Baseball

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  Arizona Diamondbacks News

• Schoeneweis files for free agency

  Steve Gilbert

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:56 pm

  D-backs reliever Scott Schoeneweis filed for free agency Friday, making him the third Arizona player to do so.

• D-backs pick up 2010 option on Webb

  Steve Gilbert

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:45 am

  The D-backs have exercised their $8.5 million club option for 2010 on Brandon Webb, who made just one start last season and underwent right shoulder surgery on Aug. 4.

• D-backs' Davis files for free agency

  Steve Gilbert

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:17 pm

  D-backs pitcher Doug Davis and infielder Chad Tracy filed for free agency on Thursday.

• D-backs decline Tracy's 2010 option

  Steve Gilbert

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:55 am

  In a move that was expected, the D-backs on Thursday declined to exercise the $7 million contract option of Chad Tracy for 2010 and instead gave the infielder a $1 million buyout.

• D-backs lose Petit, Slaten on waivers

  Steve Gilbert

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:53 am

  The D-backs lost Yusmeiro Petit and Doug Slaten on waiver claims, and outrighted Trent Oeltjen and Alex Romero to Triple-A. The 40-man roster currently stands at 35.

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  Atlanta Braves News

• Braves confirm signing of Proctor

  Mark Bowman

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:49 pm

  While the Braves were able to confirm Friday that they have signed right-handed reliever Scott Proctor to a Minor League contract, they will have to wait until Tim Hudson returns to Atlanta before finalizing a three-year contract extension.

• LaRoche leads four Braves into free agency

  Mark Bowman

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm

  Adam LaRoche, Mike Gonzalez, veteran outfielder Garret Anderson and utility man Greg Norton were the only Braves that filed for free agency on Thursday.

• Hudson set to extend contract with Braves

  Mark Bowman

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:37 am

  Tim Hudson has passed his physical and now may only have to wait for the conclusion of the World Series to have the Braves formally announce his three-year extension.

• Proctor agrees to contract with Braves

  Joe Frisaro

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:37 am

  Right-handed reliever Scott Proctor has reached an agreement with the Braves on a split contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

• Chop Talk: Schafer impatient for season

  Andy Johnston

  3 Nov 2009 | 7:18 am

  If Jordan Schafer could turn back time, he would return to a rainy night in April. At first, Schafer didn't think much about the pain in his left wrist.

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  Chicago Cubs News

• Cashner makes his own breaks

  Robert Emrich

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

  Cubs prospect Andrew Cashner pitched four shutout innings for the second start in a row as the Mesa Solar Sox defeated the Peoria Javelinas, 8-1, on Thursday afternoon.

• Johnson, Harden file for free agency

  Carrie Muskat

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:41 pm

  Reed Johnson and Rich Harden were among the 79 Major League players who filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day they were eligible to do so.

• Diamond hopeful he can shine for Cubs

  Carrie Muskat

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:38 am

  The Cubs claimed Thomas Diamond off waivers from the Texas Rangers in early September. Never heard of him? The right-hander has stellar credentials.

• Cubs owners visit potential Spring sites

  Carrie Muskat

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:12 am

  After looking at three sites in Florida a month earlier, three members of the Ricketts family took a helicopter ride in Mesa, Ari., Wednesday to see six potential sites for a new Spring Training facility.

• Lilly undergoes arthroscopic surgery

  Carrie Muskat

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:54 pm

  Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly had hoped the discomfort he felt in his left shoulder would go away once he had a chance to rest, but it didn't, and on Tuesday, Lilly underwent a left shoulder arthroscopy and debridement.

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  Cincinnati Reds News

• Minor Leaguer Marmolejo suspended

  Jason Beck

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:22 pm

  Minor League pitcher Jose Marmolejo will serve a 40-game suspension next year after Major League Baseball disciplined him for what it called the use and possession of a prohibited performance-enhancing substance.

• Reds not picking up Hernandez's option

  Mark Sheldon

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:56 pm

  The Reds want catcher Ramon Hernandez to return for 2010, but not for the $8.5 million figure his club option calls for.

• Wells the Reds' only eligible free agent

  Mark Sheldon

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  It doesn't take long after the postseason ends for the Hot Stove season to start. Only one Reds player is immediately eligible for free agency -- pitcher Kip Wells.

• Inbox: Is Bailey ready for prime time?

  Mark Sheldon

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm

  In his latest Inbox, Reds beat reporter Mark Sheldon answers fans' questions about whether we've seen the real Homer Bailey, the use of instant replay and other Reds topics.

• Tickets for Redsfest are on sale

  Mark Sheldon

  30 Oct 2009 | 2:14 pm

  Tickets for Fox Sports Ohio Redsfest, presented by Kahn's, can be purchased on reds.com. edsfest is scheduled on Dec. 4-5 at the Duke Energy Center in downtown Cincinnati.

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  Colorado Rockies News

• Rox decline options on Torrealba, Embree

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

  The Rockies have at least temporarily severed ties with catcher Yorvit Torrealba and reliever Alan Embree.

• Marquis, Giambi top list of Rox free agents

  Thomas Harding

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:22 pm

  As the free-agency period begins, the Rockies, who have chosen to develop their own players in lieu of bidding on high-priced free agents, don't expect to make serious plays for the big names.

• Rockies re-sign Belisle, Flores

  Thomas Harding

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:25 am

  The Rockies retained some of the bullpen depth they built in 2009 by re-signing right-hander Matt Belisle and left-hander Randy Flores to one-year contracts. Both were eligible for arbitration.

• Reynolds, Johnston in Rising Stars game

  Thomas Harding

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:24 pm

  Matt Reynolds and Andrew Johnston, two of the Rockies' top relief pitching prospects, will be highlighted in the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Showcase on Saturday in Surprise, Ariz.

• Health key to Gomez's development

  Thomas Harding

  29 Oct 2009 | 10:04 am

  Rockies standout shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is considered a rare gem at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. But not far behind him is prospect Hector Gomez, who is an imposing 6-foot-4 and is still filling out his athletic frame.

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  Florida Marlins News

• Johnson, Calero file for free agency

  Joe Frisaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:31 pm

  Nick Johnson formally filed for free agency on Friday, along with reliever Kiko Calero, who became a valuable performer in the back end of the bullpen.

• Marlins' Maybin to have shoulder surgery

  Jason Beck

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:07 pm

  Florida Marlins center fielder Cameron Maybin will undergo surgery to repair a partially torn labrum in his left shoulder, the team confirmed Friday.

• Marlins add four coaches to staff

  Joe Frisaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:50 pm

  On Friday, the Marlins announced four new coaches, including pitching coach Randy St. Claire. Dave Collins will be the outfield and first-base coach, Josue Espada becomes the infield and third-base coach, and Reid Cornelius is the bullpen coach.

• Seating being set at new park

  Joe Frisaro

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:56 am

  As construction continues on the Marlins' new retractable-roof home in Miami, team officials have begun the process of assigning numbers to seating sections and rows.

• Donnelly, Gload file for free agency

  Joe Frisaro

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:30 pm

  Reliever Brendan Donnelly and first baseman Ross Gload officially filed for free agency on Thursday.

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  Houston Astros News

• Three more Astros file for free agency

  Brian McTaggart

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:22 pm

  Shortstop Miguel Tejada, reliever LaTroy Hawkins and third baseman Aaron Boone have filed for free agency.

• Tejada, Valverde to head for free agency

  Brian McTaggart

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:57 pm

  Two of the Astros' best performers -- shortstop Miguel Tejada and closer Jose Valverde -- are among a group of Houston players expected to file for free agency during the filing period that began Thursday.

• Astros prospects tee off in Arizona

  Robert Emrich

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:06 pm

  Jon Gaston hit a three-run homer and Jose Vallejo plated four runs, but the Peoria Saguaros fell to the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 12-11, on Thursday.

• Astros purchase contracts of Abad, Sutil

  Brian McTaggart

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:02 pm

  The Astros added Minor Leaguers left-hander Fernando Abad and shortstop Wladimir Sutil to the 40-man roster on Thursday to protect from the possibility of losing them in next month's Rule 5 Draft.

• Quirk brought aboard as bullpen coach

  Joe Frisaro

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:30 am

  The Astros staff added some more experience. The team on Wednesday announced Jamie Quirk will be the bullpen coach for recently hired manager Brad Mills.

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  Los Angeles Dodgers News

• Kuroda makes donation to fight cancer

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:37 pm

  Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who has experienced the pain of cancer, will donate $100,000 to the Dodgers' Dream Foundation for the second consecutive year, the club announced on Friday.

• Manny exercises option, remains in LA

  Ken Gurnick

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:24 pm

  Outfielder Manny Ramirez notified the Dodgers Friday that he will exercise his $20 million option and return to the team in 2010, agent Scott Boras confirmed.

• Wolf, five others file for free agency

  Ken Gurnick

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:24 pm

  Pitcher Randy Wolf led a group of six Dodgers filing for free agency on Thursday, the first day of the two-week filing period.

• Jamie McCourt's reinstatement bid denied

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:38 am

  A court commissioner has denied Jamie McCourt's bid to be reinstated as the chief executive of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

• Dodgers pass on Garland's 2010 option

  Ken Gurnick

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:01 am

  The Dodgers declined the $10 million 2010 mutual option for right-handed pitcher Jon Garland, who can become a free agent.

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  Milwaukee Brewers News

• Brewers trade Hardy to Twins for Gomez

  Adam McCalvy

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:27 pm

  The ticker tape was still falling in Manhattan on Friday when the Brewers dealt shortstop J.J. Hardy, a staple of trade rumors this year, to the Twins for speedy center fielder Carlos Gomez.

• With Hardy gone, Escobar era begins

  Adam McCalvy

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:59 pm

  The Alcides Escobar era began on Friday when incumbent Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy was traded to the Twins. Hardy thinks the kid is going to be just fine.

• Brewers decline Weathers' option for 2010

  Adam McCalvy

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:32 am

  On a busy day for the Brewers, the team declined reliever David Weathers' club option and made him a free agent. The option would have paid Weathers' $3.7 million in 2010; instead he gets a $400,000 buyout.

• Crew has nine potential free agents

  Adam McCalvy

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:40 pm

  The Brewers have seven potential free agents, including two -- center fielder Mike Cameron and catcher Jason Kendall -- who have been fixtures in the starting lineup.

• Money to return as Triple-A manager

  Adam McCalvy

  4 Nov 2009 | 11:26 am

  Former Brewers All-Star infielder Don Money will return for a second season as manager of the organization's top Minor League affiliate, and he will have a new pitching coach.

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  New York Mets News

• Mets officially decline option on Putz

  Marty Noble

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:44 pm

  The Mets declined to exercise its option on reliever J.J. Putz on Friday, saving $8.1 million, though the club could conceivably re-sign him. They also plan to look at several available catchers.

• Mets' offseason wheels in motion

  Marty Noble

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:53 pm

  A day after the World Series ended, the offseason wheels got in motion for the Mets, who are looking to upgrade their power, their starting pitching, catching and setup relief. A number of players who filed for free agency fit the bill.

• Mets add Minor Leaguer to roster

  Marty Noble

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:16 pm

  The Mets have added Double-A third baseman Shawn Bowman to their 40-man roster.

• Inbox: Will Mets bring back Delgado?

  Marty Noble

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:37 am

  Do the Mets have plans to bring Carlos Delgado back? Should the Mets consider signing Johnny Damon? Marty Noble answers these questions in the Inbox.

• Davis named to AFL's Rising Stars Game

  Marty Noble

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am

  Mets first-base prospect Ike Davis has been selected to participate in the 2009 Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Game on Saturday in Surprise, Ariz.

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  Philadelphia Phillies News

• Phillies pick up option to keep Lee

  Todd Zolecki

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:56 pm

  The Phillies announced their first big move of the offseason on Friday when they picked up left-hander Cliff Lee's $9 million club option.

• Phillies cut ties with veteran Myers

  Todd Zolecki

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:36 pm

  Ten years after being drafted in the first round by the Phillies, Opening Day starter Brett Myers was told by GM Ruben Amaro Jr. on Friday that he would not be brought back in 2010.

• Lidge eyes 'a lot of improvement' in '10

  Todd Zolecki

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:29 pm

  Brad Lidge chalks up his disappointing 2009 season as learning experience, while also realizing that he must be better in 2010.

• Disappointment lingers a day later

  Todd Zolecki

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:50 pm

  The Phillies had hoped to be at Yankee Stadium on Thursday for Game 7 of the World Series. They instead found themselves on a train to Philly.

• Pieces in place for Phillies run in 2010

  Mark Bowman

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:50 am

  As they ventured into the offseason during the wee hours of Thursday morning, the Phillies found themselves sharing handshakes and hugs with many of the same guys that they'll once again call teammates next year.

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  Pittsburgh Pirates News

• Pirates outright three off 40-man roster

  Jenifer Langosch

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:46 pm

  The Pirates continue to retool the club's 40-man roster, with three more players being removed from it on Friday.

• Minor League look: Class A West Virginia

  Jenifer Langosch

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am

  Here is Part 4 in a seven-part series that will take an in-depth look at how each of the Pirates' Minor League affiliates fared during the 2009 season.

• No Pirates eligible for free agency

  Jenifer Langosch

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:15 am

  With the 105th World Series in the books, a wave of players will now begin the process of filing for free agency. None, however, will be coming from Pittsburgh.

• Coonelly addresses offseason needs

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:31 pm

  Pirates president Frank Coonelly participated in his monthly live online chat with Pirates fans on Wednesday.

• Bucs of '79 can be model for Phillies

  Jenifer Langosch

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:41 am

  In winning the 1979 World Series championship, the Pirates became the third team in Major League history to take the last two games on the road in the Fall Classic. Now the Phillies, with victories in Games 6 and 7 at Yankee Stadium, can become the fourth.

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  San Diego Padres News

• Pair of Padres could file for free agency

  Chris Haft

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pm

  The approach of open free agency serves as a reminder that outfielder Brian Giles' seven-year tenure with the Padres may have reached its end.

• Making the Grade: Defense

  Corey Brock

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:29 am

  "Making the Grade" is a four-part series analyzing the performances of various units of the 2009 San Diego Padres. Today: Defense. Previously, starting pitching (Oct. 28), bullpen (Oct. 30) and offense (Nov. 3). Defense grade: B

• Garrison on the road back in AFL

  Danny Wild

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pm

  A year removed from surgery, Steve Garrison is feeling strong in the AFL. He tossed three scoreless innings Tuesday as the Saguaros edged Mesa, 2-1.

• Making the Grade: Offense

  Corey Brock

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:31 am

  Before their second-half revival, where an improved offense helped spark a 37-25 mark from July 28 on, the Padres struggled mightily with a .233 team average and the worst run production in the National League.

• Making the Grade: Bullpen

  Corey Brock

  30 Oct 2009 | 9:44 am

  The Padres bullpen was clearly the highlight of the season. The team had the sixth-best bullpen ERA in the National League (3.75), all while logging more innings (571) than any other team in the league.

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  San Francisco Giants News

• Lincecum reaches plea, awaits approval

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pm

  If a Clark County, Wash., judge signs off on a plea agreement reached Friday between Tim Lincecum and county prosecutors, the righty will have a drug possession charge against him dropped.

• Giants' Molina files for free agency

  Chris Haft

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:04 pm

  Hastening speculation about his immediate future, catcher Bengie Molina filed for free agency Friday, joining a fresh batch of 39 players to put themselves on the open market.

• Lincecum cited for marijuana possession

  Chris Haft

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:57 pm

  Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum must confront misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and use of drug paraphernalia, stemming from an incident in Washington State last week.

• Giants trio would create buzz in market

  Chris Haft

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:46 pm

  Three Giants headed for free agency -- catcher Bengie Molina, right-hander Brad Penny and infielder Juan Uribe -- could be among the most highly sought performers at their respective positions once bidding expands to all Major League teams on Nov. 20.

• Meulens named Giants hitting coach

  Chris Haft

  2 Nov 2009 | 4:42 pm

  The Giants named Triple-A Fresno hitting coach Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens to the same post on the Major League staff on Monday.

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  Washington Nationals News

• Nats pass on Kearns' option

  Alden Gonzalez

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:11 pm

  Austin Kearns, Ron Villone and Dmitri Young all filed for free agency on Friday, thus taking care of the entire slate of eligible players for the Nationals.

• Several Nats prospects shine in AFL

  Alden Gonzalez

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:05 am

  It isn't just phenom Stephen Strasburg who's representing the Nationals' organization by playing for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. Drew Storen, Chris Marrero, Danny Espinosa, Josh Wilkie, Jeff Mandel and Sean Rooney have all been getting extra playing time this month.

• Strasburg scratched from Rising Stars

  Alden Gonzalez

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:01 am

  Nationals prized pitching prospect and 2009 top overall pick Stephen Strasburg will skip his start in Saturday's AFL Rising Stars Game due to a muscle strain in his neck.

• Hernandez, Bard file for free agency

  Alden Gonzalez

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:42 pm

  On Thursday, the first day eligible free agents can file, Josh Bard and Livan Hernandez opted to test the open market.

• Nats claim Slaten off waivers

  Alden Gonzalez

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:37 am

  The Nationals claimed reliever Doug Slaten off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday.

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  Baltimore Orioles News

• O's players hit the free-agent market

  Alden Gonzalez

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:16 pm

  The first wave of Orioles players hit the free-agency market on Thursday, as Mark Hendrickson, Danys Baez, Melvin Mora and Chad Moeller wasted no time and filed, thus taking care of Baltimore's entire list of pending free agents.

• O's have window with two free agents

  Alden Gonzalez

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:43 pm

  Following a disappointing 98-loss campaign, the Orioles will have plenty of work to do this offseason if they hope to be competitive again in 2010. But not too much of that work will come in the way of their own free agents.

• Man admits stealing Ripken monument

  Jason Beck

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:12 pm

  A young man pled guilty in a Baltimore court Wednesday to stealing a Cal Ripken Jr. monument from Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

• Trio of Orioles elects to file for free agency

  Alden Gonzalez

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:15 pm

  Three Orioles refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk and instead elected to file for free agency on Tuesday.

• Snyder ready for the big stage in 2010

  Alden Gonzalez

  3 Nov 2009 | 8:38 am

  Brandon Snyder -- the shortstop-turned-catcher-turned-third baseman-turned-first baseman -- finally looks like he could be closing in on his first Major League callup next season.

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  Boston Red Sox News

• Sox land Hermida to open offseason

  Ian Browne

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pm

  The construction of the 2010 Red Sox is officially under way, as general manager Theo Epstein made his first move of the Hot Stove season, acquiring outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins on Thursday.

• Red Sox ready to fire up Hot Stove

  Ian Browne

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:17 am

  With several major personnel decisions looming before the start of free agency, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein figures to be a very busy man in the coming weeks.

• Beckett, Sox to discuss hurler's future soon

  Ian Browne

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:26 pm

  When ace Josh Beckett arrives at Spring Training in February, he will be gearing up for his fifth season with the Red Sox. Will it be his last?

• Beckett recognized for charitable work

  Ian Browne

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:51 pm

  Though he never seeks individual credit, Beckett got plenty of it on Tuesday night, when he was presented with the 2009 Champion Award by Children's Hospital Boston at a dinner banquet at the Seaport World Trade Center.

• Inbox: Will Varitek be back next season?

  Ian Browne

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:10 am

  Will Victor Martinez be the full-time catcher next year, and if so, will Jason Varitek still be around? Beat reporter Ian Browne looks at this and other questions in the latest Inbox.

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  Chicago White Sox News

• Beckham to play second in 2010

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:57 pm

• White Sox buy out Dye's option

  Scott Merkin

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:25 pm

  The White Sox announced Friday that they have bought out the 2010 mutual option on outfielder Jermaine Dye's contract for $950,000 rather than pay the outfielder a $12 million salary for next season. He is now eligible to become a free agent.

• White Sox acquire Teahen from Royals

  Scott Merkin

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:59 am

  After reports of a trade had the baseball world buzzing on Thursday, the White Sox announced Friday that they had indeed acquired infielder/outfielder Mark Teahen and cash considerations from the Royals in exchange for infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields.

• Sox nearing decision time with Dye

  Scott Merkin

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:13 pm

  The biggest name on the list of potential 2009 White Sox free agents might not even become a free agent for another 10 days. And at that point, the end of Jermaine Dye's run in Chicago could be near.

• White Sox ink Kotsay to one-year deal

  Kelly Thesier

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:53 am

  The White Sox signed Mark Kotsay to a one-year deal worth $1.5 million. The versatile Kotsay, 33, batted .292 in 40 games with the White Sox after a July 28 trade with the Red Sox.

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  Cleveland Indians News

• Indians hire Pena as key scout

  Jason Beck

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm

  On the same day the Indians began to fill out their coaching staff, they also filled a key scouting role Friday by hiring Ramon Pena as their director of Latin American operations.

• Indians tab Belcher as pitching coach

  Jason Beck

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:11 pm

  Manny Acta's coaching staff began taking shape with the addition of Tim Belcher as pitching coach. Belcher has worked with the Tribe as a special assistant since 2002.

