Astros Decline Option on Chris Snyder

This hardly warrants a full-fledged post, but I haven't figured out how to feature Fanshots on the front page of the new layout yet.

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Astros declined catcher Chris Snyder's $4 million option, opting to pay only $500K to free him from his indentures.

On the surface, it goes without saying that his .176/.295/.308 batting line was not good enough to justify his being approximately 75% of the team payroll all by his lonesome. But he has value as a stick with pop, and a reputation for being a pitcher-friendly backstop.

Below the surface, this opens the door for Carlos Corporan to trick-or-treat his way into the role of Jason Castro's caddy, though early indications are that the Astros will add a veteran. Don't ask me where I read that, but I did somewhere, so it must be true.

For Snyder, this is a good thing though. He has no use for a team coming off two seasons of 213 losses. He'll find a home somewhere this offseason, and odds are pretty good that his new club will be marginally more successful than MLB's newest American Leaguers.

I don't have a reason, but I've always pulled for this guy. It was fun to see him tower over umpires and opposing batters, but he just doesn't have a justifiable place on the 2013 Astros, either developmentally or financially.

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It’s Time for a Change

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http://www.ladodgertalk.com/2012/10/its-time-for-a-change/

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Levine said Boras wants a 4-year, $60 million
deal for Soriano

[...]

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http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/10/levine-said-boras-wants-a-4-year-60-million
-deal-for-soriano/

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Jorge De La Rosa Accepts Player Option, Will
Return for 2013

Having missed over a season and a half due to his sudden 2011 injury that led to Tommy John surgery, De La Rosa's chances of finding a better salary on the free agent market were essentially nil. While his rehabilitation over the 11/12 offseason started smoothly, it became clear that the process would need to be slowed as he began to face live batters. He was activated at the end of the 2012 season, making three starts before the end of the season.

The activation of the 2013 option season grants the Rockies control over De La Rosa's fate in 2014, as the franchise gains control over a club option for another season of $11 million play. A superb rebound from De La Rosa in 2013 as he helps to anchor a young rotation could see that option picked up, but anything else probably ends with this as De La Rosa's final year in a Rockies uniform. With his post-surgery performance status still a mystery moving forward, there are a lot of questions in store for the starter as he move forward.

De La Rosa joins Jhoulys Chacin as starting pitchers that, health permitting, will certainly occupy two spots in the rotation.

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Reggie Jackson 2010 Topps 1974 MLB All-Star Game
Commemorative Patch

Reggie Jackson 2010 Topps – 1974 MLB All-Star Game Commemorative Patch I thought that this card would be a fun way to close out my 31-day celebration of Mr. October, Reggie Jackson. The card is sweet, and it features a very … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/reggie-jackson-2010-topps-1974-mlb-all
-star-game-commemorative-patch/

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Royals Acquire Ervin Santana

Ken Rosenthal is reporting the Royals have acquired Angels right-handed pitcher Ervin Santana. The compensation is not yet know.

The twenty-nine year old right-hander has spent his entire eight year career in Anaheim. Last year he was 9-13 with a 5.06 ERA. He had a career best season in 2010, winning 17 games and posting a 3.92 ERA. Overall he has a 96-80 record with a 4.33 ERA. He has been fairly durable too, never making fewer than 20 starts in a season.

Santana has outperformed his FIP in each of the last three seasons, although not significantly so. He averages about seven strikeouts and three walks per nine innings. He throws primarily a four-seam fastball and slider, although he began to mix in a change-up this season. He generally throws in the mid to low-90s, although he did suffer a decline in velocity this season.

Santana has a $13 million club option for the 2013 season that the Royals will now presumably exercise (the buyout is $1 million). Santana is a free agent after the season.

EDIT: Reports are the Royals have given up left-handed reliever Brandon Sisk, who I believe was available in the Rule 5 draft just a year ago. This appears to be the entire deal, so nice work Dayton.

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Jake Peavy's new deal follows success limited by
injuries

Ever since Jake Peavy's arrival in 2009, he's helped make the Chicago White Sox's rotation arguably the best in baseball. They've had the most fWAR in the majors, 71, and their FIP ranks in the top 10. Peavy's main problem is that he can not stay healthy. In 2010 he missed the second half of the season due to a detached latissimus dorsi muscle in his back.

