DePodesta: Enjoy, Padres Fans, Enjoy

The Padres had quite a day today as the International Signing Period began. This coupled with their run towards the #1 pick in 2009 portend a brighter future in San Diego.

Your Padres made a statement today.

Before noon eastern time, the Padres had locked up five of the top international prospects from around the globe for a total of nearly $5,000,000. Those commas are in the proper places.

Let’s allow that to sink in for a second…

Feels good, doesn’t it?

Today we completed the signings of highly coveted players Adis Portillo (RHP), Alvaro Aristy (SS), Luis Domoromo (OF), Corey Adamson (INF/OF), and Elvin Tavarez (RHP). ESPN has comments on each of the Latin American players, but I’ll go ahead and offer my own as well.

Drivers’ Strike Stalls New York City Construction (RR)

The Inmates are runn...and a Daly is involved! No wonder it blew up!

Most of New York City’s largest construction projects ground to a halt or near-halt on Tuesday because of an unanticipated strike by more than 400 cement-truck drivers.

With the bulky, noisy ready-mix concrete trucks largely disappearing from the city’s streets, the walkout affected scores of projects, including the Freedom Tower; the Second Avenue subway; the new Yankee Stadium; Citi Field, the ballpark that will replace Shea Stadium; and many high-rise apartment buildings.

The concrete companies hit by the strike predicted that the walkout would last at least through Monday and perhaps considerably longer, putting thousands of construction workers temporarily out of work.

...Carolyn Daly, a spokeswoman for the striking union, Local 282 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said the main issues were wages and working conditions. She said the union expected the strike to last only a few days, adding, “The posture is positive; it’s not angry.”

ESPN Page 2: Red Sox Nation or Rays Republic?

ESPN Page 2 hits another comedic homer.

Deep Left Field: Hutcheson: La vida SABR

Sam Hutcheson with the gris-gris on Chris-Chris, Rey-Rey and SABR.

Enter Chris Dial.

Dial loved him some Rey Ordonez. Don’t let that faux-shocked “Who, me?!” fool you. Rey Ordonez was the dreamiest player that Busey ever dreamed to dream. Well. Kind of. See, back then, no one really believed defense was important. I mean, no one important. Just, like, scouts and general managers and ####. No one on Usenet. Except Dial. Chris believed. Oh, how Chris believed. He held his hands wide and clapped and clapped and clapped. Certainly it was true. Defense was important damnit, and Rey Ordonez was a defensive god damnit, so therefore everyone was wrong and Chris was right and SHUTUPSHUTPSHUTUPSHUTUP! It was like that in the land, sometimes. But no one would listen Chris, how ever loudly he clapped. It was like that in the land sometimes, too.

So here’s what Dial did. Short version. Dial grabbed everything he could find about defense in major league baseball and he shoved it through about twenty-three different spreadsheets. He rangled. He finagled. He conjoled. He did math. Complicated math. And in the end, he came up with a protean sludge that would eventually evolve into his vaunted defensive methodology.

Turns out Rey Ordonez actually didn’t have much value. Turns out even after accounting for his defense he was basically worthless, a flashy showboat with a knack for highlight reel plays but otherwise unspectactular in any aspect of the game. The fact that he couldn’t so much as lay down a sac bunt in the most important at bat of his career, effectively eliminating his team from the playoffs singlehandedly? Cake. Turns out Rey Ordonez really did suck.

SABR: Gennaro, Zavango Take Home Research Awards

For those curious:

Gennaro won the Doug Pappas Research Award for the best oral research presentation at the SABR convention, for his “What Factors Influence Free Agent Salaries?”

Cue angry response from Mike Emeigh on how Geri Strecker should’ve won. 

Rosenthal: Angels may look to Holliday to upgrade offense

The hottest Robothal you’ve ever seen, with 14 motors, 40 sensors, 64 sources and intelligent system this cute guy is amazing!

The Angels, after getting shut out in pursuits of hitters such as Mark Teixeira and Miguel Cabrera in the past year, are again exploring the trade market for offense, according to major league sources.

Rockies left fielder Matt Holliday is among the hitters on the Angels’ potential wish list, and the team also is monitoring other options, sources say.