• Q&A: Catching up with Trevor Crowe

  Anthony Castrovince

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:14 pm

  MLB.com caught up with Indians outfielder Trevor Crowe recently to talk about his life, on and off the field.

• Carroll set to go on the open market

  Anthony Castrovince

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:45 am

  Utility infielder Jamey Carroll will go on the open market this month, and it remains to be seen if the Indians' interest in retaining him matches the cost it would take to do so.

• Inbox: Will Acta right the ship for Tribe?

  Anthony Castrovince

  2 Nov 2009 | 6:00 am

  What does Manny Acta bring to the table that Eric Wedge didn't? Will Torey Lovullo be on Acta's staff? Reporter Anthony Castrovince tackles your latest Inbox questions.

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  Detroit Tigers News

• Wells keeps rolling in Fall League

  Robert Emrich

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:55 pm

  Tigers prospect Casper Wells had two hits and two RBIs to extend his AFL on-base streak to 35 games and lead the Javelinas past the Saguaros, 6-3.

• Tigers part ways with Treanor, Thames

  Jason Beck

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:53 pm

  Marcus Thames' Tigers tenure is likely over. The team removed him from the 40-man roster Friday, the first step towards making the slugging outfielder a free agent. The move was part of the Tigers' maneuverings to prepare their 40-man roster. Catcher Matt Treanor also was taken off the roster and will become a free agent.

• Tigers face big free-agency decisions

  Jason Beck

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:38 pm

  The Tigers have spent the past couple offseasons treading carefully in free agency, preferring to do most of their dealings in trades. This year, they're going to be intricately involved in the open market, whether they want to or not.

• Porcello is Tigers' Rookie of Year

  Jason Beck

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:00 am

  Rick Porcello, the first Major League pitcher since Dwight Gooden to put up a 14-win season at age 20 or younger, received the Tigers Rookie of the Year award Thursday.

• Inge undergoes successful knee surgery

  Joe Frisaro

  4 Nov 2009 | 7:43 am

  Tigers third baseman Brandon Inge on Tuesday underwent surgery to correct patellar tendinitis in both knees, the club announced.

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  Kansas City Royals News

• Royals trade Teahen for pair of infielders

  Dick Kaegel

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:13 am

  So now it's a real deal. The Royals have traded Mark Teahen and cash to the White Sox in exchange for second baseman Chris Getz and third baseman Josh Fields.

• Royals decline options on three players

  Dick Kaegel

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:52 am

  The Royals declined contract options on catcher Miguel Olivo, center fielder Coco Crisp and pitcher Yasuhiko Yabuta on Friday, making them eligible to file for free agency.

• Royals' Wright files for free agency

  Dick Kaegel

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Royals pitcher Jamey Wright was among 79 Major Leaguers who filed for free agency on Thursday, their first opportunity to do so.

• Royals' Crow hit hard in second AFL start

  Brittany Ghiroli

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:58 pm

  Aaron Crow, the No. 12 overall pick in this year's Draft, allowed four runs on six hits over 3 1/3 innings in his second AFL start for Surprise on Tuesday afternoon.

• Bloomquist ready for another busy year

  Dick Kaegel

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:15 pm

  You knew Willie Bloomquist was hurting. He wasn't wearing those big bags of ice on his knees in the Royals' clubhouse as a fashion statement. Once on the field last season, though, he played hard and he played well, all without complaint.

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  Los Angeles Angels News

• Six Halos players file for free agency

  Lyle Spencer

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pm

  Vladimir Guerrero, Chone Figgins and Kelvim Escobar filed for free agency on Friday, joining a class numbering 118 players on the second day of the 15-day filing period.

• Angels extend GM Reagins' contract

  Lyle Spencer

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:13 pm

  Angels general manager Tony Reagins has been rewarded by club owner Arte Moreno with a long-term contract extension, the club announced on Friday.

• Oliver set to return, files for free agency

  Lyle Spencer

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:51 am

  From Mike McCann, representing Darren Oliver, comes word that the Angels' southpaw will pitch in 2010 "and perhaps beyond."

• Angels ink Abreu to two-year deal

  Lyle Spencer

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:01 pm

  The Angels signed outfielder Bobby Abreu to a two-year deal with a club option for 2012. Abreu, 35, batted .293 with 103 RBIs and 30 steals in his first season with the Angels.

• Matthews seeking new home

  30 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

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  Minnesota Twins News

• Twins get Hardy from Brewers for Gomez

  Kelly Thesier

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pm

  Twins general manager Bill Smith wasted little time addressing one of his club's most critical needs this offseason. On Friday, the club acquired shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Brewers in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gomez.

• Twins have five eligible free agents

  Kelly Thesier

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:55 pm

  The Twins are on the clock in regards to the 15-day exclusive negotiating period that they have with their five eligible free agents --Orlando Cabrera, Joe Crede, Ron Mahay, Carl Pavano and Mike Redmond.

• Singleton remains productive in AFL

  Danny Wild

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm

  Twins prospect Steve Singleton went 3-for-5 and drove in his ninth run in nine games Wednesday as Mesa topped the Javelinas, 8-5.

• Twins move Buscher to Triple-A roster

  Kelly Thesier

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:17 am

  To clear room on the 40-man roster, the Twins outrighted infielder Brian Buscher to Triple-A Rochester on Tuesday.

• Inbox: How much will be spent in 2010?

  Kelly Thesier

  2 Nov 2009 | 12:10 pm

  How much will the Twins spend on payroll next season? Could Brian Duensing crack the rotation? Beat reporter Kelly Thesier tackles your questions in the latest Inbox installment.

• 
  New York Yankees News

• CC makes appearances at MSG and on NBC

  Alden Gonzalez

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:16 pm

  CC Sabathia's Friday night included a tribute from Knicks fans and LeBron James at Madison Square Garden, and some lighthearted questions via satellite from Jay Leno.

• Core Four Set among Shop's hot items

  Mark Newman

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:15 pm

  The Core Four Set is exclusive to MLB.com and includes four 2009 World Series baseballs, each hand-signed by one of the active Yankee greats.

• Yanks in their own words talk to fans

  Mark Newman

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:17 pm

  In between, the crowd heard from speakers, including Derek Jeter, Yankees general partner Hal Steinbrenner and manager Joe Girardi. Here is what they had to say to a throng that filled the streets to watch on giant monitors amidst the piles of confetti.

• Yankees savor raucous celebration

  Bryan Hoch

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:15 pm

  In double-decker buses and parade floats, the Yankees rolled through lower Manhattan celebrating the 27th World Series title the organization has thirsted for, waving wildly through the financial district on a chilly November morning.

• Parade state of mind in New York

  Mark Newman

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pm

  There is nothing like a parade up the Canyon of Heroes, where confetti and streamers fly from skyscrapers still, even though there is an ominous gap in the canyon this time, one that was not there the last time the Yankees were feted in this way in 2000.

• 
  Oakland Athletics News

• Crosby doesn't expect to return to A's

  Mychael Urban

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm

  Infielders Adam Kennedy, Bobby Crosby and Nomar Garciaparra, and right-handed starters Justin Duchscherer and Brett Tomko are Oakland's other free-agent eligibles, and all of them are expected to file during the 15-day window that opened Thursday.

• Ascending A's: Donaldson waits his turn

  Mychael Urban

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  The latest edition of "Ascending A's," a regular offseason feature on various top prospects in the organization, looks at catcher Josh Donaldson.

• Inbox: Did the '09 A's need better pitching?

  Mychael Urban

  2 Nov 2009 | 11:16 am

  Why didn't the A's pursue pitching before last season and are they going to re-sign Adam Kennedy? Beat reporter Mychael Urban tackles this and other fan questions in the latest installment of the A's Inbox.

• Weeks, Veal win weekly AFL honor

  Adam McCalvy

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:50 am

  Infielder Jemile Weeks of the A's organization and left-hander Donnie Veal of the Pirates were named Arizona Fall League hitter and pitcher of the week on Monday.

• Henderson working with A's prospect

  Mychael Urban

  30 Oct 2009 | 2:19 pm

  Rickey Henderson recently spent three days at Oakland's Minor League complex working with Jemile Weeks, whom the A's selected in the first round in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.

• 
  Seattle Mariners News

• Bedard, Batista, Chavez opt for free agency

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:35 pm

  Mariners pitchers Erik Bedard and Miguel Batista, along with outfielder Endy Chavez, filed for free agency on Friday.

• Mariners focusing on work yet to do

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am

  A Major League-best 24-game improvement last season provided a good start for the Mariners' new regime, but taking the next step could be just as challenging.

• Beltre, Sweeney file for free agency

  Jim Street

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:41 pm

  Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre and designated hitter Mike Sweeney were among the 79 players who filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day eligible players were allowed to file.

• Mariners claim Petit off waivers

  Jim Street

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:29 am

  The Mariners added another pitcher on Thursday, claiming right-hander Yusmeiro Petit off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

• Seven Mariners among free-agent class

  Jim Street

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:12 am

  The end of the World Series means the start of a new "season" for seven Mariners free agents: left-handed pitcher Erik Bedard, third baseman Adrian Beltre, first baseman Russell Branyan, left fielder Endy Chavez and designated hitters Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Sweeney.

• 
  Tampa Bay Rays News

• Bradford, Springer become free agents

  Bill Chastain

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:42 pm

  Rays relievers Chad Bradford and Russ Springer filed for free agency on Friday, the second day that eligible players could officially declare their intentions to test the market.

• Percival files for free agency

  Bill Chastain

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:20 pm

  Troy Percival filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day eligible players could officially declare their intentions to test the market.

• Rays add three Minors coordinators

  Bill Chastain

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:59 am

  Three Minor League coordinators have been added to the Rays' organization for the 2010 season it was announced Thursday.

• Seven Rays in mix to become free agents

  Bill Chastain

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:55 am

  Major League Baseball crowned a new champion Wednesday night, and Thursday morning it was back to business as it marked the first day players could file for free agency. Seven Rays players are in the mix to become free agents.

• Rays land Chavez, bid farewell to Iwamura

  Bill Chastain

  3 Nov 2009 | 4:26 pm

  The Rays picked up right-hander Jesse Chavez in a deal in which they sent veteran infielder Akinori Iwamura to the Pirates.

• 
  Texas Rangers News

• Andruw among Rangers to file

  T.R. Sullivan

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:46 pm

  Andruw Jones, who made $36 million over the past two years while hitting .190 with 20 home runs and 57 RBIs in 157 games and 490 at-bats, filed for free agency on Friday.

• Pudge, four others file for free agency

  T.R. Sullivan

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:03 pm

  Catcher Ivan Rodriguez was one of five Rangers who filed for free agency on Thursday.

• Hurdle named Rangers hitting coach

  T.R. Sullivan

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:14 pm

  The Rangers are going to give Clint Hurdle the chance to implement his philosophy at the Ballpark in Arlington. On Thursday the Rangers officially named him as their hitting coach to replace Rudy Jaramillo, who held the position for 15 years.

• Rangers in market for right-handed bat

  T.R. Sullivan

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:14 am

  The Rangers are going into baseball's free-agency period hoping to re-sign Marlon Byrd and could come out of it with Jermaine Dye instead.

• Hurdle expected to be Texas' hitting coach

  T.R. Sullivan

  3 Nov 2009 | 2:47 pm

  Former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle is expected to be named the Rangers' next hitting coach. The Rangers have not made a formal announcement, but club officials have indicated that it could come in the next day or two.

• 
  Toronto Blue Jays News

• Filings have Jays thinking shortstop

  Jordan Bastian

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:07 pm

  Marco Scutaro and John McDonald both filed for free agency on Friday, leaving the shortstop position vacant on the Blue Jays' depth chart. Both may be considered for returns.

• Blue Jays outright three to Triple-A

  Jason Beck

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:37 pm

  The Blue Jays adjusted their 40-man roster Friday by outrighting catcher Kyle Phillips and left-handers Davis Romero and Bill Murphy to Triple-A Las Vegas.

• Inbox: Will the Blue Jays trade Wells?

  Jordan Bastian

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:56 am

  Will The Jays trade Vernon Wells? Will Zach Stewart play in the Majors in 2010? Will Edwin Encarnacion have a bounce back season next year? Beat reporter Jordan Bastian answers fans' questions in the Jays' inbox.

• Millar takes plunge into free agency

  Jordan Bastian

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:27 pm

  Veteran first baseman Kevin Millar filed for free agency on Thursday, becoming the first of four eligible Blue Jays to take a step toward the open market.

• Jays have interest in veteran trio

  Jordan Bastian

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:27 am

  Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has expressed an interest in bringing back catcher Rod Barajas and shortstops Marco Scutaro and John McDonald, all of whom can file for free agency.

• 
  Major League Baseball News

• CC makes appearances at MSG and on NBC

  Alden Gonzalez

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:16 pm

  CC Sabathia's Friday night included a tribute from Knicks fans and LeBron James at Madison Square Garden, and some lighthearted questions via satellite from Jay Leno.

• Lincecum reaches plea, awaits approval

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:44 pm

  If a Clark County, Wash., judge signs off on a plea agreement reached Friday between Tim Lincecum and county prosecutors, the righty will have a drug possession charge against him dropped.

• Core Four Set among Shop's hot items

  Mark Newman

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:15 pm

  The Core Four Set is exclusive to MLB.com and includes four 2009 World Series baseballs, each hand-signed by one of the active Yankee greats.

• PULSE: Yankees keep painting town blue

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:59 pm

• Kuroda makes donation to fight cancer

  Jim Street

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:37 pm

  Right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who has experienced the pain of cancer, will donate $100,000 to the Dodgers' Dream Foundation for the second consecutive year, the club announced on Friday.

• 
  MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

• Eleven Option Decisions Made Today

  Tim Dierkes

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:03 pm

  Today was a busy day for options, as eleven decisions were reached.  Here's a summary: The White Sox declined Jermaine Dye's $12MM option, paying a $950K buyout. The Phillies exercised their $9MM option on Cliff Lee. The Diamondbacks exercised their $8.5MM option on Brandon Webb. The Royals declined options on Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta. The Brewers declined David Weathers' $3.7MM option, paying a $400K buyout. The Mets declined J.J. Putz's $9.15MM option, paying a $1MM buyout. The Rockies declined options on Yorvit Torrealba and Alan Embree. The Nationals declined Austin…

• Nationals Decline Option On Austin Kearns

  Tim Dierkes

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:45 pm

  The Nationals declined their $10MM option on right fielder Austin Kearns, according to the AP.  They'll instead pay a $1MM buyout.  Kearns signed his three-year, $17.5MM deal in January of '07, and gave the Nats one solid year for their money.  He represents the last of the day's multiple obvious option decisions. Kearns, 29, hit .195/.336/.305 in 211 plate appearances this year.  He missed a chunk of the season due to thumb surgery.  Based on UZR, he still plays a strong right field.

• Odds & Ends: Hardy, Tejada, Cardinals, Mariners

  Mike Axisa

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:23 pm

  Here's a few links to close out the night... Tony Massarotti of The Boston Globe says that the Red Sox "had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off discussions involving (J.J.) Hardy since the trading deadline." Massarotti's source says the Brewers wanted either Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard, but Boston was only willing to part with Michael Bowden. MLB'com's Brian McTaggart tweets that Astros' GM Ed Wade said “At this point, we’re prepared to commit to Tommy Manzella playing shortstop," but noted that Miguel Tejada could return as a third baseman. Matthew Leach of MLB.com takes a…

• Tigers Talk: Rodney, Lyon, Polanco, Everett

  Mike Axisa

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:21 pm

  The Tigers already removed Marcus Thames and Matt Treanor from the roster today, making both players free agents, and now Lynn Henning of The Detroit News has some more hot stove talk for us...  GM Dave Dombrowski replied "Nothing hot and heavy" when asked if there was any trade dialogue ongoing. The Tigers would "likely bite on an affordable two-year deal" for Fernando Rodney, but would probably not want to gamble on anything longer. Brandon Lyon's agent, Barry Meister, emphasized that his client wants to know what his job description in 2010 will be ahead of time. The Tigers may not be…

• Rockies Decline Options For Torrealba, Embree

  Mike Axisa

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:25 pm

  Troy Renck of The Denver Post reports that the Rockies have declined the 2010 options for catcher Yorvit Torrealba and reliever Alan Embree. Torrealba's option was worth $4MM, Embree's $3MM. Instead, the players will receive buyouts worth $500K and $250K, respectively. Torrealba's agent indicated that his client has not ruled out returning to the club, but the Rockies are committed to Chris Iannetta as their starter. Yorvit hit .291/.351/.380 in 242 plate appearances on the year, while Embree threw just 24.2 innings in 2009 before a liner broke his leg and forced him to miss the rest of…

• 
  Len and Bob

• Paul Sullivan and Dan Roan Discuss the Ricketts

  WGN Sports

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:47 pm

• Ricketts Family Introduced

  WGN Sports

  30 Oct 2009 | 11:53 am

• Podcast: Season Recap

  Diane Yamazaki

  5 Oct 2009 | 10:34 am

  Get the season summary, info on the Len & Bob Bash and more in this season's final Len & Bob' podcast. RSSSubscribe to Len and Bob's Podcasts via an RSS link. Audio Video Podcast on iTunesSubscribe to Len and Bob's Video Podcasts on iTunes. Video Podcast Audio Podcast

• Ryno & Grandson Sing The Stretch

  WGN Sports

  3 Oct 2009 | 12:00 pm

• Ron Santo Sings The Stretch

  WGN Sports

  3 Oct 2009 | 9:53 am

• 
  St. Louis Cardinals News

• Cardinals consider outfield options

  Matthew Leach

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:53 pm

  If the Cardinals are unable to retain Matt Holliday's services, they are going to need another starting outfielder. Matthew Leach takes a look at the free agent options.

• Pineiro files for free agency

  Matthew Leach

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:50 pm

  Joel Pineiro became the eighth Cardinal to file for free agency on Friday, the second day that eligible players could formally file.

• Seven Cards file for free agency

  Matthew Leach

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pm

  The offseason is officially under way. Seven members of the 2009 Cardinals filed for free agency on Thursday, the day after the World Series ends. It was the first day that potential free agents were able to file.

• Cards announce Minors assignments

  Matthew Leach

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:46 pm

  The Cardinals announced nearly all of their Minor League coaches for the 2010 season on Wednesday, and while few of the names have changed, many of the assignments are new.

• Thompson cleared from Cards' roster

  Matthew Leach

  4 Nov 2009 | 11:57 am

  The Cardinals have begun offseason housekeeping, clearing four players off of their 40-man roster. Heading the list was the release of right-hander Brad Thompson.

• 
  Baseball Analysts

• The Best Pitch of 2009

  Dave Allen

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:45 am

  Everyone loves end of the season superlatives, so I thought I would join the fun and present 2009's best pitch. First let me say that this is a shameless rip-off of John Walsh's original 'Searching for the game's best pitch' when he looked at the 2007 season's best. I use Walsh's metric which values each pitch by the change in run expectancy from before and after the pitch. Walsh came up with the idea and describes it in that article, it is the way I have always done it and is the way FanGraphs values pitches. The caveat is that it is not stripped of the influence of ballpark, defense or…

• Visual Scouting Reports (Beta)

  Jeremy Greenhouse

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:38 pm

  What if I could just punch a couple lines into my computer and get to see the strengths and weaknesses of a player in graphical form? Harry Pavlidis does a good job using pitchf/x data to give a brief summary of pitchers, and Dave Allen is like King Midas graphing with R. I've set out to develop my own set of hitter graphs and I ask for your help in improving them for future, more in-depth, player analysis. Here's what I've got so far, using Jayson Werth's 2008-2009 data as an example. I'll break down the three components one by one. For now, the graphs represent the three most meaningful…

• Should the Phillies Have Pulled Cliff Lee With A Big Lead?

  Sky Andrecheck

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

  The Phillies found themselves in a 3-1 hole going into Monday night. Luckily for them, they had their ace, Cliff Lee, on the mound for them. But the Phillies bats went into overdrive for them as well, putting up six runs in three innings. After three, the Phillies had a commanding 6-1 lead, and Cliff Lee had thrown just 50 pitches. Should Manuel have pulled Lee at that point, saving him so that he had the ability to throw more innings in a potential Game 7? The conventional wisdom of course, is that you have to win Game 5 to even get to a Game 7, so Lee should stay in the game as long as he…

• World Class Talent: Where Does It Come From?

  Marc Hulet

  30 Oct 2009 | 9:20 am

  With the 2009 World Series well underway (split one game apiece between the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies), let's take this opportunity to break down each club to see how, where, and when each club obtained its talent. The Yankees organization has a long-standing reputation for "buying" its talent on the free agent market... but that really started about 15 years ago. Is that belief still true today? And how does the Philadelphia Phillies squad compare with the Bronx Bombers in terms of talent acquisition? New York Yankees C.C. Sabathia, LHP Original Signing: 1st round draft…

• A Quick Take on Velocity

  Jeremy Greenhouse

  29 Oct 2009 | 10:40 am

  A few weeks ago, Max Marchi wrote an article for The Hardball Times analyzing pitchers' fastball velocity trends throughout the year. Last year on THT, Josh Kalk developed a preliminary aging curve for fastball velocity. Both Marchi and Kalk used pitchf/x data, which began being recorded reliably back in 2007. I decided to try to more or less replicate their studies, except using Baseball Info Solutions data from FanGraphs. FanGraphs has monthly splits for all of its offensive and pitching statistics going back to 2002. My sample consisted of just a shade over 2,000 single seasons in which a…

• 
  NYT: Baseball

• Reporter’s Notebook: In a Child’s Company, Champions Become Gods

  By TYLER KEPNER

  7 Nov 2009 | 1:50 am

  In the Canyon of Heroes, teenage revelers stomped and hollered, horns blared and paper fluttered everywhere in the wind.

