WEEI: Bradford: Mets viewed Lackey a bigger health risk than Bay

According to a major league source, the Mets viewed John Lackey as a bigger medical risk to sign at five years than they did committing to Jason Bay at four.

It should be noted that the Mets did have strong interest in Lackey when the Red Sox got the pitcher to commit to a five-year, $82.5 million deal. Bay ultimately inked a four-year contract with the Mets worth $64 million, that includes a fifth-year vesting option.

Lackey’s contract with the Red Sox includes medical contingencies that protect the team against the pitcher missing significant time with a pre-existing elbow injury. The Sox’ concerns with Bay mostly revolved around the outfielder’s knees, which the Mets didn’t deem enough of a concern to prevent a deal.

...Minaya also said that the hestiancy the Red Sox had regarding Bay’s defense were not an issue for New York.

“I was not concerned,” Minaya said. “We had seen him in the National League. We didn’t see what people were talking about. I can understand it. When you play left field at Fenway Park it’s not easy. Guys can look back at that left field wall. “

Thanks to Grant.

USA Today: Panel Part V: MLB must stay ahead of drug curve

USA TODAY’s eight-person committee proposes that MLB formulate a panel of medical, technological and pharmaceutical experts, which would report its findings to the commissioner’s office and players union.

Together, they would decide what drugs are legal and illegal, a crucial development with landmark advances potentially on the horizon.

Specifically, stem-cell research and its possible breakthroughs applied to athletics could be a doping game changer.

“We need this because baseball is about to be faced with the issue of stem-cell,” says Boras, who earned a doctorate in industrial pharmacology.

“For example, what if a doctor comes up and says he has developed stem-cell that can regenerate rotator cuff. So just imagine if you used these things on somebody who’s healthy and an elite athlete.

“Does that violate the integrity of the game? There’s nothing in the rule book against it. We need to get a system in advance of this.”

As scrunch-faced Feargal Sharkey used to sing..."Its going to happen - happen - till your change your mind”.

Baseball Image of the Day: Casey Blake Beardless

RIP Casey Blake’s beard. Hopefully he’ll let it grow back over the season.

Creative Commons:

Tomorrow: Retro

THT: Jedlovec: Brian Giles, Hall of Fame Class of 2016?

When you add ‘er all up, no.

At the end of the season Giles got his first taste of the big leagues on Sept. 16, 1995. He went 5-for-9, including his first major league home run down the stretch. Despite having nothing left to prove, Giles was sent back to Triple-A in 1996, now 25 years old. This time he gave them power they couldn’t ignore any longer—he posted a .314/.395/.594 line with 20 homers in just 366 plate appearances before he got the call for good, hitting .355/.434/.612 with five homers in 143 plate appearances.

Here was the Cleveland lineup in 1994 (which changed little through 1996):

...By my count, six out of nine regulars are either in the Hall of Fame already (Murray), will be there as soon as they’re eligible (Vizquel, Thome, Ramirez), or have legitimate HOF arguments (Belle and Lofton). To make matters worse for Giles, almost everyone was in the prime of their careers.

...It’s too bad, because Giles’ excellent career has been criminally underappreciated. In an era where power and plate discipline were the best skills a hitter could have, Giles was historically great. Only 12 players in history have hit more home runs with a better BB/K ratio than Giles, including Barry Bonds and Albert Pujols. The other 10 are Hall of Famers named Williams, Musial, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Ott, Morgan, Berra, Mize, Ruth and Hornsby. While few people would group Giles with 10 inner circle Hall of Famers, it’s clear that his combination of power and patience is in elite company.

TFT:  Goldwater: The Five Books of Nomar

Including a chapter of early Shaughnessy bereishit…

Despite his greatness, Moses was never allowed to win the big one. He had sinned. But the Israelites had sinned as well; they had worshipped a Golden Calf. And Red Sox Nation had its golden calf moment. The Red Sox traded for false idol Alex Rodriguez in the 2003/4 offseason; he was to displace Garciaparra as shortstop and leader. Though the transaction was nixed, and Nomar remained. And then, in July, just weeks before the trade, Red Sox Nation did the unthinkable; they worshipped hated rival Derek Jeter. As Dan Shaughnessy recalls, in a Biblical narrative,

then came the nationally televised midsummer game at Yankee Stadium, when Nomar refused to play while Derek Jeter saved the game with a face-first plunge into the stands behind third base.

