Sherrington: Why, sadly, Dallas native Ernie Banks almost unknown in hometown

“Most people don’t even know he’s from Texas,” said Jay Black, curator of the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

Dallas never really knew one of its most famous athletes for reasons both plain and complicated.

Whatever the story, it’s up to Banks’ hometown to make it right, and soon.

Until then, Banks remains a Chicago institution instead. Mr. Cub has a statue outside Wrigley Field and a street off Lake Shore Drive. He’s so Chicago, Carl Sandburg would have saved him a stanza if he’d ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-20-2013

Milwaukee Sentinel, November 20, 1913:

“Too much tummy,” Orvie Overall said on Wednesday, caused him to make a second and permanent retirement from baseball by wiring Owner Ewing of the San Francisco club that he is through with baseball and will stick to his job with a local brewery. Overall made strenuous efforts to “come back” when he returned to the Chicago Cub payroll last spring, but superfluous flesh refused to melt.

Overall had retired in 1910 after an arm injury, but came back in 1913 ...

Bobby Richardson says Yankees made Robinson Cano a star

I guess “Horrible” Horace Clarke wasn’t available for comment.

Richardson, once a great Yankee second baseman, thinks that kind of fan passion should “figure into the mix” when another great Yankee second sacker, Robinson Cano, makes his free agency decision this winter.

“I hope he’ll remember he got his notoriety and his start from the Yankees and that he won’t do something that others have done and just go where the money is,” Richardson said of Cano Tuesday before the Major ...

The Poscast with Joe Posnanski and Michael Schur - Ep. 1 - We’re Back

Now that Poz is with NBC, a Parks & Rec guest spot seems inevitable!

• Red Sox winning the World Series: Both agree that distinguishing World Series winners by whether the winner played the final game at home is not a thing.  Michael is a Red Sox fan, so he’s happy they won!

• Instant replay: They like the concept of more replays, dislike the “challenge” system.

• “Nickname” draft:

Poz - Earvin “Magic” Johnson
Schur - Walter “Sweetness” Payton
Poz - James “Cool Papa” Bell
Schur - Wayne “The ...

Yankees president to Mets: For $300M, Cano is all yours

Hell, it’s not like Levine has always been up front about fundamental measurements.

Yankees president Randy Levine says the Yankees have no intention of paying $300 million or more to keep Robinson Cano. But if the Mets want to write that check, they can have him.

Asked if he could envision Cano in a Mets uniform – as Cano was pictured on the back page of Tuesday’s Post – Levine laughed and said: “For 300 million, yes.”

The Post reported exclusively that Jeff Wilpon, GM Sandy ...

ESPN: Szymborski: Atlanta Should Shop Kimbrel ($$$)

One of the Braves’ strengths is bullpen depth, so even if losing Kimbrel costs the team an excellent reliever, the possible return from a trade is worth the risk. Atlanta’s bullpen, outside of Kimbrel, combined for a 2.67 ERA in 2013, so we’re not talking about a pen that’s starving for quality. A Kimbrel trade wouldn’t involve someone on the Byron Buxton level, unless Twins general manager Terry Ryan hangs out with Rob Ford in the offseason, but in a world in which the Phillies are willing to ...

Craigy-poo: The Tea Party and the Sierra Club are joining forces to protest the new Braves ballpark

I’m not sure if the Tea Party and the Sierra Club getting together on an issue means that the Braves ballpark is crazy-bad or, somehow, actually good. But it is something to see them joining forces to protest the place.

I’m also not sure why a ballpark that was partially premised on the idea that Turner Field had inadequate parking will sport 2,500 fewer parking spaces and will rely on a system of golf-carts to ferry people from nearby mall parking lots. But what do I know?

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-19-2013

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, November 19, 1913:

President Charles Ebbets of the Brooklyn National League baseball club, announced [yesterday] that the Superba’s [sic] new manager to succeed William Dahlen would be Wilbert Robinson, until recently a member of the New York Giants.
...
His appointment to succeed Dahlen comes as a surprise to Brooklyn baseball fans.

That’s a nice surprise.

Schoenfield: Five guys who enhanced HOF case in 2013

Dustin Pedroia

Pedroia isn’t a classic Hall of Fame candidate because he doesn’t hit a lot of home runs or drive in 100 runs, but he’s building a lot of positives on his résumé; adding a second World Series ring was a big plus. Pedroia now has four seasons of 5+ WAR, and a fifth at 4.9. Those totals are starting to line up with players like Ryne Sandberg and Roberto Alomar, both of whom had six 5+ WAR seasons. Pedroia turned 30 in August and his career WAR is 38.1, so he has a long way to go ...

