Rumors: Darvish Decision Not Expected for Couple
More Weeks

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 25 November 2011 05:59:14 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2011/11/rumors-darvish-decision-not-expected-for-co
uple-more-weeks/

Digg this

Andre Dawson Certified Autograph RAINBOW!!! Oh,
Yeah!!!!

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 25 November 2011 03:21:51 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Andre Dawson Certified Autograph RAINBOW!!! Oh, Yeah!!!! I never thought that this day would come, but I can now proudly boast that I have completed a baseball card parallel rainbow!!! And while the set of cards I have conquered contains … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/andre-dawson-certified-autograph-rainb
ow-oh-yeah/

Digg this

Yankees 2011 Season in Review: Curtis Granderson

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 25 November 2011 02:28:07 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2011/11/yankees-2011-season-in-review-curtis-grande
rson/

Digg this

Friday Rockpile: Most Valuable To Their Team

post from Purple Row on 25 November 2011 01:01:13 PM. © Purple Row

I WON! I WON! I... what?

It's a Sloooooooow news day, what with most MLB entities still sprawled out on their respective couches from the sheer amount of turkey and other delicious foodstuffs they ingested last night. Free agents are still out there, trades are yet to be made, and the stove is still very hot.

MLB Trade Rumors has a Free Agent Arbitration Offer Tracker that lets you know which potential free agents were offered arbitration by their teams. Eventually, it'll tell who accepted as well. Mark Ellis was a Type-B Free Agent. The Rockies did offer him arbitration, but the Dodgers did not have to surrender a draft pick to sign Ellis to the 2-year deal they inked just under 2 weeks ago. The Rockies will receive draft pick compensation, but I believe it'll be in the form of a sandwich pick rather than the Dodgers having to give up a pick.

So that's news.

In other news, a Pitcher won the MVP in the AL! What's the deal with that? We had some interesting discussions in the rockpiles over the past few days regarding the MVP, pitcher eligibility, things of that nature.

One topic that's always interested me is "who is really the most valuable player?" Is it "Most Valuable Absolutely" meaning that the True MVP will rise to the top when stacked against his peers? Or is it "Most Valuable To Their Team", where a team that performed admirably would simply not have been where they were without this one player?

The first is a relatively simple of mixing observed excellence on the field and whatever particular stat package you subscribe to, whether that be WAR, RBIs, or something completely different. I personally like looking at a blending of WAR + WPA to get an idea on my MVP candidates.

The second is a far more muddled process that tends to lean far more heavily on the subjective than the objective. I don't say this to demean anyone who subscribes to the "most valuable to their team" methodology, I really don't. But the range of reasoning for why a player is more valuable to their team than another is to their team is as long as a traffic-free Colfax Avenue.

So I took it upon myself to find a way to determine which player was most valuable to their team.

**WARNING: The following analysis leans exclusively on the WAR statistical metric. This writer acknowledges the faults and shortcomings of that particular metric, but it makes for a good discussion point.**

What I did is take each team and add their batting and pitching WAR (and I did it for both fWAR and rWAR and averaged them, just to satisfy those that aren't 100% into either metric) (Actually, I have the individual results as well) and then found their top WAR pitcher and top WAR batter (again, by both metrics), average their fWAR and rWAR, and then compared it to the team WAR in the form of a percentage.

Click past the jump to see which players in MLB were the most valuable to their teams.

HA! Fooled you! There's nothing here!

Seriously though, I'm finishing the spreadsheet still. I'm almost finished.

Teaser: Neither percentage winner won the MVP in 2011.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.purplerow.com/2011/11/25/2586128/friday-rockpile-most-valuable-to-thei
r-team

Digg this

Ozzie Smith 1997 Upper Deck Season Highlights

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 25 November 2011 12:14:45 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Ozzie Smith 1997 Upper Deck – Season Highlights It’s kind of fun to score a card that features three of your favorite players. This one, courtesy of 1997′s Upper Deck set, features Andre Dawson, Ozzie Smith, and Kirby Puckett. The … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/ozzie-smith-1997-upper-deck-season-hig
hlights/

Digg this

Fish Stripes All-Time Florida Marlins Team Second
Baseman Announced

post from Fish Stripes on 25 November 2011 11:01:40 AM. © Fish Stripes

You fans voted, and the writers of Fish Stripes have voted as well, and the Fish Stripes All-Time Florida Marlns Team second baseman is ready to be announced.