• All Along Broadway, Pinstripes, Proposals and Chants to ‘Go for 28’

  By JACK CURRY

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:43 pm

  As the Yankees’ Nick Swisher put it, getting up at 6:30 a.m. was not hard because “you know someone is going to be cheering for you all day.”

• Sports of The Times: Amid Celebrations and the Cheers, Cashman Reflects

  By GEORGE VECSEY

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:30 pm

  The Yankees’ general manager has been part of a number of World Series titles, and he has urged his players to enjoy the moment.

• Yankee Fans Celebrate Their Newest Champions

  By THE NEW YORK TIMES

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:32 pm

  In Lower Manhattan on Friday, the Yankees celebrated their 27th World Series championship with a parade.

• After the Championship Comes the Challenge

  By TYLER KEPNER

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pm

  The Yankees’ first test comes immediately, a clash of sentiment and practicality involving two of their best players.

• 
  Bats

• Rodriguez Savors First Title

  By Jack Curry

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:37 pm

  A few minutes after Alex Rodriguez jumped off a parade float Friday, he stopped to answer questions about an embarrassing, challenging and, ultimately, victorious season. But, before Rodriguez talked too much about this season, he referenced 2004, a season that ended shockingly for the Yankees.

• Not Even Ribcage Injury Stopped Rivera

  By Jack Curry

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:10 pm

  Mariano Rivera pitched with a ribcage injury during the postseason. If Rivera had faltered in Game 6 of the World Series, would he have been fit enough to pitch in a Game 7 against the Phillies?

• New York Honors the Yankees

  By Connor Ennis

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:17 am

  The Yankees parade through New York's Canyon of Heroes to celebrate their 27th World Series title.

• Jeter Jokes With Letterman

  By Jack Curry

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm

  Derek Jeter had a strategy for handling questions from David Letterman when he and his Yankee teammates appeared on Letterman's show. Letterman tells the jokes, but Jeter went on the offensive with him.

• Mets and Putz Will Probably Part Ways

  By Ben Shpigel

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:21 pm

  The Mets do not plan to exercise their $9.1 million option on J.J. Putz and will pay him a $1 million buyout.

• 
  Over the Monster

• 11/5,6,7 - Curfews,Catching Up, and Traveling

  bs.uf15bosox9bears23

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  Sorry about the lack of posts for the past few days - apparently, parents don't like realizing that they've raised an insomniac. Posts might be a little further spaced out, but with more links in each edition, depending on how much I can get done before I literally lose my Internet connection on school nights. Hey, that's what you get when a teenager is your news aggregator. Now, with that out of the way, here's the first set of links: Does Boston's Trade for Jeremy Hermida Mean the End for Jason Bay in Beantown? - Bleacher Report Though Hermida is by no means a middle-of-the-order slugger,…

• According to a baseball source, the Sox had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off...

  Randy Booth

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:37 pm

  According to a baseball source, the Sox had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off discussions involving Hardy since the trading deadline, roughly two weeks before Milwaukee sent the struggling shortstop to the minor leagues. Talks continued up until recently, when the Brewers agreed to send Hardy to the Twins for outfielder Carlos Gomez. According to the same source, Milwaukee wanted either starter Clay Buchholz or reliever Daniel Bard for Hardy. The Sox were not willing to offer either pitcher. Milwaukee was not interested in righthander Michael Bowden, whom the Sox would have been…

• Twins Acquire J.J. Hardy

  USG

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:50 am

  More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP Well, there goes that option... (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan) Browse more photos » The Twins traded Carlos Gomez for the Brewers shorstop earlier today. Hardy, who had seemingly lost his starting position in Milwaukee to upcoming prospect Alcides Escobar, was being tossed around by many as a possible option for the Red Sox next year. Other options still remain for the Red Sox to either backup Jed Lowrie or platoon with him. Alex Gonzalez would have to give up his starting position and likely have to accept a good deal less than his $6 million option to…

• Trade Analysis: Huh?mida

  0157H7

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:26 pm

  More photos » by Lynne Sladky - ASSOCIATED PRESS What role will Jeremy Hermida have with the Sox? (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Browse more photos » After Tuesday's trade with the fabulous floundering fish, the Florida Marlins, the Red  Sox have a new outfielder, Jeremy Hermida. This unexpected deal raises the question of what role he'll have on the team. Hermida was a forner top prospect who has largely disappointed in the bigs. His best year was without doubt 2007: .296 / .369 / .501 (.870 OPS), 18 HR, 32 doubles in 123 games. Unfortunately, Hermida's star has fallen…

• "This was not a blockbuster. This was a value trade, a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled...

  Randy Booth

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:23 pm

  "This was not a blockbuster. This was a value trade, a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled potential at a reasonable cost. "The last two years, there were high expectations that didn’t come together for him. His performance certainly hasn’t been as good the last two years as it was in 2007. I can tell you that’s the reason we were able to acquire him today. Had he maintained that performance or had linear progression from 2007 to today, there’s no way we would have been trading for him, let alone in this kind of a deal. "Hermida is a player who hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet.

• 
  The LoHud Yankees Blog

• Changing the sign

  Sam Borden

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:12 pm

  Several people have written to suggest that a little housekeeping is in order and I agree: I have submitted a request to our Web Guru to change the info in the “About This Blog” box on the right so that it reflects the fact that we are writing about the 27-time World Champion Yankees. Thanks [...] Click on the headline for the rest of this blog post ...

• The Jay-Z is one busy man

  Chad Jennings

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:20 pm

  Jay-Z was a part of the Yankees victory parade on Friday. I know this because he walked right past me and I have the blurry cell phone photo to prove it. Turns out, it’s been quite the past few days for the man formerly known as Shawn Carter. On Thursday, Jay-Z performed with U2 in Berlin. For those [...] Click on the headline for the rest of this blog post ...

• Damon: “Why wouldn’t I want to come back?”

  Chad Jennings

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm

  Two of the first Yankees to finish the trip through the Canyon of Heroes and make their way into City Hall this morning were the team’s corner outfielders, Nick Swisher and Johnny Damon. One got there in his first year with the Yankees, the other in potentially his last year. “First year guy coming over here and to [...] Click on the headline for the rest of this blog post ...

• From the street to the Hall

  Chad Jennings

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:51 pm

  Occasionally one by one, but usually two or three at a time, each of the Yankees finished this morning’s parade then made his way along a small walkway, up a set of stairs and into City Hall. That’s Robinson Cano and Freddy Guzman walking up, and that’s Derek Jeter climbing the stairs. Between the walkway and the steps, a [...] Click on the headline for the rest of this blog post ...

• One man’s (obstructed) view from the outside

  Josh Thomson

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:03 pm

  My job today was to delve into the massive crowd in Lower Manhattan and talk to local fans about the parade. Here are a few quick impressions: 1. No city throws a party like New York. I took the train to Grand Central, then the 4-train from there to Fulton St. As I waited for the [...] Click on the headline for the rest of this blog post ...

• 
  Wax Heaven

• Jose Canseco Fight Results & Photos

  Mario A.

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:55 pm

  Jose Canseco wins by decision! Rodney King scores a 2nd round TKO. Details coming soon.

• What Happened To Sammy’s Face?

  Mario A.

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:40 pm

  Much like Mark McGwire and Rafael Palmeiro after the steroids hearing prompted by Jose Canseco’s tell-all book, Sammy Sosa has kept a somewhat of a low profile after his retirement. In May of this year, Sosa attended a People Magazine event and looked like he could still hit 50 home runs without even trying. This week, Sammy attended the Latin Academy Person of the Year event and something was definitely not right. Does anyone have a theory on how someone’s appearance can change so much in just six months? Along with the whitening skin and fake eyes, it appears that he might have…

• 2009 Topps Finest Football Review

  Mario A.

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:40 pm

  This was the year I began appreciating football cards, thanks in part to 2009 Topps Chrome. While I continue to compare almost every product to that release, I finally have found something that Topps it (pun intended). Before I continue I should add that not everyone loves a futuristic-looking brand like Finest but this year Topps really reached out to those old school collectors by creating a design that was much better than Finest Baseball and looks simply wonderful. I have read that there are just too many Refractors in this product but to me that’s crazy. I pulled 16 in this sample…

• Collectors Still Love Bo Jackson

  Mario A.

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:06 pm

  Are you ready to feel old? It’s been 23 years since Vincent Edward Jackson made his baseball debut with the Kansas City Royals in 1986. It seems almost that long since he played his final game in 1994 with the California Angels. You’ll never see Bo Jackson inducted into Cooperstown and with stars like Albert Pujols in the game today, it’s easy to forget what Bo accomplished on the baseball field so long ago but thankfully, collectors still remember. The two-sport star may have only made a small impact on the diamond but despite his short tenure, collectors are still buying…

• Card Awards Beginning To Shape Up!

  Mario A.

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:43 pm

  With the baseball release year quickly winding down, I have been thinking a lot about the ‘End of the Year’ awards and what product will win “Best of 2009″. The two-time defending champion, Upper Deck, appears to be the underdog this year. Having won the award with 2007 SPx and 2008 Masterpieces, Upper Deck is facing some extremely tough competition thanks to a brilliant flagship design by Topps Company and many hit products (not counting Ticket To Stardom). Below are three early candidates by each company that could win the award. Some products that came close to…

• 
  RotoFeed

• Fantasy Baseball: It's Time for You to Love Bobby Abreu

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:16 pm

  More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP Browse more photos » Yesterday Bobby Abreu signed a two-year, 19 million dollar deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. If we were to draft for 2010 today, my guess is that Abreu would be taken around 50th overall which is right about where he was drafted in the 2009 preseason. In 2009, Abreu put up his seventh consecutive season ( eight of his last nine) with at least 100 RBI's and his eleventh season in a row with more than 95 runs where only three of which he scored less than 100 runs. Abreu will probably be drafted around the likes of…

• Eleven Option Decisions Made Today

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:03 pm

  Today was a busy day for options, as eleven decisions were reached. Here's a summary: The White Sox declined Jermaine Dye's $12MM option, paying a $950K buyout. The Phillies exercised their $9MM option on Cliff Lee. The Diamondbacks exercised their $8.5MM option on Brandon Webb. The Royals declined options on Coco Crisp, Miguel Olivo, and Yasuhiko Yabuta. The Brewers declined David Weathers' $3.7MM option, paying a $400K buyout. The Mets declined J.J. Putz's $9.15MM option, paying a $1MM buyout. The Rockies declined options on Yorvit Torrealba and Alan Embree. The Nationals declined Austin…

• Nationals Decline Option On Austin Kearns

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

  The Nationals declined their $10MM option on right fielder Austin Kearns, according to the AP. They'll instead pay a $1MM buyout. Kearns signed his three-year, $17.5MM deal in January of '07, and gave the Nats one solid year for their money. He represents the last of the day's multiple obvious option decisions. Kearns, 29, hit .195/.336/.305 in 211 plate appearances this year. He missed a chunk of the season due to thumb surgery. Based on UZR, he still plays a strong right field.

• Odds & Ends: Hardy, Tejada, Cardinals, Mariners

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pm

  Here's a few links to close out the night... Tony Massarotti of The Boston Globe says that the Red Sox "had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off discussions involving (J.J.) Hardy since the trading deadline." Massarotti's source says the Brewers wanted either Clay Buchholz or Daniel Bard, but Boston was only willing to part with Michael Bowden. MLB'com's Brian McTaggart tweets that Astros' GM Ed Wade said “At this point, we’re prepared to commit to Tommy Manzella playing shortstop," but noted that Miguel Tejada could return as a third baseman. Matthew Leach of MLB.com takes a…

• Twins acquire SS Hardy for CF Gomez

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:27 pm

  With human vacuum Alcides Escobar ready for everyday play and incumbent shortstop J.J. Hardy turning in a disappointing 2009 season, the Milwaukee Brewers were determined to shop Hardy this offseason. It didn’t take long for the Brew Crew to find a trade partner, as the Minnesota Twins acquired Hardy today in exchange for center fielder Carlos Gomez. Because of a demotion to the minor leagues in August, Hardy will be under team control for the 2010 and 2011 seasons (he would have been eligible for free agency following 2010 without the unwelcomed Nashville vacation). The 27 year-old is…

• 
  AaronGleeman.com

• 6 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pm

  Aaron

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pm

  Twins Give Up On Gomez, Get Hardy From BrewersTwo winters ago the Twins got Carlos Gomez from the Mets as the centerpiece of the Johan Santana trade and made the 22-year-old Torii Hunter's replacement in center field despite little evidence that he was ready. He predictably struggled, batting .248/.293/.352 over the next two years, and started just 10 of the final 37 games this season as Ron Gardenhire sat him in favor of Delmon Young. And now just 21 months after trading for him the Twins have traded Gomez to the Brewers for shortstop J.J. Hardy.Gomez has gotten a bum rap, because he wasn't…

• 5 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pm

  Aaron

  5 Nov 2009 | 10:08 pm

  Link-O-RamaUPDATE: Twins have traded Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy. Lots more later, obviously.Last spring, when NBCSports.com began planning to launch a new baseball blog, Matthew Pouliot and I were asked to think of a third writer to possibly bring into the mix. We both immediately suggested Craig Calcaterra, who has predictably been a perfect fit at Circling the Bases. In fact, he's such a great fit that Craig has decided to quit being a lawyer to become a full-time blogger. I've been giving him tips on how to live for weeks without showering and obviously he'll be moving into…

• 3 Nov 2009 | 10:05 pm

  Aaron

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:05 pm

  Realistic Free Agent Options: ShortstopProjecting which free agents the Twins will go after is difficult because their pursuit of low-cost options depends upon how the market shakes out and who drops into their price range. In the past five years they've also wasted money on a lengthy list of washed-up veterans like Tony Batista, Livan Hernandez, Ramon Ortiz, Craig Monroe, Juan Castro, Sidney Ponson, and Luis Ayala (among others) with only an occasional worthwhile signing like Joe Crede or Dennys Reyes sprinkled in.For the most part the Twins have targeted only bargain-basement options while…

• 1 Nov 2009 | 10:17 pm

  Aaron

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:17 pm

  Realistic Free Agent Options: Second BaseProjecting which free agents the Twins will go after is difficult because their pursuit of low-cost options depends upon how the market shakes out and who drops into their price range. In the past five years they've also wasted money on a lengthy list of washed-up veterans like Tony Batista, Livan Hernandez, Ramon Ortiz, Craig Monroe, Juan Castro, Sidney Ponson, and Luis Ayala (among others) with only an occasional worthwhile signing like Joe Crede or Dennys Reyes sprinkled in.For the most part the Twins have targeted only bargain-basement options…

• 29 Oct 2009 | 10:05 pm

  Aaron

  29 Oct 2009 | 10:05 pm

  Link-O-RamaAs a follow-up to last week's entry about the Twins signing 16-year-old phenom Miguel Angel Sano, here's a very interesting video detailing his life in the Dominican Republic and the signing process.My initial plan for Halloween was to go as a fat baseball writer who doesn't like to leave the house, but that seems awfully ambitious and this costume may be even better in a "you are what you eat" way.David Brown of Yahoo! Sports conducted a highly amusing interview with Denard Span (and special guest Brendan Harris).I've been preparing for this moment my entire life. Seriously, right…

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  Baseball America

• Trap's View: Bye-Bye Monkey

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:20 pm

• Mets Top 10 Prospects Chat

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:37 am

  Adam Rubin answered questions about New York's prospects.

• New York Mets Top 10 Prospects With Scouting Reports

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:26 am

  Scouting reports on New York's best prospects.

• New York Mets Top 10 Prospects

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:29 pm

  We ranking the top prospects in New York's farm system and rate the system's best tools.

• Slowing It Down

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:29 pm

  The feeling in the organization is that it is time to slow down with some of the recent high school draft picks, like third baseman Kevin Ahrens and shortstop Justin Jackson, who both struggled in 2009.

• 
  umpbump.com

• Yankees, Evil? I Wish.

  Sarah Green

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am

  The Yankees are World Champions again, but it’s not the same this time. Evil Empire? I wish; at least “evil” is interesting. Instead, what we have is the rise of the boring over the bad. Somehow, Yankeefication has become synonymous with boringification. Johnny Damon: went to the Yankees, became boring. Mark Teixeira: is boring, and thus is perfectly suited for the Yankees. Joba Chamberlain: has a mother who dealt meth. Yet somehow is boring anyway. Even Alex Rodriguez is boring. … [visit site to read more] Tagged:  boring, World Series, Yankees

• Why Everyone Should Root for Pedro

  Sarah Green

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:36 am

  Last week, I wrote this somewhat silly Metro column about why Red Sox fans should root for the Phillies. I was being glib and slightly facetious. But tonight, I really do think that everyone in their right mind should be rooting for the Phillies — specifically, for Pedro Martinez. There’s nothing like a good sports redemption story, and Pedro’s tale has all the ingredients. He has crazy hair, says crazy … [visit site to read more] Tagged:  Pedro Martinez, Phillies, World Series

• Andy Friedman is smart

  Nick Kapur

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:48 pm

  For months now, everyone has been talking about how second baseman Akinori Iwamura’s $4.85 million 2010 option might be too expensive for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays to pick up, especially with the explosive emergence of Ben Zobrist (your 2009 MLB leader in WAR). But all the speculation I’ve seen has focused on whether the Rays would pick up Iwamura’s option or let him walk.

• Please, God, No More Solo Home Runs

  Sarah Green

  1 Nov 2009 | 9:18 am

  Last night’s World Series contest between the Phillies and the Yankees featured five solo home runs — one apiece from Hideki Matsui, Nick Swisher, and Carlos Ruiz, and two for Jason Werth. Is there anything in baseball more boring than a solo home run? I mean, sure, it can be pretty darn interesting in the right context, like if it’s a walk-off solo home run or something. Or if it kills a seagull mid-air. But to me, a game with five solo homers tells you a) that the pitchers are … [visit site to read more] Tagged:  boring, home runs, Phillies, World Series,…

• A-Rod is a beast

  Coley Ward

  31 Oct 2009 | 2:20 pm

  So here’s the deal: Today the New York Post Daily News ran this gossip item and I know it’s last minute, but it’s Halloween and … [visit site to read more] Tagged:  A-Rod, Centaur, Yankees

• 
  Thunder Matt's Saloon

• The Team With Jerry Hairston Jr Won

  Chaim Witz

  4 Nov 2009 | 8:42 pm

  "Good game Jerry.""Thanks man. You too."

• John Grabow......Why?

  Chip Wesley

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:22 am

  According to Bruce Levine on ESPN 1000, the Cubs are working on signing lefty reliever John Grabow to a multi-year deal worth between $6.5 million and $7.5 million.Agent Paul Kinzer represents Grabow, who would be the team's left-handed set-up man and a possible back-up closer in the event Carlos Marmol is injured or needs a day off.Jesus, really? Grabow as our set-up guy? Grabow closing games? Maybe I'm missing something here but at no point last season when I watched Grabow did his pitching knock my dick in the dirt. Fine, I realize we need a lefty in the pen, but keep Grabow away from the…

• The TMS Booze Project Guide to Hangover Prevention & Cures

  Adam Blank

  2 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am

  Hangovers...proof that there is a God, and he hates fun. The only foolproof way to prevent a hangover is to not drink in the first place. But "abstinence only" approaches are hardly realistic, and certainly aren't enjoyable.There are thousands of folk remedies out there. Some work better than others, and some will just aggravate the condition. No single "cure" is going to completely wipe out your hangover, but there are many things that can lessen the symptoms enough so that you can be a productive & functional member of society the next day.Try to prevent the impending hangover while…

• Wolter's Random Braindump, Vol 40

  Wolter

  29 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am

  Some assorted thoughts on this fine Thursday:Through a combination of extremely bad planning and wretched tiredness, I missed the World Series opener. However, I guessed the outcome solely by noticing the lack of psychotically pro-Yankee facebook status updates from friends of mine who have no business rooting for that team. Nobody's louder than a Yankees fan when they win, and nobody changes the subject faster than a Yankees fan when they lose. I'm hoping for a sweep.On that note, while I think it's good for the Series to have a villain, there is nothing I want more than for the Cubs to have…

• Concertgoing For Dummies: The Indie Scene

  The Hundley

  26 Oct 2009 | 10:00 pm

  Hey, have you been to a music show lately? If you're a follower of this blog, there's no doubt that you've read about many o' indie bands. Christ, Chip Wesley gives you enough to listen to for the next five years in his Albums of the Year posts. Perhaps your interest has been piqued and you want to see some of these groups live. It's a tough world out there, folks. It's not like the good ol' days when you could just wear Levi's and a t-shirt to a Slowhand show while you danced at will. Nope. Sorry. Things have changed. Luckily for you, I learned my lesson last night about what the rules are…

• 
  The GNUru Fantasy Sports News | Popular Fantasy News

• Murphy out with back injury

  DoubleDribble

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:44 am

  Pacers F Troy Murphy sat out against the Wizards on Friday with a back injury. He is considered questionable for Wednesday against the Warriors. 5 Vote(s)

• DeAngelo went nuts vs. Saints last time

  Gridiron

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:44 am

  The Panthers visit the Saints in Week 9, and DeAngelo Williams' Fantasy owners will be hoping the RB can repeat the form he showed in the last meeting with New Orleans, when he racked up 178 yards rushing. New Orleans is a much better defense this season though, as they rank 11th vs. the run. The Saints have allowed nine scores on the ground. 8 Vote(s)

• R. Rice facing tough Bengals run D

  Gridiron

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:44 am

  The Ravens visit Cincinnati in Week 9, and Baltimore RB Ray Rice will have his work cut out for him against the league's fifth-rank run defense. The Bengals allow just 88 yards a game on the ground and have given up just three rushing scores this season. Rice did total 117 yards (69 rushing, 48 receiving) and caught a touchdown in their Week 5 meeting. 8 Vote(s)

• Moore to sit out Week 9

  Gridiron

  7 Nov 2009 | 3:44 am

  The Saints will be without WR Lance Moore (ankle) on Sunday in the team's Week 9 game against the Panthers. Courtney Roby is expected to be the team's fourth receiver, although he doesn't figure to be prominent in the offense against Carolina. 8 Vote(s)

• Clancy, Ellis ruled out Week 9

  Gridiron

  7 Nov 2009 | 1:44 am

  Saints DLs Kendrick Clancy and Sedrick Ellis have been ruled out of the team's Week 9 game against the Panthers. 6 Vote(s)

• 
  Surviving Grady

• A Little Traveling Music, Please?