General manager Tony Reagins, in a telephone interview with FOXSports.com, said that he is speaking to rival clubs about deals but not focusing on any one particular area of improvement.

“The confidence level in our offense is still high,” Reagins said.

...The Angels’ biggest competition for Holliday likely would come from the Dodgers, who could offer outfielder Matt Kemp as the centerpiece of their package. The Dodgers even could pursue both Holliday and Atkins, but they’ve shown reluctance to part with their prospects, much less the number that would be required to complete such a blockbuster.

York lands Shea Hillenbrand

While the Revolutionary War vessel, HMS Ontario has been saved...I’m not sure about the York Revolution’s newly sinking ship.

Former major league third baseman Shea Hillenbrand arrived in York, ready to join the team as its everyday third basemen.

Hillenbrand is the most recognizable player signed during the York Revolution’s short two-year history. The franchise, and the ownership group Opening Day Partners, have typically filled rosters with Triple- and Double-A talent. When ODP teams have reached out to sign former major leaguers, the players typically have had short careers in the big leagues.

Players with long careers and All-Star seasons typically ended up on one team: The Long Island Ducks. But that has changed this season with the acquisition of longtime big league closer Dave Veres and now Hillenbrand.

“I would just say it has been a combination of availability and desire to play,” Revs Director of Baseball Operations Adam Gladstone said.

..."What’s in the past is in the past,” Gladstone said. “The biggest thing he’s known for is being a .284 hitter in the major leagues.”

Newsday: Rangers don’t regret parting with Ponson

Never Mind the Reunion Here’s Sidney Ponson.

The Rangers had little to say yesterday about the portly 31-year-old, who reportedly earned his release by challenging a hotel bartender to a fight, objecting to manager Ron Washington’s removing Ponson from a game, then challenging Washington to a fight after being told he would start a day later than scheduled.

“I’ve seen some things from Sidney that I wouldn’t necessarily do myself, but that doesn’t make Sidney a bad guy,” said Milton Bradley, who has had some behavior problems of his own. “I didn’t know what happened. One day, Sidney was on the team, the next day he was gone.”

Bradley was quoted last month as saying of Ponson: “Man, that dude has some issues.” Bradley took issue with that yesterday, saying he’d said only that Ponson had issues while he was a Ranger and that the two said hello before Monday night’s game at the Stadium.

“I don’t know how [that quote] came out like that,” Bradley said. “I just talked to him. Obviously, he must not have heard it.”

BBD: Brattain: Could Sean Forman have saved Mickey Mantle’s career?…

Cripes!...Over the weekend Sean Forman couldn’t save me from drowning in Diet Cokes. (GLUG-GLUG numbers can be found at B-Ref Play Index)

To give an idea of how different the leagues were in 1968 and 2007 let’s look at what an average player produced those years…

1968 AL   .238/.307/.352
2007 AL   .271/.338/.423

What would Mantle’s 1967-68 totals look like today?

Mantle’s 1967 season in 2007’s environment .289/.444/.509
Mantle’s 1968 season in 2007’s environment .292/.453/.490

Sadly, Mantle felt he was done because there was insufficient understanding of how good he still was back in the late 1960’s. With our modern understanding of numbers we do--alas it is too late to convince Mantle not to retire (unless he was simply tired of all the aches and pains). The fact remains that he was still among one of the better hitters in the American League when he called it quits.

Timmermann: In Memoriam: Jules Tygiel

Bob T, with the sad news…

Jules Tygiel, a history professor at San Francisco State University, passed away July 1 at age 59 from cancer.

Tygiel wrote two of the best baseball books I’ve ever read, along with numerous other works. He had a career that I only can dream I would have.

His greatest work was Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy. The book came out in 1983 and has been republished numerous times. It was one of the first academic works examining the career of Robinson as well as the integration of baseball overall. Tygiel was able to interview numerous Negro League players and get invaluable first hand information.

...Tygiel also wrote Past Time: Baseball as History, which came out in 2000. That was a collection of essays about baseball history. The best one was about mercurial executive Larry McPhail. Tygiel seemed to expose McPhail’s overt racism for all to see. However, he also recognized McPhail’s positive contributions, such as bringing night baseball to the majors, as well rejuvenating the moribund Dodgers franchise.

