees/

Digg this

Rumor: Yankees talking with Scott Hairston

post from Bronx Baseball Daily on 19 November 2012 04:30:11 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/11/rumor-yankees-talking-with-scott-hairston/

Digg this

Marlins salary dump to Toronto finalized (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 19 November 2012 03:18:06 PM. © MLB News Blog

MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins finalized their big salary dumping trade that sends All-Star shortstop Jose Reyes to the Toronto Blue Jays with pitchers Mark Buehrle and Josh Johnson, catcher John Buck and outfielder Emilio Bonifacio for seven relatively low-priced players.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/19/marlins-salary-dump-to-toronto-finalized-ya
hoo-sports/

Digg this

Jim Palmer 2010 Topps Triple Threads Sepia

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 19 November 2012 03:08:07 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Jim Palmer 2010 Topps Triple Threads – Sepia The Topps Triple Threads brand is one that I look forward to each and every collecting season. And while I choose not to delve into the high-end autographed and multi-relic cards due … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/11/19/jim-palmer-2010-topps-triple-threads-s
epia/

Digg this

Fredi Gonzalez Talks B.J. Upton, the Farm System,
and Atlanta's Offseason Plans

post from Talking Chop - All Posts on 19 November 2012 03:01:39 PM. © Talking Chop - All Posts

20121001_ajw_al8_278

Frank Wren was on MLB Network Radio yesterday talking about a multitude of items, which you can read about here and here.

This morning, it was Fredi Gonzalez's turn to talk about the Braves' offseason plans, and I've transcribed some of what he had to say in that interview here.

On being involved in the free agent meetings process regarding B.J. Upton:

Gonzalez: "It really is my first time doing it. Frank (Wren) made it a great process really; he came in and brought in B.J. (Upton) and his agent and his people. We kind of just relaxed in the middle of the clubhouse, and we ended up talking for, I don't know, an hour or an hour and a half. Frank took him around the clubhouse a little bit, and it was good. We brought in Greg Walker, our hitting coach from just down South Georgia, and he came in and we talked baseball. It was fun.
He's a coveted guy. Everybody in baseball wants him. Hopefully here in Atlanta, which is a great place to play, we've got a nice little nucleus of a baseball team that won 94 games last year, and we could use (Upton). If he does come to us, he's going to be a big impact in our lineup."

On how the meeting went with B.J Upton:

"I think it went great. At one point Larry Reynolds, his agent, goes 'you know, this is the most I've heard him talk' in all the years he's had him, so it was good. That meant that he felt comfortable with the situation, he felt comfortable sitting there with Greg Walker, myself, Frank (Wren), and Bruce (Manno), and then by the way, Bobby (Cox) shows up. Bobby Cox had something to do at the stadium that day, and he showed up in the locker room and Bobby sat there with him. It was great; sat there and talked to him for ten or fifteen minutes before he had to do his appearance. He was comfortable.
I was really impressed. I was impressed with (Upton's) knowledge of the game; he asked me some great questions about aggressive base running. He asked me even some saber type questions. 'How's your lineup, am I going to come in and be hitting eighth one day, am I going to come in and hit ninth (one day)?' I said No, no, we usually like our set lineups.' The conversation was great. I thought the rapport between Greg and him were outstanding. It was fun. It's got to boil down to how he feels about his family, the money, and the length of the contract, and you can't blame him for that. You really can't.
I think he would feel comfortable here in Atlanta...Him and Larry are going to sit down and talk it over with their families and see what they come up to. I would sure love to have him."

On whether Josh Hamilton is a realistic option for Atlanta:

"We've talked about a lot of different people, a lot of different free agents; him being one. We've also kind of talked internally about Angel Pagan. Everybody that's out there that's a free agent, we've kind of talked about. The only guy that we've brought in, obviously, has been B.J. Upton, because we feel like he's like our number one guy. We've spoken about all those guys, really. We'll see what happens."

On the farm system:

"...We've got a lot of good things happening. Our minor league system is stocked pretty good. Our scouts and our farm director have done a terrific job of getting the (Julio) Teheran's and the (Randall) Delgado's. We've got (Christian) Bethancourt, a young catcher who is ready to come about any time, and when he does, watch out because he's a defensive weapon. He's coming along.
We've got a kid in the Arizona Fall League, (Nick) Ahmed, who is a pretty good player. He's knocking on the door. By me saying all that, we've got some pieces. We've got some pieces that other teams or other organizations would like to have.
We've got a young kid who is just out of college two years ago, Sean Gilmartin, who people want to have in their rotations. So, that being said, we're in a good situation. We're not going to give anything away, but we're in a good situation to improve our club, even through trades."

On preference of filling holes by trade or in free agency:

"Well, we can do both. I think we're really seriously in the B.J. Upton market, and we're in there. We made him come down to Atlanta and talk to us, so we're in there. We're bidding for that center fielder spot, but we've also got other opportunities via trade. Even if we do get Upton; maybe go get somebody else and really help our team."

On what his biggest concern is about the team heading into the offseason:

"...Obviously, the hole in center field (is one). If we can't re-sign Michael Bourn or (sign) a B.J. Upton, there's going to be some trading going on and trying to find and fill that hole. Frank and his staff have been doing a terrific job. I get a daily phone call from him saying 'hey, we've talked to this team, we've talked to that team, we've talked to this free agent guy, what do you think?' It's been nice to know that our people are trying to fill the holes to get back into the postseason and to go deep into the postseason."