Mancuso: Reds sign Skip Schumaker to 2-year deal

Skip Schumaker? If Redleg Nation had their way…

Positives

1. He’s versatile, playing 2B and all three OF positions for the Dodgers and Cardinals.

2. As a lefty hitter, he’s got a better split against right-handed pitchers. He slashed .295/.357/.385 against RHP in 2012 with the Cardinals.

3. Bob Nightengale from USA Today calls the move “terrific” and Schumaker a “class act” — so maybe it helps fix the clubhouse?

Negatives

1. He’s got no power and no speed.

2. He’s not ...

Frank Thomas hits on baseball, steroids and Hall of Fame

Frank Thomas is that close to becoming a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer.

Regardless of the criteria, the White Sox legend ranks among the best right-handed hitters of all time.

And, the “Big Hurt” was clean. Imagine if he had not been robbed by steroid users.

“I was the one player who was hurt the most,” said Thomas, who won back-to-back American League MVP awards in 1993 and ’94. “All those years I finished second, third, fourth behind those guys, I probably could have won four more ...

John Sickels’ Concussion Chronicle

As just about everyone who reads this website knows, I suffered a concussion in October due to a home accident: I was hit in the head with a metal sculpture. It did not seem like a big deal at first, but let me tell you, it turned out to be damned serious. I’m not just talking about having problems working at my writing job. It has impacted every phase of my life in a negative way.

So I’ve decided to write about it while it happens. Part of this is selfish: I need to prove to myself that I ...

The Overrated Value of Catcher’s Throwing Arms | FanGraphs Baseball

Interesting stuff.

In short, when it comes to the timing variables within the running game and the reputation of the battery mates, our study refutes the conventional wisdom that the catcher’s arm is primarily responsible for caught stealing. While there are other lurking variables at play — like pitch location and handedness of the batter — surface value says that a pitcher’s quickness to the plate is a whole lot more influential than a catcher’s arm in the battery dynamic. Said ...

Tim Hudson Heads West, Joins Giants | FanGraphs Baseball

Two years, $23 million.

No pitcher without his warts is going to sign a two year deal anymore, so when you’re shopping for a short term rotation upgrade, you have to pick and choose which flaws you prefer. The Giants chose to bet on a quality pitcher recovering from a fluke injury and continuing his 15 year run as one of the game’s most effective and consistent starters. I’d take that over a bet on Bronson Arroyo’s magical hit prevention or Dan Haren’s xFIP being more predictive than ...

Brendan Ryan has deal with Yankees, will provide Jeter insurance

I thought Obamacare was supposed to mark the end of crappy insurance?

Brendan Ryan, who will provide insurance for shortstop Derek Jeter, has a deal with the Yankees, sources say.

Ryan hit .197 for the Mariners and Yankees last year but won a place with the Yankees for his exceptional defense.

The Yankees are still pursuing free-agent shrtstop Stephen Drew as they have questions on both sides of the infield. Jeter signed a one-year, $12 million deal for 2014.

Joel Sherman of the New York ...

LL: Weber: Buy yourself a Mariners jersey on eBay

What better baseball team to associate Black Friday with?

Why would you drop $100 on a replica or $268 on an authentic (wait what) when you could stroll your fingers over to the beautiful wasteland of sports memorabilia that is eBay. Now is the time to buy a jersey for next season, the time to get something awful, or maybe something wonderful and unique that will turn heads. Trust me, it is far more rewarding to walk around a Seahawks game with a Rufus Porter jersey than it is with a Russell ...

NFL, MLB Warn of the End of Free Sports on Television If startup Aereo prevails, Super Bowl and World Series could move to pay TV

SURE they will….

Canberra Cavalry advance to Asia Series finals

With the game tied at five in the top of the tenth inning and Jeremy Barnes on first, Jack Murphy hit a long fly ball over the fence in right field to give the semi-final win to the Canberra Cavalry, driven by Rolfe Renault, 9-5. The Cavalry beat the champions of the Korean Baseball Organisation, the Samsung Lions. The win catapults the Cavalry to the Grand Final of the 2013 Asia Series.

Carlos Ruiz re-signs with Phillies for three years and $26 million with option

I choo-choo-Chooch you.

The noise you hear coming from Philadelphia way is “Choooooooooch.” The Phillies signed popular catcher Carlos Ruiz to a three-year deal Monday for $26 million that includes an option for a fourth season. Reporter Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer had the terms first.

Jayson Stark of ESPN says the contract/fourth-year buyout breaks down like so.

Ruiz, who turns 35 in January, batted .268/.320/.368 with five homers and 16 doubles in 341 plate appearances — ...

Baseball America: 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates Top 10 Prospects

As we used to say…”Waiss wasn’t and never will be!”

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. Gregory Polanco, of
2. Jameson Taillon, rhp
3. Tyler Glasnow, rhp
4. Austin Meadows, of
5. Nick Kingham, rhp
6. Alen Hanson, ss
7. Josh Bell, of
8. Reese McGuire, c
9. Harold Ramirez, of
10. Luis Heredia, rhp

Top prospects such as outfielder Gregory Polanco and righthanders Jameson Taillon and Nick Kingham appear close to big league-ready.