First, your voting results:

Luis Castillo was an overwhelming favorite over the more recently deposed Dan Uggla. The fans were firmly in favor of Castillo, but what about the writers of Fish Stripes?

Voter 1st 2ndMichaelCastilloUgglaFS WritersCastilloUgglaFS ReadersCastilloUggla

It was unanimous! Congratulations to Luis Castillo of the 1996 to 2005 Florida Marlins for being the Fish Stripes All-Time Florida Marlins second baseman!

The Marlins second base voting went as smoothly as it could, with all three parties agreeing that Castillo had an edge over Uggla in the voting. Despite their very close similarities in terms of annual value, the kicker was very clearly Castillo's longevity and the role he played in two different World Series champions, particularly the 2003 team. Congratulations again to Luis Castillo for being the latest inductee into the Fish Stripes All-Time Florida Marlins team!

Read The Full Article:
http://www.fishstripes.com/2011/11/25/2585868/fish-stripes-all-time-florida-marli
ns-team-second-baseman-announced

Digg this

Billy Butler's Growing Place in Royals History

post from Royals Review on 25 November 2011 10:02:01 AM. © Royals Review

Billy Butler, even if he never plays another game with the Royals, has become a fairly large figure in Royals history. He's not at the top level of Royal greats yet, but he's certainly reached the next tier. Butler has now played five seasons with the Royals, and in the last three he's played almost every single day. The totals are starting to add up.

Here are Butler's career stats:

Year G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS+ TB 5 Seasons69228612572311764185374373.297.360.4581201177

Maybe it's a quirk, maybe it's a function of being a small-market team, (maybe this isn't actually true) but the Royals haven't had many long-time players. Butler is already 20th in team history in games played. If he plays 150 games next season, he jump all the way up to 14th. Butler has already played more games in a Royal uniform than Danny Tartabull, Jermaine Dye, Steve Balboni or Willie Aikens. Next season, he'll likely pass Lou Piniella (700), Kevin Seitzer (741) Carlos Beltran (795) and Johnny Damon (803).

Butler has been a good hitter, so his place in the counting stats categories is a bit higher. He's 16th in team history in hits, 15th in total bases, 15th in homers, and 9th in doubles. And yes, he's 7th in GIDPs.

Of course, because of George Brett, Butler is unlikely to ever lead the Royals in a major offensive category. What about 2nd? Frank White has 2006 hits as a Royal, which could be tough. Butler will need a second long-term contract to get there. Butler will need 450 2Bs to pass Hal McRae, again, something he'll need a second-long-term contract to achieve. Amos Otis is at 365. If Butler plays out his current contract -- free agent in 2015 -- he could threaten Mike Sweeney in most categories.

What do you project/predict?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.royalsreview.com/2011/11/25/2561638/billy-butlers-growing-place-in-roy
als-history

Digg this

Bo Jackson 1990 Score Young Superstars

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 25 November 2011 09:19:03 AM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Bo Jackson 1990 Score ‘Young Superstars’ Bo Jackson definitely belonged in the group tagged as ‘Young Superstars’ during the early years of his career in the majors. And while he may not have had the true baseball gifts of a … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2011/11/25/bo-jackson-1990-score-young-superstars
/

Digg this

Atlanta Braves 2012 Top 25 Prospects: 1-5

Julio Teheran is not only the top Braves prospect, he's one of the top prospects in all of baseball. (AP Photo/Barbara Johnston)

Today we finish up Talking Chop's countdown of the top 25 prospects in the Braves organization. The top 25 are selected by yondaime14, gondeee, and myself each putting together our own lists, then averaging the three lists together.

1. Julio Teheran

The Skinny: Arguably the top prospect in baseball. Dominated in AAA in 2011, earning International League Pitcher of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors. Made a pair of spot starts for Atlanta during the year before joining the team in September for the stretch run.

The Good: Above average stuff, including mid to upper 90s fastball with sharp movement and above average changeup and curveball. Deceptive delivery. Has been durable over the last few seasons. Intelligent pitcher with an advanced game plan who gets the most out of his stuff. Allows the defense to work behind him. Hard worker with strong drive to be the best. Only 21 years old.