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/11/19/3666392/fredi-gonzalez-talks-b-j-upton-the-
farm-system-and-atlantas-offseason

Digg this

2012 Braves Player Review: Eric O'Flaherty

post from Talking Chop - All Posts on 19 November 2012 03:01:39 PM. © Talking Chop - All Posts

124180326

Coming into the 2012 campaign, Eric O'Flaherty was coming off the most dominant season of his career. Along with Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters, O'Flaherty formed the first part of a devastating back-inning trio. Pitching mostly in the 7th inning, O'Flaherty notched a 0.98 ERA with 67 strikeouts and 21 walks in 73.2 innings. As the season wore on, however, the trio of Kimbrel, Venters, and O'Flaherty begin to wear down, and Fredi Gonzalez vowed to monitor their innings more closely in 2012.

True to his word, Gonzalez limited O'Flaherty to 57.1 innings pitched this year. Though he was unable to replicate his mind-boggling 2011 numbers this year, O'Flaherty posted fantastic numbers, and often set up Craig Kimbrel given the struggles of Jonny Venters. In his 57.1 innings this year, EOF (as Braves' fans nicknamed him) put up a sparkling 1.73 ERA, and struck out 46 batters while walking 19. According to Baseball Reference, O'Flaherty was worth 1.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) this year, after being worth 3.2 last year. By any measure, it was a great year for O'Flaherty, as his ERA ranked 3rd in all of the National League among relievers with at least 50 innings - only Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman were better.

All that said, O'Flaherty's future with the Braves is a bit uncertain. He made 2.49 million dollars with Atlanta last year, and is due to see a raise in arbitration for 2013, probably somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 million dollars. After 2013, O'Flaherty will become a free agent, which will mean a significant raise. Many writers around the Braves' organization have mulled the idea that the Braves should trade O'Flaherty, cashing in on a valuable trade chip in a notably volatile market. O'Flaherty is made all the more expendable by the sudden rise of Luis Avilan, who proved that he could consistently get out left-handed batters at a major league level. As of now, I would expect to see O'Flaherty back next year, but I doubt the Braves will sign him beyond next year, choosing instead to let him walk. However, don't be surprised to see the Braves spin O'Flaherty, especially if they can package him for an outfield bat.

Poll

How long do you think Eric O'Flaherty will remain an Atlanta Brave?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2012/11/19/3666510/2012-braves-player-review-eric-ofla
herty

Digg this

Catchers ERA

post from Love My Team on 19 November 2012 03:00:14 PM. © Love My Team

We have spent a lot of time looking at statistics that are helpful to allow us to properly evaluate[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://blog.lovemyteam.com/2012/11/19/catchers-era/

Digg this

So at least somebody in town has a running game

Last week’s posts were about things the Phillies used to be great at, outfield defense and outfield offense, and suddenlyRead the Rest...

Read The Full Article:
http://www.philliesflow.com/2012/11/19/so-at-least-somebody-in-town-has-a-running
-game/

Digg this

Around the SaberSphere 11/19: Are the Royals
contenders, comparing the Marlins and Red Sox, trading Giancarlo Stanton

1353336901

Dave Schoenfield of ESPN SweetSpot discusses the possibility that the Royals could be contenders in 2013: How the Royals can be contenders - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

If the Orioles and A's can make such dramatic gains in one season, why not the Kansas City Royals and Seattle Mariners, two other downtrodden AL franchises? The Royals have suffered nine consecutive losing seasons and have just one winning season during the wild-card era. The Mariners have had two winning seasons in the past nine and haven't outscored their opponents in a season since 2003. But with the right moves, either team -- or both -- could end up the 2013 version of the Orioles or A's.

Scott Spratt of the Hardball Times compares the various "fire sales" of the Red Sox and Marlins, as well as compares the issue of contention for each franchise: The Marlins, the Red Sox, and goodwill--THT

I do not want to dismiss the value of a middle-of-the-road team with some star power because, for most fans, it would have been a much better on-field product than the team of prospects and fill-ins the Marlins will start in 2013. That said, if Miami were to exhaust the remaining value of the contracts of the players they traded away on teams with little chances of a postseason berth, then the fire sale that netted them financial flexibility and prospects was a better choice for the franchise’s title hopes in the long run.

Sam Miller of Baseball Prospectus looks at scenarios for the Marlins possibly trading Giancarlo Stanton: Baseball Prospectus | Pebble Hunting: Trading Giancarlo Stanton

It would be easy to say this about the Marlins: they could trade Giancarlo Stanton for a bunch of prospects. They could do it, and it’s not really worth putting together an imaginary package of such prospects here; presumably, they would want great prospects, and that’s the sort of prospects they would get. That would accomplish something, and it’s acknowledged. But get past the Stanton-for-prospects construction and let’s think about what else the Marlins might hope to accomplish by trading their best player before he costs anything.

Also at BP, Russell A. Carlton responds to some critics of baseball's statistical movement: Baseball Prospectus | BP Unfiltered: Why Mike Trout Matters

For one, a lot of the people "who come up with this stuff" work in MLB front offices now. There's a laundry list of people who started out writing on the internet who have sometimes publicly, sometimes quietly, been hired by teams to work for them. And they get input into actual decisions. And paychecks.

Mike Bates in a guest post for Halos Heaven expresses his concerns about Jered Weaver's future: It's Risky Relying on Weaver - Halos Heaven

In 2010, Weaver finished second in the AL in swings and misses, was in the top five in getting batters to chase pitches outside of the zone, and had the lowest in-zone contact rate in the majors. Now he’s tied for 47th in getting batters to chase, 45th in-in zone contact, and tied for 46th in getting batters to whiff.

Also, Jay Jaffe's JAWS Score for evaluating Hall of Fame candidacy can now be found at Baseball-Reference: Jaffe WAR Score system (JAWS) for HOF Evaluations – Baseball-Reference.com » Sports Reference » Blog Archive