LHP Andy Pettitte and Yankees reach 1-year deal
(Yahoo! Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 28 November 2012 05:30:25 PM. © MLB News Blog

NEW YORK (AP) — Andy Pettitte is staying with the New York Yankees next season.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/28/lhp-andy-pettitte-and-yankees-reach-1-year-
deal-yahoo-sports/

Add to del.icio.us

Digg this

Post to Furl

Add to reddit

Add to myYahoo!

Fergie Jenkins 2005 Donruss Throwback Threads
Throwback Collection

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 28 November 2012 05:28:48 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Fergie Jenkins 2005 Donruss Throwback Threads – ‘Throwback Collection’ I’m going a little out of my comfort zone with cards of Fergie in his Rangers uniform, but a player collector has to do what a player collector has to do. … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/fergie-jenkins-2005-donruss-throwback-
threads-throwback-collection/

Digg this

Reliever Neshek reaches agreement with As (Yahoo!
Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 28 November 2012 05:23:04 PM. © MLB News Blog

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Right-handed reliever Pat Neshek and the Oakland Athletics have reached agreement on a one-year contract, avoiding salary arbitration.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/28/reliever-neshek-reaches-agreement-with-as-y
ahoo-sports/

Digg this

Braves Sign BJ Upton

post from Capitol Avenue Club on 28 November 2012 05:15:19 PM. © Capitol Avenue Club

According to Ken Rosenthal’s twitter, the Braves have signed BJ Upton to play centerfield. The contract being reported by @BNightengale says it is a five year $70-75m contract. That contract seems very reasonable to me, and using a $5m per win estimation and assuming it is for $75m, the Braves are essentially expecting him to [...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CapitolAvenueClub/~3/qCE13dSsqfo/

Digg this

Red Sox trade RHPs Stewart, Rosario, 3B Valencia
(Yahoo! Sports)

post from MLB News Blog on 28 November 2012 04:12:37 PM. © MLB News Blog

BOSTON (AP) — The Red Sox have traded right-handers Zach Stewart and Sandy Rosario and third baseman Danny Valencia.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/28/red-sox-trade-rhps-stewart-rosario-3b-valen
cia-yahoo-sports/

Digg this

Report: Prospects Finalized, Astros Getting Two

post from The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts on 28 November 2012 04:02:26 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts

According to reports by Todd Zolecki and Prospect Insider, the Astros and Phillies have agreed upon the players coming back to Houston, and they are multiple. What's interesting is that Philly is giving up two guys who are near-ML ready for a guy they view as a setup man, not a closer.

That could depress the return the Astros receive, even if Lopez does have surplus value.

Who could the prospects be? Well, speculation has been running rampant. The Phillies have two pitchers on John Sickels' preliminarly Top 50 list for 2013 in Jesse Biddle and Trevor May. Biddle is a lefty who clocked in at 24th on Sickels' list while May is a right-hander at 32.

Interestingly, no Phillies hitting prospect made Sickels' Top 50 preliminary list for 2013. Does that mean it will be easier for Houston to add a hitter from Philly's system?

So, start throwing around more names...the two catching prospects are up there, but are there any outfielders worth trading for?

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/11/28/3702916/report-prospects-finalized-astros
-getting-two

Digg this

Physical On Lopez May Be Holding Up Trade

post from The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts on 28 November 2012 04:02:26 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts

You know that Wilton Lopez has had some injury problems. I know that Wilton Lopez had injury problems. The Phillies know that Wilton Lopez had injury problems.

Is it all that surprising that his health is one of the things holding this potential trade of Lopez to Philadelphia?

#Phillies-#Astros deal will not be complete until Wilton Lopez passes physical. Lopez had an elbow issue in June and Phils checking it out.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 28, 2012

The #phillies deal for Wilton Lopez is pending physical. Two players going to Houston.
— Jason A. Churchill (@ProspectInsider) November 28, 2012

This Wilton Lopez physical with Philly isn't a slam dunk. Some clubs have been scared off by his medicals in the recent past.
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) November 28, 2012

We'll see where this leads, but remember that teams pretty much have control on whether to pass or fail someone on a physical. This is all part of the negotiations, as Ruben Amaro tries to out-ninja Jeff Luhnow. And we all know that can't be done. It's not physically possible.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/11/28/3703122/physical-on-lopez-may-be-holding-
up-trade

Digg this

FanGraphs Gives Lopez Credit For Being A Good
Reliever

post from The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts on 28 November 2012 04:02:25 PM. © The Crawfish Boxes - All Posts

Amid all the easy Astro jokes going on right now (another trade with Philly? There's actually a player left in Houston to be traded? etc., etc.), Jeff Sullivan over at FanGraphs writes an article in praise of one Wilton Lopez.

