Schoenfield: The Hall of Fame mess gets messier

That gets to the bigger mess: What is the Hall of Fame? Is it a place to honor the best players? The most famous players? Those—players, executives, managers—who had the biggest impact on the game’s history? I suspect the BBWAA, if polled as a group, would say it’s trying to elect the best players, not just the most famous ones, although in reality it’s some intricate combination of the two.

With its tough threshold for election and continued division on how to handle PEDs, the BBWAA elected ...

Coppock: Are The White Sox Still In Business?

No Coppocky for Kitty (Skip Steps 1 2 & 3)

Who the hell runs your media relations anyways? Richie Incognito?

Why in the name of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson would you announce the arrival of Jose Abreu on the same day the a little known player named Derrick Rose and the Bulls opened up their regular season in South Florida against the James gang? You talk about the wrong pitch on the wrong day. You would have been better off having Abreu pose in his new jersey this past Monday when the Bears ...

Yankees to play exhibition games in Panama to honor Mariano Rivera

I think we’re reaching the point where “honoring” turns into “stalking…”

Terry Francona of Cleveland Indians, Clint Hurdle of Pittsburgh Pirates honored as top managers - ESPN

Francona and Hurdle win Manager of the Year.

Strat-O-Celebrity Q & A with Bob Costas

Question: When did you first start playing Strat-O-Matic? Who introduced you to the game?

Bob Costas: 1964 and I was 12 years old. Introduced to the game by my 14 year old cousin.

Q: All-time favorite card to play with? Favorite season to replay?

Bob Costas:  My all-time favorite card was a 1966 Gary Geiger. He hit under 200 that year for the Atlanta Braves, but he did have a half dozen or so home runs in only about 100 at bats. So, he had a fairly prominent home run possibility on his ...

Atlanta Magazine: The Other 284 Days

From June of 2013, but relevant this week…

Report: Phillies signing Marlon Byrd to two-year deal

A Marlon Anderson signing cannot be too far off.

The Phillies are reportedly about to sign Pirates outfielder Marlon Byrd, according to 94 WIP.

Byrd, originally drafted by the Phillies, made his big league debut with them in 2002. After several bottoming out years, Byrd hit .291 this season with an .847 OPS at 35 years old.

In late August, the Mets were about to hold Marlon Byrd t-shirt night, in appreciation of the 35-year-old slugger’s somewhat surprising offensive output on the year. ...

SB Nation Winter Meetings Simulation

Sorry to self-link, but a few people had expressed interest in seeing how this turned out. I took 30 fans, made them the GM of their respective team, and had them negotiate trades with each other, and free agent contracts with me. After one week, this is the end result.

I know the first instinct is to say, “that trade/signing is ridiculous!” Which is of course, our response to most real transactions. But the whole point of this exercise was that I was tired of fans saying “player X won’t get ...

Bunch: Atlanta’s Turner Field Is Dying—And American Sanity Is Dying With It

There’s so much else that it’s hard to know where to begin. There’s the fact that the Braves are leaving a ballpark served by mass transit for one that would be located at one of the most traffic-congested intersections (I-75 and I-285) in America, pumping tons of unnecessary carbon pollution into the air. The fact that this is just slightly less egregious than what’s happening with Atlanta’s also pretty new, also fully functional football stadium the Georgia Done (which opened way back in… ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-12-2013

Pittsburgh Press, November 12, 1913:

Baseball came very near breaking up the [Baltimore] Temple Baptist church. Charles A. Ruth, one of the trustees, organized a team from the Sunday school which beat all others in the neighborhood. Proud of his club, Ruth sought to raise money to buy uniforms by giving entertainments in the church basement. To this the Rev. Oscar Lee Downs, the pastor, objected, and when the trustees voted against him he tendered his resignation. This was rejected by the ...

The voter who snubbed Dodgers’ Yasiel Puig explains why

At first, this looked like a light-hearted William Keighley sequel.

The lone writer who left Yasiel Puig off his National League rookie of the year ballot said Monday he considered the Dodgers outfielder among “four really good candidates for three spots.”

Jose Fernandez of the Miami Marlins won the award, with 26 of the 30 first-place votes. He was the only player named on every ballot.

Puig finished second, with the other four first-place votes. He got 25 second-place votes.

Voters list ...

Zambrano ‘definitely interested in continuing career’

From Theo to Theodorakis…cue ‘em up!