Whereas Jeter was a gamer, a real leader, Garciaparra was an illusion, a sulking and selfish quitter. Red Sox Nation had given up on Nomar, and coveted Jeter, the Yankees’ own golden boy. Yet Red Sox Nation was given the promised land, and Nomar was left to die on the banks of the River Jordan, in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Oakland.

Citing the numerous injuries that have (10) plagued Garciaparra’s career, and the SI cover photo of a frame bulking beyond its natural contours, one could be forgiven for thinking Nomar sinned against the commandment banning performance-enhancers. But Moses was able- at the age of one hundred and twenty- to climb a mountain in order to die; that can’t be natural either.

Jonah Keri: 2010 MLB Over/Unders

As my friend Butch da Bookie sez..."Bah! There’s just no juice in year-long O/U’s!” (sucked on too many Gummi Bear lemons...I bet)

My picks are below. The numbers in brackets represent projections made by Sean Smith’s CHONE projection system, The Hardball Times, Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA system, and for fun, baseball superscribe Joe Posnanski. The idea is simply that we have some numbers out there that you can compare to the Vegas odds in making your picks. As always, you’ll want to do some research beyond those big, broad numbers.

(Also, these are for GUMMI BEAR PURPOSES ONLY. I’m not looking for credit if you win so many gummis that you need a root canal, nor blame if you go into candy debt.)

Atlanta Braves +350 to win NL East

One of the things I’ve noticed since starting these annual exercises is that the sharps have gotten smarter. The spread of projection systems like PECOTA, CHONE and ZIPS gives everyone – including Vegas – a chance to think analytically along with the rest of us, and also predict where people might lay their money. That means fewer and fewer great over/under opportunities every year.

With that in mind, we’re taking the Braves to usurp the Phillies in the NL East. That +350 line is amazing for a team this good. The Braves trot out a deep starting rotation led by Jair Jurrjens, a now-healthy Tim Hudson and young ace Tommy Hanson. They’re very good up the middle, led by Brian McCann and Yunel Escobar. And the great, big wild card is Jason Heyward, who’s hit so many bombs during spring training that Braves employees are considering parking their cars in Alabama.

The Phils bring back their loaded infield, along with Jayson Werth, Shane Victorino, and a pitching staff now led by the great Roy Halladay. But they still have a shaky bullpen, they’ve had a long run of great health, and they might be due for some bad luck this season. Considering the Giants – whose lineup is completely miserable outside of Pablo Sandoval – are a mere +300 to win the NL West, this Braves line looks too good to pass up.

Hageman: J.J. Hardy: Middle Infield Repairman?

In 2008, veteran Adam Everett was brought in to ease the pain of losing Bartlett but injuries limited Everett to just 41 starts at short that year. Nick Punto was serviceable in Everett’s absence and was subsequently extended in ’09. Punto’s injuries and offensive woes pressed the Twins into acquiring perhaps the league’s worst defensive shortstop measured by plus/minus system, Orlando Cabrera. Cabrera, who had spent the first-half of the season weighing down the middle infield for Oakland, had anchored the second-worst unit in the AL at defending the middle (.395 average) - no thanks in part to his limited playmaking capabilities going towards the hole - prior to coming to Minnesota.

With this deficiency in mind, the Twins approached the offseason hell-bent on rectifying this problem instead of a patchwork solution. They traded for the 27-year-old J.J. Hardy even before the Yankees stopped celebrating their 2,935th World Series championship. In acquiring Hardy, they not only received a shortstop with more pop potential than the previous tenants but also one with a solid defensive pedigree – at least in terms of converting plays up-the-middle while with the Brewers:

...Even if Hardy declines from his 2009 plus/minus numbers, as players are prone to do as they age, he still represents an infinite improvement over the existing aspirants. His acquisition, though shrouded somewhat in offensive uncertainty given his ‘09 results, gives the Twins a stable backbone in the middle of the infield unmatched since Bartlett’s departure. 