  Red

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:39 am

  Yesterday, more than half of the eligible players jumped into the magic waters of free agency, like a horde of shoppers barreling down the halls of WalMart on Black Friday to grab the last Tickle Me Jim Croce. Not surprising to anyone, Jason Bay was among the first into the pool, looking to improve on the four years and 60 million clams we offered him. Theo has characterized negotiations thus far with Bay as "weird", which is never a good sign. But when the player you covet admits to dressing up as a hula girl in college, well, that's what you're gonna get. While I think offering Bay anything…

• Joe Girardi, Space Monkey

  Red

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am

  Just one World Series title in the twenty-first century? That's unfortunate because, y'know, we've got two.But I can't give credit to Girardi for the Yanks' World Series win. I mean, when you put a monkey in a li'l spacesuit and send him to the moon in a fully-automated, fully-stocked rocket, you don't give the monkey credit for the spaceflight. I can't give it to the players, either, since there really isn't a likable guy in the lot (although I still give Rivera props for his tip of the cap to the Fenway crowd during the 2005 Opening Day intros). How long, seriously, until the first…

• Nothing Is Over Until We Say It's Over

  Denton

  4 Nov 2009 | 4:57 pm

  Like Red, I am not ready for an off-season involving the number 27 and herds of bandwagon Yankee fans. So I cling to the faith that I generally save only for the Red Sox. And the blissful memories of the 2004 ALCS fuel that faith.Some Pettitte stats that give us hope (from Newsday.com):Pettitte is 37 now, and he hasn't pitched on short rest since 2006, when he was an Astro. His record on three days' rest is an uninspiring 4-6 with a 4.15 ERA. And for all the well-deserved respect Pettitte gets for his postseason track record, the World Series has never really been his thing. As a Yankee, his…

• Please Save Us, Pedro, From the Most Insufferable Winter Ever

  Red

  4 Nov 2009 | 3:15 am

  It's tough to get all hot and bothered about the World Series when the Sox don't have a horse in the race. And, honestly, I don't care who wins it all. So long as it isn't the Yankees.A Yankees win would really make this one of the most insufferable winters on record. Think about it. Teixeira and A-Rod cozying up to Conan O'Brien. The inevitable "Dynasty Reborn" documentary on ESPN. Joe Girardi peddling authentic game-worn nipple clamps on QVC. McCarver and Buck carrying Jeets up and down Madison on a sedan chair. AJ Burnett pimping Gatorade, Wheaties and "Balls Up" cologne. CC Sabathia…

• Prepare to Launch Yer Lunch

  Red

  3 Nov 2009 | 12:04 am

  From the latest US Weekly: [Kate] Hudson -- who has been front and center at [A Rod's] baseball games since they began dating this past spring -- has been bragging to pals about what a good lover Rodriguez is."They love sex!" a pal tells Us Weekly of the pair who began dating in May. "They talk about it all day. Kate gets graphic talking about his body, even to her parents."This must make breakfast at the Hudson house ultra-special.Bill Hudson: Kate, will you pass the margarine?Kate Hudson: Sure, Dad. By the way, you should totally see A-Rod's cock and balls.Bill Hudson: Awesome.Well, we'd…

• 
  RotoRob

• Video Game Review: Grand Theft Auto Episodes from Liberty City

  Episodes from Liberty City makes sure the GTAIV series goes out with a BANG!When Grand Theft Auto IV came out in early 2008, Microsoft gave gamers some incentive to purchase it on the Xbox 360 instead of the PS3 by offering two exclusive downloadable expansions to be released at a ...

• Ice Chips: Mining The Netminders

  Craig Anderson better get used to black tie affairs considering how well he's playing this season.An old wise man once told me that your Fantasy hockey team and real hockey team for that matter are only as good as your netminders. Laugh as you will, but this is something that ...

• San Francisco Giants 2009 Season Review: Part I

  The Brad Penny signing turned out pretty well for the Giants -- and the ladies were definitely appreciative of his efforts.Despite again being saddled with one of the worst offenses in the majors, the San Francisco Giants were able to make great progress in 2009, improving their record by 16 ...

• NBA Today: Take it Easy on Ty

  Ty Lawson had a sweet debut, but let's not get carried away until he gets more PT.Ty Lawson was a hot pickup in Week One after his great NBA debut, even making an appearance in our first NBA Wire Troll of the season. But let’s take a bit of a ...

• Fantasy Notes: Casey at the Bat…or Not

  The Atlanta Braves sure got the better end in the Adam LaRoche-Casey Kotchman deal.A couple of months ago, we pegged Casey Kotchman as our Daily Dump and that was a bit of a slam dunk. While he saw a bit more action down the stretch, Kotchman continued to scuffle in ...

• 
  Blogs - mudville

• Don't expect repeat of 1950 [1]

  John Ames

  26 Oct 2009 | 3:18 pm

  AP Photo It’s like déjà vu all over again. Hall of Famer Yogi Berra tags out Granny Hamner in the ninth inning of Game 3 of the 1950 World Series at Yankee Stadium. Dusty Boggess makes the call. There are some out there that can remember the last time the Yankees and Phillies met in the World Series. To set the record straight, I am not one of them. And for that I’m grateful. Or so I thought until I looked at the box scores of the Series. Each of the first three games were decided by a run. The final game had it’s own drama with the Phillies mounting a two-run…

• Twins going outside to play

  John Ames

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:04 pm

  AP Photo Grounds crew workers remove home plate moments after the Twins played their final game in the Metrodome – a playoff loss to the Series-bound Yankees. If you ever attended a game at Minneapolis’ Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome you’ve probably experienced the not-so-subtle shove in the back as you walk out the door. This gentle kick in the backside, a result of the different levels of air pressure on either side of the doorway, is just one of the building’s many quirks. The Twins and their fans may miss some of these quirks as they enhanced the Twins’ decided…

• Not everyone falls for parity myth [2]

  John Ames

  16 Oct 2009 | 1:20 pm

  AP Photo The small-market Pittsburgh Pirates, who haven’t been to the World Series since winning it in 1979, aren’t feeling the “competitive balance” love. Bud Selig was caught recently by the Los Angeles Times saying that for the five years before this one, Major League Baseball enjoyed “as much competitive balance as we’ve ever had.” Of course, that’s not saying much considering baseball’s historic lack of parity. But Selig’s contention that the years 2004-08 were competitively balanced is inherently wrong. Check out Joe…

• Not so fast, New York

  John Ames

  8 Oct 2009 | 5:12 pm

  AP Photo The memory of Nick Adenhart, who died in a car accident in April, has motivated and inspired the Angels. The Yankees’ 103 wins are impressive. Will that gaudy number carry them to another World Series title? It can’t and it won’t. In fact, I think the Yankees will be watching the Series on TV. Before I get into the impending Yankees flame-out, here’s a very quick look at the National League. You can’t say the Cardinals own the Dodgers, but they did pretty well, and their pitching is superior. So they’ll advance to play the Phillies who will beat…

• MLB's oldest veteran turns 100, wants to reconnect

  John Ames

  5 Oct 2009 | 3:42 pm

  AP Photo/Los Angeles Dodgers Tony Malinosky got hits off Dizzy Dean and Carl Hubbell, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and was told by a former college classmate to call him “Mr. President.” Baseball’s oldest veteran celebrates his 100th birthday today. Tony Malinosky’s career as a Brookly Dodger was a short one, but his loyalty has survived the many decades since a knee injury forced him out of the game. Malinosky still watches the Dodgers and was in attendance to see the Dodgers clinch the NL West title this past weekend. Perhaps its that strong sense of loyalty…

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  Minor League Baseball News - MLN - The Raw Feed

• Former Kane County Cougar A.J. Burnett is World Series Champion

  Melissa Martinez

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:25 pm

  MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com- GENEVA, IL – A.J. Burnett, a Cougar from the 1998 squad, has become the most recent world champion with Kane County Cougars ties ...

• Trenton Thunder Well Represented on World Champion Yankees

  Bob Matuszak

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:46 pm

  MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -(Trenton, NJ)- The Trenton Thunder Minor League Baseball team had a total of 23 former players suit up for their Major League affiliate at some point during the...

• Winston-Salem Dash Announce 2010 Schedule

  Bob Matuszak

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:34 pm

  MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -Winston-Salem, NC – The Winston-Salem Dash announced their 2010 schedule, which is highlighted by the opening of a new state-of-the-art downtown stadium. The ballpark will officially debut on Tuesday, April 13, when the Dash hosts the Potomac Nationals with...

• Allen Craig and Lance Lynn Earn St. Louis Cardinals Organization Player and Pitcher of the Year Honors

  Bob Matuszak

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:59 pm

  MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -ST. LOUIS - November 2, 2009 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today the club’s selections for 2009 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year honors, tabbing infielder/outfielder Allen Craig (8th round, 2006) and pitcher Lance Lynn (1st round...

• Frederick Keys Represented By Two Former Players in World Series

  Bob Matuszak

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:43 pm

  MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com -Frederick, MD – Two former Frederick Keys, Jerry Hairston Jr. (New York (AL)) and Jayson Werth (Philadelphia), are matched up in this year’s World Series, two of 26 former Frederick Keys to play in the major leagues in 2009...

• 
  mlb garbage: dispelling nonsense from columnists

• 6 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am

  Ben

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:23 am

  Monetary RealignmentAs the only major American sport to fully embrace the free market (the largely ineffective luxury tax aside), a frequent discussion topic regarding MLB is payroll disparity. Both between the high and the low (think Red Sox/Mets vs. Pirates/Marlins) and the high and the absurdly high (Yankees vs. Everyone Else). While a salary cap is the ultimate solution, there is no sign that Selig would embrace such a measure; nor that there are even many owners behind it. The Yankees give enough in revenue sharing to cover the bills of the low-market teams; the high markets get the…

• 17 Oct 2009 | 4:53 pm

  Ben

  17 Oct 2009 | 4:53 pm

  Chasing MannyWhile there are multiple reasons for the Red Sox's stumbles during the 2009 season (starter injuries, significant decline from some veterans, fatigued bullpen, arguable game-to-game mismanagement, etc.), my personal theory is that the Red Sox have not suitably replaced the dominant lineup presence provided by Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz during most of the Epstein Era. Obviously this is no mean feat -- there are few 1-2 hitter combinations like that in history -- and if the goal is "just" to be a playoff team 8 out of every 10 years then the Red Sox are doing fairly…

• 6 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am

  John

  6 Sep 2009 | 1:00 am

  Research IdeaI feel like players who move from the AL to NL midseason enjoy an irregular level of success (this feeling biased by Holliday/Lugo/Smoltz/Penny from this year). My idea is that playing against tougher competition for half a season makes you better through practice (if true this would have large implications, like players could get better if they practiced harder). I don't have any idea how to measure this though (as in what would the control be here?), how to measure specifically this (as in how to isolate the league change effect), or how to normalize for sample bias since you'd…

• 30 Aug 2009 | 11:57 pm

  John

  30 Aug 2009 | 11:57 pm

  A Penny Saved Is 1 Too ManyReading fangraphs usually produces a catharsis from bad baseball reporting such that no writing occurs on this blog. You can therefore imagine my horror the morning of August 27th when over my cup of coffee I clicked to fangraphs only to discover an abortion of a post ripping the Red Sox for releasing Bradley Wayne Penny. The jist here is that the Red Sox overreacted to a recent stretch of bad pitching and made a quick hook, overall Penny has been unlucky on balls in play and "ZIPS projects a 4.44 FIP from Penny going forward" so they should have held onto him.First…

• 10 Apr 2009 | 8:14 am

  Pete

  10 Apr 2009 | 8:14 am

  2009 Predictions – Now with twice the incompetence!AL East – Toughest division in baseball only getting tougher.1. Yankees. Pains me to do it, but there’s just too much talent here. How are people actually predicting that they’ll miss the playoffs?2. Red Sox (WC). Is anybody else scared by how critical the large father is to this season? And hopefully Lester is immune to the Verducci effect.3. Rays. Dream season last year, so a step back seems pretty likely. Still, it’s unfortunate that one of the 4-5 best teams (possibly best 3) teams in the majors will miss the playoffs because…

• 
  The Joy of Sox

• Red Sox Trade For OF Jeremy Hermida

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:47 pm

  The Red Sox have acquired outfielder Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins for left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez (who spent 2009 in A ball). [SoSH]Also: Fernando Cabrera, Joey Gathright and Nick Green have been optioned to Pawtucket.

• Decisions On Gonzalez, Varitek Due

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

  In the next five days, the Red Sox will likely exercise the club options for 2010 on Victor Martinez ($7 million) and Tim Wakefield ($4).They have seven days to decide on Alex Gonzalez ($6), though Seabass can opt out of the option even if the club picks it up. There is also a decision to be made regarding Jason Varitek ($5), who has a $3 player option.Theo Epstein said that David Ortiz has been working out at Fenway Park almost every day since the ALDS ended. "It's still early in the offseason, but he looks like he's in great shape." 2010 is the final year of Ortiz's contract; the Red Sox…

• WS6: Yankees 7, Phillies 3

  4 Nov 2009 | 12:38 pm

  Phillies - 001 002 000 - 3 6 0Yankees - 022 030 00x - 7 8 0MVP: Shemp (8-for-13, 3 HR, 8 RBI; 6 RBI in Game 6).Pedro Martinez (G2: 6-6-3-2-8, 107) / Andy Pettitte (G3: 6-5-4-3-7, 104)Two old goats out there doing the best they can and having fun with it. I don't have enough words to describe how excited I am about being here. This is just a great gift to me.Chris Jaffe, Hardball Times:[T]here have been 57 previous best-of-seven World Series that reached a Game Six. In the sixth contest*, the trailing [team] has amassed an impressive record of 35-22. Not too shabby. Actually, it was achieved…

• The "Derek Jeter Bridge"

  4 Nov 2009 | 11:11 am

  The New York Post reports that Bronx politicans are considering naming a soon-to-be-built bridge after Derek Jeter.Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. says he has a "man crush" on CI:There have been conversations at the community board, and I know the idea is being examined. It's something I am ready to support.The bridge will span the Metro-North tracks that bisect East 153rd Street between Park Avenue and the Grand Concourse.Maybe some of CI's back taxes could help pay for the $87 million bridge. Back in late 2007, the New York State Division of Tax Appeals said that Jeter had cheated…

• Beckett To Meet With Sox Re Contract

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:35 am

  Josh Beckett and his agent will meet with Theo Epstein in the next few weeks to discuss Beckett's future in Boston.Beckett signed a 3/30 extension in mid-2006 and the club option for 2010 will pay him $12. He turns 30 next May.I want to see where they're going, if I'm even in their plans. If I'm not it was an awesome run. I really haven't sat down and thought about it too much, but at the end of the year we will sit down and at least have a talk.I assume Beckett is expecting (at least) something similar to what A.J. Burnett got from the Yankees (5/82.5). A five-year deal would cover Beckett's…

• 
  Sox and Pinstripes

• A- Rod finally gets his ring

  Vince Mercandetti

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm

  If you were looking for anything about a player's reaction towards winning a championship, the main focus had to be on Alex Rodriguez. This is a man who didn't win for 14 seasons, on three different teams, as the best player in the game. And that doesn't even begin to tell the story.A-Rod is a man of infinite nicknames and infinite moments. Up until this season, all of those moments were either negative or considered "tainted" by many.He was loathed for his past postseason performances, which conveniently ignored much of his time in Seattle, his 2004 ALDS in New York…

• Hideki Matsui: the Silent Hero

  Vince Mercandetti

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  If this was his last night in pinstripes, Hideki Matsui had one of the most memorable careers we will almost definitely overlook.His last moments could have come during the same game as Andy Pettitte and Johnny Damon. One is a decorated hero of postseason history and a staple of the old guard of Yankees' homegrowns. The other is perhaps the biggest figure in Yankees-Red Sox rivalry history and loud and accessible.So it was completely fitting Matsui would share perhaps his last night with them; the night he won an MVP award for his performance in the World Series.I remember the first time…

• Where were you when the Yankees won?

  Vince Mercandetti

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:00 pm

  When your favorite sports team wins a championship I think it's important to document every single moment of that championship. As a writer, I'm trying to document all of my emotions at the time.One moment which really sticks out came with one out in the top of the ninth. I received a phone call from my Dad.Baseball is a sport with a bond generally formed from the Father to the child. In this case, my Dad and I share a special bond over the Yankees. It means that if we disagree on anything or everything, we will always still cherish the happy memories with New York. That's why…

• The Ticker Tape Parade: An event like no other

  Vince Mercandetti

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

  It's kind of funny when you mention a ticker tape parade to a non-New Yorker. Most of them have never heard of one. When you try to explain it's like any other parade but businesses dump garbage on top of the floats, it's even more confusing. But alas, that is a lot of the beauty in a ticker tape parade.It's a parade where it's like confetti is constantly falling. I had the great experience of going to three ticker tape parades in the 90's and can tell you they are awesome if you get the chance to go to one. I skipped out in 2000 because I was bored of them and…

• The Yankees are World Champions of Baseball

  Vince Mercandetti

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:59 pm

  It took all of my high school and college years, then it took an additional baseball season, but the Yankees are once again World Champions. There is too much to say about 2009, it was everything 2008 wasn't and it started and ended like a movie script. As fans we had good vibes when Joe Girardi loosened up, when candy was allowed in the clubhouse again, when the teams skipped practice to go out on team outings and when they played well in exhibition games. We knew this would be a "team" when A-Rod endured the world and the players stuck by him. We knew this team would be a…

• 
  Roto Think Tank

• Other Updates

  Mike Gianella

  26 Oct 2009 | 1:44 pm

  I'm also going to be doing some writing for Rotoman's magazine this winter. So far the only thing I've committed to are player profiles, but I might wind up doing a little more than that this year.The good news is that this keeps me exposed, expands my readership, and gives me other writing opportunities. The bad news is that it stretches me too thin to update the blog as much as I'd like over the next few days....

• Quick Question

  Mike Gianella

  25 Oct 2009 | 12:44 pm

  This is the third winter that Roto Think Tank is up and running, and each year I've been getting a little better at putting up quality content over the winter. The not-so-veiled goal has been to replicate some of the stuff in Alex Patton's old books while also putting my own spin on it.I'm considering switching the values in my off-season tables from 4x4 to 5x5. There are some obvious advantages to this change, but the most obvious advantage is that the expert leagues (LABR, Tout Wars, CBS Sportsline) that I track all are 5x5 leagues. Using 5x5 values will give the 20 or so posts I write this…

• Regular A.L. Post-Mortem IV: Caught in the Middle

  Mike Gianella

  24 Oct 2009 | 6:35 am

  Last time, I went through the trades that I made during the regular season in my non-expert American League. I had auctioned to dump one category and half-dump two others with the hope that I could get lucky in at least one of the two categories I was half-dumping and maximize my points in the other two. Based on the trades I had made, though, this didn't work out too well. I was doing fine in most of the categories where I was trying to compete, but was short in RBI. But I hadn't been able to either get lucky with a big time base stealer or a cheap closer off of the waiver wire.The real…

• CBS Sportsline League of Champions Mock Draft

  Mike Gianella

  22 Oct 2009 | 1:33 pm

  http://fantasynews.cbssports.com/fantasybaseball/story/12404777Since I won the CBS Sportsline A.L. Analysts league, I have the privilege of participating in a mixed league draft with some of the best analysts out there and some CBS regular season champions.We're currently in the 5th round.

