RLYW: CAIRO 2012 v0.5 and More Somewhat Useless Projected Standings

These look more realistic to me than the last set I ran with Marcel.  Probably a bit high on the Yankees, but since CAIRO was created to make the Yankees look better than they are that stands to reason.

ajc: Braves to unveil new weekend home uniforms

Uni Watch: Bill Lucas.

The Braves will unveil a new crème-colored home uniform on Monday that will probably seem familiar to fans of a certain age.

The design closely resembles the home uniform worn by the Hank Aaron-led Braves during their first two seasons in Atlanta in 1966-1967, right down to the player number instead of a tomahawk beneath the “Braves” script on front of the jersey.

...(Derek) Schiller said the new uniform was “ultimately a John Schuerholz decision” stemming from the team president and longtime former general manager’s desire to “re-connect with the team’s history.”

There is no tomahawk on the chest, but two crossed tomahawks are incorporated in a sleeve-patch logo along with “Atlanta Braves” and “1876,” the year when the National League franchise debuted as the Boston Red Caps. The Braves often cite their status as “the longest continuously operating franchise in Major League Baseball.”

The new logo is on the left sleeve, replacing a screaming Indian chief patch featured on Braves uniforms in 1966-1967. Besides that political-correctness change, the other big difference in the new uniform is player names on back. The old ones didn’t have those.

11 Alive: One-on-one with John Rocker

The book ‘Scars and Strikes’ is Rocker’s attempt to set the record straight a dozen years later. He says he wrote 98 percent of the self published book himself and in it he puts forth his views on many things, including Sports Illustrated reporter Jeff Pearlman, who Rocker says has a history of ‘vilifying every subject he encounters.’

Jaye Watson asked, “Do you blame him completely for the article for you looking like a racist and a homophobe?”

“Absolutely,” said Rocker.

Watson replied, “So none of it was your fault? Nothing that you said?”

Rocker answered, “If the article was 20 pages long and my long winded commentary had been included in its entirety, the opinion of me today would be drastically different.”

...Rocker says steroids helped him recover more quickly between games and that he wasn’t the only Brave using them.

“Probably just off the top of my head, probably eight to ten guys in that Braves house I know factually and one or two more that I’m not sure of. It’s the kind of thing if you weren’t doing it, it’s like bringing a knife to a gun fight. I’m not going to climb on top of the mound, look 60 feet away at Mark Maguire knowing good and well what he’s doing. I’m not going to climb up there short handed. I’m going to have all six bullets in my gun because I know he does. When the game is over and the three run homer is in the seats you can’t make excuses.”

I knew Steve Sisco’s only career HR smelled fishy.

Jason Heyward optimistic about re-tooled swing

Let the “he’s in the best shape of his life” stories commence!

Heyward’s workouts started two weeks after the season ended. They started with 8 a.m. wake-up calls five days a week, as opposed to just Monday, Wednesday and Friday as in the past.

He did physical therapy to build strength in his shoulder twice a week, workouts with weights at the gym three times a week and for the first time he started a regular routine of running and cardio-work. Look closely in the pool at L.A. Fitness you might have even seen Heyward swimming laps.

He made an effort to slim down, dropping from 256 pounds last spring to 235 now. He’s eating fewer steaks and junk food and adding fruits and healthy snacks to meals of salads, fish, chicken or pasta.

Heyward said he added weight last year in an attempt to build on his standout rookie season, when he finished second to Giants catcher Buster Posey for National League rookie of the year after hitting .277 with 18 homers and 72 RBIs. But after the injury, he started to feel sluggish.

“I wasn’t feeling like myself,” Heyward said. “I didn’t feel that I could make my body do what my mind wanted to do. I wanted to make sure I have that feel, that control again.”

RLYW: Too-Early Marcel 2012 Season Forecast

Crikey, such excitement in the NL West!

