Is It Worth Going After Yoenis Cespedes, or Not;
Top 100 Prospects & More

post from Oriole Post - Baltimore Orioles Analysis & News; The World of Baseball and Beyond on 28 January 2012 10:01:16 PM. © Oriole Post - Baltimore Orioles Analysis & News; The World of Baseball and Beyond

Yoenis Cespedes at the plate...

As of today, the Orioles may still be short a slugger in their lineup; however, recently, Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes is now available as a free agent. He has officially established residency in the Dominican Republic and is playing winter ball there.

So far, Cespedes has struggled in the Dominican. According to the Baltimore Sun?s Eduardo A. Encina, he is currently hitting .143, (5-for-35) with one home run, 10 strikeouts and no walks for Aguilas.

That?s not good. Who knows if Cespedes is struggling because of a long layoff, or his batting eye may be suspect.

At this point, if anyone signs him to a long-term contract, who knows what they will be getting. Is he a finished product? Raw? Or perhaps not good as advertised? Is his bio and life in Cuba the truth, or something embellished?

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Adam Jones: Should He Stay With the O's
Long-Term, Or Go

During the offseason, one the biggest names on the Orioles ? Adam Jones ? was a target of trade rumors, specifically with the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Jair Jurrjens and infielder Martin Prado.

Baltimore didn?t wind up trading Jones as we all know; however, will he stay with Orioles throughout his career, move to greener pastures, or go to a winner?

Jones? profile has risen in the game, and he has steadily improved over the past few years. One would think considering the Orioles are mired in a 14-year losing skid, perhaps trading away Jones for young pieces to build on is a prudent move.

Based on what I?ve read, Dan Duquette wants to keep Jones ? then again, isn?t ignoring offers for him. I would imagine it would take quite a haul to acquire Jones, and a lot of teams right now won?t give up what it would take.

Another issue is whether Jones would want to stay in Baltimore. Based on what I got from FanFest, it remains to be seen.

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Andre Dawson 2005 Upper Deck Signature Decades
Certified Autograph SWEET!!!

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 28 January 2012 05:59:54 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Andre Dawson 2005 Upper Deck ‘Signature Decades’ Certified Autograph – SWEET!!! One of the major collecting goals that I have laid out for myself in 2012 is to get to 1,000 unique Andre Dawson baseball cards. I have more than … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/andre-dawson-2005-upper-deck-signature
-decades-certified-autograph-sweet/

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Now the Dollars Get Serious

post from LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers on 28 January 2012 04:01:58 PM. © LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

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http://www.ladodgertalk.com/2012/01/now-the-dollars-get-serious/

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Dunn: Forgetting awful 2011 was tough (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 28 January 2012 03:33:35 PM. © MLB News Blog

Adam Dunn used the first week of his offseason to chill out and get a much needed break from the misery he endured in his first year with the Chicago White Sox. Forgetting one of the worst seasons for a hitter in major league history, though, was impossible. “It was a lot harder than I [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/01/28/dunn-forgetting-awful-2011-was-tough-ap/

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Jim Palmer 1983 Topps Sticker

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 28 January 2012 03:00:48 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Jim Palmer 1983 Topps Sticker Kind of a fun little oddball sticker here…. Stickers were all the rage in the 1980s – from Garbage Pail Kids to Scratch & Sniff. I had my share, but being a big baseball fan, … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/jim-palmer-1983-topps-sticker/

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NL East Preview: Third Base

post from Marlin Maniac on 28 January 2012 01:47:41 PM. © Marlin Maniac

The NL East has a very talented third base group. One of the players is a lock for the HOF once he retires. Then you have three guys who are entering the prime of their careers, although one will be making a transition to third for the first time in their career. Here is a glimpse of the starting shortstop for each NL East team in 2012. Atlanta Braves: Chipper Jones Miami Marlins: Hanley Ramirez New York Mets: David Wright Philadelphia Phillies: Placido Polanco Washington Nationals: Ryan Zimmerman … [visit site to read more]

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http://marlinmaniac.com/2012/01/28/nl-east-preview-third-base/

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Hiroki Kuroda has a full no trade clause

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 28 January 2012 01:41:49 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

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http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/01/hiroki-kuroda-has-a-full-no-trade-clause/

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Saturday Rockpile: Carlos Gonzalez Learning from
Mistakes of Last Offseason

DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 15: Centerfielder Carlos Gonzalez #5 of the Colorado Rockies is unable to catch a fly ball by Pablo Sandoval #48 of the San Francisco Giants as he tripled in the sixth inning at Coors Field on September 15, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. The hit completed the cycle for Sandoval. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Rockies' Carlos Gonzalez prepares for return to greatness - The Denver Post
Troy Renck has a solid piece on Carlos Gonzalez, who admits that he "wasn't ready" for the start of the 2011 season, which is what contributed to his awful start to the season. Gonzalez, like most of his teammates, is a typical slow starter (.817 career first half OPS as opposed to .932 in the second half), but 2011 was especially heinous - though he did pick it up pretty quickly after an April that saw him hit .228/.277/.304. Carlos changed his approach a little bit - seemingly for the better, as he drew eight more walks in almost 100 less plate appearances - and that may have prevented him from going into a deeper tailspin than he did (which, to say, ended up not being much of one at all despite having weaker stats across the board). In case you missed it, check out Jeff Aberle's player review of Gonzalez for a more in-depth look at his 2011 campaign.

It's interesting that there were some weight and distraction issues, though the latter was almost understandable due to the monster 2010 and ensuing contract extension. But, it seems like we've heard these stories about several different players multiple times over the last couple of seasons. This, above most things, is what the Rockies' front office and coaching staff should be working on correcting this offseason. And, after the failures of the 2011 team that included this, the seemingly poor preparation from Ubaldo Jimenez, and Dexter Fowler's conditioning problems prior to this offseason (just to name a few), it seems like that has been the case. However, right now we can only use resources such as these articles and Dan O'Dowd speaking candidly about players putting baseball first as a means of judging the organization's progress in this area. Let's hope we see it where it matters - on the field.

A couple of links after the jump...

How Much Do Park Factors Affect Team Success? - Beyond the Box Score
Bill Petti has an interesting piece over at BtB, as he takes a preliminary look into the effects of Park Factors across the big leagues. It's a good read, and could be used to expand on the idea - such as taking the Rockies' team-specific issues with home and road differences and turning it into a +\- wins figure.

Source: Sox sign RHP Maine - BostonHerald.com

Colorado Rockies Sign C Mitch Canham To Minor League Deal - SB Nation Denver

In minor moves yesterday, John Maine (who pitched to a 7.43 ERA in 11 starts with the Sky Sox last year) has signed on with the Red Sox, while the Rockies picked up some catching depth in Canham.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.purplerow.com/2012/1/28/2754503/saturday-rockpile-carlos-gonzalez-lear
ning-from-mistakes-of-last

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Brandon Beachys Fastball

According to PITCHf/x, only two right-handed pitchers finished in the top-10 in both vertical movement and win shares on their four-seam fastballs. Those two are Jered Weaver and Brandon Beachy. Count Velocity Vertical Horizontal Spin Angle Spin Rate Win Shares Brandon Beachy 1,207 92.0 10.70 -2.44 193 2,197 14.0 Jered Weaver 1,141 89.2 11.62 -0.79 [...]

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolAvenueClub/~3/9_0Xm6XtuTY/

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