Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-7-2018

Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, February 7, 1918:

ALEX SHOULD FORGET BONUS, ASSERTS BAKER

Pitcher’s Claims for Salary Larger Than Cabinet Officer Unreasonable

It has been reported that [Grover Cleveland Alexander] wanted a slice of the money paid for his release and probably would attempt to collect it from [Phillies President William Baker]. This was knocked in the head, however, when Baker declined to do anything and Charley Weeghman, head of the Chicago club, was approached instead.
... ...

Latest On Red Sox, J.D. Martinez - MLB Trade Rumors

Yeah, right.

The staredown between J.D. Martinez and the Red Sox doesn’t appear to be all that close to ending. Evan Drellich of NBC Sports Boston spoke to agent Scott Boras Tuesday evening, with Boras making clear that his client is willing to wait until after the start of Spring Training to sign a contract. Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that Martinez has become “fed up” with the lack of flexibility on Boston’s part and may actually prefer to ...

Heyman | Boras Sees Too Much Of Past In Current State Of MLB

This is just bluster. First, the offers have been in the press. Second, as MLB gets complaints by the Players’ Association it needs the ability to verify whether the claims are true or not. Third, just like MLBPA and the agents have the right to take their case to the public, so does MLB.

Boras stopped short of using the word “collusion,” but took issue with MLB revealing in its statement of response that “some” nine-figure ($100+ million) offers have been turned down. The 1987 case won ...

Texas Rangers: Report: Rangers reach agreement with veteran relief pitcher Seung Hwan Oh | SportsDay

No dollars yet.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-6-2018

Ogden Standard, February 6, 1918:

[Ketchikan, Alaska] claims a unique baseball diamond. When baseball players of this southern Alaska city schedule games they always take tide conditions into consideration for the park is built on the flats below the city and at high tide the playing ground and lower seats of the grand stand are under water…Long games are often called on account of rising tides.

I imagine they had their own version of the Baltimore chop, hit sharply downward so the ball gets ...

Mets pull Todd Frazier out of free agency for $17M

The Mets agreed to a deal with the veteran Frazier on Monday night for two years and $17 million, The Post’s Mike Puma confirmed. Frazier played the end of last season in The Bronx, after the Yankees acquired him in a multi-player trade with the White Sox.

Baseball Prospectus: 2018 Prospects: The Top 101

1. Ronald Acuna, OF, Atlanta Braves
2. Victor Robles, OF, Washington Nationals
3. Gleyber Torres, SS, New York Yankees
4. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 3B, Toronto Blue Jays
5. Francisco Mejia, C, Cleveland Indians
6. Eloy Jimenez, OF, Chicago White Sox
7. Nick Senzel, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
8. Alex Reyes, RHP, St. Louis Cardinals
9. Fernando Tatis, Jr., SS, San Diego Padres
10. Forrest Whitley, RHP, Houston Astros

2018 Top 100 Prospects | FanGraphs Baseball

Rk Name Team Age Position FV Variance
1 Shohei Ohtani LAA 23 RHP/RF 70 Low
2 Ronald Acuna ATL 20 CF 65 Low
3 Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. TOR 18 1B 65 Low
4 Victor Robles WAS 20 CF 65 Low
5 Fernando Tatis, Jr. SD 19 3B 65 Med
6 Eloy Jimenez CHW 20 RF 65 Med
7 Nick Senzel CIN 21 3B 60 Low
8 Forrest Whitley HOU 20 RHP 60 Med
9 Bo Bichette TOR 19 2B 60 Med
10 Kyle Tucker HOU 21 RF 60 Low

The ‘Tank Tax’ Could Push Teams To Try Harder | BaseballAmerica.com

What happens when a team is incompetent?

It’s relatively simple. The same draft system continues to exist. The worst team picks first, the second worst picks second, etc., with one caveat: any team that fails to win 70 games in back-to-back seasons faces a 10-spot draft penalty.

Have one awful season (like the Giants and Tigers 64-win teams in 2017) and your club reaps the benefits of having the top picks in the draft and the larger draft bonus pool that comes with it. But if a team wins ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-5-2018

Ogden Standard, February 5, 1918, The Pacific Coast League is not happy that the Northwestern League has rebranded as the “Pacific Coast International League”.

[Portland owner] McCredie claims that neither of the governing bodies of baseball has anything to say on the question and that it is already settled.

He maintained that there is nothing in the rules which makes it necessary for the Pacific Coast International to apply to anyone in order to gain permission to call the league anything the ...

Philadelphia Eagles knock off Patriots, win Super Bowl - NFL.com

Congrats to Eagles fans! Enjoy the afterglow.

Olney: Is the union ready for a spring training showdown? - Buster Olney Blog- ESPN

Nice write-up by Buster Olney.

No. 5: Is the union leadership better positioned for the next round of labor-related negotiations?

It’s imperative that this be addressed immediately. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that Manfred—whose baseball legacy is built on his ability to forge more than two decades of labor peace, mostly in concert with the late union chief Michael Weiner—called Clark this week and said he would be willing to renegotiate parts of the CBA, in return for an extension.

...

OTP 5 February 2018: Train crash with GOP lawmakers brings back memories of baseball shooting for Jeff Flake

Sen. Jeff Flake rushed to the aid of injured passengers from a garbage truck Wednesday after it collided with an Amtrak train carrying Republican lawmakers to a GOP congressional retreat in West Virginia.

For Flake, R-Ariz., the accident scene near Crozet, Va., brought back memories of last year’s shooting at the GOP congressional baseball team practice in Alexandria, Va., in which House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was seriously wounded.

Mickey Callaway already has a plan to revitalize Mets’ rotation | New York Post

Read the whole thing.