This is current through Francisco Cordero signing with Toronto, and assumes Prince Fielder at 1B and Miguel Cabrera playing a terrible version of 3B for Detroit in 70% of their games, and DHing in 25% of them.

MLB: Peter Gammons: Heyward hopes hard work is rewarded

The shoulder injury restricted Heyward’s swing. He couldn’t extend properly. He couldn’t go down and away against left-handed pitchers, thus in 104 at-bats against them last season, he batted .192 with two homers, seven RBIs and a .308 slugging percentage. Healthy, as a rookie, Heyward had batted .249 with a .356 on-base percentage and a .755 on-base plus slugging percentage against left-handers.

Because he couldn’t extend or generate his normal bat speed, Heyward got into the habit of starting too quickly and jumping, hence the overall drop from a .393 OBP as a rookie—which justified the buildup about his extraordinary plate discipline—to a .319 OBP in 2011.

AJC : Terry McGuirk discusses Braves’ payroll, ownership, TV deals

Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right

“In a way, I almost relish when one of our competitors goes in the free-agent market because it’s so inefficient and such a bad use of dollars,” he added. “You almost never get the value out of a free-agent market expense. We all have limited dollars to spend, so if someone in wasting those dollars in a competitive situation, it helps us.”
...
“That being said, we inherited a deal that was done under [previous owner Turner Broadcasting/Time Warner] a little over four years ago, before the sale, that lasts out through 25 years. So there is no opportunity for a different deal than the one we have.

Aiken Standard: Smoltz is Hall of Fame worthy

The back of a John Smoltz baseball card looks like a database on the fritz.

“Nobody really understands,” the former Atlanta Braves pitcher said by phone from his Alpharetta, Ga., home when asked about the unique difficulty of transitioning mid-career from starter to reliever and back again to starter.

“It really was very difficult,” Smoltz said. “I had to learn about being a closer on the job.”

...Smoltz says the Hall of Fame is no big deal.

“It doesn’t bother me,” said Smoltz, who becomes Hall of Fame-eligible in 2015. “People talk to me about that all the time, but I’m not consumed by it. My answer matches the way that I approach life: If it happens, great, and if it doesn’t, it’s not going to change me.”

...Perhaps the best case for Smoltz is that if he messed with his Hall of Fame chances by switching from starter to reliever to starter, he didn’t think about it at the time.

“Nothing I did was based on personal statistics,” Smoltz said. “I wanted to win. I wanted to win probably worse than anybody in the history of the game, and that’s all that mattered to me.”

Oh yeah, if he wanted the Braves to win so freakin’ badly…why did he become a closer?!

AJC:  Terry McGuirk discusses Braves payroll, ownership, TV deals

And on another significant note, McGuirk disclosed that the Braves are locked into 25-year local TV contracts that will prevent the franchise from cashing in on Major League Baseball’s trend toward dramatically higher telecast rights fees.

Moore: Age is just a number for Niekro and Moyer

Phil Niekro: The sparks is still there!

“Oh, yeah. I threw my last [Major League] pitch when I was 48, but I could have gone another year or two,” Niekro said, recalling his final season in 1987. It began with the Cleveland Indians, but he was traded near the end of the season to the pennant-hopeful Toronto Blue Jays.

After two rough starts, then-Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick released Niekro and told Toronto reporters that he thought Niekro’s career was over.

“Since I have total respect for [Gillick], and also out of fairness to myself, I just took his word and decided that maybe he knew more about myself than I did, and that maybe he sees something that I don’t see, so I went by his words,” said Niekro, who made one final start with Atlanta that season. “After I retired, the next Spring Training, I got the fever. Then the next Spring Training after that, I got the fever.”

In fact, Niekro still has the fever.

Said Niekro, chuckling, but only a little, “I still feel like I can get guys out in the big leagues right now. My arm feels as good now as it did when I retired.”

