The Orioles Have Been Busy Today...

post from Oriole Post - Baltimore Orioles Analysis & News; The World of Baseball and Beyond on 30 January 2012 11:01:10 PM. © Oriole Post - Baltimore Orioles Analysis & News; The World of Baseball and Beyond

Well, the Orioles were busy on Monday. They announced that several players signed minor league deals with the organization, and some of them may be names you recognize.

Ok, so the Orioles didn?t sign marquee guys; in fact, most of these players are your proverbial low-risk, high reward guys.

From MASN Sports, Roch?s Blog: The Orioles finally reached agreement on a minor league contract with right-hander Armando Galarraga, who's listed among nine pitchers invited to camp in a few weeks.

Pitcher Pat Neshek and catcher Ronny Paulino also signed minor league deals with the Orioles and will report to Ed Smith Stadium.

Other invites include left-handers Ryan Edell and Dennys Reyes, right-handers Willie Eyre, Steve Johnson, Jon Link, Miguel Socolovich and Oscar Villarreal, catchers John Hester and Brian Ward, infielder Steve Tolleson and outfielder Scott Beerer.

(snip)

Also, the Orioles announced that they signed left-hander Seong-Min Kim of South Korea to a minor league contract.

Kim, 17, has been pitching for the 18-and-under South Korean national tea
m.

"We are glad to sign a player that our scouts feel is one of the top amateur left-handed pitchers in South Korea," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said in a statement. "Kim has an excellent curveball and very good control."

Some of these guys are intriguing to me, specifically, Pat Neshek ? who was an effective reliever before he got hurt with Minnesota (and has an interesting blog)-- along with Armando Galarraga.

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Yanks in Talks With Bill Hall

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 30 January 2012 10:01:07 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

Andy Martino also tweets that Hall is still considering "other teams" as well.

Last season, Hall hit .211/.261/.314 with 2 HR and 14 RBI in 185 at-bats with the Astros and Giants.

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http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SlidingIntoHome/~3/OGK4qnjpkmU/yanks-in-talks-with
-bill-hall.html

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Yanks Sign for Red Sox Reliever Manny Delcarmen

post from Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog on 30 January 2012 10:01:07 PM. © Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

The last time we saw Delcarmen he put up a 4.99 ERA in 57 appearances for the Red Sox and Rockies in 2010. He did not pitch in the big leagues last season

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sox-reliever-manny.html

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New owner says Astros wont change name (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 30 January 2012 09:20:24 PM. © MLB News Blog

New Houston Astros owner Jim Crane says he won’t change the team’s name. Crane said last week he was considering a switch. But he emailed a video message to season-ticket holders on Monday saying, “one thing that we are not going to change is the name.” He says he made the decision after receiving “strong [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/01/31/new-owner-says-astros-wont-change-name-ap/

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Pat Burrell Would Have Been a Historically Great
Royal, If He Had Been a Royal

post from Royals Review on 30 January 2012 09:01:21 PM. © Royals Review

Pat Burrell retired today, proving once again that if Brian Sabean doesn't want you, no one wants you. Nevertheless, we pause to honor him today.

Burrell doesn't seem likely to have a huge place in history, falling somewhere in the Hall of Good category, and the ongoing WAR-revolution isn't likely to help his legacy. He was, even at his supposed peak, quite often a 1.5 win player. At least by some metrics. Still, in nine seasons with the Phillies, he hit 251 home runs. Had he been a Royal, this would be quite many.

George Brett leads the Royals with 317 homers. Second is Mike Sweeney, who managed just 197, so Burrell, had he been a Royal, would have comfortably been second in team history in home runs. Well then.

The Royals don't really have a comparable player to Burrell in their history, who would perhaps be close to some weird averaging of Danny Tartabull's power with Hal McRae's or Amos Otis's longevity as a Royal. Tartabull managed 124 homers in just 657 games as a Royal, while McRae and Otis took 1800+ games to get to 169 and 193, respectively.

So anyway, if he had been a Royal, he would have been a big deal. But he wasn't.

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http://www.royalsreview.com/2012/1/30/2759761/pat-burrell-would-have-been-a-histo
rically-great-royal-if-he-had-been

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Cleveland Indians Top 12 Prospect Rankings

post from Beyond the Box Score on 30 January 2012 08:03:57 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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http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2012/1/30/2759468/cleveland-indians-top-12-prosp
ect-rankings

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Yankees sign Manny Delcarmen

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 30 January 2012 07:58:32 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

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http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/01/yankees-sign-manny-delcarmen/

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Valentine unsure of Red Sox SS situation (AP)

Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine says he doesn’t know how the shortstop situation will work out. The Red Sox traded Marco Scutaro to Colorado this month, leaving them with former utilitymen Mike Aviles and Nick Punto as incumbents. Also in the mix is 22-year-old Jose Iglesias, who spent most of last season at Triple-A.

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/01/31/valentine-unsure-of-red-sox-ss-situation-ap
/

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Brooks Robinson hospitalized after fall (AP)

Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson remains hospitalized in Florida with a shoulder injury following a freak fall from a stage. Robinson fractured his scapula in the fall, which occurred on Friday night during a player reception in Hollywood, Fla. before the annual Joe DiMaggio Legends Game. The 74-year-old Robinson did not receive a [...]

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http://www.mlbnewsblog.com/2012/01/31/brooks-robinson-hospitalized-after-fall-ap/

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Rickey Henderson 2011 Topps 60 Years

Rickey Henderson 2011 Topps – ’60 Years’ Now this card right here takes me way back. Back to a time when Rickey Henderson was the most exciting baseball player on the planet!!! Rickey could do it all – and some … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/rickey-henderson-2011-topps-60-years/

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