“Everyone I’ve been around pretty much walks outside, stretches, plays catch, they do their bullpen. Our pitchers in Cleveland had about an hour-and-a-half routine before they even went out and played catch. They were with massage therapists, then they were with trainers, getting all these hands-on things done, then they went to the weight room to see the strength coach for extra stretching, then they went on the bike, then they went outside and stretched.

“It’s ...

The MLBPA’s Indifference Toward International Amateurs is Coming Back to Bite It | The Hardball Times

It’s not just the international signing limits and cap numbers in the last CBA. The amateur slotting system made building through the draft even cheaper. The decision not to push for higher minimum MLB contracts and the continued refusal to push for higher minor league compensation helps make “going young” an even more attractive proposition for teams.

Baseball is no different. International amateurs are not part of the MLBPA — it’s not obligated to advocate for their interests. Indeed, ...

Art Vs Science: Using Data to Build A Better Pitching Approach – 216Stitches

Some interesting stuff at this new site.

Jeffrey Loria claims he made no profit from Marlins sale, owes nothing to city, county - Sun Sentinel

This is not from The Onion.

Baseball payrolls could drop for first time in nearly a decade

It would mark the first drop in payroll at the beginning of a season since 2009, when salaries dipped 1.3 percent. Since then, they’ve risen on average 5.5 percent a year, exceeding the $4 billion mark on opening day last year. Currently, teams have committed around $3.78 billion – a 7 percent decline from last season. And while the eventual signings of top free agents Yu Darvish, J.D. Martinez, Eric Hosmer and Jake Arrieta will help bring that number closer to the $4 billion mark, the ...

Marlins to unveil 25th anniversary logo | MLB.com

Well, this will turn things around.

MLB agent’s threatening tweet won’t alter the free agent market | SI.com

Not unexpectedly, a good take by Tom Verducci.

Thome wants ‘Block C’ logo on HOF plaque

“I know my decision would be to wear the ‘C,’ because I think it’s the right thing to do and I fully support the way the Indians, through this week, have done the decision that they’ve done. That’s what I support.”

Good for him.

In Pursuit of Pennants | Mark Armour and Dan Levitt: Words in Support of their new book (among other things)

Mark and Dan have five parts of the series online.

1.  The Reserve Clause (1879)

2.  NL-AL Peace Agreement (1903)

3.  The Federal League War (1914)

4.  The Sale of Babe Ruth (1920)

5.  The Trade Deadline (1922)

Ken Rosenthal - Ken Levinson’s statement

Agents banging the drums.

Statement from player agent Seth Levinson on current labor situation:

“There is a bond that exists between Clubs and its fan base. The integrity of that time-honored relationship is predicated upon the good faith effort of the Club to compete to the best of its ability. The CBA which defines the relationship between Clubs and Players is a good faith effort to create and assure that there is a competitive balance among all Clubs so that the greater good and best ...

The life, death and rebirth of the bullpen cart | MLB.com

They’d better be a lot faster.

UPDATE: As was reported on Thursday, bringing back the bullpen cart has been offered as a possible solution to speeding up the game this season and beyond. Luckily, we wrote up an entire history on the now-extinct Major League mode of transport last summer.

Agent Brodie Van Wagenen Speaks Out On Stagnant Free-Agent Market - MLB Trade Rumors

Reportedly Hosmer has a seven-year $120+ million offer on the table, J.D. Martinez a five-year $125 million offer. The CBA doesn’t require teams to pay players what the players “think* they are worth.

On the pitchers side, starters are throwing less innings than ever. We’ve already witnessed an increased market for relievers this off-season. It stands to reason the starter market would be shrinking to balance out pitcher payrolls.

A lot of players aren’t signing because they don’t believe ...

Caribbean Series Starts Today

BASEBALL ON TV BASEBALL ON TV BASEBALL ON TV!!!!!!!!!

ESPN3 (Watch ESPN app) has all the games.  I watched a lot of this last year and what struck me was how much of a throwback style it was.  Not a lot of TTO baseball.

Friday: Cuba vs. Venezuela, 2 p.m. ET; Puerto Rico vs. Mexico, 9 p.m.
Saturday: Venezuela vs. D.R., 3 p.m.; Mexico vs. Cuba, 9 p.m.
Sunday: D.R. vs. Puerto Rico, 3 p.m.; Venezuela vs. Mexico, 9 p.m.
Monday: Venezuela vs. Puerto Rico, 3 p.m.; Cuba vs. D.R., 9 p.m.
Tuesday: ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-2-2018

Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, February 2, 1918:

Sisler Could Lead All Hitters if He Waited

The batting record of George Sisler would indicate that if he would wait out the pitching, Cobb might not have led the sluggers last season.
...
Examination of the records shows Sisler hits too freely, thus hits at a lot of bad balls. Where Cobb received sixty-five bases on balls and Speaker seventy, Sisler walked thirty times.
...
When Sisler learns to wait and to hit the “cripple” he should hit ...

Inside Baseball | Which Teams Have Actually Improved This Winter?

Heyman’s latest.

Mark Appel’s Retirement Highlights Challenges Of Scouting | BaseballAmerica.com

A huge bust.

Baseball America’s Appel scouting report for 2013 (compiled from conversations with teams’ scouts) is even a little more glowing than his 2012 report.

Appel picked up where he left off last year, after he turned down $3.8 million from the Pirates as the eighth overall pick. As a senior, he fine-tuned his stuff and graduated with a degree in management science and engineering. He shows everything scouts look for in a frontline pitcher. He’s 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds with a clean ...

20 years of Brian Cashman, who’s no longer just surviving | New York Post

Cashman really has done a great job with the Yankees.