...“I’ll throw some BP down there, so my arm is no problem,” Niekro said. “To stick around a long time, it’s a discipline thing for a player, where you have to stay healthy. You also have to be fortunate, just to spend any time in the big leagues. I’ve got no squabbles about anything. I just kick myself in the butt for not hanging around for another year or two.”

MLB Trade Rumors: Bartolo Colon Agrees to Sign With Unknown Team

Bartolo Colon has agreed to a deal with an unknown club reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (on Twitter). The right-hander wouldn’t divulge the team because he has not yet passed his physical.

Pretty sure it’s either the All-Stars or the Champs.

Braves re-sign infielder Jack Wilson

As an old pequod sod in the bar used to say to anybody named Jack…“#### you, Jack, I’m all right!!”

The Atlanta Braves have re-signed veteran infielder Jack Wilson to a one-year deal, the team’s website reports.

Wilson, 34, hit .243 with no homers, 11 RBIs in part-time duty with the Braves and Seattle Mariners in 2011. He was dealt to Atlanta on Aug. 31.

His biggest impact this season might be as a mentor/insurance policy.

Barring another acquisition, the Braves will start rookie Tyler Pastornicky at shortstop on opening day. The 22-year-old hit .314 with seven homers, 45 RBIs and 27 stolen bases between the Class AA and Class AAA levels in 2011, but he never has played in the majors.

BBPro:  Heartburn Hardball - Jack Morris in Motion

Morris, who was the face of the Detroit Tigers’ pitching staff for the entirety of the eighties before spending the early nineties hopping between the Twins, Blue Jays, and Indians, has every right to be thrilled at the news. And the rest of us, especially those who were too young to see him pitch, have every right to ask…why Jack Morris? Why now?

To answer that question, I decide to watch the most famous performance of his career, the game that proved once and for all that he was a true ace and a true winner.

....

The Twins will win 1-0 in the bottom of the 10th, winning the second World Series title in franchise history and solidifying Jack Morris’s place in baseball history.

And when it’s over, I will be more convinced than ever that Jack Morris is not a Hall of Fame pitcher.

Blasts from the Past

With the Hall of Fame results being announced today, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and dig up some old scouting reports from the Baseball America archives on some of the ballot’s notable candidates. . .

8. Barry Larkin, ss, 21, 5-11, 175, R-R
Larkin looked right at home in AA, hitting .267 for Vermont. He didn’t show power (one home run in 255 at-bats), but that will come. The key for him was just getting his feet on the ground, and he was not overpowered by the high level of competition (21 strikeouts in 255 at-bats). He will have good power for a shortstop.

6. Edgar Martinez, 3b, 25, 5-11, 175, R-R
Martinez’s discipline will produce runs. He’s averaged 70 RBIs the last four years. In the field, he’s solid, with good reactions and the soft hands of a middle infielder.

Cameron: Adam Jones, Unfinished Product

I can’t imagine why the Braves would balk about trading their starting LF, a #3 starter AND “prime” pitching prospects for a new Jeff Francoeur…

ajc: “Murph” surprised by low Hall of Fame votes, still hopeful

Kicking TBS: Live in Atlanta…with Dale Murphy.

Q: Probably not a lot of 50-something former MVPs can say they’ve been getting into Wilco and other bands, huh?

A: Well it’s been fun, and I think that’s the fun of Twitter – this intersection or cross-section of diverse people and interests, and you connect in ways … it’s been fun. In fact, I did a [online interview] with Peter Moylan, and he was asking me about music I listen to. And he and Chipper [Jones] were wondering who half the bands were that I named…. [Laughter.] I’m going to have a contest on Twitter and say the first hitter that walks up to [to the plate] with Wilco or something like that playing, I’m going to get him [a prize].

Q: OK, let’s change gears a bit. Murph, has this time of year become frustrating for you because of the annual Hall of Fame voting announcement? Or do you still allow yourself to be optimistic about your chances?