But would Zambrano ever come back to Wrigley Field or make an appearance at Cubs Convention? 

“I have no doubt that he would,” agent Barry Praver said Monday in the lobby of the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes. “Carlos speaks very fondly of Chicago and Cubs fans. Always.”

As the general manager meetings began here, Praver confirmed that his client is trying to make a comeback, pitching back home in Venezuela and hoping for another shot at ...

Grantland: Who will be the face of baseball’s steroid era: Bud Selig or Alex Rodriguez?

That The Greatest Scandal That Absolutely Ever Was has come down to a faceoff between Rodriguez and Selig is proof enough of what a comic opera the whole escapade has been from the beginning. The hysteria over PEDs in baseball — and, thus, in every sport — has unfolded the way in which all drug hysterias in the history of this country have unfolded. It has been fueled by misplaced moral panic, anecdotal evidence, anonymous slander, and a fundamental disregard for legal and constitutional ...

Heyman: Tigers to teams: Open to trading either Scherzer or Porcello

How to Prepare Leeks Video and Steps | Real Simple

Some rival general managers remain skeptical that the Tigers, a team that’s spent to win in recent years, would actually trade Scherzer. But as we reported last month, Tigers people have been weighing that very possibility.

The issue apparently is that Scherzer, who is represented by Scott Boras, has only a year remaining before he’s a free agent.

BBWAA: Jose Fernandez named 2013 NL Rookie of the Year

Miami Marlins righthander Jose Fernandez, who emerged into a staff ace in his first major-league season, was the National League winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in balloting by the BBWAA announced on MLB Network.

Fernandez (12-6, 2.19 ERA) placed first on 26 of 30 ballots cast by two writers representing each league city and second on the other four for a total of 142 points, based on the 5-3-1 tabulation system. He was the only player listed on every ballot and became ...

BBWAA: Wil Myers named 2013 AL Rookie of the Year

Tampa Bay right fielder Wil Myers, who was called up from the minor leagues June 18 and helped the Rays’ push to a wild-card postseason berth, was the American League winner of the Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award in balloting by the BBWAA that was announced on MLB Network.

Myers (.293, 13 HR, 53 RBI) was listed first on 23 of the 30 ballots submitted by two writers representing each league city, second on five ballots and third on one to score 131 points, based on a system that ...

Tomo Ohka Attempting Big League Comeback as Knuckleballer

A good knuckleball has the unique ability to revive a baseball career. Tomo Ohka is looking to harness the pitch’s magic.

Ohka, who last appeared in the majors with the Indians in 2009, is attempting to make it back to The Show as a knuckleballer, according to NikkanSports.com. The 37-year-old reportedly turned to the pitch after having shoulder surgery in 2011.

[...]

Ohka posted a 3.73 ERA in 21 games with the Toyama Thunderbirds of Japan’s Baseball Challenge League in 2013, and arrived ...

Rangers sign Martin Perez to four-year, $12.5 million deal

The Texas Rangers locked up another young player with a long-term deal, and both view it as mutually beneficial.

The Rangers and left-hander Martin Perez agreed to a four-year contract through 2017 with $12.5 million guaranteed. There are three club options at the end of it that could take it through the 2020 season.

Nelson Cruz declines qualifying offer from Texas Rangers

Nelson Cruz will test the free-agent market this off-season after rejecting a one-year qualifying offer from the Texas Rangers ahead of the Monday afternoon deadline.

Baseball America: 2014 Chicago Cubs Top 10 Prospects

The entire Carmen fanzone hasn’t been this excited in decades!

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. Javier Baez, ss
2. Kris Bryant, 3b
3. C.J. Edwards, rhp
4. Albert Almora, of
5. Jorge Soler, of
6. Pierce Johnson, rhp
7. Arismendy Alcantara, 2b/ss
8. Jeimer Candelario, 3b
9. Dan Vogelbach, 1b
10. Arodys Vizcaino, rhp

Shortstop Javier Baez ranked second in the minors with 37 home runs, and the 2011 first-round pick hit 20 of them in 54 games at Double-A Tennessee. The system’s top prospect could move off ...

Minnesota Twins’ Joe Mauer to move from catcher to first base | twinsbaseball.com: News

Football isn’t the only sport dealing with concussion issues.