During the 2011 season Peavy missed some time due to his injury a year before, but after that he was healthy. In 2012 Peavy was didn't suffer any major injuries, and was awarded with a 2 year-$29 million dollar contract at season's end.

One thing that makes Jake Peavy so successful is his ability to get a first pitch strike. During his time in Chicago, league average f-strike% has hovered around 58-59%. In Peavy's case he's been hovering around 62-63%. That puts him in the top ten in the American League from 2009-2012, and just out of the top twenty overall.

non-zero axis alert!

The last two seasons he's seen a slight uptick in his f-strike%, seeing a 1% increase from 2009. Now that might not be a big improvement, but it's better than seeing a decrease.

When it comes to swing and misses, Peavy has two pitches that stand out. They are his slider, and his cutter. Peavy's cutter generates whiffs on swings over 30% of the time. For some reason he only generated whiffs 18% of the time last year, but that could have been due to him recovering from his injury. This past season it bumped up past 30% again, so it appears Peavy's effectiveness returned.

Peavy's slider also put up some impressive whiff/swing% numbers. Before his injury he was able to generate whiffs over 30% of the time. The year after his injury it dipped below 25%. In 2012 he was able to generate whiffs on swings at a 27% clip.

Peavy does a good job at generating whiffs, but he isn't a huge strikeout pitcher. In 2009 he struck out over 26% of batters, but since then he's hovered between 20-22%. He is able to limit walks though.

Even though he was able to generate whiffs, the results weren't there every year.

In 2011 Peavy's cutter was slightly below average, giving up -.59 runs per every 100 cutters thrown. This past season he saw that change though, as he saved .65 runs for every 100 cutters thrown. His slider on the other hand went from good the past few years, to poor this last year. Typically a pitch will range from +1.5 to -1.5 runs, so -.43 isn't terrible. Even though Peavy's fastball has lost about 1 MPH since his injury, it still remains an effective pitch. He had a little hiccup in 2010, but it appears to have returned to form.

In terms of overall value Peavy has been pretty solid when he's started. He's only generated 11.7 fWAR since 2009, but he also has never started a full season since 2012. Before that he averaged roughly 19 starts a season.

In 2011 he only made 18 starts, but still generated 3 WAR. That carried over to this past season where he started 32 games, and managed 4.4 WAR. Those aren't necessarily "ace" results, but I'm sure any team would take that nonetheless.

If Peavy can stay healthy he should be able to earn his contract. He's shown that he can be a good pitcher, but the second he gets hurt we could be looking at back at how disappointing it turned out.

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Eddie Murray 2012 Topps Museum Collection
SWEET!!!!

Eddie Murray 2012 Topps Museum Collection – SWEET!!!! The way that Eddie Murray’s image jumps off the surface of this baseball card is supreme!  This baseball card is a beauty. The colors are sharp and crisp. The shading and blending … Continue reading →

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http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/eddie-murray-2012-topps-museum-collect
ion-sweet/

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Ernie Banks and 512 Home Runs

When the ball left the park fans cheered. Every time a home run is hit it excites baseball fans. So naturally when a home run hitter steps up to the plate everybody watches with raised eyebrows.

Back a few years I recall Ernie Banks, Cub shortstop, leading the league in home runs. In spite of many ground outs or strike outs, there was no doubt about it whenever a baseball left Wrigley Field or other baseball park.

Last year Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinal, and Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewer, got baseball fans excited with one swing of the bat and hitting lots of home runs.

This past week Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giant, surprised the crowd by hitting 3 home runs in one World Series game. And some baseball players are lucky enough if they ever hit one home run during the regular baseball season. 

And so there will always be a time when an outfielder runs out of landscape chasing a fly ball into the seats or out of the ball park.    

Read The Full Article:
http://cornerlotsbaseball.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-home-run-king.html

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have released Hisanori
Takahashi

The Pirates have released 37-year old lefty reliever Hisanori Takahashi. Takahashi pitched in 9 games (0 starts) for the Pirates last year and he was 0-0 with a 8.64 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He pitched in 51 games (0 starts) overall last year for the Angels and Pirates in which he was [...]

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http://www.bucslocker.com/2012/10/31/the-pittsburgh-pirates-have-released-hisanor
i-takahashi/

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