• Regular A.L. Post-Mortem III: Roto as Three-Card Monte

  Mike Gianella

  18 Oct 2009 | 10:31 am

  I've been looking back at my regular A.L. auction in my last couple of posts. I won my "expert" league but as always find myself more fascinated with my failures than my successes. When it comes to Roto, the old adage seems true: it's easier to learn from your mistakes.As I wrote last time, based on Patton dollars I actually purchased a $287 team. In retrospect, this was good for fourth place. The best team had $311 in projected value, while the second best team had $304. This was very close to my two projected best rosters; I had $305 and $301 as the two best projected values. I should note…

• 
  Ron Kaplan's Baseball Bookshelf

• * TWIBB — November 6, 2009

  ronkaplan

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:55 am

  This week in baseball books, featuring the best-sellers according to Amazon.com on Friday, November 6. Title Rank General Game Six: Cincinnati, Boston, and the 1975 World Series: The Triumph of America’s Pastime, by Mark Frost 1 The Bill James Handbook 2010 2 The Machine: A Hot Team, a Legendary Season, and a Heart-stopping World Series: The Story of the 1975 Cincinnati Redsby Joe Posnanski 3 Sixty Feet, Six Inches: A Hall of Fame Pitcher & a Hall of Fame Hitter Talk about How the Game is Played, by Bob Gibson, Reggie Jackson, and Lonnie Wheeler 4 Moneyball: The Art of Winning an…

• * This week (Nov. 9) in Sports Illustrated

  ronkaplan

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:55 am

  Baseball takes center stage for perhaps the last time in 2009. Derek Jeter makes an appropriate cover boy for Tom Verducci’s World Series story. This makes the 11th time Jeter has appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Four of those have come for the post-season, including three World Series covers. Here’s a link to the complete gallery on SI Vault.

• * Unclaimed projects

  ronkaplan

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am

  So what do you think: what will be some of the topics we’ll see on the bookshelves next year? I would venture to guess there will be at least a couple on this year’s World Series, including the quickies put out by the local newspapers. Plus autobios of key players (Sabathia, Utley, Werth). The caveat is that they’ll only do well locally. at least one title on the Mets’ collapse a new A-Rod bio, especially now that he’s finally won a World Series ring a bio on Tim Lincecum (esp. if he wins the Cy Young) anniversaries always make good topics. Maybe one about the…

• * Parting World Series thoughts

  ronkaplan

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:31 am

  Kudos for the Star-Ledger and their sidebar for separating World Series records from the rest of the post-season pack. Derek Jeter now has 50 hits in the World Series, which moves him into fifth place. Andy Pettitte has five wins, good for forth place with a bunch of others. I bring this up because there has been, in recent years, a move to lump all post-season statistics together, which is obviously unfair to those who played prior to the divisional system. In the good old fays, the post-season consisted of a maximum of seven games; now it’s 19. Obviously a player like Jeter can put up…

• * As Steve Martin used to say…

  ronkaplan

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am

  “But the most amazing thing of all: I get paid for doing this” (the closing lines for one of the comedian’s songs during his heyday in the late 1970s). I bring it up because, once again, it goes to the folly of using sports pundits as a source of reliable information. At least when it comes to betting on games. One of these days, I’m going to host a website that annotates Pardon the Interruption, to fill in the missing gaps and explain the references that might escape the casual viewer. Don’t get me wrong, I love the show, but people like Tony Kornheiser and…

• 
  Mopupduty.com

• JJ Hardy to Twins, AA sits on Sidelines

  Kman

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:08 pm

  JJ Hardy to Twins for Bag of Balls Via ESPN The Minnesota Twins completed a trade Friday to acquire shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for centerfielder Carlos Gomez. I’ve never been as high on Hardy as fellow Jays bloggers over at Ghostrunner on First and the Blue Jay Hunter. Still, I winced when I think of the missed opportunity for the Jays when this trade crossed the wire. Carlos Gomez Carlos Gomez provides great range in CF and can steal a bag. That’s the good stuff. Bad stuff? .638 career OPS, with a career high of .656 in 2008. He’s nothing…

• Former Jays Prospect in the AFL - Yet Again

  Callum

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:02 am

  Remember Sergio Santos?  If you don’t, here is a refresher: Santos was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. Between 2002 and 2005, Santos steadily worked his way up through the Diamondbacks’ farm system all the way to Triple-A Tucson, where he hit 21 doubles and 12 home runs in 2005. On December 27, 2005, Santos was sent to Toronto along with Troy Glaus in exchange for Miguel Batista and Orlando Hudson. In 2006, he hit .214 with 5 home runs and 38 RBI in 128 games with Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate, the Syracuse…

• Anthopoulos Speaking Out of Both Sides of His Mouth?

  Callum

  30 Oct 2009 | 7:04 pm

  “He throws 94-95 m.p.h. and his slider has depth. He’s never been able to put it all together. In all likelihood he might not be a guy in our bullpen, but our coaches have had success with reclamation projects,” Alex Anthopoulos said, referencing Scott Downs, Shawn Camp and Jesse Carlson, useful arms who’ve were pulled off the scrap heap. This quote is in reference to Sean Henn, a LHP that the new Jays GM has acquired in his first ever transaction in charge of the team.  The coaching staff has had success with reclamation projects? He must be talking about this guy: So, if you…

• 2009 Playoff Bullpen Suckage

  Kman

  21 Oct 2009 | 9:00 am

  At this point of the 2009 post-season playoffs (Oct 21st), 21 games have been played. Obviously 21 games have been won and lost. Of these losses, 9 have been charged to bullpens. This is more than the entire 2008 playoff cycle, which witnessed 8 bullpen losses. There have been a total of 19 save opportunities. Only 10 have been converted. WHIP ratios for starters is a combined 1.24. It is 1.58 for relievers. Yanks take the Cake Clearly the Yankees have the best bullpen of the remaining playoff teams. They have the lowest overall team ERA (1.96) and Mariano Rivera. Yet probably the most…

• Jays to re-sign Marco Scutaro?

  Kman

  19 Oct 2009 | 9:46 am

  Bob Elliot’s most recent column featured a few quotes from new GM Alex Anthopoulos regarding Scutaro and Barajas. “We like both players,” “We’d like to bring them both back.” Can the Jays afford to bring them both back? Antopoulous won’t know his team budget until later this month. “Like I said, we like both players and they are both important positions, but we can’t make a bad deal,” the rookie GM said from Toronto. That finally quote pretty much lays it out. The Jays won’t force themselves into a “bad deal”.

• 
  Baseball-Intellect

• An Interview with Wrigley Bound, Part 1

  Alex Eisenberg

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:46 pm

  A second interview I recently gave was with Matt Swain of Wrigley Bound, a site dedicated to all things Chicago Cubs and their farm system. In part 1 of this interview, I offer in-depth takes on Hak-Ju Lee, Logan Watkins, and Starlin Castro. Below is part my answer about Hak-Ju Lee's power potential...

• An Interview with Fake Teams, Part 1

  Alex Eisenberg

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:26 pm

  I recently was interviewed by Bryan Everson of Fake Teams. In the interview, I answered a wide range of questions related to B.J. Upton, Brett Anderson, Trevor Cahill, David Price, David Wright, Alex Gordon, and Bronson Arroyo...

• The Raw Emotion of Anthony Ranaudo

  Alex Eisenberg

  2 Nov 2009 | 2:21 am

  An in-depth look at the potential top-5 draft pick of 2010, including a pitch-by-pitch analysis... This is a Premium-Level article, so you'll have to sign up for a membership to read it...

• The Dominance of Rays Pitching Prospect Matt Moore

  Alex Eisenberg

  29 Oct 2009 | 1:40 am

  A pitch-by-pitch look at Moore's start vs. Lexington as well as a look at Tim Beckham's defense... This is a Premium-Level article, so you'll have to sign up for a membership to read it...

• Link Love and Minor Musings for 10-27-09

  Alex Eisenberg

  28 Oct 2009 | 6:35 am

  Thoughts on the high school pitch counts of Evan Anundsen as well as a look Matt Garza's slider, Scott Sizemore's broken ankle, and more...

• 
  Baseball Yakker

• Cardinals season closes with final NLDS loss

  KB

  12 Oct 2009 | 12:07 pm

  When Adam Wainwright delivered a 92 mile-an-hour fastball to Nyjer Morgan on April 6th, the 2009 baseball season began for the St. Louis Cardinals. Now a little more than 6 months later, the season is over. The Cardinals went on to win 91 games and lose 71 in the regular season. The Cardinals featured potential Cy Young and the Most Valuable Player award winners. The Cardinals also hosted the All-Star game and won the Central Division championship. If only the season could have lasted a little longer. With two out and one on in the bottom of the 9th, Rick Ankiel struckout to end to the…

• St. Louis denied win in NLDS Game 2

  KB

  9 Oct 2009 | 12:33 pm

  If you’ve ever listened to Mike Shannon announce a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game in Los Angeles, it won’t take you long to learn he doesn’t think much Dodger Stadium. He complains the ballpark is too noisy, though there are other reasons for the Cardinals not to like the park after Game 2 of the NLDS. Because of the Cardinals’ season record, the team was forced to open the playoffs on the road. They did so last Wednesday in Los Angeles with a poorly played game that ended in defeat. The Cardinals were given a chance to even the series on Thursday in the second game…

• Cards fall in Game 1 of NLDS vs. LA

  KB

  8 Oct 2009 | 1:13 pm

  In 2006, the St. Louis Cardinals played a very poor final two weeks of the regular season, nearly missing the playoffs. The team went 3-9 in their 12 games prior to the post-season, but went on to win 11 out of 16 playoff games and win the World Series. Likewise, the Cardinals played poorly in the final games of this season. But many have hoped that St. Louis will again turn things around and be the surprise of the post-season at hand. But unfortunately, the Cardinals’ playoff opener showed little evidence for this hope. Game 1 of the 2009 National League Division Series between Central…

• Cardinals fall again, but playoffs await

  KB

  6 Oct 2009 | 12:38 pm

  One thousand, four hundred and seventy-four innings ago, the 2009 season began for the St. Louis Cardinals. Since then, the Cardinals’ roster has changed dramitcally, adding Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, Julio Lugo and John Smoltz to the team. Together, St.Louis has fought and earned a spot in the playoffs. But on Sunday, the Cardinals regular season came to a close, as the team played its 162nd game of the year. One year ago, St. Louis closed the season with their 6th straight win. But on Sunday, the Cardinals fell to the Milwaukee Brewers for the third straight time. The good news,…

• Errors make difference in St. Louis’ 4-5 loss

  KB

  5 Oct 2009 | 1:30 pm

  It was a tough day for the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The team was coming off a game that they led by a score of 6-0 at one point, but let slip away, theoretically speaking. Similarly, the game played on Saturday was slippery too, though more in the physical sense. The Cardinals, in their 161st game of the season, failed to play proper defense, making three errors. And along with the miscues came three unearned runs, including the tying and go-ahead run. In the end, the unearned runs were the difference in 4-5 game. Opposing the Cardinals were the Milwaukee Brewers, and they themselves…

• 
  BBTF's Baseball Primer Newsblog

• Hated Yankees: Without Roger Maris, the Hall of Fame isn’t complete

  jimfurtado@baseballthinkfactory.org

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:38 am

  The Roger Maris Museum is located in a mall, right next to Grizzly’s Burgers...isn’t that enough! When I was a young man, I swore I would not visit the Baseball Hall of Fame until Roger Maris was properly enshrined. ...Roger Maris is not in the Hall of Fame because he didn’t suck up to baseball writers during his chase of Babe Ruth. Period. Commissioner Ford Frick hated him for breaking Ruth’s record and baseball writers hated him for not being their buddy and not being Mickey Mantle or Babe Ruth. Every other excuse anyone gives for him not being in the Hall of Fame is fiction. He was…

• MLB: Beat reporter Jim Street answers Mariners fans’ questions

  jimfurtado@baseballthinkfactory.org

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:20 am

  about having the first Partial Hall of Fame Vote of the season!  Woooooooo! Like many Mariners fans, I think Edgar Martinez was the most loyal, most dependable, and most productive of anyone to ever put on a Mariners uniform. I loved Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez when they were Mariners, but Martinez was a cut above in many ways. Is there anything fans can do to help get him into the Hall of Fame next year? Well, Dennis, unless you are a member of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, there really is nothing you can do. The voters consist of BBWAA members who have covered…

• Unheard-of Call in Cuban Baseball Game Raises Controversy

  jimfurtado@baseballthinkfactory.org

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:08 am

  For such a poor country...Cuba certainly has a lot of Meals. Sancti Spiritus Roosters defeated national Cuban champions Habana Cowboys 4-2 in a marathon game that lasted 16 innings, signed by an unheard-of call that could change the basis of umpires work in Cuban baseball. On the 16th inning, Roosters third baseman Yulieski Gourriel hit a hard drive line over the pitcher’s mound that none of the umpires could quite see. The ball hit the mound and altered its course towards the Cowboys second baseman, Dayan Garcia who caught it without letting touch the ground, and threw it to first, making…

• Boston Globe/Massarotti: Sox were in on Hardy

  jimfurtado@baseballthinkfactory.org

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:26 pm

  Stoking some fires in the ol’ hot stove: Milwaukee wanted either starter Clay Buchholz or reliever Daniel Bard for Hardy. The Sox were not willing to offer either pitcher. Milwaukee was not interested in righthander Michael Bowden, whom the Sox would have been willing to part with, and the Sox did not have a center field prospect who could match Gomez’s skill set. I’d have done Bard for Hardy myself - of course I don’t think that would have been enough to get it done, and one wonders what else Doug Melvin might have wanted.

• Village Voice: Barra: Jockbeat’s World Series Wrap

  jimfurtado@baseballthinkfactory.org

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:22 pm

  It takes a pretty, pretty, pretty big man to admit his #############...but Barra does. First of all, on behalf of those at the Village Voice who are Yankee fans, let me thank Roy Edroso for the headline on his piece, “Congratulations ######### Yankee Fans.” We accept your congratulations, and we assume you mean ######### in the best possible sense. And, yes, we are ##########. We don’t care that we are, so long as we win. And we did win, and we will continue to win as long as there are ##########. ...By the way, while I’m on the subject, let me say that I think Mariano is overrated. I…

• 
  脱毛(エステサロン・クリニック・脱毛クリーム・脱毛器)専門の口コミ＆最新ニュース

• 日本最大級のサンプリング＆クチコミサイト「モラタメ.net」　　サイトリニューアル

  2 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  　株式会社ドゥ・ハウス（港区　代表：稲垣佳伸）が運営する日本最大級のサ ンプリング＆クチコミサイト「モラタメ.net」はより多くの皆さまに快適に ご利用いただくため、サイトリニューアルいたしました。

• ユニ・チャーム、ディズニーキャラクター「チップ＆デール」をデザインしたベビー用紙おむつを発売

  1 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm

  …

• 登録お問い合わせ殺到中！全国の住宅展示場・モデルハウスを一挙紹介！住宅業界待望の発展型高機能ポータルサイト“モデルハウスナビ”、オープン。

  31 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm

  全国の住宅展示場やモデルハウスの情報を、家を建てたいユーザーに迅速に提供するポータルサイト“モデルハウスナビ”。登録料・利用料が一切不要で、初心者でも簡単に掲載・更新できる画期的なCMSを搭載。住宅展示場・モデルハウスを効果的にアピールでき、集客率のアップに貢献する新しいポータルサイトの誕生。

• 業界初!!口コミ機能付き、有料老人ホーム紹介サイト『シニアハウスコム』が、シルバー新報に掲載されました。

  28 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm

  現在、約270施設を掲載している有料老人ホーム紹介サイト『シニアハウスコム』が9月17日にリニューアルオープンいたしました。それに伴い、『シルバー新報(9/11 発刊)』に掲載されました。

• 日本初、ソーシャルレンディング（個人間融資）「maneo（マネオ）」 「コーポラティブハウスオークション」の説明会を開催

  19 Oct 2009 | 11:00 pm

  maneo株式会社は、株式会社アーキネットとコーポラティブハウス建設事業に伴う資金調達を「第1回：私流の住まいづくりを！コーポラティブハウスの建設資金」オークションとし、2009年11月16日から開催いたします。それに伴い、本オークションの説明会を行うことをお知らせいたします。

• 
  Blue Collar Baseball

• Lee and Pedro bring inspiration

  Deaner

  29 Oct 2009 | 5:04 pm

  I'm back. Part of the reason that I haven't posted in over a month is that I've found it difficult to get inspired. The last few weeks of the regular season and the first couple of rounds of the playoffs didn't really light a fire under me. This year's World Series between the Phillies and Yankees seems to be a great matchup on paper but, to be honest, I don't like either team so I wasn't sure I'd find anything to write about. I hate what the Yankees symbolize. That coupled with the fact that I'm a small-market fan means that I can't root for them. I do, however, have a great deal of respect…

• Aaron Harang Giveth

  Deaner

  18 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

  If you watched the Reds game on FS Ohio last night you may have heard George Grande and Chris Welsh talking about what Aaron Harang did to show his appreciation for the hard-working Reds clubhouse staff. Harang bought Rick Stowe and his staff a primo 6-seat golf cart to use while running errands around the ballpark. It's a top-of-the-line $6,500 cart. Harang said last night that it is road ready on streets up to 35mph. Here is Mark Sheldon's post. Hat tip to Redleg Nation for the link.

• Ernie's farewell

  Deaner

  17 Sep 2009 | 8:47 am

  Few people get a chance to give a farewell speech or see how much they've touched other peoples lives but if anyone deserves that chance it's Ernie Harwell. Here is his farewell address to Tigers fans.Big League Stew's post.Ernie's farewell to his media colleagues.

• Harwell's diagnosis is incurable

  Deaner

  4 Sep 2009 | 5:16 am

  Sorry folks for not posting much lately. I've been extremely busy.I just wanted to share this piece of news about long-time Detroit Tigers radio broadcaster, Ernie Harwell. Unfortunately, Harwell has been diagnosed with an incurable cancer. Harwell is one of baseball's great voices and I highly recommend listening to one of his old broadcasts if you get the chance.The Detroit Free Press store sells a few of Harwell's books as well as an audio scrapbook. I'm continually enthralled by some of the stories that Harwell tells on the 4-CD audio scrapbook, like getting Babe Ruth to autograph his…

• Adam Dunn, Good Guy

  Deaner

  17 Aug 2009 | 10:40 am

  I've been critical of Adam Dunn's effort (or seemingly lack of) in the past, however, he really is a good guy. Here's a great Dunner story via Hal McCoy.ALL YE haters of Adam Dunn, check this out. A large group of people was gathered outside the media elevators after Saturday’s game and Nationals first baseman Adam Dunn was among them. He was chatting with a man in a wheelchair diagnosed with terminal cancer. Dunn posed for pictures and signed autographs, then said to the entire group, “Would like to come back to Sunday’s game” The group said, “Of course,” and Dunn said, “There…

• 
  Baseball Awards

• 1977 National League

  Shawn

  24 Oct 2009 | 8:16 am

  The NL kept its lineup while the AL expanded. The Reds fell from the top spot, as the Dodgers returned to the top of the NL West with 98 victories. The Reds were second with 88. Houston went 81-81 to finish third, followed by San Francisco, San Diego, and finally Atlanta with 101 losses. Philadelphia won the East again with 101 wins, with Pittsburgh just behind at 96 victories. St. Louis was 3rd, Chicago 4th, Montreal 5th and the Mets last. The Dodgers then beat the Phillies in the NLCS.Dave Parker won the batting title with a .338 average, just ahead of teammate Rennie Stennett at .336.

• 1977 American League

  Shawn

  18 Oct 2009 | 9:03 am

  New York's Yankees won their first World Series since 1962, and started a modern version of their dynasty. The Yanks first had to survive a dogfight in the East Division, besting Boston and Baltimore each by a mere 2.5 games in a race to the end. The Yankees won 100 games, the Red Sox and Orioles 97 each. The rest of the division was under .500, even with the presence of two expansions teams, as Toronto and Seattle entered the league. Detroit, Cleveland and Milwaukee were the also-rans, and Toronto brought up the rear in the East with 107 losses.The West was won by Kansas City for the second…

• 1976 National League

  Shawn

  13 Oct 2009 | 3:55 pm

  Cincinnati repeated as World Series champs by going undefeated in the postseason, and Joe Morgan repeated as MVP. Philadelphia made the postseason for the first time since 1950, taking the East Division title. Neither division race was especially close. The Reds won 102 games and led the Dodgers by 10 at the end. The rest of the division was under .500, with Houston, San Francisco, San Diego, and Atlanta trailing behind. The Phillies beat out the Pirates by 9 games, 101 wins to 92, with New York 3rd at 86 wins. Chicago and St. Louis trailed, and Montreal lost 107 games.Morgan led in OPS by a…

• 1976 American League

  Shawn

  3 Oct 2009 | 6:12 am

  The Yankees won the pennant for the first time in 12 years, their longest drought since the dynasty began in 1921. The free agent era dawned, after an arbitrator ruled in the offseason that clubs could renew contracts for one season only, not in perpetuity. This led the A's stars to play out their option years en masse, and set off the preseason trade of Reggie Jackson and Ken Holtzman to Baltimore for Don Baylor and Mike Torrez. The Yankees then picked Holtzman up at midseason in a huge 10-player trade. New York won 97 and outdistanced Baltimore by 10.5 games in the East, with Boston 3rd,…

• 1975 National League

  Shawn

  27 Sep 2009 | 8:56 am

  The Dodgers were hailed as the new dynasty over the winter and into May. Then the Reds moved Pete Rose to third base, installed George Foster in the lineup and kicked into high gear, not stopping until they won 108 games. They went on to win their first World Series since 1940. LA was left in the dust with 88 wins. San Francisco was 3rd, San Diego 4th, then Atlanta and Houston. Pittsburgh won the East, 6.5 games ahead of the renewed Phillies. The Mets and Cardinals tied for 3rd, with Chicago and Montreal tied for 5th.Bill Madlock led the league in average, Mike Schmidt in home runs, Greg…

• 
  Baseball Daily Digest

• Cause and Effect: Baseball’s Lack of Financial Regulation

  Bill Baer

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:01 am

  Most teams have the capability of playing the video game on cheat-mode, but few teams choose to do so.