After consultation with doctors from the Mayo Clinic and team doctors, and given the inherent risks of future injury at the catcher position, the organization and Mauer said they determined that it would be in the best interest of both parties for a position change.

Braves plan to build new stadium in Cobb

The Atlanta Braves plan to build a new stadium in Cobb County and move there from Turner Field at the start of the 2017 season, team officials said today.

Braves executives John Schuerholz, Mike Plant and Derek Schiller, in a meeting with a small group of reporters, said the new ballpark will be built at the northwest intersection of I-75 and I-285 in the Galleria/Cumberland Mall area. They said the team has “secured” 60 acres of land for the project.

The Braves said the project will be ...

The 2013 Gold Gloves and the SABR Defensive Index - Beyond the Box Score

Congrats to all the BBTF members who contributed to the process!

Well, last year Rawlings announced that they would be using input from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) to help decide the winners of the Gold Glove awards going forward. At the time, there was quite a bit of healthy skepticism about the who, what and how of this new methodology, but then the 2013 Gold Gloves came out, and most sabermetrically-minded folks had precious little to complain about.*

* - Little to ...

Don Malcolm: QMAX AL 1972: STEVE KLINE, EPHEMERAL ACE

Embryonicin’ electric eels! The 1972 Yankees, Steve Kline, Michael Burke and Don Malcolm!

That trend was arrested, briefly, in 1969 when both the strike zone and the pitching mound were modified. And a retrospective look at that time frame reveals a surprising, little-known fact about just what team was in the forefront of that short-lived “counter-movement” towards finesse pitchers.

So who was it? The New York Yankees—the recently fallen Yankees, in what we might now term their “CBS ...

Golebiewski: Can Brandon Phillips Stand the Heat?

Paging Dusty Baker…

Brandon Phillips is reportedly on the trading block, with the Reds second baseman being mentioned as a possible replacement for the Yankees should free agent Robinson Cano cash in elsewhere. Phillips is coming off a 2013 campaign in which he drove in a career-high 103 runs, ranking second to Cano among all players at the keystone spot and trailing only Joe Morgan (111 RBI in 1976) on the single-season list for a Reds second baseman.

That’s where the comparisons to Cano and ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-11-2013

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, November 11, 1913:

President Ban Johnson and the entire American League are enthusiastic over the selection of Gov. John K. Tener of Pennsylvania to succeed Thomas J. Lynch as president of the National League.
...
Meanwhile the Federal League has decided to make a definite proposition to Mr. Lynch to accept the presidency of that circuit.

It takes some stones for an upstart outlaw league to try to bring the departing NL president on board. It didn’t work out, though, ...

Dave Parker on success, failure, fight of his life

Cobra…still spitting to all fields.

“I know when I was younger people use to want to come up to me and talk about being the best player in the game in the seventies. I said you’re doing the right thing if you want to know how good I am ask me cause I believe in my ability.”

He began his major league career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, taking over right field after the death of Pirates’ legend Roberto Clemente.

“I just went in trying to play within myself I had won three batting ...

Cardinals expected to discuss possible Troy Tulowitzki trade at GM meetings - Yahoo Sports

The Cardinals surely have the pieces to make this deal work.

Certainly the Cardinals have the pieces to land him – or, if the Rockies balk, one of the Rangers’ shortstops. Between a logjam at first base and a surplus of hard-throwing, young arms, St. Louis has stockpiled the sort of talent to pull off a 3- or 4-for-1 deal. In a previous conversation between the teams about a possible Tulowitzki deal, first baseman Matt Adams’ name surfaced, with Colorado needing a long-term replacement for the ...

A glimpse inside the Seattle Mariners’ analytics department - Lookout Landing

Sabermetrics in Seattle will not produce a higher box office than Moneyball.

But for those who have built the belief that General Manager Jack Zduriencik has turned his back on the analytics department, that doesn’t seem to be the case. As is standard across baseball, information from the team does travel up through Zduriencik and down to the coaching staff and the players, Zduriencik always solicits the analytics department’s guidance.

“[He] has always explicitly encouraged us to point out ...

Nationals are willing to listen on center fielder Denard Span - CBSSports.com

This is a quick turnaround.

Span was acquired a year ago from the Twins for top pitching prospect Alex Meyer when folks figured the Nats might go for a free-agent center fielder such as Michael Bourn. The Nationals wound up having a disappointing season.