Strasburg hurts knee, wont need surgery (AP)

The Nationals say No. 1 draft pick Stephen Strasburg has a dislocation in his left knee joint and should be fine for spring training. Strasburg was examined Friday by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles. The Nationals say Strasburg will not require surgery, and that treatment will include rest and physical therapy.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2009/11/20/strasburg-hurts-knee-wont-need-surgery-ap/

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Friday Night Open Thread: Awards For Girardi

- Joe Girardi may not have won AL manager of the year but he was able to snag a couple other awards. Girardi was named the March of Dimes Sportsman of the Year and will be honored at the 26th annual March of Dimes luncheon on December 2nd. Venus Williams was named sportswoman of the year.

- The New York Knicks also named Girardi the winner of the Sweetwater Clifton ?City Spirit? Award for November.

The award, named in honor of Nat ?Sweetwater? Clifton, the first African-American to play for the Knicks, recognizes individuals who have made a significant difference in the lives of others. Each month, a winner is chosen by members of the Knicks front office staff and honored at center court during a Knicks game with a $2,000 donation in his or her name made out to a charity of their choice.

The award was given to Girardi for stopping to aid a woman who was in an accident on the Cross County Parkway in Westchester County the night the Yankees clinched the World Series. He will accept the award on Sunday during the Knicks-Celtics game at Madison Square Garden.
- The Hall of Fame will be receiving many items from the Yankees most recent championship run. For a full list of the items check out this article on MLB.com.
- Steve Lombardi takes a look at a recent Bill James article on Jorge Posada's chances at having as good a 2010 season as he did this year. The conclusion is that Posada is the least likely player in baseball to improve next year.
- The folks over at Baseball Intellect tells us everything we need to know about Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman. It's definitely worth the read.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/YE-VUHCsr2E/friday-night-open-t
hread-awards-for.html

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Tom Glavine Talks on Sirius XM Radio

More photos » by Paul Abell - AP

It seems like some of the bitterness of the Braves' decision to cut Tom Glavine (evident in this picture from June 5th of this year) has finally left the future Hall of Fame pitcher.

Browse more photos »

I was sent this transcript by the media guy over at Sirius XM Radio's MLB Home Plate show. I thought it had some good quotes from Tom Glavine... he usually has good quotes when he's asked questions:

Yesterday, Nov. 19, on ‘SIRIUS XM’s MLB Home Plate’ channel, hosts Seth Everett and Jim Duquette spoke with Tom Glavine about his future plans and Bobby Cox’s pending retirement.

Host/Seth Everett: "Tell us about the way your season came to a close and what your thought process is as we hit November. Free agency signing period starts tomorrow. What is your attitude in terms of what you think your future is?"

Tom Glavine: "I honestly don’t know.  I didn't like the way my season ended last year. It has been well talked about and well documented. Obviously I wasn't happy about it and I thought it should have gone differently than it did but it didn't. And that’s something on a personal level that I have to deal with and I have dealt with.  I’m okay with it.  I’m okay with it now.  I’ve moved on. I don't know what the next chapter of life is for me.  I'm not closing the door on playing next year but I really don't see myself at this point in time playing.  I mean, a lot of things would have to change.  I don't know what I am going to do next. Assuming I don't play, I don't know if it is going to be to get into the broadcasting side of the game or trying to get into a front office type situation with somebody and start learning that side of the game. I don't know.  I see myself staying around the game a little bit that's for sure, but I’m not quite sure exactly what it is that I want to do. I've been home since June of last year and it’s actually been kinda nice being home, hanging out with my boys, and being a dad so I don't know how soon I want to get away from doing that."  

Host/Jim Duquette: "Bobby Cox has announced that he is going to manage his last year in 2010. It’s hard to imagine him not being in that dugout beyond 2010. Your thoughts on his pending retirement?"

Glavine: "There are certain guys that you just don't ever expect not to see in that uniform or in that dugout anymore and Bobby is one of those guys. You look at the Braves and for so many years they had the stability of myself, and Smoltzy, and Maddux, and Chipper Jones now and all those guys you kind of knew from year to year were going to be there and slowly but surely, everybody has gone by the wayside. Bobby has kind of been the lasting guy. And I think a lot of people thought they would have to tear the uniform off him to get him out of the dugout. That'll be extremely strange for a lot of people when that day comes to look over there and not see Bobby yelling at the umpires anymore or cheering the guys on in the dugout. It's going to be a big adjustment, I think, for everyone involved with the organization but sooner or later you have to make those changes. I feel bad for the guy who has to come in after him because you know as much as everyone talks about, ‘Oh, he’s not filling Bobby's shoes’, that's exactly what everybody’s going to think he's doing and its going to be a tough assignment for whoever comes in after him."  

SIRIUS XM’s MLB Home Plate channel is available to listeners nationwide on XM channel 175 and SIRIUS channel 210 with the "Best of XM" package.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2009/11/20/1166891/tom-glavine-talks-on-sirius-xm

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Denny Matthews at Plaza Library

Last night at the Plaza branch of the Kansas City Public Library, Denny Matthews and his ghost writer Matt Fulks had a promo event for Denny’s new book that included an audience Q and A at the end.  While most of what Denny had to say dealt with reminiscences of old time good ol’ ballplayers, there were some interesting tidbits to take away:

 

The reason he became a broadcaster is because he didn’t have a job after college and didn’t have anything better to do. We should all be so unlucky…

 

He has had multiple opportunities to jump ship and broadcoast for another team, including one time after three years on the job.  He could have left the expansion Royals for the big market of Chicago.  He stayed because he liked Mr. Kauffman and wanted to stay loyal to him. 