• Buy Me a Trophy

  Joe Hamrahi

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:14 am

  I’ve been struggling lately with how to best articulate my distaste with the Major League Baseball economic system. It’s not so much the Yankees (although they’re a big part of it) as it is the massive imbalance that troubles me. I know everyone says they’re sick of hearing about it, but take a look at the Yankees payroll over the [...]

• White Sox deal Getz, Fields for Royals’ Teahen

  Zach Sanders

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:16 am

  This morning, Bill Madden of the New York Daily News reported that the Chicago White Sox have acquired Mark Teahen from the Kansas City Royals for Chris Getz and Josh Fields. Teahen will likely play right field for the White Sox, who will be letting Jermaine Dye walk in free agency. Teahen is nothing special, putting [...]

• Hideki Matsui named first DH and first Asian MVP

  Michael Street

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:25 pm

  His .615 average, 3 HRs and 7 RBI led the Yankees, and his 6 RBI tonight were the most by any player since Bobby Richardson, ho accomplished the feat nearly fifty years ago in 1960. He drove in 21% of the 33 runs scored by his team. He didn’t start in the three games in Philadelphia, but [...]

• Connections

  Matt Sisson

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:11 pm

  Good evening baseball world…Tonight is a happy night.  Tonight marks what could be the end of baseball as we know it for the 2009 season.  Odd that you may be hearing that from a person who loves baseball so much, but it’s true.  Whether the Yankees win another World Series or the Phillies live to [...]

• 
  Baseball Mud: History, Stats, and Other Stuff

• Moving on over

  David H. Martinez

  20 Oct 2009 | 9:41 am

  Been gone for a while, sorry about that. I'm going to be putting Baseball Mud on hiatus for a while to concentrate on my new blog, The Ghost of Babe Ruth. Check it out.

• Yankees Top 10

  David H. Martinez

  28 Aug 2009 | 9:37 am

  I'm a sucker for lists of top 10 greatest players, and here's a new one, provided by the great Jonah Keri of Baseball Prospectus fame: Top 10 Yankees. He has a rule that only time with the Yankees counts, so no Winfield, Reggie, A-Rod, Maris, etc.The only real argument is near the bottom of the list. Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, and Earl Combs finish at numbers 8, 9, and 10, but I could see replacing one of them with Don Mattingly or Tommy Henrich or Charlie Keller or Elston Howard (or Winfield or Reggie, for that matter).Obviously, this is a formidable team, and, in spite of the fact that…

• Must-reading for fans of the blog

  David H. Martinez

  19 Aug 2009 | 10:11 am

  A very, very important story for fans of the blog to read: Baseball Rubbing Mud: Road to the Hall Is Paved with Good Inventions.

• Padres All-Time Team

  David H. Martinez

  14 Aug 2009 | 11:09 am

  In honor of the 40th anniversary of the San Diego Padres, This Week in Baseball is set to name its all-time Padres team on its episode:TWIB studied the rosters of every Padres team and came up with the top player at every position on the diamond as well as three pitchers.Benito Santiago gets the nod at catcher, Nate Colbert is at first base, Mark Loretta is at second, former MVP Ken Caminiti starts at third, Garry Templeton mans shortstop while Hall of Famers Tony Gwynn and Dave Winfield join Steve Finley in the outfield.The rotation includes former Cy Young Award winners Jake Peavy and Randy…

• The price of honesty

  David H. Martinez

  13 Aug 2009 | 4:41 pm

  Well that didn't take long:CINCINNATI -- Major League Baseball has requested a meeting with Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo about his admission of taking supplements not approved by the league, USA Today reported on Thursday.I guess we won't be seeing any other players talk honestly about taking supplements for a while, not if Big Brother is going to have a sit-down with them.

• 
  Baseball Prospectus

• Transaction Analysis Blog: Better Angels and a Beantown Explosion? by Christina Kahrl

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  The Hermida trade, the Angels` choice, and other moves.

• Prospectus Today: Looking Both Forwards and Back by Joe Sheehan

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Reflecting on Game Six of the World Series before diving into winter activity.

• Checking the Numbers: Detecting Discipline by Eric Seidman

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Taking a look at a hitter`s discipline and pitch sensitivities; the numbers on who`s more inclined to do so may surprise you.

• Kiss`Em Goodbye: New York Yankees by Baseball Prospectus

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Planting a smooch on the pinstriped team that at long last lived up to the expense of employing it.

• Kiss`Em Goodbye: Philadelphia Phillies by Baseball Prospectus

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  Back-to-back pennants are nice, but what about gunning for doing it thrice and adding a second crown in 2010?

• 
  BR Bullpen Today in Baseball History

• 7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  1959 - Rich Rodas, pitcher

• 7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  1947 - Cy Wright, infielder (b. 1893)

• 7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  1889 - The Brotherhood and its backers meet to begin preliminary work on the organization of a ''Players League''. The players believe "that the game can be played more fairly and its business conducted more intelligently under a plan which excludes everything arbitrary and un-American."

• 7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  1979 - Willie Collazo, pitcher

• 7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:00 am

  1922 - The Philadelphia Phillies fire manager Kaiser Wilhelm. Veteran shortstop Art Fletcher succeeds him.

• 
  Roto Savants

• Hot Stove: Royals-White Sox

  Ryan A. Restivo

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:45 am

  Royals trade Mark Teahen to the White Sox for Chris Getz and Josh FieldsSo the White Sox found their replacement to Jermaine Dye? All they had to do was give up their every day second baseman and a player who had never made a true impact on the Sox.So as difficult as it is to try to get into Kenny Williams mind, let's try play this line of reasoning:Teahen can play 3B or RF really for this team. His defense would probably be better than Dye's but not better than Gordon Beckham's.You could play with an infield of Teahen-Beckham-Ramirez-Konerko around the diamond. Alexei Ramirez's defense at…

• Hot Stove: Pirates-Rays Trade

  Ryan A. Restivo

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am

  We already have two trades. Here's the first.Rays trade Akinori Iwamura to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jesse ChavezChavez is a decent haul for the Rays who didn't have a spot anymore for Iwamura. Zobrist should now be enshrined as the permanent second basemen, unless the Rays want to push him out to right field and sign another second baseman. For fantasy purposes this means Zobrist will be getting a lot of at bats in 2010.Meanwhile this might not mean more moves are coming, but it does mean a few things fantasy-wise.It probably means Delwyn Young will be pushed back into the outfield…

• Rotosavants' Top 100(+2) for 2010: Part 3

  Lee Perrault

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  During the conclusion of 2009 and into this year's playoffs, we'll be compiling our current Top 100 rankings for next year.All 6 authors will be taking turns nominating whom they think are the best fantasy players in baseball, along with our first two big sleepers of 2010 upon conclusion. We'll also neatly wrap up and revise our initial Top 100 in the offseason, so you'll always have a quick list to use right before draft time.In Part 3 this week, we'll be looking at players 25-36.25. Dan Haren (Aaron Murray)Haren has really cemented his position as an elite starter over the past two seasons.

• Manny Acta's Easy Choice

  Ryan A. Restivo

  26 Oct 2009 | 11:12 am

  There's no doubt about it that Manny Acta was put in a bad situation in Washington. There was no real chance to win and he was fired earlier this year. Yet, as of Saturday night, he was negotiating his next job between two teams: Cleveland and Houston.Houston, 233-252 over the last 3 years, wanted Acta for 2 years plus an option. Owner Drayton McLane believes the Astros are always a step away from winning it all. Only 2 of the 8 starters in the lineup were under 30 on opening day. This team went 25th in OBP, 25th in HR and 27th in runs in the majors. Roy Oswalt is now on the wrong side of 30…

• Cheap in 2010

  Aaron Murray

  25 Oct 2009 | 6:52 pm

  We all know that Jimmy Rollins had a rough year in '09 and most of us know that a big part of his difficulties were of the BABIP variety, the .253/2nd lowest in the majors BABIP variety to be exact. But while we all know that that number is bad it's worth while to take a look at how bad it is and what it means. What would Rollins' numbers have been had he carried a .300 BABIP the whole season and still produced at the same rates for his fantasy relevant stats?25/118/91/37/.296Those are pretty great numbers. Rollins is not in decline.He may be stubborn and thickheaded, he reportedly makes a…

• 
  Diamond Hoggers

• Tim Lincecum cited for marijuana possesion

  TheNaturalMevs

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:12 am

  This offseason has started with a bang. The 2008 Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum was found to have 3.3 grams of pot on him in a traffic stop on October 30th. This isn't a huge shocker really as Lincecum just seems (forgive us) to be a guy in MLB that would have a higher probability of liking to fire up some green. Doesn't mean he's a bad guy. Just throwing that out there.We like Lincecum. We've talked to him before, sort of; and there's a better then even chance that he was high when he was talking to us (it was very late at night). And if he was, so what. At the same time, Lincecum is…

• Diamond Hoggers Field Trip: Redsfest 2009

  TheNaturalMevs

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:04 am

  We were supposed to attend Redsfest last December but we became deathly ill and couldn't make it. This year, we give our guarantee that we'll be at Redsfest 2009 The Redsfest 2009 feature list has leaked its way out. Here's a few of the attractions: Over 50 current and former Reds players are expected to attend including Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, Joey Votto, Bronson Arroyo, Dusty Baker and 2010 Reds Hall of Fame inductees Chris Sabo and Pedro Borbon.A special 20th anniversary tribute to the 1990 World Series Champions will include Sabo, Joe Oliver, Eric Davis, Ron Oester, Hal Morris,…

• In Case You're Wondering About Hideki Matsui's Signature

  TheNaturalMevs

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:19 pm

  While most other baseball blogs are talking about Joe Girardi helping a motorist on his way home from his World Series win on this day after, we're talking about the Most Valuable Player of the World Series' autograph.Last night laying in bed, we started thinking about how now would be a bad time to go out and buy a signed ball of Matsui's. But we wondered if it had the Japanese scribe on it. We've got our answer. He won't be a Yankee probably even for another game, he might not even log another game in Major League Baseball. But Hideki Matsui has carved his name in the history books, and he…

• 5 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm

  TheNaturalMevs

  5 Nov 2009 | 12:32 pm

  Where do the 2009 Yankees rank? According to the Times, this was the 12th best Yankees championship team of all time. I'd have probably ranked them a little big higher at least in the top ten. Then again, I never saw any of the Yankees teams before the 1996 Yankees (who were ranked 26 of 27). [NY Times Baseball Blog

• The Sun Sets on Another MLB Season

  TheNaturalMevs

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:43 am

  You know, we weren't thinking about the Yankees victory speeches or anything else as the final outs got away from us last night. You heard us, they got away from us. We were thinking about now we have to go a little more then five months of life without our favorite sport. The curtain falls on another year of MLB. Now we get to speculate on a bunch of moves that our team won't make, and watch other teams better themselves and get ready to make a run for a title. Keep it locked on Diamond Hoggers all offseason long. If you're a die hard, you've come to the right place. We'll countdown together…

• 
  FantasyScope Baseball

• 2010 Projections and fPAA, Alpha Edition

  redsoxtalk

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:42 pm

  Now that we have some projections to look at, we can start to look at fantasy value. I have developed our fPAA method using 2009 fantasy league data. I calculate player value in two ways: first I look at their value in terms of production rates (i.e. total playing time doesn’t matter as long as [...]

• FantasyScope 2010 Early Projections

  redsoxtalk

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am

  With the 2009 World Series in the books, it’s time to start thinking about next year. Too many days without baseball makes my brain go numb, so here’s something for you to play around with. I have posted the alpha version of my FantasyScope projections for 2010! Full spreadsheet available here. Feel free to use these [...]

• 2010 Profile: Ben Zobrist

  redsoxtalk

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:37 pm

  After a stellar .297-91-27-91-17 season (at multiple positions) which made Ben Zobrist a household fantasy name, what can we expect from him next year? Zobrist has always been a good hitter in the minor leagues, but 2009 came as pretty much a universal surprise. After a career year like that, it’s important to have realistic [...]

• 2009 Forecaster’s Challenge results

  redsoxtalk

  28 Oct 2009 | 12:53 pm

  FantasyScope is proud to have participated in Tom Tango’s 2009 Forecaster Challenge over at his “The Book” blog. Well, the results are now out, and for us they weren’t pretty. FantasyScope was ID 111, and we finished near last out of 22 forecasters, no matter the methodology. Still, it was a valuable experience for me, [...]

• Over-Under: Jason Bay and Magglio Ordonez

  redsoxtalk

  22 Oct 2009 | 9:15 am

  People who play fantasy baseball classically overvalue the most recent year. Someone hits 30 HR and drives in 100 runs, so they’ve gotta be a 2nd rounder, right? Not always. Probably the worst thing you can do is to value a player by his career year, because you’ll always pay too much. There are some [...]

• 
  Joe Posnanski

• The Yankees Payroll

  Joe Posnanski

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:50 am

  The following is a screed about the Yankees payroll. If you are a Yankees fan uninterested in a screed about the payroll, don’t read it. You won’t enjoy it. Go out, buy a championship T-shirt, reminisce about this great team, enjoy the victory. I’m telling you: Don’t read it. As for the rest of you: The following is a screed about the Yankees payroll. It is, I think, something that is always bubbling below the surface of baseball (when you are not a Yankees fan). I rarely write about it because … it’s like writing about the heat in Phoenix. We all know…

• Getting What You Deserve

  Joe Posnanski

  4 Nov 2009 | 6:35 am

  “Mr. Steinbrenner deserves another championship.” – Joe Girardi One of the kinder compulsions of human nature is to soften the edges of people at the end of their lives. We strain to see their good side. We make them sympathetic. It was this way on both sides of the aisle with Ronald Reagan and Ted Kennedy at the end of their lives. It is this way with aging bank robbers and sports stars and rock stars and hit men and saloon singers. Age is the great equalizer. And so, one of the background songs of this World Series is that it would be heartwarming and emotional if the…

• ABC: Keystone Light Grandpa

  Joe Posnanski

  3 Nov 2009 | 6:41 am

  Type of beer commercial: Comedy. Beer rating: J (Juvenile: Childish themes, moderate violence). The set up: Grandson is talking to two friends — a man and a woman — at what appears to be a family picnic of some kind. The friends are certainly platonic … it seems unclear why Attractive Woman is in this commercial except that a beer commercial is not a beer commercial without Attractive Woman. Perhaps she is a next-door neighbor who has quietly longed for Grandson like Boof in “Teen Wolf” or the girl in the “You Belong To Me” Taylor Swift video*.

• ABC: Miller Lite eHarmony

  Joe Posnanski

  2 Nov 2009 | 9:17 am

  So, we might start a new blog feature that we will call “ABC” — which (of course) stands for: “Analyzing Beer Commercials.” I, like many Americans, find beer commercials to be endlessly fascinating. Some make me laugh, some make me groan, some make me wonder what exactly we have become as a society. You could change those qualifiers to “A couple, many and most,” in that order. All, though, make me think about the process of selling beer. How do you sell these different beers to people, especially because there really isn’t a gulf of…

• Small Kansas Towns

  Joe Posnanski

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:34 am

  My wife always knows what’s coming whenever her hometown of Cuba, Kansas comes up in conversation.* She always knows I’m going to tell the story of the first time I went there with her. We’ve been married for more than 11 years, so we’re now in that early stage of finishing each other’s stories. And I suspect that the “first time I went to Cuba” story has been told more than most. *This happens more than you might think. At first she thought I was poking fun at the size of her hometown — Cuba, Kan., pop. 220 or so, — but I think…

• 
  Lady At The Bat

• 5 Nov 2009 | 6:03 am

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:03 am

  Readers, I'm facing yet another crisis. I hope to be posting again soon. Congratulations to the New York Yankees, the 2009 World Champs!

• Like Sugar, Game 2 Is Sweet

  30 Oct 2009 | 5:38 am

  The World Series features the best players in the world going after one of the most prestigious prizes in all of sports. Only about 700 men are blessed with enough talent to even have the slightest reason to believe that their Fall Classic dreams can become a reality. For AJ Burnett and the Yankees last night, reality got a little better, as they won Game 2. I am sure it was sweet as sugar.Sugar is also the name of a feature film that looks at the other side of the pro-baseball spectrum: the guys who never make it past rookie and A ball. I've been wanting to see this movie ever since it came…

• The 2009 World Series Preview

  28 Oct 2009 | 5:52 am

  The Yankees will face their toughest opponent this postseason when they face off against the Philadelphia Phillies tonight at the new Yankee Stadium.How do these two teams stack up against each other? Here's a preview:Offense: Everyone knows about the Yankees' potent lineup. It's the most powerful in all of baseball. But don't count the Phillies out in this area. Philadelphia has some great hitters, and Ryan Howard can go head-to-head with Alex Rodriguez anytime. Almost. Alex is still the best player in the game. Edge, Yankees.Defense: The Yankees' weak defensive outfield hurts them, but…

• These Are Not The 2004 Yankees

  26 Oct 2009 | 7:40 am

  Ladies and gentlemen, meet your 2009 American League Champions, the New York Yankees:After the Yankees won the ALCS last night 4 games to 2, it was pretty clear that these are not your 2004 "choke's on us" Yankees. Actually it was clear before that, but for Yankee fans, it probably was hard to see the proverbial forest for the trees.The trees in this case would be inviduals like AJ Burnett, Phil Hughes and Nick Swisher. Some would add Andy Pettitte to this mix. I could not believe how many people trashed Pettitte in the days leading up to his start last night. But, come on guys, these trees…

• Kevin Long Interview: LockerBlogger.com

  23 Oct 2009 | 8:06 am

  I received an email yesterday promoting a new sports site called LockerBlogger. It's a sports social networking site. Pretty cool. Anyway, they wanted to tell me about an interview they did with Yankee hitting coach Kevin Long.It's a good interview. Long talks about how different each player on the team is, how his approach for one player might not be the same as it is for another player. Also, his answer to the question of who he thinks would make a good hitting coach one day is pretty interesting. Have a look:

• 
  TigerBlog

• Carlos Guillen, Scott Sizemore and the Playoffs

  Brian

  22 Oct 2009 | 3:23 am

  It’s hard to believe it’s been over two weeks since the Tigers collapse.  The playoffs are winding down and baseball is less then two weeks away from being finished.  It looks like, barring something crazy out of the Angels, that we’ll see the Phillies against the Yankees, which will make for an interesting dynamic.  The [...]

• The End

  Brian

  6 Oct 2009 | 7:52 pm

  “Now his failure is complete” кому отсосать Darth Vader in Return of the Jedi So ends the Tigers season.  It was a heck of a game tonight and one that probably would have been more fun if not for the emotional investment.  When the dust settled, the Tigers sat as the losers and now their season [...]

• Overtime

  Brian

  5 Oct 2009 | 3:24 am

  The Tigers did their job last night, unfortunately, because they didn’t do it the past few days, all they did was force a one game playoff tomorrow against the Twins.  There were some great individual performances but the Tigers almost let this one get away as well. Let’s start with Justin Verlander.  He won his 19th [...]

• The Hard Way

  Brian

  3 Oct 2009 | 7:37 pm

  Like the Spartans this afternoon, the Tigers are taking the hard way to their first division title since 1987.  Their loss tonight puts them in a tie with the Twins with one to go.  They need a win and then a Twins loss to win the division outright, and it also forces the Tigers to [...]

• Crazy Eights

  Brian

  2 Oct 2009 | 6:31 pm

  Not only are the Tigers losing 8-0 to the White Sox, but the Twins are beating the Royals 8-0.  Not a good night so we’ll have to wait for tomorrow.  Maybe we can get a trifecta, with the Tigers winning, the Twins losing and the Spartan trouncing the Wolverines.  I’ll be in E. Lansing tomorrow. [...]