The HUB: Walters: Can you just give Todd Jones a break?

He’s your most consistent Tiger pitcher in his eighth year of service to the team. And you people boo him. You boo him for 10 minutes or 10 pitches of questionable merit.

The people who rail on Todd Barton Givin Jones - and you do know who you are - make it difficult for me to call Tigers’ fans the most knowledgeable in the game. Because he doesn’t suck.

...Whew. That felt nice. And yes, I’m willing to overlook the statements Todd Jones made as a member of the Colorado Rockies, expressing his difficulty in welcoming a gay teammate. I don’t care if my closer is homophobic, because looking like an ass does not impugn his ability to save baseball games.

and I’m willing to overlook the fact that mass murderer Nicholas Sheley is a St Louis Cardinals fan!

New York magazine founder Clay Felker dies at 82

Clay Felker RIP: Former statistician for the New York Giants baseball team, broke the Casey Stengel is a drunk story and, I’m not quite sure on the timing of this...brought total SLOB’s Allen Barra and George Ignatin to the Village Voice.

Clay Schuette Felker was born Oct. 25, 1925, in St. Louis. Journalism was baked into his genetic code, as his father was managing editor of the Sporting News and his mother an editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He graduated from Duke University in 1951. In 1954, he was part of a team that developed Sports Illustrated. 

...His first journalism job out of college was as a sports writer at Life magazine, where he got the scoop on a Brooklyn Dodgers scouting report of the New York Yankees that highlighted Joe DiMaggio’s ailing arm.

“Weird. He was weird and delightful,” said Michael Lewis, the best-selling author who lives in Berkeley and wrote for Mr. Felker’s Manhattan, Inc. magazine. “He had an inchoate enthusiasm that overwhelmed everything. His hunches were unbelievably good.”

PIT Post-Gazette: Russell is taking longer look at batting pitcher in 8th spot

This pitcher-batting-eighth thing is growing on John Russell. The Pirates manager again last night batted his starting pitcher eighth, one night after Paul Maholm batted in that spot. Zach Duke was eighth behind third baseman Jose Bautista and ahead of shortstop Jack Wilson.

So is this going to be the norm for the Pirates?

“I’ll continue to look at it,” Russell said. “I’m not saying I’m going to do it every game, but it was intriguing how the lineup turned over and how we had opportunities. It was kind of fun actually.”

Only NL Central teams ever think it’s a good idea, it seems.

Tampa Tribune: Rays Mean Business

The Trop rocked again Tuesday night, another pretty-full house making all kinds of noise as the Rays padded their division lead over the Red Sox in another gripping affair. For the second consecutive night, though, the home clubhouse at Tropicana Field was calm, quiet, businesslike. A 3-1 victory driven by stellar pitching from Matt Garza, which is no longer a revelation, and Grant Balfour, who still is, simply because of unfamiliarity, was processed as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

“It’s a big win, but at the same time I think everybody understands that we’re not even at the All-Star break yet,” Evan Longoria said. “There’s a long road ahead of us. But for us to seal two out of three in this series, with all the hype coming in and expectations and stuff, it’s pretty rewarding at this point for us to know that we took the series and now we’ve got a chance to sweep.”

The Rays’ AL East lead stands at 2 1/2 games entering tonight’s finale, with respective aces Scott Kazmir of Tampa Bay and Daisuke Matsuzaka set to square off. The Rays have never held a division edge that large, and they now have guaranteed themselves first place heading into Fourth of July weekend.

The home team in the BOS/TB season series is now 11-0.

Chicago Tribune: Rich Hill wild in rookie league game (RR)

The mysterious case of Rich Hill and his vanishing control surfaced again Tuesday in Mesa, Ariz. Pitching against rookie leaguers in an Arizona League game, Hill lasted only one-third of an inning, allowing five runs on one hit with three walks and a hit batter.

“It wasn’t good,” manager Lou Piniella said in an understatement.

Hill had been sent to Arizona to work on his control problems after losing command with the Cubs and then at Triple-A Iowa. But obviously it hasn’t improved much, and the Cubs are running out of answers.

One idea the organization is considering seriously is shutting Hill down for an unspecified period so he can get his head together. The Cubs believe his problems are mental, not physical.