Thanks to The Fred Bruckbauer Hour.

Eric Chavez rediscovers his stroke

Eric Chavez looked like his old self during the A’s game against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday as he hit two home runs, including one in the first inning to right-center field that manager Bob Geren estimated to be close to 500 feet.

Chavez said he’s also starting to feel a bit like his old self.

“I just told (A’s trainer Steve Sayles) today, for the last two days, my body’s felt as good as its ever felt.”

“As long as I stay away from as many throws as I possibly can,” he said, “I have a fighting chance with my shoulder.”

ESPN Chicago: Ozzie Guillen defends Latin players

“Utz Are Better Than Nuts!”

“Sometimes I think you have to be careful what you say,” Guillen said. “To me, he didn’t hurt my feelings. I think he’s a little bit behind saying we get potato chips. ... [Cincinnati Reds pitcher [Aroldis] Chapman was given a lot of money [six-year, $30.25 million contract].

“Major League Baseball looks for quality who can help them. They don’t look for color. Latin players right now have more talent than anybody else.”

Guillen also took exception to the notion scouts are afraid to observe African-American players because it’s too dangerous.

“He said they don’t sign African-American kids because it’s dangerous to scout them in their cities,” Guillen said. “You go to Caracas [Venezuela] and see how dangerous it is to scout there.”

Guillen said the best talent, and some of the highest-paid players in baseball, come from Latin America.

“We have better talent than they do,” he said. “Maybe in the top 10 players in the game, we have seven Latinos.”

...Guillen said only people who worry about politically correct comments would be offended by Hunter’s words.

“We come to this country with potato chips,” Guillen said. “When we leave this country, we leave with a lot of money, we earn it.

“That’s something we feel proud of.”

Finger: Polanco’s Worth Supercedes Mere Statistics

Fingers Polanco? Wasn’t that a Mark Margolis role in an off-awful-Broadway play?

For one reason or another, some baseball insiders don’t believe in Placido Polanco. He’s too old to be given a three-year contract, some wrote. He’s clearly not the third baseman that Pedro Feliz was, others offer.

Whatever it is, the shift from second base (where he was a Gold Glover for two of the past three seasons) at age 34 for an average salary of $6 million per year, just wasn’t the smartest thing for the Phillies to do, it’s been written. Take this one from the popular web site, Major League Trade Rumors:

The Polanco signing is a candidate for the worst of the offseason.  The Tigers were unwilling to offer arbitration to their Type A free agent second baseman, presumably because they felt the risk of a one-year deal in the $6-7MM range outweighed the prospect of two draft picks.  The three-year, $18MM commitment the Phillies gave Polanco in early December was the polar opposite of the one year, $1MM deal the Cardinals gave Felipe Lopez two months later. 

But ask the men in uniform or the front offices what they think about Placido Polanco and the review is the exact opposite. Polanco is a baseball player, they say. Every action and reaction is based on the situation presented before him, regardless if they can be measured by some sort of formula, chart or graph. Need a fly ball, Polanco will hit one. Need a line drive or ground ball hit behind a runner, Polanco will do that, too.

...“Since I was a little kid playing back in the Dominican Republic, I knew I wasn’t going to be a power hitter so I had to learn how to handle the bat and put the ball in play,” he said. “I just worked really hard at that instead of trying to hit the ball out of the park.”

And maybe that’s why some of those numbers guys don’t like Polanco? He’s the kind of guy who makes stats about as valuable as the paper they’re printed on.

Eddie Guardado caught by surprise by release

Embitterday Eddie…

In his 17 years of professional baseball, Eddie Guardado had never been released before this morning, when the Washington Nationals included him in their first round of cuts.