The Bad: Has a tendency to lose feel for his curveball which makes him very hittable. Has added muscle but is still very skinny. Smallish frame.

...in a perfect world...Teheran becomes an ace and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball.

ETA: 2012. He has nothing left to prove in the Minors and there's a good chance he earns a job in Atlanta's rotation out of Spring Training.

Prospects 2-5 after the jump:

2. Randall Delgado

The Skinny: Began 2011 as an All-Star with Mississippi and finished as Atlanta's best starter in September.

The Good: All of his pitches are above average, including a moving, low 90s fastball. Big and durable with the potential to be a workhorse. Advanced feel for pitching.

The Bad: Sometimes gets too fine with his pitches, which leads to walks. Needs to become more aggressive at attacking hitters.

...in a perfect world...Delgado becomes a top of the rotation starter.

ETA: 2012. Despite his great work in September, he may still be behind Julio Teheran and Mike Minor on the depth chart. Even if he starts the year in Gwinnett, he'll finish it in Atlanta.

3. Arodys Vizcaino

The Skinny: After missing the second half of 2010 with arm injuries, began 2011 by dominating for Lynchburg, then pitched well in Mississippi where he moved to the bullpen. After a quick stop in Gwinnett he moved up to Atlanta in mid-August where he was a solid member of the relief corp.

The Good: Blazing, upper 90s fastball with serious movement that he couples with a devastating hammer curveball. Strong, muscular frame. Versatile enough to start or relieve. Eager to learn and takes quickly to coaching. Only 21 years old.

The Bad: Has been injury prone throughout his career, with shoulder, elbow, and back ailments. Will need a solid third pitch if he goes back to the rotation, meaning his changeup needs work. Coaches have questioned his confidence and aggressiveness.

...in a perfect world...Vizcaino either becomes a top of the rotation starter or an elite closer.

ETA: 2012. He could make Atlanta's roster out of Spring Training as a reliever, though the team may decide to send him to Gwinnett to return to the rotation. Either way, he'll be in the Major Leagues at the end of the year.

4. Sean Gilmartin

The Skinny: Braves first round selection in the 2011 draft out of Florida State. Pitched well in his pro debut at Rome and put on a good showing in the Arizona Fall League after the season.

The Good: Superb changeup and above average command. Average fastball that sits around 90 with reliable movement. Solid slider that needs work. Big, strong, durable body. Advanced feel for pitching.

The Bad: Only average stuff. Could stand to add some velocity. Not much room for projection.

...in a perfect world...becomes an above average middle of the rotation starter.

ETA: Late 2013. He'll likely start the year in Lynchburg or Mississippi as the Braves will be aggressive with his development.

5. Christian Bethancourt

The Skinny: After struggling with Rome in 2010, he returned there to start 2011 and played well, earning a promotion to Lynchburg where he had mixed results. Peformed surprisingly well in the Arizona Fall League after the season playing against older competition.

The Good: Absolute cannon for an arm that shuts down opposing teams' running games. Has the potential to be a Gold Glove catcher. High contact hitter. Big, strong body with room to add muscle. Smart baserunner. Only 20 years old.

The Bad: Has trouble blocking balls in the dirt. Very poor at drawing walks. Needs to learn how to drive the ball for power. Struggles to adjust when he moves up a level. Has been accused of being lazy and unmotivated.

...in a perfect world...Bethancourt becomes a perennial Gold Glove winner with above average offensive production.

ETA: 2014. He's very young with a lot of rough edges on his game. The Braves already have the best catcher in baseball, so they have no reason to rush Bethancourt.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.talkingchop.com/2011/11/25/2585462/atlanta-braves-2012-top-25-prospect
s-1-5

Digg this

Halmans brother to be detained 2 weeks (AP)

Prosecutors say an investigating judge has ordered the brother of slain Seattle Mariners outfielder Greg Halman to be detained for a further two weeks on suspicion of murder or manslaughter. Halman was stabbed to death early Monday morning at an apartment in the port city of Rotterdam. Police said his stabbing may have followed an [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/11/25/halmans-brother-to-be-detained-2-weeks-ap/

Digg this