“You know, they’ve actually discussed that,” Piniella said. “It just might be best to shut him down totally. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, but it has been discussed. It’s a shame, it really is. This came out of nowhere this spring and just fed on itself. The amazing thing about it is I never realized he had (control) problems.”

It could be that Dempster’s surprising season and Hill’s surprising collapse are connected; perhaps Dempster is some sort of Canadian Vampire.

Hummel: Chilling on Schilling

Contact the Hummel Exchange...if that’s what you want to do.

If you’re stumping for now dead-armed Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling as a Hall of Famer, you’re overlooking a potload of more deserving candidates. Schilling gets plenty of publicity, none of which he tries to douse, for his “Bloody Sock” game in the 2004 American League Championship Series, for his sparkling postseason record of 10-2 (he was on three World Series champions) and for his 3,000-plus strikeouts.

But, in the ultimate sport of regular-season numbers, is Schilling’s victory total of 216 more deserving than, say, the 254 of Jack Morris? Morris, if you watched Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when he pitched a 10-inning shutout for Minnesota, was a pretty good postseason pitcher, too, playing for two World Series champions. And how about Tommy John (288 wins), Bert Blyleven (287), Jim Kaat (283)? Or Orel Hershiser, a decade or so ahead of Schilling, who won 204 games and lost 149, which compares favorably to Schilling’s 216-146 mark?

What all the aforementioned have in common is that none of them is in the Hall of Fame; only Blyleven, after many elections, came reasonably close at 61.9 percent of the vote (75 percent is needed for election) last winter. Morris garnered only 42.9 percent of the vote, and John was even lower at 29.1. Kaat’s 15-year eligibility with the writers elapsed without him even getting a sniff.

Dodgers shortstop Rafael Furcal has another setback (RR)

Furcalamity continues…

Rafael Furcal’s rehabilitation assignment lasted just four innings Monday with the Dodgers shortstop returning to Los Angeles today after waking with back discomfort following his first game in nearly two months.

Furcal, the sparkplug of the Dodgers’ offense, went on the disabled list retroactive to May 6 and had made only sporadic progress toward returning before being sent to Las Vegas over the weekend to begin a rehab assignment aimed at getting him back to the big leagues by this weekend.

But after doubling and driving in a run and playing in the field Monday, his back tightened and he returned to California to be re-examined. There is no timetable for his return to baseball activities.

Baseball Musings: Dogs and Franks at 20

David Pinto passes along a very long, involved report from James Crabtree on searching for the author of 1988’s influential Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks: The Ultimate Guide to America’s Top Baseball Parks.

Twenty years ago Bob Wood was a young 28 year-old high school teacher with an abiding love of baseball and travel. With no prior writing experience he had set out on an epic road trip to visit all 26 Major League Baseball stadiums in one summer. His book, Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks, quickly became a cult classic with baseball fans around the globe. Today it still endears itself to legions of readers and offers a glimpse of a time in baseball that has now long since passed. Most of the 26 stadiums he visited are gone. Cell phones and GPS devices are common. Laptops, cable television, and the internet have revolutionized life. Steroids and other issues have had their effect upon the game. Yet, somehow baseball remains as beloved as it ever was. Dodger Dogs to Fenway Franks was a fascinating read and was quickly embraced by baseball lovers everywhere. Its author however had long since left the public eye. In fact, he seemed to be missing. Where was Bob Wood? Had he become baseball’s J.D. Salinger?

My friend Ryan and I were determined to find him.

Hat tip to Joe Posnanski.

Harold Reynolds to return as baseball analyst for TBS

I’m pretty, pretty sure I once saw “Brief and Innocuous Hugs” ring up on the GbV song title generator.

Harold Reynolds, off national TV since being fired by ESPN in July 2006, is back working on national TV.

Reynolds will debut Sunday as a studio analyst on a special where TBS will announce the All-Star Game rosters. Then he’ll appear on TBS’ regular-season coverage.

TBS also is negotiating with Reynolds and Dennis Eckersley, now a studio analyst for local Boston Red Sox TV games, to work its postseason coverage of the first-round playoff games and American League Championship Series.