“They caught him totally, pretty much, by surprise,” said Kevin Kohler, Guardado’s agent. “I don’t think he was expecting it at all.”

...Guardado, whom the Nationals signed to a minor league contract in late December, pitched just two innings this spring. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits, but he expected more of an opportunity, Kohler said, particularly in his specialty: retiring left-handed batters.

When Kohler spoke with Guardado today, “he said, ‘I’ve been busting my [butt] out here everyday, and they give me two innings?’ “ Kohler said. “If he signs somewhere, it will be with someone he knows. He’s going to have to trust them; let’s put it like that.

“I don’t know what they’re thinking. It’s not like the other guys are really tearing it up.”

Jason Kendall names Brian Giles, Bobby Crosby in connection to Adderall

“Kendall’s innovative spirit remains vitally strong today.”

Shocking divorce papers filed by Jason Kendall’s estranged wife Chantel have placed the Kansas City Royals catcher at the center of a new baseball drugs scandal involving Adderall. Now, RadarOnline.com has learned that according to Kendall’s sworn deposition, it’s not just him that is caught up in the furor surrounding the use of Adderall - Kendall also name checks LA Dodgers right fielder Brian Giles and Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Bobby Crosby.

In the papers, Kendall disclosed that Brian Giles is someone that he has known since 1997 and when asked if Giles uses Adderall, Kendall said, “I believe so.” He didn’t know if Giles was currently taking it.

Kendall was also asked if he knew if Bobby Crosby took Adderall and he said, “I don’t know,” before going on to admit that the two had discussed Adderall “more than one time.”

Kendall testified that his dosage of Adderall was decreased when he wasn’t training and that he took from 30-60 milligrams since he first starting taking it in 2006. Kendall said he took 60 milligrams of Adderall during Spring 2009 and ending in October 2009 and that in November it was decreased to 45 milligrams.

Kendall was also asked if he ever took “greenies” which is “a diet pill that was used in baseball.” Kendall’s lawyer instructed him not to answer because of “his fifth amendment right against self incrimination.”

Cuban defector Leslie Anderson signs with Rays

The 27-year-old is one of more than 20 players to defect from Cuba’s storied baseball program in 2009, boarding a boat for Mexico instead of playing in the World Championship last fall. A month ago he held a private workout in Cancun for roughly a dozen major league teams and Thursday morning he signed with the Rays.

Anderson didn’t arrive in time for Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but Torres is confident his client will parlay the final three weeks of spring training into a spot on the Rays’ major league roster.

“I think this is a young man that can compete this year in the major leagues,” Torres said. “Right now we’re trying to see how quickly we can get him into camp.

Four years, $3.75 million deal according to El Nuevo writer Jorge Ebro

No Maas: Bill Conlin responds to reader with virtual crotch grab

Chair-One. No Maas-None.

This morning, a NoMaas reader named Matt Williams sent us an email exchange he had Wednesday with longtime Philadelphia Daily News sports columnist, Bill Conlin. Bill caused a bit of a stir when he penned an article proclaiming the Phillies have the best infield of baseball’s modern era. The point of this post isn’t to debate Conlin’s findings or evaluate Matt’s counter-argument. Rather, we’d like to show you Bill Conlin’s standards of professionalism.

...Nothing disrespectful from Matt, right? Tone of the email isn’t inflammatory. Well, Bill Conlin responded to this email with one word and one word only:

STEROIDS

Upon receiving this, Matt became a bit agitiated and replied:

I’m sorry that you can’t admit that Ryan Howard sucks vs LHP and saying Polanco is better than A-Rod because of steriods is just LOL. What’s sad is that you probably have a Hall of Fame vote. Like I said earlier, what does taking steroids in 2003 and earlier have to do w/ playing 3rd base in 2010? Just out of curiousity, if someone on Philly get’s caught w/ PED or steroids, are you going to retract that statement?

Bill Conlin quickly fired back:

Had a HOF vote for 44 years, ace. Retract this.