• 
  River Avenue Blues

• Wang to check in with Dr. Andrews

  Joseph Pawlikowski

  6 Nov 2009 | 9:00 pm

  The Yankees don’t have many immediate roster decisions to make as they head into the off-season. They have just one team option to consider, Sergio Mitre’s for $1.25 million, and they will likely exercise it. Only a few players are arbitration eligible, and of them most are either easy or painless calls. The case of Chien-Ming Wang, though, is a tough one. After surgery in July to repair a shoulder capsule, Wang could start the 2010 season in July, if he starts it at all. Will the Yankees tender him a contract under those circumstances? The Yankees will have more information at…

• Open Thread: Scenes from a parade

  Mike Axisa

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 pm

  You can check out of all my pictures here. Apologies in advance for the quality, between the gazillions of people pushing and leaning on me nonstop and my crappy camera, most of them aren’t great. Joe, myself, and a few readers set up shop at the corner of Ann and Park, where we got a good view of people throwing stuff out of nearby buildings. Spike Lee was walking around taking pictures, and people were climbing on everything, at least until the cops got to them. You couldn’t miss CC Sabathia, while Melky was stylin’ with his hat. Jorge Posada and Derek Jeter were on the…

• On the eve of free agency, Godzilla makes his mark

  Benjamin Kabak

  6 Nov 2009 | 2:00 pm

  For seven seasons, Hideki Matsui has just always been there. He arrived in New York in 2003 at the age of 29 and was set to be a solution to the Yanks’ inability to find a steady left fielder, and now with a World Series MVP unders his belt, Matsui has been every bit as good a hitter as advertised. In ten seasons in Japan, Matsui was a beast. He made his NPB debut at age 19 and amassed a career line of .304/.413/.582 with 245 home runs in 1268 games. In the states, he has played in 916 games and has hit .292/.370/.482 with 140 home runs. As age sapped him of the strength in his knees,…

• How the Abreu contract affects the Yanks

  Mike Axisa

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm

  Yesterday afternoon, word got out that Bobby Abreu had agreed to a contract extension with the Angels, signing on for two more years in Anaheim. After having to wait until damn near Spring Training to find a job last year, Abreu jumped all over the $19M the Halos offered him. The deal even includes a vesting option for 2012 worth $9M, when Abreu will be 38. I mentioned this yesterday, but in two years I’m sure we’ll be hearing about ways the Angels can prevent that option from vesting. Anyway, the entire reason I brought this up is because it indirectly affects the Yankees. Now we…

• Poll: What was your favorite moment of the playoffs?

  Mike Axisa

  6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am

  Okay, I guess everyone’s favorite moment of the playoffs was the weak grounder to second that clinched the Yanks’ 27th World Championship. What about your favorite moment after that? We already took a poll for the first half and second half, so surely you know how this works. Here’s some notable postseason moments: ALDS Game Two: A-Rod’s game tying two run homer off Joe Nathan (video) Twins starter Nick Blackburn kept the Yankees off balance all night, long enough for his teammates to push two runs across against Phil Hughes in the 8th. With a two run lead in the 9th,…

• 
  Scott Proctor's Arm

• 27

  Andrew Fletcher

  4 Nov 2009 | 10:07 pm

  How sweet it is! Reuters

• Who says they hate each other?

  Andrew Fletcher

  27 Sep 2009 | 4:02 pm

  There are plenty of fun celebration photos all over the Internet, but the above photo is pretty cool.  Who says Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter don’t get along? NYDN Photo

• Top of the East

  Andrew Fletcher

  27 Sep 2009 | 3:01 pm

  The Yankees clinched the American League East championship with their 4-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox this afternoon. Despite starting the year 0-8 against their longtime rivals, the Yankees were able to fight back and eventually split the 18-game season series. The Yankees also won their 100th game of the season behind Andy Pettitte’s six innings and Mariano Rivera’s 43rd save. The division title was the Yankees first since 2006. Though the job isn’t done yet, today is a good day for the Yankees and for the fans.

• Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

  Andrew Fletcher

  26 Sep 2009 | 5:04 pm

  CC Sabathia pitched seven shutout innings in the Yankees 3-0 victory over the Red Sox this afternoon.  Read all about it on YanksBlog.com. --- And on that note, I’d like to offer up an apology.  I obviously have not been blogging much this month.  I’ve been busy with school and the newspaper, and maintaining this site has been moved to my mental backburner.  I hope to write more as the playoffs are set to begin.

• Saturday YanksBlog.com game recap

  Andrew Fletcher

  12 Sep 2009 | 2:40 pm

  The Yankees lost to the Orioles for the second straight day, this time 7-3 with A.J. Burnett allowing two home runs and six runs in the second inning.  Read all about it at YanksBlog.com.

• 
  The Chuck Knoblog

• Yankees Watching LEBRON!!!!

  6 Nov 2009 | 7:51 pm

  Here are the boys at the Knicks game. Notice the different styles of dress (A-Rod, Melky, Tex). CC and Melky matched their shoes with their shirt. That is very impressive for Melky; he strikes me as a guy who doesn't know what day it is.

• Yankees on Letterman Tonight

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:47 pm

  Already miss seeing your beloved Yankees on T.V.? Well, tonight at 11:35 eastern 3 of the core 4 (Jeter, Po and Pettitte) can be seen on the David Letterman show tonight. You don't even wanna know how many of the staff members have had sex with Jeter.

• 2009 New York Yankees Parade Info

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:13 pm

  Friday's ticker-tape parade will begin on Broadway at Battery Place (map above). They will make their way down the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall where the Mayor will present everyone (even Bruney) Keys to the City.The Parade will start at 11 AM Friday Morning (11/6/09)There are projected to be 3 million people attending the parade (including Nate and I)You need tickets to go to the City Hall ceremony but they will showing it on a giant TV near City Hall plaza. Here is the quote from Bloomberg: Congratulations to the Yankees for bringing the world championship back home to New York City, where…

• "The Monkey is Out of the Bottle"

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:52 pm

  A-Rod 2009 Postseason Numbers (Check the Line, Yo):09 Postseason Totals: 15 Runs, 19 Hits, 5 2Bs, 6 HRs, 18 RBIs, 12 BB, .365 AVG, .500 OBPAlex was truly amazing this postseason, it seemed he was knocking home runs and big hits all month. Thank You Kate Hudson.

• #27

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:36 pm

  It has been a while but our Yankees have done it again. #27 is ours. It has been an incredible year and defeating the defending champs in a World Series showdown tops it off. The new stadium gets a World Series in it's first year; that place is already growing on me. We haven't posted in a while but I will explain that later. Right enjoy the win, fans. There will be a lot more to come from the Knoblog. I will be attending the Parade and will be posting constantly from now on. This is the first World Series since I have been running the Knoblog and there will be many more to come. This one is…

• 
  Sliding Into Home: A Yankees Blog

• Wang To See Dr. James Andrews on Monday

  Greg Cohen

  7 Nov 2009 | 2:24 am

  From Andy McCullough:Injured Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang said he has an appointment with renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews on Monday to inspect his right shoulder.As of now, Wang says he's scheduled to throw a rehab game in April or May. I'm not sure what the Yankees plans are with Wang, but for a team that will need at least one starting pitcher next year a healthy Wang would be a great addition.

• 11/6 Winter Ball Report

  Greg Cohen

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:58 pm

  The surprise Rafters lost to the Mesa Solar Sox 11-1 today, dropping their record to 10-12: Box Score - RecapOffense: Colin Curtis: 0-for-4Pitching: Zack Kroenke: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, pitches-strikes: 36-21, 6.17 ERAGrant Duff: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, pitches-strikes: 13-9, 3.68 ERA(click on pitcher's name for PitchFX data)Tomorrow night will be the AFL Rising Stars game, Yankees reliever Mike Dunn AFL West team. The game will start at 8:15 p.m. and you can see it on the MLB network. Here are the complete rosters.

• Canseco Challenges A-Rod to a Fight

  Greg Cohen

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:53 pm

  I'm sure nobody cares, but I found this story funny. Mainly because it's amazing how pathetic Jose Canseco has become.Canseco, who has taken to the celebrity boxing matches in his post-baseball career, called out the Yankee slugger while in Springfield, Mass., to promote his match Friday night against Pittsfield, Mass., fighter Todd Poulton.Canseco has long professed a dislike for Rodriguez, who Canseco wrote about in his 2008 book "Vindicated," the followup to his 2005 steroid tell-all "Juiced." In "Vindicated," Canseco said he introduced Rodriguez to a steroid dealer and that Rodriguez…

• Open Thread: Parade Day

  Mike N.

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:45 pm

  My uncle has some friends in high places and we ended up watching the parade from the 18th floor of the Woolworth Building. There's not to much say other than that it was just an amazing experience. The energy and pure joy of the fans was amazing. I have pictures I'll upload later on and if you have any, it'd be great if you shared them here.Tomorrow, the sports world will begin to shift their attention to football and the hot stove is already starting to heat up. Tonight though, the city of New York is a baseball city.

• Yanks Take Triumphant Trip Down Canyon of Heroes

  Greg Cohen

  6 Nov 2009 | 3:16 pm

  First, here's some pics I found on Yahoo! Sports:And here's a bunch of videos that were emailed to me.

• 
  Mister Baseball

• Invitation to Vilnius Indoor Cup 2009

  philipp

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:38 am

  by www.baseballeurope.com All European Clubs are invited to join a youth winter tournament in Lithuania. It will be on the 28th and 29th December at an Indoor Soccer field in Vilnius (it can play 8 teams at the same time). It will be about 16 teams from Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. This tournament is only for kids of age under 14 (date of birth is 1995.05.01 through 1999). We can give the opportunity to sleep in the hotel near the Indoor field. We will prepare a food 3 times per day. If you come on Sunday evening – the price would be 40-50 Euros per person (the price is counted…

• Prospects in 2009 – Frédéric Hanvi – GCL Twins

  philipp

  6 Nov 2009 | 12:12 pm

  During the winter months we are going to look back at the performances of Europeans, who played in the United States during the 2009 season. Frédéric Hanvi Birth date: 05/02/1989 in Senelis, France Throws/Bats: Right/Right Organization: Minnesota Twins Position: Catcher 2009 Season: After playing in one game during the 2008 season, Frédéric Hanvi was back in the Gulf Coast League in 2009. He batted .173 (OBP .306/SLG .192) with one double, five runs scored and two RBI in 19 games. In 16 games he started at catcher. He threw out just two of 18 potential base stealers. Career Stats: 20 GP,…

• Fraccari now official Candidate to become IBAF President

  philipp

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:50 am

  The president of the Italian Baseball and Softball Federation (FIBS) Riccardo Fraccari now officially is a candidate to become President of the International Baseball and Softball Federation (IBAF) at the congress in Lausanne, Switzerland on December 6. According to the report on Baseball.it the application by Fraccari was sent and signed by the national baseball associations in the United States, Cuba, Japan, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Panama and obviously Italy. With that much support the former umpire Fraccari should be considered the favorite to succeed Dr. Harvey…

• Austin, Stocco, Pantaleoni to leave Italian Champion Fortitudo Bologna

  philipp

  6 Nov 2009 | 5:46 am

  According to a report on Baseball.it, the Italian champion FORTITUDO BOLOGNA is going to have a difficult offseason this winter. They again have to find a new main sponsor to finance pricy acquisitions. Additionally three key players will leave the club. The American outfielder Richard Austin, the Canadian catcher Matthew Stocco and infielder Giovanni Pantaleoni will not come back. Austin is going to play for the River Hacks Rockford in the independent Northern League. Stocco got married and will not return to Italy. Pantaleoni joins T&A SAN MARINO. A fourth player caused headaches…

• New Site, Time needed for 2010 Softball World Championship

  philipp

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:52 pm

  On Tuesday the International Softball Federation (ISF) announced that the 2010 Women’s Softball World Championship will not be held in Oklahoma City from July 16 to 26. The main reason for the postponement is a time conflict with the Central American and Caribbean Games, which take place in Puerto Rico from July 17 to August 1st according to Marco Stoovelaar. A new host and a new date haven’t yet been determined. ISF president Don Porter and USA Softball executive director Ron Radigonda made statements. Don Porter: “We are disappointed to not have the World Championships in Oklahoma…

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  BaseballGB

• You Are the Scorer: Thread for queries

  Joe Gray

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  The weekly You Are the Scorer post will be used as a thread for scoring queries for the rest of the year, so please leave a reply below if you have a question or comment. To hunt through the first 50 You Are the Scorer questions, click here.

• New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series

  Matt Smith

  5 Nov 2009 | 2:27 pm

  The New York Yankees clinched their twenty-seventh World Series championship at just before 5 a.m. British time this morning with a 7-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.  Hideki Matsui stole the show with a World Series record-equalling six RBI night, and was awarded the series MVP award as a result, while the Yankees’ win was fittingly topped and tailed by two veterans of the late-nineties championship team: Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera.  Joe Girardi, New York’s manager, chose the uniform number 27 when he took charge prior to the 2008 season to serve as a constant reminder of…

• Phillies hold off late Yankee rally to win Game Five

  Matt Smith

  3 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am

  The Philadelphia Phillies held off a characteristic late rally by the New York Yankees to win Game Five of the 2009 World Series by a score of 8-6 in the early hours of this morning.  The Phillies jumped on Yankee starter A.J. Burnett, sending him to the showers after just two innings and with six earned runs against his name, and then added on two more runs in the seventh inning.  The importance of the solo home runs by Chase Utley, who hit two homers in a game for the second time in the series, and Raul Ibanez quickly became apparent as the Yankees scored three runs against Cliff Lee in…

• Yankees’ late rally stuns the Phillies in Game Four

  Matt Smith

  2 Nov 2009 | 4:10 am

  The New York Yankees scored three ninth-inning runs to earn a stunning 7-4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in Game Four of the 2009 World Series.  Pedro Feliz blasted the Philadelphia crowd into a frenzy in the bottom of the eighth inning when he launched a 3-2 pitch from Joba Chamberlain into the left-field seats to tie the game at 4-4.  The Phillies dreamed of a shutdown inning by Brad Lidge to set up a walk-off hit against the Yankees’ legendary closer Mariano Rivera; however, the dream turned into a nightmare.  The Phillies’ closer, perfect in converting 41 save…

• Yankees take a 2-1 World Series lead

  Matt Smith

  1 Nov 2009 | 7:05 am

  The New York Yankees took a 2-1 World Series lead in the early hours of this morning after coming from behind to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 8-5 in a rain-delayed game.  Alex Rodriguez rebounded from two hit-less games by driving in two runs on a double that was turned into a home run after being reviewed.  Nick Swisher and Hideki Matsui also went deep for the Yankees and even though the Phillies matched their opponents in the home run stakes with two by Jayson Werth and a ninth-inning solo homer by Carlos Ruiz, New York’s superior pitching carried them home.  Andy Pettitte was solid…

• 
  baseballdeworld.com

• USA Baseball Golden On World Stage

  admin

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:30 pm

  UNITED STATES – Baseball might not be America’s favorite pasttime anymore, but the United States continued to reap gold on the world stage in 2009. USA Baseball fielded six national teams this past year in various competitions around the globe. And, with the exception of the World Baseball Classic squad of Major Leaguers, U.S. National Teams bagged tournament titles at each event. The American Juniors (14U, 16U and 18U) combined to go 22-0 en route to a trio of gold medal game victories, while the collegiate and the World Cup squads posted records of 5-1 and 14-1, respectively.

• Japan Series: Yomiuri Wins Game 3

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:26 pm

  JAPAN – Michihiro Ogasawara and Shinnosuke Abe both homered and the Yomiuri Giants topped the Nippon Ham Fighters 7-4 Tuesday in Game 3 of the Japan Series at the Tokyo Dome. The big-spending Giants, Japan’s version of the New York Yankees, leads the best-of-seven title series two games to one. Nippon Ham grabbed an early 2-0 lead on home runs by Atsunori Inaba and Eiichi Koyano. But the Giants were not impressed. Yomiuri used the long ball to pull ahead 3-2. Back-to-back home runs by Lee Seung Yeop and Abe in the second tied the score, and Ogasawara smashed a go-ahead dinger to…

• AFL: Rising Stars Game Rosters

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:22 pm

  UNITED STATES – The Arizona Fall League stages its fourth annual Rising Stars Game on Saturday, November 7 at Surprise Stadium. The contest will be nationally televised for the first time by MLB Network and online via MLB.com. Scouting and minor-league directors of every major-league organization, in consultation with Fall League Director Steve Cobb and his baseball personnel staff, selected the players for the showcase. Each major-league organization is represented by at least one player. “The nation will have the opportunity to see a sampling of the array of talent that is on…

• Cuban League: La Habana Nips Villa Clara

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:20 pm

  CUBA – While Miguel Alfredo’s steady brilliance kept Villa Clara off the scoreboard during seven innings, Orta’s shot against Villa Clara’ starter Freddy Asiel Alvarez (0-1) broke open a scoreless game during the Opening Day of the XLIX National Series. Villa Clara didn’t manage an extra-base hit while getting shut out in the season just in their first game of the season. The 2008-2009 Cuban National champions, La Habana, got the win behind starter Miguel Alfredo González and relievers José A. Garcia (1-0) – the winner – and closer Miguel Lahera (1). After…

• Mazatlan Tops Mexican Pacific League

  admin

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:09 pm

  MEXICO – The Mazatlan Venados won five straight games last week to pass Hermosillo on the Mexican Pacific League leaderboard. The Venados came into the weekend with an 11-6-0 record, a half-game up on the 10-6-1 Naranjeros, who went 2-4 last week. Los Mochis is in third place at 9-7-1, Mexicali and Navojoa are tied for fourth with 9-8-0 marks, followed by 8-9-1 Obregon, 6-9-1 Culiacan and 3-12-1 Guasave. It was a rough week for the Algodoneros, who were swept in consecutive road series in Mazatlan and Navojoa. Mochis first baseman Sandy Madera (pictured) has taken the MexPac batting…

• 
  The Cub Reporter (TCR) | A Chicago Cubs Blog

• It's Cubs Picnic Day at HoHoKam

  Arizona Phil

  5 Nov 2009 | 3:35 pm

  With most all of the Cubs front office personnel, Scouting Department, and Player Development staff watching from the picnic area high above the third-base dugout, Michael Brenly singled twice and scored once, Starlin Castro singled twice (increasing his AFL-leading batting average to .433) and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and four Cubs pitchers combined to throw seven innings of one-run ball, as the Mesa Solar Sox dropped the Peoria Javelinas 8-1 in Arizona Fall League action at HoHoKam Park in Mesa this afternoon. box score The Cubs brain-trust had a bar-b-que at HoHoKam Park…

• Ted Lilly Complains of Knee Pain and Gets His Shoulder Scoped

  Dr. Joseph Hecht

  4 Nov 2009 | 9:58 pm

  Ah, another new adventure in Cubbery. Sorry for missing the day's rampant speculation on Ted Lilly's left pitching shoulder arthroscopy. I was in the OR all day and connecting hip bones to... So in one hour what can you see during a shoulder scope? Dr. Yokum puts the scope in from the posterior portal, low and behold he sees a caricature of Sean Marshall smiling face on the anterior capsule. He then puts in a Wissinger rod to create an anterior portal and whoa, is that a Tom Gorzellany autograph on his biceps tendon? As we all remember from a report right here at TCR, the Ted Lilly…

• Ted Lilly is Broken

  Rob G.

  4 Nov 2009 | 2:03 pm

  As we know, Ted Lilly was battling through some shoulder issues through 2009 and still delivered a fantastic season with a 3.10 ERA. It didn't seem like it was too serious and something a little offseason rest may take care of, but instead he went under Dr. Yocum's knife. Cubs pitcher Ted Lilly underwent a left shoulder arthroscopy and debridement on Tuesday by noted orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles. During the surgery, Yocum found no major damage to Lilly's shoulder and the procedure consisted of a washout and clean up of the shoulder. Hopefully Dr. Hecht can chime in later…

• Crystal Ballin'

  Arizona Phil

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:44 am

  I would expect the following to happen over the next few weeks:   1. FIRST 15 DAYS AFTER CONCLUSION OF WORLD SERIES: Window during which MLB Article XX free-agents can file for free-agency. Cubs free-agents Chad Fox, John Grabow, Kevin Gregg, Rich Harden, and Reed Johnson will file for free-agency, bringing the Cubs Reserve List (40-man roster) down to 33 players.   2. 4TH BUSINESS DAY FOLLOWING CONCLUSION OF WORLD SERIES: Deadline for clubs to add their own Rule 55 minor league free-agents (so-called "Six-Year Minor League Free-Agents") to the 40-man roster by selection.

• Cubs Rumor Mill: Iwamura, Bradley & Grabow

  Rob G.

  2 Nov 2009 | 8:53 pm

  I'm not sure I'll get an offseason potential target up tomorrow, but with the World Series almost wrapping up and the Cubs organizational meetings next week, the rumor mill is beginning to warm up for the offseason. Let's blast through these real quick.- Bruce Levine reported that the Cubs and John Grabow are discussing a two year extension and the Trib concurs that it appears likely he'll be back with the Cubs next year. The two sides are talking about a two-year deal for anywhere between a total of $6.5 million and $7.5 million. Grabow's people would like a vesting option for a third year…

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  Baseball Ink

• Baseball in November

  SamM

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:01 pm

  Today is November 1. The kids are counting their Halloween spoils.  The store down the street has already started selling chocolate Santa Clauses.  And the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies are playing in the World Series.  That’s right.  Everything I have written to this point has been in the present tense. What’s wrong with this [...]