Diamondbacks put Byrnes, Snyder on 15-day DL

On a painful day in the desert, the Arizona Diamondbacks put left fielder Eric Byrnes and catcher Chris Snyder on the 15-day disabled list on Tuesday.

Byrnes is out with a strained left hamstring, Snyder with a left testicular fracture.

So yeah, I’ll never complain about anything ever again.

Strange day ends with Bonds’ 756th HR ball in Cooperstown

Asterisk or not, the ball Barry Bonds launched for his record-breaking 756th home run won’t land in the Hall of Fame.

The Hall said Tuesday recent talks with fashion designer Marc Ecko, who bought the souvenir for more than $750,000 last September, had “unfortunately reached an impasse.”

“The owner’s previous commitment to unconditionally donate the baseball has changed to a loan. As a result, the Hall of Fame will not be able to accept the baseball,” the Hall said in a statement.

I can’t remember which side I argued passionately for, but I’m pretty sure “The Hall agrees to the asterisk and still doesn’t get the ball” wasn’t it.

Big League Stew: A conversation with USA Olympic team manager Davey Johnson

Jim, Pisoni When You Have To, sends over this Davey-view.

Q: Were Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens ever considered for this year’s Olympic team?

DJ: Not really. I had several requirements that I wanted to see in players. Number one, I wanted them competing in a league. Sure, I’d like to have Clemens, he’s very professional, he could probably handle it, but he hasn’t been competing. He’s not stretched out. (Let’s say) I gotta start him, and maybe get three innings the first game, I mean we only play nine games. Barry could probably come up, but he’s got a lot of other commitments and things going on, and I don’t want that distraction for a bunch of young guys.

I don’t want just names. Performance is going to dictate who wins or loses those games. Just because you were on my team a number of years ago, if you’re not one of the league leaders in your league offensively and defensively, I’m not taking you, no matter how much I might like you.

Q: Did you, or anybody within USA Baseball ever have any conversations with either Bonds or Clemens? Did they come to you at all?

DJ: No, they did not. I was asked by our administrators if I would (consider) Biggio, Clemens ... and my feeling is if they’re not playing, I don’t want ‘em.

Sports in the 21st Century as seen in 1967

Given the geeky nature of Baseball fans, I’m sure this will of interest: the sports economics of the year 2000, as the people in 1967 saw it.

It is the year 2000 and you want a ticket to a baseball or a basketball game. You figure it will be just like today, walk up to the box office, push your money over the counter and buy a reserved seat for $2.50.

Forget it.

....

“These sports will no longer be for the masses. The box seats, upper stands and bleachers will be filled up with junior and senior executives - and mostly senior at that. The rest of us will have to be content to see sports over television.

“Prices for a bleacher seat that goes for $2 today will sell for $8 because of the great demand and limited supply. Box seats, for those lucky enough to get them, will bring $20 or more.”

Kind of interesting to note both how wrong and how right this guy got it.

Rosenthal: Red Sox might be wise to wash hands of Manny

Robothal with the latest Goop.

A’s general manager Billy Beane says Dwight Gooden and Rich Harden are the two most dominant pitchers he has seen, putting them ahead of even Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson.

“I’m not saying they’re better — that’s not my point — but when you see Rich and Doc at the right time, hitters look defeated,” Beane says. “When Clemens was dominant, when Randy Johnson was dominant, they would blow people away. But guys would still take swings up there like they thought they were going to get ‘em.

“You see them take swings off Rich, and it’s like, ‘If I make an out on the first pitch, OK, I’m fine, I know when I’m overmatched.’ On that given day, he can humble guys. It’s like, ‘I’ve got no shot to get this guy. I’ve got to get lucky.’”

Is Beane simply pumping up Harden’s trade value? Perhaps, but it’s doubtful that any team will meet Beane’s price, considering Harden’s injury history and the A’s status as a contender. The A’s, whose run differential is the third-best in the AL, will continue assuming the risk with Harden if no team makes them a knockout offer; Harden is earning a mere $4.5 million this season, and the club holds a $7 million option on him for 2009.

Squawking Baseball: Squawking Soccer…?

An analysis of a tiny Ringolsby rumbling and grumbling in which Billy Beane is alleged to be devoting his time and energy to the Earthquakes as early as 2009, leaving control of the A’s to David Forst.