Helton gets two-year extension, will be Rockie for life

First baseman Todd Helton has agreed to a contract restructuring and extension that will allow him to finish his career where it began, with the Colorado Rockies.
Fantasy Baseball 2010

Helton agreed on Thursday to a two-year, $9.9 million contract extension that runs through the 2013 season.

The first baseman also agreed to defer $13.1 million of his $19 million salary in 2011 over a 10-year period beginning in 2014, the team said.

“We reached out for Todd in the wintertime, and had quiet discussions,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “He understood what we were trying to do and wanted to retire as a Rockie.”

Brian Giles announces retirement

Giles, 39, was signed to a minor league contract in February, but has been slowed with a bum right knee early in camp. Speaking nothing of his personal life, Giles was a very productive player over the course of his major league career, amassing 1,897 hits and a .291/.400/.502 batting line during stops with Cleveland, Pittsburgh and San Diego. Giles was a two-time All-Star.
(Source: Dylan Hernandez on Twitter)

Pittsburgh was going to sign him to a one-day contract so he could retire as a Pirate but they are already over budget.

Mets’ Jose Reyes out 2-8 weeks with thyroid problem

Dear Time Trapper.

What year is this?

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes needs to “to rest, refrain from athletic activity and make changes in his diet” following a diagnosis of hyperthyroid, the club said today.

Reyes can resume baseball activities once his thyroid levels return to normal. Peter Greenberg, his agent, told the Associated Press the shortstop will be sidelined two to eight weeks and the New York Daily News reports General Manager Omar Minaya said Reyes will begin the season on the disabled list.

The full statement from the Mets:

The additional blood tests confirmed that Jose Reyes’s thyroid hormone blood levels are elevated and he is hyperthyroid. Mets Medical Director Dr. David Altchek last night spoke with Jose and his representatives. As prescribed by the doctors and specialists, Jose’s treatment plan is to rest, refrain from athletic activity and make changes in his diet. The doctors will monitor Jose’s thyroid levels through regular blood tests. Once Jose’s thyroid levels return to normal, he will be cleared to resume baseball activities.

McAdam: Red Sox boot one with Nomar

The staged event Thursday morning was something you might expect from a team attempting to invent some sort of artificial legacy, an act which screams: “Hey, we’re relevant—really, we are!”

Huge Brawl in Cuba

Well, that is something you don’t see everyday.

Baseball Picture of the Day: Strasburg in the Fall League

Today’s image:

Tomorrow: What happened!?!?!

Martone: Band of brothers: Garciaparra and Conigliaro

Sans the Hamilton-Blur duel, of course.

We rarely mention them in the same breath, and why would we? One was home-grown Massachusetts, the other a transplanted Californian. One was an outfielder in the 1960s and ‘70s, the other a shortstop in the 1990s and 2000s. One sprinted toward the bright lights, the other sprinted away. Most of us see almost no connection between Nomar Garciaparra and Tony Conigliaro, other than their shared Red Sox legacy and their lost opportunity at immortality.

We should look closer.

The careers of Garciaparra and Conigliaro run on almost parallel tracks with a similarity that’s eerie. Ignore the differences in their hitting styles—Nomar was a line-drive machine in his prime, Tony C. a launcher of fly balls. Ignore the raw statistics, most of which are contextual; put Garciaparra in the dead-ball ‘60s or Conigliaro in the hitter-happy ‘90s and their stats would even out.

Instead, follow the broad strokes. You’re talking about two guys who almost seem separated at birth, albeit decades apart:

Joe Posnanski Blog: Jose Reyes, Mets

Of course, different people have different ideas about what makes an exciting baseball player. But, in general, the blueprint would look an awful lot like Jose Reyes.

In fact, not that long ago, Bill James and I plotted out formula (admittedly the formula is a lot more me than Bill — he just offered suggestions) to try and determine the most exciting players in baseball.