At least, he does after inventing the game Spot the Half-Decent Astro. That hurts, Jeff. That just hurts.

Anyways, what Sullivan basically points out is what we've known about Lopez. He's a closer who relies on the ground ball quite a bit without a ton of strikeouts. It's not unusual, Jim Johnson did the same thing for a playoff-bound Orioles team this year. It's just not the typical profile of a closer.

Here's his quote on Lopez:

In terms of combined walk and groundball rates, he’s been the most extreme reliever in baseball, just ahead of Jim Johnson, who’s blossomed with the Orioles. Lopez has thrown better than two-thirds of his pitches for strikes over this span, and he’s thrown an awful lot of two-seam fastballs. He throws four pitches in all, and three of them go for a ton of strikes, and three of them generate grounders. Like Johnson, Lopez hasn’t been a strikeout machine. Like Johnson, Lopez hasn’t had to be.

You need to go to the site to check out the leaderboard and see what kind of company Lopez is keeping (and what Sullivan's methodology was in creating the list. But, it does show how much value Lopez may have and that his return may be higher than typically anticipated for a closer on a terrible team.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.crawfishboxes.com/2012/11/28/3703170/fangraphs-gives-lopez-credit-for-
being-a-good-reliever

Digg this

Angels sign reliever Ryan Madson to 1-year deal
(Yahoo! Sports)

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Right-handed reliever Ryan Madson has agreed to a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels, hoping for a comeback from Tommy John surgery.

Read The Full Article:
http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/11/28/angels-sign-reliever-ryan-madson-to-1-year-
deal-yahoo-sports/

Digg this

Around the SaberSphere 11/28: Carlos Ruiz, Ryan
Madson, Trade Value Rankings

20-oct-10_104367961mw053_philadelphia

Russell Carlton of Baseball Prospectus gives us an idea of what the effects of adderall are in various cases and how they relate to baseball Baseball Prospectus | Baseball Therapy: The Truth About Adderall

For catchers like Ruiz, there might be an extra incentive. Calling a game is like a three-hour final exam where you are constantly trying to balance what is working for the pitcher, what he can throw, what the batter is vulnerable to, and what he might be expecting on this next pitch. I’ve never done it, but I have to assume that it’s mentally exhausting. I can imagine the temptation that a "gramme is better than a damme." (A billion points for catching that reference.)

Jeff Sullivan of FanGraphs analyzes Ryan Madson's signing with the Los Angeles Angels: Ryan Madson: Bounceback Player for a Bounceback Team | FanGraphs Baseball

So there’s a certain appropriateness to the Angels and Madson now coming to a contract agreement. Madson re-entered the market as a free agent after not pitching, and though he still has to pass a physical, and though we still don’t know of the terms, it sure looks like Madson’s joining the Angels for a year and a low base, with the usual incentives for a player in Madson’s position.

Jonah Keri of Grantland released the final part of his MLB trade value rankings: Rating the players (and contracts) in Major League Baseball, Part 2 - Grantland

Still, there would seem to be a clear pecking order here. Trout just put up the best season by any under-21 position player in baseball history; Harper was about as good as Miguel Montero. They were both rookies, Trout was much better in his rookie season, ergo Trout wins. Or does he?

Rob Neyer of Baseball Nation also released the final part of a similar series: More E-Longo Candidates (Part Deux) - Baseball Nation

Anyway, the Pirates already lay claim to Andrew McCutchen's talents through 2018, so why not four more years? Sure, McCutchen will be 35 in 2022. But he seems like a genuinely outstanding person, and there's no reason to think he won't still be good then. Sure, you could take a flyer on Starling Marte. But he's only two years younger than McCutchen.

Dave Studeman of the Hardball Times gives us some idea of how Stephen Strasburg is discussed in the Hardball Times Annual: Stephen Strasburg and the Hardball Times Annual

Following through on their plans, the Washington Nationals shut down Strasburg, banking on a playoff rotation of Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler. In related developments, students stop studying for tests figuring they know the material cold, drivers stop wearing seat belts figuring they won't get into accidents, and the army stops issuing Kevlar vests assuming that the enemy can't shoot straight.