But as a pure business move, I’m not seeing the value here. The Oakland A’s are a relatively big business; the San Jose Earthquakes are not. Even if they win the MLS Cup for the next ten years in a row, they are still inherently limited by the league’s sparse popularity and revenues.

I’m not an expert on the MLS’s business, but I thought this was interesting. If the average MLS team is bringing in $12 million in revenue, that means the entire league is somewhere around $170 million. According to Forbes, the Oakland A’s were 24th in baseball with $154 in revenue, and that figure doesn’t include any money brought in from MLB Advanced Media. So the question is, why would Lew Wolf want his top executive shifting from a valuable (and potentially high-growth) asset, to one that has yet to prove it even can be significantly profitable?

Phillies option Myers to Triple-A

“I can’t say enough about Brett’s willingness to accept this assignment,” Gillick said. “He understood and is eager to get back on track again. He’s struggling right now, but he is a quality Major League pitcher who we are going to need in the second half of the season.”

Myers accepted the assignment, and because he has five-plus years in the Majors, he had the option to reject the demotion. Myers will start on Wednesday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Triple-A affiliate of the Yankees.

ESPN: Union grievance: Chacon ‘unlawfully terminated’

The players’ association filed a grievance Tuesday over the release of pitcher Shawn Chacon, saying the team’s decision to terminate his contract was without just cause.  Chacon cleared waivers and was released Monday, five days after a physical altercation with Houston Astros general manager Ed Wade in the clubhouse.

I really need a job where I can sign a multi-million dollar contract, suck at what I do, attack my boss, and be able to claim I was fired unlawfully.

SNY: Salfino: Mets shouldn’t give up on Perez

Oliver and Company: Perfect Isn’t Easy (No ####!)

Bill James devised game scores for pitchers that use 50 points as a starting point and adds or subtracts from there. A game score of 60 is good enough to win most times. Perez has six starts scoring that high or better (one more at 59). But he has seven starts scoring 37 or worse, which is terrible.

And this is a microcosm of his career. Try to find another guy whose most similar players by age are Scott Kazmir, Sandy Koufax and ... Pete Falcone? His career ERA is a meaningless indicator of the pitcher he is. On any given day he’s just as likely to be much better or much worse. Really, though, that’s selling him short. He’s not much better or worse on any day—that can be said of all players—but rather in any given year. For example, he’s had seasons with ERAs of 2.98 and 3.56 wrapped around 6.55 and 5.85.

Perez’s numbers are all over the map. And that’s because his pitches are, too.

FOX Sports: Rumors: Is A-Rod Madonna’s new bat boy?

Greta Garbo, and Monroe
Dietrich and DiMaggio

After months of divorce rumors swirling around Madonna and hubbie Guy Ritchie, Us magazine alleges that the nearly 50-year-old pop star is cavorting with Yankees’ star swinger Alex Rodriguez.

Salon: Kaufman: Both Sides Now

“Carlos Gomez, aka ChadBradfordWannabe, talks about the different game he sees since going from sabermetric sidearmer to rookie scout.”

We talked recently around here about the mini-phenomenon of close analysis of pitching and swing mechanics online. One of the first and most popular purveyors of this stuff was Carlos Gomez, not the Minnesota Twins center fielder but a soft-tossing independent-league pitcher who posted on the Baseball Think Factory boards and wrote for the Hardball Times.

You believe your lying eyes over the stats.

Yeah. I mean, yeah. You have to. Part of it too, for me, the reason I also look at stats, is that I don’t have a history with a lot of these players. A lot of these guys, I’m seeing them live for the first time. I’ve watched them on TV. And some of the minor leaguers, I’ve never even heard of ‘em.

So I get there and I’m like, OK, what is this guy? So you watch B.P. [batting practice] and you watch their pregame and you watch the game. And you think, “OK, what’s this guy going to look like statistically?” If it matches up, you’re on him. If it doesn’t match up, then you’re like, “Well, am I seeing what I really think I’m seeing?” There’s a lot of self-doubt. Sometimes the things you read in some of the publications don’t match up with what you see. “This guy has 80 raw power.” No, he does not.