• November’s Baseball Hall Of Famers

  TheUmpire

  31 Oct 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Bid McPhee (born November 1, 1859) Travis Jackson (born November 2, 1903) Bob Feller (born November 3, 1918) Bobby Wallace (born November 4, 1873) Walter Johnson (born November 6, 1887) Bucky Harris (born November 8, 1896) Bob Gibson (born November 9, 1935) Rabbit Maranville (born November 11, 1891) Pie Traynor (born November 11, 1898) Cristobal Torriente (born November 16, 1893) Tom Seaver (born November 17, [...]

• October’s Baseball Hall Of Famers

  TheUmpire

  30 Sep 2009 | 5:00 pm

  Rod Carew (born October 1, 1945) Fred Clarke (born October 3, 1872) Dave Winfield (born October 3, 1951) Dennis Eckersley (born October 3, 1954) Henry Chadwick (born October 5, 1824) Chuck Klein (born October 7, 1904) Rube Marquard (born October 9, 1886) Joe Sewell (born October 9, 1898) Walter O’Malley (born October 9, 1903) Pete Hill (born October 12, 1880) Rick Ferrell (born October 12, [...]

• Cooperstown To Host Vintage Base Ball

  PressRelease

  17 Sep 2009 | 7:28 am

  (from press release) The National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Fenimore Art Museum will welcome the Hartford Senators Vintage Base Ball Club to Cooperstown for a weekend full of interactive activities, September 26-27, 2009. Museum visitors can learn how the game was played in the 1800s at an interactive living-history station with costumed interpreters [...]

• 2009 Ohio Cup Vintage Base Ball Festival

  TheUmpire

  2 Sep 2009 | 5:28 am

  The 2009 Ohio Cup Vintage Base Ball Festival will take place this weekend (September 5-6, 2009) at the Ohio Village and 17th Avenue Fields in Columbus, Ohio. For two days over the Labor Day Weekend, 27 gentlemen’s and 2 ladies’ vintage base ball teams will square off on fields around the Ohio Village to celebrate [...]

• 
  About.com: Baseball

• Go, go Godzilla: Yankees win World Series

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:07 pm

  Led by designated hitter Hideki Matsui's 6 RBI night - perhaps in his last game in pinstripes - the New York Yankees won their 27th championship and their first since 2000, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 7-3 in Game 6 and winning the 2009 World Series, four games to two. Matsui, the Japanese star whose nickname is "Godzilla," trampled on the Phillies. He was 8 for 13 in the World Series. On Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, he hit a two-run homer into the second deck in right field in the second inning and a bases-loaded single in the third against Phillies starter Pedro Martinez, who only…

• Game 5 didn't turn much momentum

  2 Nov 2009 | 7:18 pm

  After the Philadelphia Phillies won 8-6 on Monday and sent the World Series back to New York for a Game 6 on Wednesday, their body language of the Phillies said it all: Glad that's over. As Ryan Madson recorded the last out, the Phillies congratulated each other like they just had knocked off the Nationals in May. Perhaps that's what it's like when a six-run lead almost evaporates in two innings, turning what could have been a momentum-turning event in the World Series into another white-knuckle evening at Citizens Bank Park. There were a lot of interesting moments in Game 5. Cliff Lee was…

• Rodriguez delivers a knockout blow in the season's key moment

  1 Nov 2009 | 6:40 pm

  Alex Rodriguez and Brad Lidge were essentially having the same postseason - surprisingly good ones - until they met in the ninth inning of Game 4 of the World Series, in the moment that will likely define the 2009 season. It was a riveting sequence. Tie game, two on, two out, closer vs. clean-up hitter. And it was Rodriguez who erased all the doubts. His line-shot double off the wall in left scored Johnny Damon with the go-ahead run, and Jorge Posada's two-run single gave Mariano Rivera two more insurance runs as the Yankees stand on the doorstep of their 27th title after beating the Phillies…

• A lesson for Hamels in Game 3

  1 Nov 2009 | 5:02 am

  If you watched the first couple of innings of Game 3 of the World Series and turned the channel (or drifted off to sleep) Saturday night, you'd undoubtedly be surprised at the outcome. Two innings in, and the Phillies' Cole Hamels looked like he'd found his old self. He was spotting his pitches, had good life on his fastball and was mowing down the Yankees. Andy Pettitte, on the other hand, couldn't find the plate, had already walked in a run and looked lost. But Hamels fell apart after giving up a questionable home run to Alex Rodriguez - was the camera inadvertently in the field of play?

• Even Pedro cracks a smile in defeat; we've got ourselves a series

  29 Oct 2009 | 6:52 pm

  When it comes to crucial moments, the postseason has been somewhat lacking, with none of the six series going the distance. But if the first two games are indicative of what's to come in this World Series, we could have a lot of fun next week. The Yankees bounced back, thanks to A.J. Burnett, and the World Series is tied 1-1 heading to Philadelphia on Saturday night. All four pitchers who have started in this series have pitched reasonably well. Both CC Sabathia in Game 1 and Pedro Martinez in Game 2 had good enough stuff to win, but the other guy was just a touch better. And to both,…

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  lenNY's Yankees

• World Series Photo Slideshow

  Lenny Neslin

  5 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am

• Poll Results: A-Rod for postseason MVP

  Lenny Neslin

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:00 am

  Alex Rodriguez was easily the leading vote-getter in this poll. Even with his sluggish start to the World Series, he took 56% of the vote. Now, who’s the World Series MVP? Next week’s poll question: When did you know the Yankees were going to win the World Series this year?

• Pettitte and Hideki appreciation post

  Lenny Neslin

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:30 am

  With his win tonight, Andy Pettitte has won two World Series clinching games and has started three. He is one of the great Yankees to be apart of the four most recent championships. Hideki Matsui got his first ring tonight, and he was very deserving of the World Series MVP Award. He went 8-for-13 with 3 HRs and 8 RBIs. Tonight, he had six RBIs. That’ll do it. Both of these guys aren’t guaranteed to be in pinstripes for next year. But their performances certainly urge both to stay with the Yankees and be re-signed.

• Video: Announcers call last out of World Series

  Lenny Neslin

  5 Nov 2009 | 6:11 am

  I prefer John Sterling’s call. But that’s just me. If only it were a strikeout…

• Yankees capture #27 for #27

  Lenny Neslin

  5 Nov 2009 | 5:30 am

  Twenty-seven times the Yankees have won a World Series. It was Joe Girardi who chose to carry the burden of that number on his back for his first two seasons as the skip. Now, he won’t have a burden to carry, but a decision to change numbers awaiting. The Yankees beat the Phillies 7-3 last night, propelled by Hideki Matsui’s six runs batted in, the World Series MVP. Quick ‘Cap: Matsui gave the Yankees an early lead on a two-run homer in the second inning, and then drove in two more on a single in the third. But he wasn’t done yet. After Mark Teixeira drove home Derek Jeter in the…

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  Baseball Boss Online Game Blog

• An Update on Baseball Boss & Challenge Games

  CrashD

  28 Oct 2009 | 9:57 am

  As many of you know, Baseball Boss is a little over a year old. As Gussie Busch said about his 1982 St. Louis Cardinals, it’s been “a heckuva year.” The fun part (and the challenging part) about building games for the web is that the web evolves incredibly rapidly. A great example of this is what has happened to gaming over the past year. It’s impossible not to notice the impact social networks - and especially Facebook - have had on how people play games. After a great deal of thought and deliberation, we’ve decided the best way to build games that large numbers…

• A-Rod vs. Ryan Howard: Who is the Clutchiest of Clutchtown?

  Matty Baseball

  19 Oct 2009 | 10:28 am

  Let’s review the tale of the tape: Alex Rodriguez: New Mr. October Officially a true Yankee Dating Kate Hudson Ryan Howard: Towering Physical Specimen Postseason Beast Dating Jared Fogel I’d choose the Subway sub over Kate Hudson, too. Aside from that, I’m not sure whether to go with the guy who’s as productive as the Eagles offense and looking to tie Lou Gehrig’s 77-year-old record for consecutive postseason games with an RBI, or the guy who’s shedding demonizing labels and looking to reclaiming his GOAT status. Not scapegoat: Greatest of All-Time.

• NLCS Game 1 Recap, ALCS Weather Forecast, And Most Importantly: Balloon Boy!

  Matty Baseball

  16 Oct 2009 | 11:25 am

  Phillies win 8-6 with timely power hitting, return to form of its once dominant closer, blahblahblah. But let’s get down to brass tacks: I loves me a good hoax, and oh, did the Balloon Boy Incident have it all. There was a Pixar-inspired UFO, reality-TV parents, a spooky box in the attic, and all of it caused a media swell for a truly spectacular couple of frenzied hours. The national live feed of the low-speed chase following the homemade saucer’s flightpath from the local-affiliate newscopter might just be our generation’s white Ford Bronco on the lam coverage. [And notice…

• Welcome GridIron Live!

  Matty Baseball

  14 Oct 2009 | 12:01 pm

  Say hello to our sleek-looking football counterpart. We have a new game in the Challenge Games family, and it’s on Facebook! Our sports game team has been hard at work on GridIron Live, the first 3D football game that plays in a web browser, and it just went live. Check it out, give us your feedback and - if you enjoy it - share with friends. Thanks!

• NLCS Preview, or, “More Fun Times With Uncle Chip”

  Matty Baseball

  14 Oct 2009 | 10:14 am

  I never thought I’d be saying this, but I’m glad to be reunited with FOX, Joe Buck, and Tim McCarver for the Yankees-Angels series. And with Ron Darling doing his best Wesley Snipes impersonation, we could be faced with a dangerous situation: a TBS broadcast booth with no-one to rebuke Chip Caray, barring a potential last-ditch effort to hire George Lopez as his foil. Quite a frightening scenario by all measures. Onto the rematch between the Phillies and Dodgers: my original prediction for Los Angeles to fold in the face of stellar pitching has already been disproven, so why would…

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  Hot Foot Blog

• My Very Worst Nightmare Has Come True

  It was Friday night when I went to see a formerly little known movie that started to ride a bit of a hype machine to box office significance.  It was Paranormal Activity, and it was good.  The scares were not cheap in the least, and it features a final act ...

• That Voodoo I Didn’t Do

  The date? April 13th, 2009.  Its significance? First regular season game ever played at Citi Field.  I was lucky enough to attend the game. Despite the loss it will always be cool to say I was at the first ever regular season game there. That said, I've had serious doubts about the ...

• Go for Aroldis

  I'm afraid, Kaz Matsui has cursed the Mets.  In December of 2003, when the Mets signed Kaz Matsui to a three year, $20 million deal, it appeared to be  beacon of light for the Mets in that they were opening themselves up to the world and taking advantage of the international free agent market ...

• Don’t Move Home!

  There has been chatter lately sparked by a piece in the NY Times by Joe Ward about whether or not the Mets should do anything to correct the home run starved atmosphere at Citi Field.  As Ward explains in the piece, the logical solution is not moving the outfield walls ...

• Did Tigers Choke Worse Than ‘07 Mets?

  As former Met Carlos Gomez slid face first into home plate to send the Minnesota Twins past the Detroit Tigers into the playoffs and into the lions den that is Yankee Stadium, one thought came into my mind: was the Tigers' collapse worse than the 2007 New York Mets? We all ...

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  Rounding Third

• Synergy Day 2

  Rounding Third Staff

  6 Nov 2009 | 1:47 am

  As we continue to receive e-mails from both High School coaches and travel/summer coaches on their players upcoming NLI signings, some of the names were duplicated between the two...and the thought occurred to us that it would benefit everyone if the two parties would just work closer together and take an interest in each others role in the development of the players that they have in common. We don't know how these coaches feel about one another in your neck of the woods, but around here, the relationship between HS and Travel coaches can be a bit strained. But it sure doesn't have to be…

• Synergy

  Rounding Third Staff

  5 Nov 2009 | 1:47 am

  Every year in November, many of the top college coaches meet one on one with their players and give them their summer assignments. The Top players are assigned to leagues like the Cape Cod, Northwoods, Great Lakes and even Alaska. College coaches from all over the country work in direct contact with officials from the National Baseball Congress(NBC), National Association of College Summer Baseball (NACSB) and the Atlantic Baseball Confederation Collegiate League(ABCCL) and other smaller leagues to get their players placed. Click on those links for a look at the leagues and their teams. One of…

• Make The Most Of Your Opportunities

  Rounding Third Staff

  4 Nov 2009 | 1:47 am

  RT Staff Note: As the high school season approaches in a few months, the same issues will crop up as it relates to playing time. Many high school teams have just completed their fall workouts and the following article is a reprint of a post we wrote last spring."You don't lose when you get knocked down, you lose when you decide to not get up."I can't remember where I saw this quote or who said it. I'm not even sure I have the right words. It's just one of those thoughts that I recall from time to time and it gets me through a tough situation at work. I'm one of those odd parents that often…

• Picking The Right College

  Rounding Third Staff

  3 Nov 2009 | 1:47 am

  RT Staff Note: Next week, on November 11 through the 18th is the first time a 2010 graduate can sign his National Letter Of Intent. If many of you players desire to be in that position next year or the year after that, here's an article that we reprinted from HS Baseball Web. They re-printed it from All Sports.com.Questions To Ask A CoachReprinted From:All Sports.Com--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Choosing a college should be the hardest decision you should make. Is it the right school for you? Does it have the academics you need? Do you have a…

• Schools Need Sports

  Rounding Third Staff

  2 Nov 2009 | 1:47 am

  All across the country, colleges are cutting back, laying off and instituting furlough days to compensate for the lack of funding due to the bad economy. The latest talk for many universities is to cut back or even cut off funding for sports. The academic professors and administrators claim that football, basketball and many baseball coaches make more money than the top tenured professors. And, in most, if not all cases, they are right. But to cut off funding? Not a good idea.We have said this many times before, but collegiate sports gives a university its identity and soul. The TV, front…

• 
  Pitchers Hit Eighth :: A St. Louis Cardinals blog

• UCB Roundtable: Mark McGwire as hitting coach, a circus?

  Josh

  5 Nov 2009 | 9:40 am

  This one fell into my lap, and who am I to not to jump at the chance to get everyone’s feelings… The Monday (10.26) night Radio Show was just the start, and the UCB crew takes a lot of pride in our work. With that being said, how much of a circus is it going to be with Big Mac in the fold for the 2010 campaign? Don’t hold back now — honesty scores bonus points! Dan (C70) — Honestly? I think it still depends. If McGwire will come out, answer questions, and really make an attempt to handle the issue, I think it’ll die out along the way. Probably some story in…

• UCB Radio Hour with guest P.J. Walters

  PH8

  4 Nov 2009 | 5:49 pm

  Join Josh and I tonight for another UCB Radio broadcast over at Blog Talk Radio, 9:30pm Central Time. Tonight we’ll be chatting with Cardinals pitcher P.J. Walters. Call in at 929.646.1758, listen live at BTR, or download the podcast at iTunes later! No comment | Permalink | Share on Twitter | © Pitchers Hit Eighth, 2008-2009 Categories: PHE Ramblings

• Interview with Josh Squatrito on UCB Radio Tonight

  Josh

  29 Oct 2009 | 12:11 pm

  Join us for another Special Edition of the UCB Radio podcast with Josh Squatrito, Batavia Muckdogs Reliever of the Year and St. Louis Cardinals Rookie Reliever of the Year, tonight at 5 pm CST! No comment | Permalink | Share on Twitter | © Pitchers Hit Eighth, 2008-2009 Categories: Batavia Muckdogs, Josh Squatrito, UCB Radio

• Bill DeWitt III on UCB Radio podcast

  PH8

  26 Oct 2009 | 12:40 pm

  St. Louis Cardinals team president Bill DeWitt III will be the special guest on a Monday evening edition of the UCB Radio Hour podcast tonight. Join us, along with Dan of C70 at the Bat and Mike of Stan Musial’s Stance as we get the opportunity to talk Cardinals baseball and all things surrounding it with DeWitt. Not entirely sure how much time we’ll have with Mr. DeWitt, but we’ve got plenty of topics to discuss, so join in live via Blog Talk Radio, or download the podcast from iTunes tomorrow morning! One comment | Permalink | Share on Twitter | © Pitchers Hit Eighth,…

• 2009 Cardinals Player Grades: First Base (Josh)

  Josh

  23 Oct 2009 | 6:03 pm

  Today’s post took much longer than I planned for two reasons. The first is related to the Cardinals but the second, is well, not even close. For those that know me, my love for movies is nearly on par with that of a certain St. Louis sports team. We are going to keep this rolling along, but the movie references will be staying. Instead of writing up my review of Albert Pujols yesterday, my fiance and I took in a matinee. She is a big fan of horror movies, and there just happens to be a nice selection of choices playing. Before I say anything else, please don’t take just my opinion…

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  Capitol Avenue Club

• Can Managers Influence Pythagorean Over/Under Achievement

  CapitolAvenueClub

  7 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  With the end of Bobby’s career looming and the discussion about possible replacements already taking place, I’ve been thinking about managers a lot, lately.  What makes a good manager?  I don’t know.  People generally cite two things when debating whether or not a manager is a good one.  1) The opinions of players, ‘experts’, and various other baseball people.  If the sabermetric community has learned anything, it’s that you should not believe something just because someone says so.  Things we thought were right 10 years ago we now know are 100%…

• Transaction Analysis Blog – Scott Proctor

  CapitolAvenueClub

  6 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  Updated: 11/06/2009 – See Bottom Atlanta Braves Signed Scott Proctor to a 1-year, minor-league split contract. Somewhere in the Northeast, Theo Epstein is hitting himself, saying, “Damn, I wish I’d thought of that”. There’s really nothing to dislike about this move.  Bring in a former solid reliever who has missed time due to injuries.  Pay him next to nothing, give up no talent in return.  If he pans out, great.  If he doesn’t, well, it’s not exactly like you sunk a lot of resources into this guy.  Slightly more than risk than signing a Reid…

• Should the Braves Pursue Matt Capps

  CapitolAvenueClub

  5 Nov 2009 | 4:00 am

  Matt Capps has been mentioned as a possible trade target for the Braves this off-season.  With the potential (and likely) departure of Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, the Braves presumably have a void at the back end of their bullpen.  Capps, a Georgia native, has closing experience.  In 2007 and 2008 he was Pittsburgh’s closer and posted a 2.58 ERA, a 0.995 WHIP, and a 103-to-21 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 132 and 2/3 innings while successfully converting 83% of his save opportunities.  2009 was a different story, however. In 2009 his ERA ballooned to 5.80, his WHIP to 1.656, and…

• ABC: Bud Light – The Patron

  CapitolAvenueClub

  3 Nov 2009 | 10:10 pm

  Joe Posnanski has added a new segment to his blog called ABC (analyzing beer commercials).  I figure I’d try my hand at it. ABC: Bud Light – The Patron Type of beer commercial: Descriptively pseudo-insightful, though presumably comedy Beer rating: A (Absurd: ludicrous premise, terrible execution) The set up: Young lady is sitting at a table with a few other young ladies at a classy, yet unspectacular restaurant. The plot:  A well dressed waiter walks past the table at which the young ladies are seated.  He is carrying another table’s pasta and salad* on a waiter’s…

• Should the Braves re-sign Adam LaRoche?

  CapitolAvenueClub

  3 Nov 2009 | 9:31 am

  Depends on a lot of things, obviously, but what parameters would make signing him a net positive.  First of all, let’s look at Adam LaRoche, the player™. LaRoche was re-acquired for Casey Kotchman at the 2009 trade deadline in the hope that he would provide some much needed power for the line-up that had been largely starved thereof.  Even though Kotchman wasn’t slated to become a free agent until after the 2011 season and LaRoche would be a free agent at the end of 2009, the organization believed that he would help them out enough to justify parting with 2 additional years of…

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  Bats

• Rodriguez Savors First Title

  By Jack Curry

  6 Nov 2009 | 8:37 pm

  A few minutes after Alex Rodriguez jumped off a parade float Friday, he stopped to answer questions about an embarrassing, challenging and, ultimately, victorious season. But, before Rodriguez talked too much about this season, he referenced 2004, a season that ended shockingly for the Yankees.

• Not Even Ribcage Injury Stopped Rivera

  By Jack Curry

  6 Nov 2009 | 6:10 pm

  Mariano Rivera pitched with a ribcage injury during the postseason. If Rivera had faltered in Game 6 of the World Series, would he have been fit enough to pitch in a Game 7 against the Phillies?

• New York Honors the Yankees

  By Connor Ennis

  6 Nov 2009 | 11:17 am

  The Yankees parade through New York's Canyon of Heroes to celebrate their 27th World Series title.

• Jeter Jokes With Letterman

  By Jack Curry

  5 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm

  Derek Jeter had a strategy for handling questions from David Letterman when he and his Yankee teammates appeared on Letterman's show. Letterman tells the jokes, but Jeter went on the offensive with him.

• Mets and Putz Will Probably Part Ways

  By Ben Shpigel

  5 Nov 2009 | 7:21 pm

  The Mets do not plan to exercise their $9.1 million option on J.J. Putz and will pay him a $1 million buyout.