The Pirates also have a wave of talent at the lower levels, such as outfielders ...

Connolly: Lots of love—and snubs—for Orioles in Sports Illustrated’s ‘Greatest’ book

Hey, in Maury Allen’s “Baseball’s 100”...Brooks Robinson was ranked #50 and Mike Schmidt didn’t even make the list because it came out in 1981!

In October, Sports Illustrated put out a monstrous coffee-table book called “Baseball’s Greatest,” in which a panel of SI’s baseball writers and editors looked at the best at each position in the game’s history. It also ranked the Top 10 in some other categories, such as best ballpark, best slugger, best defensive player and best character in ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 11-18-2013

Pittsburgh Gazette Times, November 18, 1913:

PIERRE, S.D., Nov. 17—Articles of incorporation were filed with the secretary of state here today for the colored National Baseball League of the United States. The league is capitalized for $50,000 and is backed by Chicago men.

The league never got off the ground to any meaningful extent. It might seem weird that the league was incorporated in South Dakota, but for whatever reason, the Dakotas were an early hotbed of integrated baseball.

Crashburn Alley: 2013 Phillies Report Card: Delmon Young

Woo-eee! I haven’t seen a Young treated this badly since Mae Young’s 90th Birthday Party!

The fact of the matter is that the Phillies signed a rather reprehensible human being and solidly below-average baseball player to start regularly at a position he was, at its most generous description, unaccustomed to.

...Were we to ignore the man who was signed, the history of contemptible behavior and years of subpar performance, his stats would, in a vacuum, be somewhat acceptable for a bench player. ...

Rosenthal: Keeping stars will cost Nats

Rosenthal: Playing the Alucard.

The Mariners’ vampire diaries.

New Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon not only showed his sense of humor several times during his introductory news conference on Nov. 7, but also cracked up team employees with a story he told them in a separate meeting.

The story was about the driver who picked up McClendon at the airport after he arrived in Seattle. A Mariners employee told me about it, and I asked McClendon to recount it at the general managers’ meetings. ...Read More...

Repoz Posted: November 18, 2013 at 05:47 AM | 6 comment(s)
  Beats: mlb

The Jewish Daily Forward: Can Ryan Braun Repent Enough To Win Back Jewish Fans?

Dunno…I’m still stuck on the misspelling of Tsitouris.

There are two things that every Jewish baseball fan knows about Ryan Braun.

First, the Milwaukee Brewer leftfielder is the best Jewish ballplayer in the majors today. Second, as a result of his self-inflicted tsoris, Braun faces the gargantuan challenge of winning back his fans when he returns to baseball next spring, following his 65-game suspension this past season for using banned performance-enhancing drugs.

“It’s hard to forgive ...

Ratto: Ten things you need to know about your Baseball HOF vote

A handy primer for all those new BBWAA HOF voting members…I’m looking at you Hisashi Hatanaka!

3. SEEK OUT SOMEONE REALLY DOGMATIC AND CLOSE-MINDED ON A SUBJECT TO GENERALIZE ABOUT EVERYONE. I happen to be of the opinion that each qualified candidate should be inducted no matter what drugs they might have used to enhance their performance – even if he took a bicycle pump loaded with Honduran wombat extract and shot it directly into his eye while on the reviewing stand of the opening-day ...

The Most Startling Trend in Baseball | FanGraphs Baseball

Pitchers are throwing harder.

Yankees and Pirates execs get into heated argument over system used to sign pitchers like Masahiro Tanaka - NY Daily News

Changing the posting rules gets more and more complicated every day.

Bill Madden: Dearth of talent could make team that wins Masahiro Tanaka stakes hot-stove champ

Okay…who spiked the Junket Rennet Custard?

Think about this: One of these clubs is going to wind up paying upwards of $75 million just for the right to negotiate with a player they’ve never even seen, a player who admittedly had an amazing 24-0 season with a 1.27 ERA last year — but in a Japanese league that is barely equivalent to Triple-A.

...“I don’t think anybody in baseball would disagree we’ve got a talent shortage,” a baseball official said at the just-completed GM meetings ...

Socratic Gadfly: One more year — keep Jack Morris OUT of #Cooperstown and the #HOF

This time it Count Nefaria! As Murray Chass’ supervillain returns!

This is an extensive overhaul of posts I’ve written the past few years about why I think Jack Morris, whom I call the anti-Bert Blyleven, should be kept out of the Baseball Hall of Fame, namely because just as sabermetrics proved the case for Blyleven, they prove the case against Morris.

First of all, I want to tackle the chief argument for Morris, raised by Murray Chass and other voters — Game 7, 1991 World Series, and ...