http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/newsblog/ All the News That's Fit to Link en jimfurtado@baseballthinkfactory.org Copyright 2009 2009-07-03T22:44:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/diamond_notes_bill_plaschke_on_his_feelings_on_manny_ramirez_today/#When:22:44:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/diamond_notes_bill_plaschke_on_his_feelings_on_manny_ramirez_today/ “I’m even madder now. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Yeah Dodger fans, He’s being as if he’s returning from Iraq or something. “The club has done nothing during the suspension but coddle him and treat him as if he had suffered some life-threatening disease or something and he was trying to make a valiant comeback. “Basically the Dodgers and their fans - a lot of their fans, not all of them, but a lot of them - have pretty much accepted steroids in saying, ‘It’s no big deal. Glad to have you back, Manny. Sorry you were gone.’ It’s all that sort of thing. So it’s really kind of disconcerting. “He’s lost $7 million. I undestand that. Otherwise, it’s been the best summer of Manny Ramirez’s life. “First time in baseball history that a team will devote a section of its stands for people who want to cheer a drug cheat.” General, LA Dodgers, Media, Television, Rumors, Steroids 2009-07-03T22:44:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/biz_of_baseball_most_baseball_fans_prepare_to_give_manny_ramirez_a_nice_big/#When:22:25:01Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/biz_of_baseball_most_baseball_fans_prepare_to_give_manny_ramirez_a_nice_big/ “Thick wavy hair, a little too long”.. From Shadow Morton to shadow Manny! In a further sign of interest in the game, Fox’s Prime Ticket will add an extra right-field camera for the event. The RSN will also have a special road edition of the “Dodgers Live” pregame and postgame show to cover Manny’s return. No word on whether Manny will do to the Western Metal Building what he did to the inside of Green Monster scoreboard, but if so, cameras will be at the ready from every angle. It all is the circus that is Manny being Manny, and you can bet your dreadlock wig that the Dodgers will be the beneficiary of the return at the cash registers, regardless of whether he comes back in mid-season form. For MLB, it means moving past a potentially embarrassing moment, or rather, a moment that was embarrassing, but had a player with incredible barstool likeability at its center. Baseball surely must be signing in relief knowing that Ramirez won’t be in the All-Star Game, unless Charlie Manuel selects him, a long shot to say the least. General, LA Dodgers, Steroids 2009-07-03T22:25:01-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/mlbcom_jones_gives_bucs_lift_with_big_bat_finishes_single_shy_of_cycle/#When:22:05:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/mlbcom_jones_gives_bucs_lift_with_big_bat_finishes_single_shy_of_cycle/ I can honestly say I have never heard of this Garrett Jones before.  He’s almost a year younger than Nyjer Morgan and apparently got 77 at-bats with the Twins two years ago. “This is what he’s been doing the whole year—driving the ball,” said Andrew McCutchen, who was Jones’ teammates at Triple-A for two months earlier this season. “When they make a mistake, he makes them pay. It’s real good to have someone like that there.” Jones would then cap his day with a solo homer off Mets reliever Pedro Feliciano in the seventh. “That’s what we knew Garrett could do,” Russell said. “He can provide some punch in the offense. Offensively, we got him in there and some guys started swinging better. That’s what we’re looking for, what we did today.” Jones, who said he has never hit for the cycle at any level, had two other at-bats in the game with which to get a single. He nearly got it in the fifth, when he lined out to reliever Brian Stokes. In the ninth, Jones grounded out to second. Russell has said that he intends to give Jones every opportunity to prove himself as an everyday starter, and Thursday’s…Read More ... General, Minnesota, Pittsburgh 2009-07-03T22:05:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/heyman_if_clevelands_willing_to_trade_martinez_bostons_a_likely_suitor/#When:20:26:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/heyman_if_clevelands_willing_to_trade_martinez_bostons_a_likely_suitor/ Bah...rumors, rumors. Remember when it was rumored that Don Mincher had invented drooping tear-drop eyeglasses? Wasn’t true. Indians higher-ups say they aren’t likely to trade hitting star Victor Martinez. Not only is Martinez one of the better hitters in baseball, with 14 home runs, 57 RBIs and .313 batting average, but the Indians hold a bargain 2010 club option on Martinez for $7 million. A trade for Martinez still has to be considered something of a long shot. Yet, within the past day or two the Indians dispatched a scout to check out the progress of Boston’s best prospects, according to a league source. The Indians, a realistic early seller, may only be covering their bases. But of course, it could develop into something more, as Boston’s interest in Martinez is well known. Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell’s recurrence of hip trouble has at least temporarily opened first base for Boston (since Kevin Youkilis has switched over to third base). The Red Sox have been seeking offensive aid for months with their protracted winter pursuit of Mark Teixeira and a much shorter try for Hanley Ramirez. Boston is also one of a couple teams that could match up nicely with…Read More ... General, Boston, Cleveland, Rumors 2009-07-03T20:26:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/morris_kevin_millwood_rob_neyer_evan_grant_luck_pitching_and_defense/#When:20:14:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/morris_kevin_millwood_rob_neyer_evan_grant_luck_pitching_and_defense/ This is a blog post about a post by Evan Grant responding to a blog post by Rob Neyer commenting on a blog post by R.J. Anderson. That I came across on Facebook...whew! So this may be a bit meta. In a nutshell, Grant takes issue with Neyer’s endorsement of Anderson’s point, which is that Kevin Millwood hasn’t really been any better this year than in the past few years. Evan makes clear his thoughts on Millwood right off the bat: By almost any evaluation, Millwood has been one of the top five or six pitchers in the AL this season. I guess the problem is how one defines “top pitcher.” In terms of runs allowed or ERA, absolutely, he’s been one of the top pitchers in the league. But when we talk about runs allowed or ERA, we mustn’t forget the Tenth Noble Truth of Bill James: 10. A great deal of what is perceived as being pitching is in fact defense. General, Sabermetrics, Special Topics, Baseball Geeks, Texas 2009-07-03T20:14:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/arizona_republic_bob_young_which_d_backs_stay_which_will_go/#When:20:12:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/arizona_republic_bob_young_which_d_backs_stay_which_will_go/ • Eric Byrnes - There is no trade market for him, and he’s back on the disabled list. It might be time to consider just eating what’s left on his deal so everybody can move on. ... • Felipe Lopez - Has been everything the Diamondbacks expected when they signed him to a one-year deal to replace Orlando Hudson. Has some value despite his mental lapses. Atlanta needs help at second base. ... • Brandon Webb - The ace of the staff hasn’t played since Opening Day. Team has a difficult decision to make about whether to pick up his contract option next season. ... • Doug Davis - Just the kind of player the buyers will want. Milwaukee and Philadelphia might be interested. Arizona 2009-07-03T20:12:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/la_times_when_it_comes_to_manny_what_would_nietzsche_do/#When:18:18:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/la_times_when_it_comes_to_manny_what_would_nietzsche_do/ What, you didn’t know Socrates was a baseball junkie? You thought Plato and Nietzsche were so above it all they didn’t have a favorite National League team? Yeah, stupid me, I had no idea either. But this week I paid a visit to my local house of all things psychic: Tattered Glove Palm Reading of Chavez Ravine. With Manny Ramirez back Friday, L.A. is now confronted with a bulked-up existential question: How should we view those who have cheated the system by using banned substances? What should we think of those who appear willing to do anything to win? How do we forgive? Searching for answers, I convened an emergency meeting with the spirits of some of the prime shapers of Western thought. It actually wasn’t hard to get this group together; it’s a little-known fact they have been meeting regularly to philosophize on baseball since the White Sox World Series scandal of 1919. First up? Socrates (Manny-applicable quote: “An honest man is always a child."). What, I asked, do we make of this Ramirez mess? “Well, let me say it is good, my friend, that you’re asking questions. That’s what I’m all about: pondering. The most important question is this:…Read More ... General, LA Dodgers, Rumors, Steroids 2009-07-03T18:18:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/jason_stark_its_so_wrong_to_celebrate_mannys_return/#When:17:27:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/jason_stark_its_so_wrong_to_celebrate_mannys_return/ So instead, the reaction to Manny, from Albuquerque to Ensenada, has been—what else?—downright hero worship. You’d think the guy had spent the past 57 days curing cancer, dousing tensions in Iran and smoothing out plot glitches for the final season of “Lost.” But why? That’s the question we’ve been struggling with since Manny-mania busted out in Albuquerque last week. Why is America so ready to forgive this guy, of all guys? Because he has fun hair? Because he has a lovable smile? Because he has a long, not necessarily proud, history as baseball’s foremost goofball? Why would that be enough to outweigh his disgraceful exit from Boston, his indisputable guilt in this case and the dubious alibi his spin doctors typed up to explain his way out of this mess? Why? We posed that question to four men who have thought about it a lot themselves: esteemed Columbia School of Journalism professor Sandy Padwe, cerebral journalist/author Robert Lipsyte and two of the most thoughtful players we