A: I’m always kind of optimistic. Not really frustrated, I think because my percentage [of votes] hasn’t really been knocking on the door, you know? I think if it’d been at 60 percent or something for five years, it might be different. I mean, I always try to be optimistic. I know my percentage is pretty low and you need 75. And I’m not really close. So in that way I’m not really frustrated.

To be honest, I thought my percentage would be higher over the years. It hasn’t been high. I tend to feel like I’ll get a bump this year. We’ll see. There’s been some talk about guys that played in the ‘70s and ‘80s, that there might be some revisiting of their careers [by voters], and I have some people that have been supportive. So we’ll see. I appreciate the support and I try to stay optimistic.

The Greatest Animated Sports .GIFs of 2011

32. Cliff Lee declines to run out his own grounder

I’m a firm opponent of the designated hitter rule, because just as I love to watch a punter try to scoop up a bad snap and try to throw it, or see a 7’1” center with no range try to chuck up a last-second three, I love watching pitchers hit.

Never will I come closer to seeing what it would be like if someone with my skill set tried to perform on a professional level. I mean, how nuts is this: in the National League, five to 10 percent of all at-bats are taken by men who, by everyone’s admission, are profoundly bad at it! It’s Dada performance art, and the ubiquity of such comical nonsense—over the course of a game, a season, and the history of baseball—is unrivaled by anything in any other sport.

This GIF features a delightful bonus: the catcher starts jogging to the dugout well before the play ends. It’s beautiful.

The Kick Is Good!

Jack Wilson seems to be having fun on vacation.

Wife of Braves trainer killed in crash

According to Wright, the patrol car collided with the Ford Expedition that was northbound on Capitol Avenue, hitting the SUV on the passenger’s side. The statement said the SUV then struck a utility pole.

Kathy Porter, 54, of Loganville, a passenger in the SUV, died in the crash, Wright’s statement to The Associated Press said. It added that Jeff Porter and two other passengers in the SUV- the couple’s 19-year-old son David and a friend, Courtney Ann Williams, 18, of Grayson—were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for treatment of injuries. All three were released later Saturday.

Atlanta Braves in trademark dispute with Pixar over “Brave”

While I will not claim to be an expert in trademark law, this feels extremely frivolous on the part of the Braves. To my knowledge (and following a quick search on Google), the New York Mets have never sued either the Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly referred to as “The Met,” or the Metropolitan Opera House, which is also commonly referred to as “The Met.” And all three of these well-known establishments are based in New York. But now the Atlanta Braves (who, coincidentally, are a major rival of the NY Mets) have not only chosen to go after a globally-known organization, but a globally-known organization that is famous for their lawyers.

They don’t call it the Mickey Mouse Act for nothing.

Boston Red Sox - Red Sox have more competition than ever - The Boston Globe

This week’s Boston Globe Sunday baseball column.

Letters of Note: From your friend “Babe” Ruth

Sammy Byrd got a similar letter.

BABE RUTH
NEW YORK

Jan 15 - 1932

Hello Fred

I have received some very nice reports about you and the nice way you are getting along. Now I want you to keep it up and it will not be long before you will be and running around.

You are only eight years now and who knows that some day the umpire will say Freddy Clark Jr. now batting for Babe Ruth — say Freddy? Will that be great or not. Now I want you to keep your fight and think of me.

From your friend “Babe” Ruth

NYBD: Silva: John Rocker on New Book, the Mets, Bud Selig, Steroids, and Politics

Rocker? Erudite? Ain’t that someone who hates Euro’s?

It’s been over a decade since his infamous Sports Illustrated interview with Jeff Pearlman that published on December 27th, 1999. If Mets fans are expecting the same brash and cocky individual they remember from the 1999 NLCS, think again. Rocker was extremely open, honest, and erudite during a 35-minute interview on the program. Here are some highlights.