... Sure, the late season fadeouts hurt. They hurt a lot. But — and it’s easy to forget this — the Mets still looked to be in awfully good shape. Reyes was exciting. Santana was dazzling. Third baseman David Wright was one of the best players in baseball. Center fielder Carlos Beltran was one of the best players in baseball. Carlos Delgado had hit 38 home runs — the 11th time in 12 years he hit 30-plus homers. Francisco Rodriguez came to New York after he had set the single-season save record in Anaheim — finally, the Mets had their answer for the Great Rivera.

My Grate Friend, Peason Posted: March 11, 2010 at 10:15 AM | 32 comment(s)
  Related News: NY Mets

AZ Snakepit: McLennan: Ken Levine: Worst Commentator Ever?

Yoouch! And I thought Michael the Kay saying that “Angels phenom Casey Kotchman will be manning the hot corner for years”...as he was throwing the ball lefty, was da pits.

If anyone knows anything about the Arizona Diamondbacks’ minor leaguers – HELP! To quote Butch Cassidy: “Who are these guys?”
—Ken Levine, on his blog

More to the point - who the hell is Ken Levine? And with the publicly-announced lack of advance preparation shown above, how exactly did he get a job providing play-by-play for the Diamondbacks-Dodgers game on Tuesday? I don’t know about you, but if I was a part-time announcer, I would make far more effort to research the opposition players - not, as Levine apparent does, simply throw up hands in bemusement at his own ignorance. How does it go? “Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.”

...This ‘deer in headlights’ incompetence was ironic, given another comment on Levine’s blog: “This was so much easier last spring when the Dodgers played the National Team from Korea. No joke – every player on the Korean team was named “Lee”. So you could have the wrong guy in the wrong position batting in the wrong spot and no one would ever know.” Oh, hold my aching sides, I fear they may split. The reality is that 20 of the 28 names on the Korean roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic were not named Lee. But why let facts get in the way of blinkered xenophobia for weak comedic purposes?

...By now, the line-up changes were happening thick and fast, but it was too much to expect Levine to tell us about them - even though he knew, and had already mentioned, that the game was being broadcast nationwide. We got more information from snippets of the PA announcer at Camelback, heard over Levine’s droning, than from the commentator. It led to this entry for the Broadcasting Hall of Shame. “And so, a leadoff double for an unidentified Diamondback.” I’m not kidding. I wish I was. And the obscure, non-roster invitee who baffled Levine? Actually, it was Ryan Roberts,. Y’know, who only played 110 games for Arizona last season.

Umpire Tim McLelland discusses blown calls, why 3 umps were fired

Pandora peaks and valleys…

He’s not that worried about losing his job. He said umpires make mistakes and they’re “part of the game.”

“I would hope that people realize that umpires are going to make mistakes,” McLelland said on the Dan Patrick Show.  “I know they had a quote in the paper that said the supervisors lost their jobs, but the umpires retained thiers. But if you fired umpires or officials for a missed call, you’re not going to have any officials. We make mistakes. We don’t want to. We’re out their trying to do our best. We don’t want to make mistakes. We feel bad when we do. But we are going to make them. Fortunatley it happens and it’s part of the game.”

McLelland doesn’t know if instant replay could have saved those jobs

“I don’’t know. I don’t know why they were fired. It’s rumor, its’s innuendo. I can’t believe that somebody was fired because of missed calls in a playoff. Like I said, those are going to happen. Unfortanatley they did. I dont know what the reason was or why the were fired. I dont know whether instant replay would have helped. I doubt it would have. I’m at a loss. I have been since I found out about it.”

McLelland calls instant replay a “Pandora’s Box” because each call is dependent on another call. He does however point out that umpires are changing their attitude and are more open to replay.

Joe Posnanski Blog: HireGardy.com

Someone opened up a bloget door and out stepped Joey Poz,
Playing keyboard like a-ringin’ a bell and lookin’ like da Mozz.
Now, if you gotta plug Gardenhire, I wish you a lotta luck…

I’m not entirely sure why there isn’t much Gardy appreciation out there. Yes, I understand that Gardenhire will make his share of bizarre decisions — for instance he is the guy who keeps giving Nick Punto a staggering number of at-bats. Yes, I feel confident that if I watched him every day, point by point, I would be annoyed by many of his managerial habits. Yes, I feel sure that people who follow Gardy on a daily basis can send me a long, long list of Gardy transgressions — I feel sure about this because my email is filled with such lists.