have ever covered, Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and a man who has turned into an official New York Times op-ed columnist, Doug Glanville. General, LA Dodgers, Media, Online, Rumors, Steroids 2009-07-03T17:27:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/la_times_baseballs_pharmacy_hall_of_fame/#When:17:05:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/la_times_baseballs_pharmacy_hall_of_fame/ Paul Lo Duca Position: Catcher How it went down: On Dec. 13, 2007, Lo Duca was cited in the Mitchell Report as a user of steroids and human growth hormone. He was also accused of referring former Dodgers teammates Eric Gagne and Kevin Brown to his drug supplier. Upon his arrival with the Washington Nationals on Feb. 17, 2008, Lo Duca issued a statement in which he apologized for “mistakes in judgment,” but he did not say what those mistakes entailed. How he fared on the field: Lo Duca started the 2008 season in Washington as the team’s least productive batter, hitting .200 in 50 at-bats. He then fractured his right hand and went on the disabled list from early May to mid-June. The Nationals released him July 31, 2008, after he batted .230 with no home runs and 12 runs batted in in 139 at-bats. The Florida Marlins picked Lo Duca up in a minor league deal on Aug. 8 and he was called up eight days later, hitting .294 with three RBIs in 34 at-bats. He became a free agent after the season and remains unsigned. Andy Pettitte Position: P How it went down: On Dec. 13, 2007, Pettitte…Read More ... General, Teams, Rumors, Steroids 2009-07-03T17:05:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/deep_left_field_desparetely_seeking_david_norman/#When:16:57:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/deep_left_field_desparetely_seeking_david_norman/ FOUND! Rare footage of Sam actually finding David. We need David Norman back for eyes-own assessments of minor leaguers. Very few of my business trips take me to Danville or Myrtle Beach. Nonetheless, some notes of interest from the farm. The Myrtle Beach Sun News confirms that three Pelicans have been promoted to AA-Mississippi. Top of the class is the Braves offensive version of Tommy Hanson. Jason Heyward is only 19 but was tearing up Carolina League pitching to the tune of 296/369/519. That .519 SLG% stands out considering his home park is notoriously pitcher friendly. Heyward projects to relieve Atlanta of our long Frenchified nightmare in RF come 2011. If he fares well in MS this year he could skip AAA-Gwinnett altogether. He’s that good. Heyward is to Tommy Hanson as Freddie Freeman is to Kris Medlen. Overshadowed and rightly so, Freeman still projects to take over 1B in Atlanta about the same time Casey Kotchman goes free agent (2011.) Freeman posted a better than respectable 302/394/447, again in MB’s power-killing Coastal Field. Pelican closer Thomas Palica gets the call to MS as well. The 21 year old was striking out a man an inning with decent K/BB rates, continuing…Read More ... General, Minor Leagues, Prospect Reports, Scouting, Atlanta 2009-07-03T16:57:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/craig_calcaterra_francoeur_for_the_all_star_game/#When:16:53:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/craig_calcaterra_francoeur_for_the_all_star_game/ Right field: Jeff Francoeur, Atlanta: Apologies to Justin Upton, but when baseball no longer has a place for the likes of Francoeur, a player so extravagantly talented that he can hold down a major league job despite seemingly having little more idea of what to do with that talent than a tomcat, baseball will no longer be worth watching. May as well agitate for a contract extension while you’re at it, Tim. Sheesh. General, Atlanta, Media, Online 2009-07-03T16:53:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/twinkie_town_peterson_runs_batted_in_opportunity_vs_execution/#When:16:13:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/twinkie_town_peterson_runs_batted_in_opportunity_vs_execution/ Screw Hanley Ramirez...Morneau’s already a top run producer! Justin Morneau: Elite Run Producer, or lucky to be batting behind Joe Mauer? Over the past three years, no one on the Minnesota Twins has driven in more runs than the 2006 MVP, Justin Morneau: 2006: 130 RBI 2007: 111 RBI 2008: 129 RBI That’s a lot of RBIs. Buthow much of this is Morneau the elite run producer, and how much does he take advantage of hitting behind one of the truly elite OBP guys in Joe Mauer? Let’s take a look at the number of RBI opportunities Morneau has had relative to the rest of MLB. “Expected" Runs Batted In How do we normalize each batter’s RBI opportunities? First we must create a baseline. I collected data from the entire 2008 and partial 2009 (through 7/1) seasons, counting the total number of RBI for each inning situation (e.g., one out, runner on second base). I used this data to calculate the average number of RBI that one would “expect” a batter to drive in for a given situation. I call this “Expected RBI”, or “eRBI”. Not surprisingly, bases empty, zero or one out (0.028 eRBI) is the least RBI-friendly situation, and…Read More ... General, Sabermetrics, Projections, Minnesota 