...- He had some interesting things to say about Selig and the aftermath of the SI article. “When the SI story came out, the commissioner’s office and Selig were extremely upset with me,” Rocker said. “They asked me on four different occasions during the two week period to take a steroid test. The first three times I refused. The fourth time my agent literally pleaded with me saying please, the commissioner’s office is extremely upset with you; you need to take this test. You take the test, possibly pacify them, they go a little bit easier on you when they render their reprimand.”

- He finally took the steroid test and admitted to failing it, but the league denies knowing the results. “I finally succumb; ok I’ll take the test. Of course, I failed it miserably. And you mean to tell me the commissioner’s office who insisted over two weeks over four different occasions that I take a steroid test, they don’t know the result of said test?”

- I was surprised by his admission to taking steroids, so I asked him again if he was taking some sort of PED in 1999. “Yeah, of course I was. I mean who wasn’t? Let’s be honest here, who wasn’t?”

Rule V Results

1.Astros take Rhiner Cruz from Mets.
2.Twins take Terry Doyle from White Sox.
3.Mariners take Lucas Luetge from Brewers.
4.Orioles take Ryan Flaherty from Cubs.
5.Royals take Cesar Cabral from Red Sox; traded to Yankees for cash.
6.Cubs take Lendy Castillo from Phillies.
8.Pirates take Gustavo Nunez from Tigers.
  21.Braves take Robert Fish from Angels.
22.Cardinals take Erik Komatsu from Nationals.
23.Red Sox take Marwin Gonzalez from Cubs.
  25.Diamondbacks take Brett Lorin from Pirates.
  29.Yankees take Brad Meyers from Nationals.

John Rocker Still Trying to Clear Name

Pearlman: Give ‘Em Enough Rope (sent this over to

Steve

...errr, Jeff).

Rocker says he’s written the book partly in response to a 1999 Sports Illustrated article that he says ruined his good name forever.

Interviewed during Eyewitness News at 6 Wednesday, he referred to the old proverb that says “Don’t pick up fight with a guy who buys ink by the truckload.”

He told 13WMAZ’s Frank Malloy, “I decided to buy my own truck.”

...Rocker says he wrote the book with J. Marshall Craig to add “meat” and context to those statements.

Some of the “meat” according to Rocker:

“The media have declared themselves judge, jury and executioner in the world of free speech and political correctness, and if you offer up an opinion they don’t agree with, rest assured they are going to put the crosshairs right on you.”

Arguing that Americans’ rights are being taken away due to the war on terror: “You know what? We lost (technically). The terrorists have won. My nation is no longer free.”

...Talking baseball, Rocker has praise for Braves manager Bobby Cox and former Yankees manager Joe Torre, and many of his teammates.

But not for baseball commissioner Bud Selig, whom he calls “a true cretin,” “idiot,” “head dummy,” and a “moron of extreme proportions.”

Spinner: Nickelback Trade Insults Via Twitter With Atlanta Braves’ Peter Moylan

Nickelback? Foo Fighters?.....You’d think Moylan would be touting the Mangel Wankers or something, but nooooo.

Embattled rock band Nickelback have found themselves in the middle of another sports controversy—a Twitter fight with Peter Moylan, a relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves baseball team.

Moylan threw the first high heater after attending the Foo Fighters’ Dec. 2 show at AAMI Park in Melbourne, Australia, tweeting how much more he liked Dave Grohl’s band than Chad Kroeger’s.

“Note to @nickelback please attend a @foofighters concert. That’s how’s it should be done chad,” he wrote.

Nickelback, who’ve been drinking their fair share of haterade lately on account of their unpopular football half-time shows, were quick to respond with kind words for the Foos and a baseball-savvy burn for Moylan.

“@PeterMoylan Foos are killer for sure. We’re doing just fine too thanks. ? for you Pete, is watching Kimbrel better from the bench or on TV?” the band tweeted.

ajc: Schultz: Hall of Fame: Murphy thumbs up, juicers thumbs down

Fave time of the year! A couple of ballots/partials in already…Let the stupid begin!