But, I don’t know, it seems to me that the guy has managed the Twins to five division titles in his eight years, or, to put it another way, THE GUY HAS MANAGED THE TWINS TO FIVE DIVISION TITLES IN HIS EIGHT YEARS. I mean, sure, you would expect a good manager to manage the Twins to at least six division titles in eight years, but, doesn’t he get SOME credit for this? He’s done this even though the Twins have never in those years had a payroll in baseball’s top half. And only once in all those years, in 2003, did the Twins have even the highest payroll in the low-paying division. Last year, the Twins had the lowest payroll.They won. Gardy won a division title in 2002 and a division title in 2009, and he did not have any of the same starting players. It seems pretty good to me.

Sure, you could say that the Twins success comes from their scouting, from their player development, from their star players, from anyone BUT Gardy, and I would not be able to prove you wrong. Maybe the Twins win year after year despite Gardy. Maybe he’s the guy who keeps making the $40-$60 million payroll Twins underachieve year after year. I don’t know. I don’t see it that way.

Granger: Did the 2009 Yankees Produce the Greatest Infield (Plus Catcher) in MLB History?

And as Mandel puts it..."a meticulous piece of research” by Jamal Granger.

The Year of the Ox – The Year of the Brown Earth Cow: The 2009 New York Yankees – Kate Hudson > All

The 2009 World Series Champions, New York Yankees (for someone who will be following the team for just his 8th year in 2010, you have no idea how good it feels to read that over), rank fourth on this list with their 24.1 total WAR. Unfortunately, the 2009 Bombers contain the majority of the players that amassed the three fewest plate appearances over the course of a listed campaign: Alex Rodriguez, 535; Dan Driessen (’74), 523; Jorge Posada, 438. Still, their combined 506.3 EqR and .309 EqA ranked second and first, respectively, on this list, and they also boasted both a top-five Cy Young candidate in Carsten Charles Sabathia and a top-three MVP candidate in Derek Jeter.

Speaking of the kid from Kalamazoo, the team captain led the Yankees with 6.5 WAR, and has the unpleasant distinction of essentially being the worst team leader in this category of all five teams. Still, do not let that fool you into thinking that Jeter did not set the American League on fire with his MVP-caliber season. Leading the league at the position in EqA (.310), EqR (115.6), HR (18), batting average (.334), OBP (.406) and wOBA (.390), he arguably had his best season since his back-to-back 1998 and 1999 seasons. Shifting to the defensive side of the game, his +5 TZ is the best he has recorded in his future HoF career. In 2009 at short stop in Major League Baseball, there was Hanley Ramirez, Derek Jeter and everyone else.

Flanagan to return to Orioles as color analyst for MASN

Back on the beatagan!

More than a year after his stint as an Orioles executive ended, Mike Flanagan will return to the organization as a color analyst for the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.

Flanagan, who spent more than 30 years with the Orioles as a player, coach, front office executive and broadcaster, will work about half the 2010 schedule, sharing color duties with Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer. Gary Thorne and Jim Hunter will handle the play-by-play responsibilities.

“I’m excited to be back, certainly, with MASN, and to be able to give perspective and a richer experience to the broadcast,” said Flanagan, who replaces Buck Martinez, now a play-by-play man for the Toronto Blue Jays’ broadcast team. “I’m looking forward to being back with Palmer and [Rick Dempsey], guys that have been around for a long time and have a lot of value.”

..."I think when you have someone around like Jim Palmer with Cy Youngs and my history, and a guy like Dempsey who played in four decades, I fully expect to be utilized,” he said. “This is obviously a role that I’m extremely comfortable with and have enjoyed in the past. Working with Jim and Dempsey and Gary Thorne, I think we can make a terrific broadcast even better.”