 

He shared a bottle of water on stage at the Hall of Fame induction ceremony with Tony Gwynn because Gwynn didn’t grab his bottle.  Let’s hope Tony didn’t have cooties!

 

He doesn’t like the DH rule.  Pitchers enjoy hitting.  Mentions Greinke as one of the better hitting pitchers the Royals have had.

 

Denny’s “not sold” on pitch counts.  He mentions this after recounting how Steve Busby had absolutely electric stuff, was a terrific pitcher, and his career ended prematurely due to injury because he threw a lot of pitches.  Seems a self-contradictory juxtaposition, but I digress.

 

In response to the question of essentially, why don’t we have any good players, Denny says scouting is an “inexact science.”  We’ve had lots of high draft choices that other scouts agree on.  Players might have physical ability but not be smart enough, can’t handle the pressure, etc.  He says intelligence is more important than ability.  Smart players will “figure out a way to win.”  No mention is made of players that have been acquired at the MLB level.  Maybe scouting them is an inexact science too.  In fairness to Denny, as an employee of the team, there is certainly a limit on how publicly critical he can be of the team, so this may have been a sidestep from that aspect of the question.  He seemed to pause to carefully consider his words a few times, so maybe he thinks Dayton's an idiot, just can't say so at a book promo.

 

At this point he made fun of the annoying fan in the audience that kept yelling stuff, but in a way that made the idiot in the audience not realize he was being made fun of.  I have a hearty appreciation of this subtle art.

 

Fan asks him what Dayton’s best and worst has been.  His best is that he has a plan and he’s sticking to it.  Denny, it would seem, trusts the Process.  Denny says the plan is based on pitching and defense, which will keep you in games even if your offense is bad.

 

Dayton’s worst move according to Denny is signing Yabuta.  This is a pretty good answer, but also a really easy one.  As an aside, why isn’t the Yabuta contract ridiculed far more frequently?  6.5 million guaranteed for 51.2 innings of 5.42 FIP?  Double the salary of the spork and less than half of his [admittedly negative] value?  Maybe this move isn't slammed as much because at least Dayton had the sense to not play this guy when it turns out he was terrible?

 

He wants change in baseball’s economics.  He doesn’t think the Royals can compete against the Yankees payroll.  Revenue sharing essentially means you can pay for an extra utility infielder (thanks for the free spork, Mr. Steinbrenner), but not an impact player.  He likes the NHL model of salary cap.

 

Hal McRae was his favorite manager, though I think he meant that more in terms of to talk to/interview than in terms of his ‘skill’ as a manger.

 

The majority of it was his recounting of old time baseball stories, which were certainly neat, but I’m probably too young to really appreciate since a lot of the stories were of players who peaked before I was born. 

 

All in all it was pretty interesting.  He was certainly has a scouts and play the game the right way kind of perspective, but it’s still interesting to get the thoughts of some one who has been with the team for forty-one years.

 

It was taped by Metro Sports, and should be available on their On Demand as well as potentially the website.  It also has little videos of him getting inducted, him talking about the new Royals hall of fame, etc.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.royalsreview.com/2009/11/20/1166811/denny-matthews-at-plaza-library

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White Sox close to deal with SS Vizquel (AP)

The Chicago White Sox are closing in on a contract agreement with free agent shortstop Omar Vizquel. The deal could be announced as soon as Monday, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not commented. Vizquel, who will be 43 in April, has played [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2009/11/20/white-sox-close-to-deal-with-ss-vizquel-ap/

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1968 Topps Fergie Jenkins YES!!!!

1968 Topps Fergie JenkinsFinally I have added this card to my Fergie Jenkins player collection.  The ‘68 Topps card is not an easy one to find with good centering.  And while this card is far from perfect, the corners are solid and the centering is probably close to an 80/20.  I would love to have [...]

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/1968-topps-fergie-jenkins/

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From the Wire ... Grabow Agrees to Terms on
Two-Year Deal

According to multiple reports on Thursday morning, the Cubs agreed to terms with lefty John Grabow on a two year contract ... financial terms were not disclosed. The new contract is rumored to be worth between $7 and $7.5 million over two seasons.

John Grabow is expected to be the primary setup man for Carlos Marmol in 2010.

Updated - 11/20/09 - The deal is now official. The Cubs and John Grabow have agreed to terms on a two-year contract. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to Carrie Muskat , the contract is worth $7.5 million.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Chicagocubsonlinecom/~3/ovhvBsOL3Ec/cubsgrabow.php

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40-Man Roster Updates

With the Rule 5 draft coming up next month the Yanks made several adjustments to their 40-man roster today, here are those changes:

Pitchers Hecton Noesi Ivan Nova and Romulo Sanchez, infielders Reegie Corona, Eduardo Nunez and Kevin Russo, and outfielder Austin Jackson have been added to 40-man.

Shelley Duncan has be outrighted to triple-A.

The Yankees updated 40-man roster now has 39 spots filled, so expect some more changes to the roster later this offseason.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/x-mWponmmH8/40-man-roster-updat
es.html

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Royals sign former Braves pitcher Jorge Campillo

Royals sign former Braves pitcher Jorge Campillo

I did not see that coming... no, wait, yes I did.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2009/11/20/1166742/royals-sign-former-braves-pitcher

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Milton Bradley: Whats His Trade Market

On January 6th, 2009 Chicago Cubs GM Jim Hendry signed OF Milton Bradley to a three-year, $30 million contract.At that point everyone screamed “Nooooooooooooo!!!” This was a disaster waiting to happen and it was.Not only did Bradley grossly under perform in a Cubs’ uniform, but on Sept. 20, Bradley was suspended for the rest of [...]

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http://theghostofmoonlightgraham.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/milton-bradley-whats-hi
s-trade-market/

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