• Jeff Bagwell: No. He has a Hall of Fame credentials (449 homers, 1,529 RBI, .297 average, MVP). But he was well short of induction last year with only 41.7 percent of the vote, at least in part because he has been suspected of using PEDs. Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci summarized the Bagwell debate nicely when he wrote: “Bagwell was an admitted Andro user who hired a competitive bodybuilder to make him as big as he could be, who claimed, [Mark] McGwire-like, that Andro “doesn’t help you hit home runs,” who went from a prospect with “no pop” to massively changing his body and outhomering all but six big leaguers in the 13 seasons before steroid penalties (Ken Griffey Jr. and five connected to steroids: Bonds, [Sammy] Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, McGwire and Juan Gonzalez), and who condones the use of steroids — but said, “I never used.” Yeah. I’m going to need a few more years on this one.

• Don Mattingly: Yes. Over 2,000 hits, nine Gold Gloves, seven All-Star Games. One MVP. A great ambassador for baseball. A thousand times, yes.

• Jack Morris: Yes. He also should be in already (received 53.5 percent of the vote last year). Beat John Smoltz (barely) in the greatest pitching match-up most have ever seen (1991 World Series). Won 254 games, finished with 2,478 strikeouts, 175 complete games.

• Dale Murphy: Yes. Murphy won’t get in but I’m voting for him anyway — again. I’ve heard the arguments about him not having the career numbers. But when you win consecutive MVP awards, there’s an acknowledgement that you were one of the best players in the game. Five Gold Gloves, four Silver Slugger Awards, seven All-Star selections, 398 homers — and he mostly played on crummy teams.  And yes, he should get points for not juicing and representing the game the right way.

• Bernie Williams: No. Another very good player, but that’s it. If his vote total becomes inflated, it’s because he played for the Yankees.

Bisher Unleashed: On Closers

Can You Take Another Dose of PERCEPTO?...for Furman Bisher Has Been Unleashed Once Again!

This is, of course, a reflection of my vintage, but it strikes me as being totally sinful that the Rookie of the Year in the National League is a pitcher who played only one inning at a time. True indeed, that Casey Kimbrel played his part in the Braves’ charge toward the National League pennant, but consider where they might have finished without Freddie Freeman’s daily appearance at first base. This “closer” thing has become a baseball disease.  Freeman was in the lineup every day, with a .282 batting average, 76 RBI—only Dan Uggla drove in more — 21 home runs, 32 doubles and a bulwark of defense at first base. Kimbrel—an inning at a time, nicely done. I’m repeating myself, I know, but I never have, and never will cast my Hall of Fame vote for a “closer.”  Never.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-21-2011

Milwaukee Sentinel, November 21, 1911:

The proposed deal which is said to involve the transfer of the Boston Rustlers to a company headed by Henry Killilea of Milwaukee and Charles Baird of Kansas City is off.
...

Should the present owners of the Rustlers come down a little in the price quoted there many be some chance of the deal going through.

That seems unlikely, because…

Boston Evening Transcript, November 21, 1911:

William Hepburn Russell, president and chief owner of the Boston Baseball Club of the National League, died this morning at his home.

That tends to throw a monkey wrench into negotiations.

Terence Moore: Dale Murphy can’t make Cooperstown on support alone

The House That Murphy Sold.

Examples are plentiful, but I’ll leave you with just one.

It occurred in 1996—three years after Murphy’s retirement—when I was trying to buy my current house. The couple who previously owned the place was charming throughout the initial process, but when we got close to closing, they became cold and distant.

At one point, when I was checking out the house for the last time during an inspection, the husband blurted out with a frown, “Is it true that you hate Dale Murphy?”

Stunned, I said, “I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

The husband added, “Well, if it’s true that you hate Dale Murphy, I’m not going to sell you this house. It’s really that simple.”

I told him I didn’t hate Dale Murphy. For one, I wanted the house, and for another, I really don’t hate Dale Murphy.

I just don’t think Murphy is a Hall of Famer.