2009-07-03T16:13:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/redleg_nation_thinking_about_dusty_baker/#When:15:57:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/redleg_nation_thinking_about_dusty_baker/ Diane, LaVern, Josephine...hell, even Ginger. But Dusty? For example, I posted the numbers in last night’s game thread that Taveras had led off 16 games where he has failed to get on base even a single time. The Reds are not only 3-13 in those games, but 5 of those 13 losses are by 2 runs or less. Sure, 3 of those 13 losses were blowouts, so it probably doesn’t matter if we had Bonds leading off, but the Reds could VERY reasonably be in 5-10 more games this year with one SIMPLE SIMPLE change. That’s a potentially HUGE impact. Think about it, it’s a pretty crazy stat. All you need is 2-3 more runs over those games, which should be SUPER easy because we are talking about replacing 0 (or even NEGATIVE) production. The Reds have been among the worst teams in baseball for a handful of years now. But a lot of the time, it has been because of a bad GM signing bad players — in particular pitchers — and the Reds manager not having much choice. In this case, Dusty has options…the fault falls squarely on him (not on Willy). Is this the single worst thing a…Read More ... General, Cincinnati 2009-07-03T15:57:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wapo_eig_the_jerk_who_saved_baseball/#When:15:33:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wapo_eig_the_jerk_who_saved_baseball/ The Jerk Who Saved Baseball By Jonathan Eig, Washington Post Sunday, July 5, 2009 Manny Ramirez returned to the majors this weekend, to the delight of Dodgers fans, following a 50-game suspension. Yet, when the news broke in early May that Los Angeles’s star outfielder would be punished for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy, it was another slugger who called a news conference—Jose Canseco, best-selling author and baseball’s steroidal sage. . . . General 2009-07-03T15:33:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/russ_adams_designated_for_assignment/#When:15:23:01Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/russ_adams_designated_for_assignment/ The Toronto Blue Jays called up outfielder/designated hitter David Delluci from Triple-A Las Vegas on Friday morning in New York. He is the left-handed bat manager Cito Gaston hopes might add balance to his lineup. The move had been anticipated since Wednesday when Russ Adams was seen getting handshakes from teammates after Toronto closed out its nine-game home stand at the Rogers Centre. Adams, who hit .238 in eight games with the Blue Jays, was designated for assignment and must be traded, released or re-assigned within 10 days. Thanks to Geo. General, Toronto 2009-07-03T15:23:01-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/kansascitycom_posnanski_royals_are_a_terrible_base_running_team/#When:12:10:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/kansascitycom_posnanski_royals_are_a_terrible_base_running_team/ One thing you can say about these Royals: They are reliable. I went out Thursday night with the tentative idea of writing about the remarkably bad base running they have exhibited this year. And it has been legendarily bad. But here’s the thing about choosing a column topic before the game — the game has a knack of killing early ideas. I mean: If you go out to write about how well a team is pitching, the starter probably will give up nine runs. If you go out to write about how well a team is fielding, they’ll make three errors. It’s just how things work. So, I had backup plans if the Royals ran the bases well on this night. I was open to writing something else if the Royals had given me something else. I should not have worried about it. First inning, Willie Bloomquist was on first and he took off on what looked like a hit-and-run play. Billy Butler hit a lazy fly ball to center field … Bloomquist did not see it. “Willie checked and couldn’t pick it up,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. White Sox center fielder Brian Anderson caught the pop-up, had plenty of…Read More ... Kansas City 2009-07-03T12:10:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/boston_herald_borges_hbo_take_on_ted_williams_simply_splendid/#When:12:03:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/boston_herald_borges_hbo_take_on_ted_williams_simply_splendid/ But to be great at such a solitary task a lot of other things had to suffer. As the film points out, those included three wives and as many children. For years, it also included the fans who bellowed his name but also booed it because as great as he was he never beat the Yankees and didn’t deliver in the only World Series he played. Williams wept after his Series failures against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1946, when he had only five singles and one RBI in 25 at bats, but the fans didn’t. They booed out of frustration and because he often was, like many geniuses, a temperamental cuss so obsessed with one act that there was little room for niceties. After stroking the ultimate “walkoff” home run in his final at-bat at the age of 41, Williams was sent back to left field. Trotting behind him was his