New York Yankees: Preview Of The 2012 Team
Preview

Most baseball writers and bloggers wait until ESPN?s John Kruk and Tim Kurkjian fire-up the “Baseball Tonight Bus Tour” to start featuring team previews, so why the rush? The reason is the 2012 New York Yankees are on route to being last[...]

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Happy Birthday Jesus Montero

Yankee "catcher" Jesus Montero turned 22 today. Montero emerged as one of the top rated prospects in baseball over the last three seasons, reaching #3 in Baseball America's rankings this last spring. (Of course, this would actually make him just #7 in the Royals system, Dayton Moore is that good.) In two seasons at AAA, Montero has hit .289/.351/.493. Last year in 69 PAs with the Yankees, he posted a .996 OPS.

Montero was famously almost traded to the Mariners for Cliff Lee. Supposedly. Allegedly. A few months later, he was frequently linked to the Royals as part of a Joakim Soria (mostly) or even a Zack Greinke trade (more rarely). It never happened.

Anyway, today was his birthday.

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Firing no surprise to ex-Astros GM Wade (AP)

Former Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade was hardly surprised that he was fired along with team president Tal Smith in the first major changes by new owner Jim Crane. Wade was, however, disappointed that he won’t be with the club to see what will come of the many prospects he brought into the organization.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/11/29/firing-no-surprise-to-ex-astros-gm-wade-ap/

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As ponder spring site switch to Mesa (AP)

The Oakland Athletics have begun exclusive negotiations with the city of Mesa, Ariz., to switch their spring training site from Phoenix. That exclusivity period lasts through May 15, 2012. The A’s say they will discuss with Mesa a move of the team’s spring and year-round minor league operations to Hohokam Park and Fitch Park in [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/11/29/as-ponder-spring-site-switch-to-mesa-ap/

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The best to ever wear a particular Twins' uniform
number (by number)

The hot stove has been shimmering these days in preparation for next week's Winter Meetings (even though I do not have it beyond the Twins to announce that they have signed someone like Johnathan Broxton to an one year contract soon,) so here is a list I[...]

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http://tenthinningstretch.blogspot.com/2011/11/best-to-ever-wear-particular-twins
.html

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Giants Slowly Assessing Free Agency

We're nearly into December, which tends to be the most active month of the player movement season in baseball, and the Giants have been extremely quiet since their Jonathan Sanchez/Melky Cabrera swap early in the month. However, I do expect things to take off here in the next couple of weeks with anticipated Winter Meetings starting up on December 5th.

Once the Meetings start, we're certain to see a flurry of moves and things start to fall into place, but I must say how surprised I am at the lack of movement early on so far. All the elite talents are still available and normally the dominoes don't fall until those guys sign. One domino who may be out of the Giants mix in 2012 is 2010 NLCS MVP, Cody Ross. The Giants failed to offer Ross arbitration before last weeks deadline, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's the end of the road for Cody in the orange and black. Ross has expressed on numerous occasions that he wants to return and I believe him. His injury early then the rough stretch in July and August really weighed down his year. He did manage to get right and end on a good note, hitting .310 with 4 homers and 10 RBI in the final 13 games. Not to mention, the longer the offseason goes on without the Giants adding to their outfield dept, the better chance Cody Ross has at becoming a large part of it again in 2012, even if he's not a full-time starter. I personally think that if the Giants could improve their outfield to the point where Ross and Torres could be their 4th and 5th outfielders, that would be ideal, then use Ross like a younger, better defensive version of Pat Burrel. I would have no qualms about rolling with Schierholtz in right with Ross caddying, as long as they put a thumper out in left. (Carlos Beltran continues to make the most since for this team!)