Souhan: Is it time for Twins to ponder the unthinkable?

Build a Bucky Guth statue outside Target Field? Have Assrash perform on Opening Day?? Trade Joe Mauer??? WTF!

A deal between the All-Star catcher and the Twins is still more likely than not, and at any moment Mauer’s agent, Ron Shapiro, could call the team and make it happen, prompting a combination press conference/Minnesota Mardi Gras.

But a combination of modern baseball logic and Twins history suggests that if the Twins’ decision-makers can’t sign Mauer, they will be obligated to trade him.

The Twins and Shapiro have kept the details of their negotiations remarkably quiet, but my sense, after talking with a variety of people, is that the team has offered more than $20 million a year. If Shapiro is intent on pushing Mauer to $25 million or more a year, Mauer might find himself on the Johan Santana Shuttle out of town.

A trade could yield a closer to replace Joe Nathan and would protect the franchise in the future from having one player on their roster consuming 20 to 25 percent of their payroll, a formula that rarely works in baseball.

Griffin: Selig and Co. should have their heads realigned

If Vladimir Guerrero couldn’t save baseball in Canada...what makes them think Vladimir Demikhov can? (readjusts dunce cap)

ajor League Baseball, according to a Tom Verducci column at SI.com, seems to be considering a move that would allow the Blue Jays to escape the unbelievably tough AL East. It sounds good, but thankfully is a long way from reality.

This is the dumbest thing commissioner Bud Selig has ever considered. With apologies to the Jays and any hopes they might have for realignment, there must be another motive behind this initiative.

Despite the apparently nonsensical nature of the recent proposal, Bud is not a dumb man, which leads one to believe he must be angling for something else before he retires in a couple of years. Like, for instance, a few additional wild-card teams.

Moving teams among divisions on a whim – Selig’s idea is for “floating” realignment, in which teams could change divisions from year to year based on geography, payroll and whether or not they plan to contend – is a stupid concept. Message to Jays president Paul Beeston, a member of Selig’s committee: Suck it up, toots. Just win more games against good teams.

...Instead of blaming the AL East, why not just expand the playoffs and add a couple of wild cards in both leagues. The two division winners with the best records could have a first-round bye while the worst division winner hosts the lowest-ranking wild card and the top wild card hosts No. 2. Why, it might even allow a team like the Jays to feel like a contender right through the end of September.

But giving teams the right to change divisions as long as the shift is not more than two time zones away is the dumbest idea baseball and Bud Selig have ever had.

Fangraphs: Top 50 American League Prospects

1. Desmond Jennings, OF, Tampa Bay Rays
2. Neftali Feliz, RHP, Texas Rangers
3. Carlos Santana, C, Cleveland Indians
4. Jesus Montero, C/1B, New York Yankees
5. Dustin Ackley, 2B/OF, Seattle Mariners
6. Brian Matusz, LHP, Baltimore Orioles
7. Jeremy Hellickson, RHP, Tampa Bay Rays
8. Justin Smoak, 1B, Texas Rangers
9. Chris Carter, 1B, Oakland Athletics
10. Martin Perez, LHP, Texas Rangers
...
31. Zach McAllister, RHP, New York Yankees
32. Zach Stewart, RHP, Toronto Blue Jays
33. Daniel Hudson, RHP, Chicago White Sox
34. Tanner Scheppers, RHP, Texas Rangers
35. Jacob Turner, RHP, Detroit Tigers
36. Brandon Erbe, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
37. Jordan Walden, RHP, Los Angeles Angels
38. Junichi Tazawa, RHP, Boston Red Sox
39. Jake Arrieta, RHP, Baltimore Orioles
40. Alex White, RHP, Cleveland Indians

This list is a bit different than the others floating around. I quoted the 30-40 section because I haven’t seen anyone else suggest Zach McAllister is anything close to this level of prospect. I’m guessing this list is based more on straight numbers than the BA or BPro lists. Also, its always a good time for another prospect list.