replacement, Carroll Hardy. It was a last chance for his fans to cheer and him to acknowledge them. He didn’t. According to Pumpsie Green, the shortstop that day and the first black player in Red Sox history, Williams mumbled as he went by, “Isn’t this a crock?” What wasn’t…Read More ... History, Hall of Fame, Boston, Television 2009-07-03T12:03:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/plain_dealer_will_the_cleveland_indians_lose_100_games_for_the_sixth_time_i/#When:11:54:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/plain_dealer_will_the_cleveland_indians_lose_100_games_for_the_sixth_time_i/ It’s come to this: The Cleveland Indians are off today, but if they lose tomorrow night’s game against the Oakland Athletics at Progressive Field, they’ll reach the season’s halfway point with a 31-50 record. Double that, and it’s 62-100, which would be the sixth 100-loss campaign in the 109-year history of the franchise. ... 1971, 60-102 Besides the eight fielders who started the most games at each position, the other 13 position players combined to hit .204 (302 of 1,484), which is really bad. None of those guys batted above .225. Once-promising pitcher Steve Hargan was 1-13, allowing 200 baserunners in 113 1/3 innings. Nobody wanted to see this team. The Indians drew 22,036 fans to their last eight games at old Cleveland Municipal Stadium, an average of 2,755. In their final three road games, at Washington against the Senators, a total of 4,512 crazies showed up - an average of 1,504. The Senators moved after the season to Texas, where they remain as the Rangers. plus, Eric Wedge, Cliff Lee, Victor Martinez: Should they stay or should they go? and Cleveland Indians add yet another bullpen pitcher, acquiring Winston Abreu from Tampa Bay Cleveland 2009-07-03T11:54:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/washington_times_for_nats_rizzo_its_about_character/#When:11:44:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/washington_times_for_nats_rizzo_its_about_character/ Manny Acta spoke earlier this season about “changing the culture” around the Washington Nationals’ clubhouse, a veiled reference to what he believed was an aspect of the organization’s rebuilding effort just as important as drafting top prospects and making smart trades. The Nationals’ clubhouse the last two seasons boasted too many players who, while possessing talent, didn’t stack up in the character department. Plenty of people in the organization said that has been a significant factor in Washington’s losing record and poor reputation around the sport. Slowly but surely, though, the Nationals are attempting to fix that problem. And two major transactions this week underscored that. On Tuesday, the Nationals traded Class AAA Syracuse outfielder Lastings Milledge and reliever Joel Hanrahan to the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Nyjer Morgan and left-hander Sean Burnett. The deal made sense because Washington needed a good defensive center fielder and a reliable reliever, but both Acta and acting general manager Mike Rizzo went out of their way to laud Morgan and Burnett as “good character” guys who would have a positive influence in the clubhouse. plus, the Washington Post says Dukes Won’t Be Around To Run Washington 2009-07-03T11:44:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/walkoff_walk_tony_conigliaro_sings_on_the_merv_griffin_show_1967/#When:11:39:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/walkoff_walk_tony_conigliaro_sings_on_the_merv_griffin_show_1967/ At least Merv didn’t call him a young rascal or something… Part of the reason batters wear helmets with earflaps nowadays is the unfortunate incident that happened to Red Sox star Tony Conigliaro back in 1967. Just two seasons removed from leading the league in homers as a 22-year-old, the outfielder was smashed in the face by a Jack Hamilton pitch, crumpling to the ground with a broken cheekbone and a damaged retina. His career lasted a few more productive years before he was forced to retire due to worsening eyesight. At the same time his baseball career was taking off, he was signed by RCA Victor to a recording contract and made a few appearances on the Merv Griffin show, as evidenced below: General, History, Boston, Music, Television 2009-07-03T11:39:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/washington_post_boras_may_explore_japan_for_strasburg_rr/#When:11:37:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/washington_post_boras_may_explore_japan_for_strasburg_rr/ The Major League Rules is a sprawling, dense, little-known, 254-page document, periodically updated, that governs the business side of baseball. Among other things, it lays out, in painstaking legalese, the process and guidelines for the sport’s annual draft, and in recent years, these sections have provided a road map for a certain notorious agent bent on circumventing the draft itself. In 1996, agent Scott Boras exploited a loophole to help gain free agency for four draftees who did not receive contract offers from the teams that selected them within 15 days of the draft, as required. A year later, he unsuccessfully attempted to make Philadelphia Phillies draftee J.D. Drew a free agent