Washington Nationals Top 12 Prospect Rankings

post from Beyond the Box Score on 22 February 2012 11:03:05 PM. © Beyond the Box Score

Tier 1 (4 points): Major League Star -- Number One StarterTier 2 (3 points): Stand Out/Above Average Regular -- Number Two/Exceptional Three StarterTier 3 (2 points): Solid, Average, Every Day Regular -- Number Three/Solid Four StarterTier 4 (1[...]

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ospect-rankings

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Looking at the Royals in Presidential Election
Years - Part 1 2008-1992

post from Royals Review on 22 February 2012 11:01:22 PM. © Royals Review

You definitely really want a picture of Kevin Appier holding a bat. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Perhaps we can use political precedent to glean evidence on how our Royals will perform in 2012. Here's a look back at the Royals' performance in Presidential election years, going back to 1992.

2008 (Barack Obama elected with 365 EVs): The Royals went 75-87, which was considered good contextually. The Royals won 56 games in 2005, then 62 in '06, then 69 in '07. Unstoppable! Mike Aviles was probably the team's position player MVP. Team Cy Young? Zack Greinke, though Gil Meche was also pretty good. Ryan Shealy's last season as a Royal. The next year, the Mike Jacobs year, the Royals fell back to 2009.
2004 (George Bush elected with 286 EVs): This was one of the worst Royals teams ever. The Royals went 58-104, just one year after shocking the world with 83 wins. This was the first year I blogged about the Royals. Wow. Really a fascinating team that deserves to written about in full at some point. Best position player? Carlos Beltran, prior to his being traded. Overall, perhaps Joe Randa. Best pitcher? Zack Greinke.
2000 (George Bush elected with 271 EVs): Like 2008, another relative high point, as the Royals went 77-85. The Royals had a good offense back in 2000 (5th in the AL in runs scored), as Mike Sweeney, Johnny Damon, and Jermaine Dye all had big seasons. Mark Quinn and Joe Randa were also near league average. The pitching, however, was awful, as the Royals were second worst in the AL in runs allowed. Position player MVP? Probably Dye. Best pitcher? I guess Mac Suzuki. I guess
1996 (Bill Clinton elected with 379 EVs): The Royals went 75-86, their best win total until 1999. The team's best position player was Mike Macfarlane, who slugged .499 as a catcher. Nevertheless, the Royals finished dead last in the AL in runs scored. The run prevention, however, was fairly good, at 3rd best in the league. (So basically the inverse of what the team would be in the late 1990s and early 2000s.) Many Royal hurlers had very good years, and the best was probably Jose Rosado (156 ERA+). Tim Blecher (I always forget he was a Royal) was also good, Mark Gubicza was league average one last time, and Kevin Appier was near his peak. This pitching staff, with the 2000 lineup, could have won a World Series.
1992 (Bill Clinton elected with 370 EVs): The Royals struggled in 1992, perhaps deeply bummed out by Paul Tsongas's failure to capture the democratic nomination. The '92 squad won just 72 games, a downturn sandwiched between two over .500 seasons in '91 and '93. The Royals had an extremely balanced lineup that season, with six players posting an OPS between .727 and .776. Alas, they were balanced, just not very good, finishing 12th in the AL in runs scored. Although it was 1992, it was a very 80s lineup, with Brett, Wally Joyner, Kevin McReynolds, Gregggg Jefferies and Jim Eisenreich all playing heavily. The team's best position player, as in 1996, was probably Mike Macfarlane. The team's top hurler was Kevin Appier, who had one of his peak level seasons, posting a 2.46 ERA in 30 starts thanks to a I'm-not-walking-anyone approach.

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al-election-years-part-1-2008-1992

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The Pittsburgh Pirates sign Kris Harvey

post from Pittsburgh Pirates MLB News - Pirates Baseball Blog on 22 February 2012 10:20:29 PM. © Pittsburgh Pirates MLB News - Pirates Baseball Blog

The Pirates have signed 28-year old righty reliever Kris Harvey to a minor league deal. Harvey pitched in 45 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball for the Marlins last year and he was 5-5 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 118 games (4 starts) in four years [...]

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Minnesota Twins Roll Cancer Into The Gutter

post from Love My Team on 22 February 2012 10:00:49 PM. © Love My Team

Join us for a great afternoon of bowling as the Minnesota Twins join together to strike out[...]

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Mets have 7 of 10 share owners lined up (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 22 February 2012 09:11:39 PM. © MLB News Blog

The New York Mets have commitments for seven of the 10 ownership shares of $20 million each they are trying to sell to pay off debt and raise capital. The sale of the limited partnership units will not take place until all 10 can close at the same time, a person familiar with the negotiations [...]

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Angels Sign Jason Isringhausen To Minor-League
Deal

post from 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog on 22 February 2012 08:02:31 PM. © 6-4-2 ? an Angels/Dodgers double play blog

It's cute how they give a phonetic pronunciation guide after his name in this Angels press release. The former Oakland and St. Louis closer was last seen with the Mets in 2011, where he compiled a 3-3 record with a 4.05 ERA as a 38-year-old. He'll have his work cut out for him to make the team out of spring training.

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Manny Ramirez going to suit up for Oakland A's...

post from Oriole Post - Baltimore Orioles Analysis & News; The World of Baseball and Beyond on 22 February 2012 08:01:23 PM. © Oriole Post - Baltimore Orioles Analysis & News; The World of Baseball and Beyond

Looks like Manny Ramirez is going out West to see if he can resume his playing career. Once again, the Oakland Athletics are in the headlines when it comes to signing a free agent player.

Of course, the Orioles did engage in talks with Ramirez; however, they backed off -- wisely -- on the slugger.

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Angels sign RHP Isringhausen (AP)

Veteran right-hander Jason Isringhausen has agreed to a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels. The 39-year-old Isringhausen agreed to the deal Wednesday. He went 3-3 with a 4.05 ERA while pitching in 53 games for the New York Mets last season, his 15th in the majors. Isringhausen is third among active players with [...]

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Abreu wants trade if not everyday player (AP)

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia doesn’t expect Bobby Abreu to be a distraction in the clubhouse this season. Speaking a day after Abreu said in a statement to ESPNdeportes that the Angels should trade him if he is going to spend most of his time on the bench this season, Scioscia spoke highly of [...]

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Piniella hired by Yankees YES Network (AP)

Former Yankees manager Lou Piniella has been hired by the team’s YES Network as a special contributor. Piniella will help with 20-30 events this year, including some game telecasts. He also is with the team as a spring training instructor in Tampa, Fla., near his home. A member of the Yankees’ World Series-winning teams in [...]

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