If you look at this team on paper right now though, they aren't overly impressive, and it's not just starting players they're missing either. Not only are the corner outfield spots un-determined and questions surrounding shortstop and 2nd base, this team needs to add depth this winter as well. According to Fox Sports, the most recent name linked to the Giants in terms of utility guys is someone who could bring real value to this team in a number of ways in Jerry Hairston Jr. Not only does Hairston posses a streaky bat with pop and decent speed, the dude can play 6 positions on the field and plays all of them surprisingly well. When you think of an ideal utility infielder, Hairston is the guys that comes to mind pretty quickly and I think it would be great to have a guy like that support Sanchez in his return as well as insurance for Crawford and Sandoval. It would be wise of Sabean, if at all possible, to also obtain more of a natural shortstop to have in the mix too just in case Crawford tanks. Hairston can spot start and would be fine if they got him, but I was thinking more along the lines of a Ryan Theriot (depending on whether he's non-tendered). Another reason why the Giants probably haven't yet added a utility infielder or catcher yet is because they want to see the list of players that get non-tendered by the December 12th deadline. So if your waiting for baseball's hot stove to heat up, especially on the Giants front, you'll be waiting no more come early December. Time stay glued to MLB Network!

Up Next: 2012 Projected 25-man roster: Barring a big announcement or personnel move involved with the team, we'll be getting our first of two roster projections for next years Giants. It's still early in the offseaon, but we always like to put up a roster prediction before December and the winter meetings, then look back in spring training and see how much we missed by. Again, the Projections will be based on players available that I believe the Giants and Brian Sabean would pursue. It is not necessarily the way I'd search for players or fill out my roster is I were in charge, just the way I see the Giants rounding out due to budget, players available, and positional needs.

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http://giantsbaseballblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/giants-slowly-assesing-free-agency
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1975 Topps Oakland Athletics Team Card

1975 Topps Oakland Athletics Team Card The 1975 baseball season was Billy Williams’ first season with the Oakland A’s.  Still used as a full-time player, Williams was shifted to DH upon his entry into the American League.  And while he was … Continue reading →

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Rangers to erect statue of firefighter (AP)

The Rangers are erecting a statue of Shannon Stone, the Texas firefighter who died after falling over an outfield railing at a game in July. The 39-year-old Stone, a Brownwood Fire Department firefighter, had taken his 6-year-old son Cooper to the ballpark in hopes of catching a ball. The Rangers said Monday the life-size statue [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2011/11/28/rangers-to-erect-statue-of-firefighter-ap/

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Rockies Targeting Ramon Hernandez

According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Rockies are actively pursuing catcher Ramon Hernandez, formerly of the Cincinnati Reds. Hernandez is a Type B Free Agent, reclassified from Type A this offseason, and will not cost the Rockies a draft pick to sign.

Rosenthal adds that new Angels GM Jerry Dipoto is interested in longtime Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta. One can only hope that the Rockies would demand a solid return for their backstop. Despite being a controversial character, given his generally quiet demeanor and low batting average, Iannetta has posted a.235/.357/.430 line in a Rockies uniform. His value has dropped, however, as his bat has cooled since a strong 2008 campaign, but Iannetta has posted a respectable .225/.349/.423 line since 2009.

Hernandez, 35, has posted similar OPS figures to Iannetta, namely a .280/.348/.413 line since joining the Reds, and would be a favorable stopgap should the Rockies not be confident in top catching prospect Wilin Rosario's ability to stick in the majors in 2012.

Per Fangraphs, Iannetta was a 3.3 WAR catcher in 2011, while Hernandez was worth 2 WAR.

Depending on the sticker price on Hernandez and the return from the Angels on Iannetta, this could be a very solid move for Colorado.

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Braves Pitcher Tim Hudson Undergoes Successful
Back Surgery

From the official Braves press release:

Atlanta Braves right-handed pitcher Tim Hudson underwent successful surgery today to repair a herniated disc in his back. The procedure was performed by Dr. Steven Wray at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, Ga. The injury, which had been bothersome for Hudson over the last two seasons, became progressively worse during his off-season workouts.

"Based on today's procedure, we are happy that this will help alleviate some of the discomfort that Tim felt," said Braves Executive Vice President and General Manager Frank Wren. "The prognosis is positive for him to be ready for Spring Training and to be able to pitch during the Spring Training schedule."

He was at the Auburn game on Saturday. I wonder if this surgery will slow the team's efforts to trade Jair Jurrjens. While the release says his prognosis is good, complications can arise in any surgery and recovery.

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