by taking him to the independent Northern League and thus changing his official status from “amateur” to “professional.” This summer, Boras has another high-profile client, San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg, for whom he would love nothing more than to blow apart baseball’s draft system, allowing Strasburg to be compensated in line with his talent—his asking price is believed to be around $50 million—as opposed to within the parameters of the current system, in which no player has ever received more than $10.5 million. Even before talks began with…Read More ... General, Amateur, Washington, International, Japan 2009-07-03T11:37:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/nbcwashingtoncom_mlb_deals_with_outbreak_of_mental_health_issues/#When:11:34:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/nbcwashingtoncom_mlb_deals_with_outbreak_of_mental_health_issues/ We’ve got a habit of forgetting that professional athletes are subject to a lot of the same difficulties in life as everyone else. Whether because of their salaries or their fame, it’s often assumed that life is easier for them. This baseball season is telling a different story, however. We’ve seen several players head to the disabled list with diagnoses of anxiety or stress disorders. Last week Ian Snell of the Pirates raised some eyebrows when he admitted that he asked to be sent down to AAA, a move that seemed odd until he admitted on Wednesday that he’d been dealing with suicidal thoughts during his time in the big leagues. Coming on the heels of the struggles of Khalil Greene, Joey Votto and Dontrelle Willis, Snell’s issues cast further light on an issue that has probably always been part of the lives of baseball players but was rarely spoken about. Major League Baseball’s official party line is that mental illness is treated no differently than physical injury, but that’s only half the story. General 2009-07-03T11:34:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/perry_vs_perry_dugout/#When:11:30:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/perry_vs_perry_dugout/ Not sure who’s working today, but if you are, this might be a pleasant distraction from your toils. General, Dugout 2009-07-03T11:30:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wsj_mlodinow_from_banking_to_baseball_winning_streaks_owe_much_to_the_laws_/#When:11:15:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/wsj_mlodinow_from_banking_to_baseball_winning_streaks_owe_much_to_the_laws_/ And do Drunkard’s Walk more than DiMaggio did? All this and more! DiMaggio’s hitting streak was an inspiration in troubled times. The pursuit of any record comes with pressure—Roger Maris lost some of his hair during his attempt to break Babe Ruth’s home-run record in 1961—but most records forgive you an off day as long as you compensate at other times. Not so with a streak, which demands unwavering performance. And so DiMaggio’s streak has been interpreted as a feat of mythic proportion, seen as a heroic, even miraculous, spurt of unrivaled effort and concentration. But was it? Or was this epic moment simply a fluke? Recent academic studies have questioned whether DiMaggio’s streak is unambiguous evidence of a spurt of ability that exceeded his everyday talent, rather than an anomaly to be expected from some highly talented player, in some year, by chance, something like the occasional 150-yard drive in golf that culminates in a hole in one. No one is saying that talent doesn’t matter. They are just asking whether a similar streak would have happened sometime in the history of baseball even if each player hit with the unheroic and unmiraculous—but steady—ability of an emotionless robot. That randomness…Read More ... General, Sabermetrics, Projections, Special Topics, Books 2009-07-03T11:15:00-05:00 http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/fornoff_canseco_bashing_not_merited/#When:10:30:00Z http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/files/newsstand/discussion/fornoff_canseco_bashing_not_merited/ Ratatat Remixes Vol. 3? La Russa cares only about a player’s contribution to the success of the team. He has always had a reputation as a veterans’ manager and for good reason: La Russa does not mentor. He considers the main part of his job to be filling out the best possible lineup every day, which is why America’s hotel bars are littered with napkins containing his scribble. He fathered daughters, not sons, and has not been a father figure to his players. This is by no means a flaw. La Russa has been successful, and so have his teams, which is what matters in the world of sport. After Dave Kingman embarrassed the A’s organization by sending me a gift-wrapped rat in 1986, La Russa wanted to bring Kingman back in 1987 because he felt Kingman’s bat would have lifted the A’s record. The A’s did not sign Kingman, and neither did anyone else. But La Russa would have; it wasn’t about character, it was about home runs. ...Disgraced or not, Canseco and Mark McGwire were the core Bash Brothers on a team that became generally known as such for its showy power and dominating offense. If Canseco was good…Read More ... General, History, Oakland 2009-07-03T10:30:00-05:00