FanGraphs: Blengino: The Cano Decade

Hey, Tony Blengino here. You might remember me from such Mariner classics as “MMIX – Negative Run Differential Theater” , or “2010 – A Spaced Odyssey”. For some years, I was a scout with the Brewers, and in more recent years I was an assistant to the GM with the Mariners. While I’m between baseball adventures, I’ve been given the privilege of writing on the storied pages of FanGraphs. I know the bar is high here, and I’ll do my best to reach it.

Alas, I am no longer a ...

Flynn: At Temple, other sports pay to keep football alive

Johnnie ain’t the only Temple hollerin’.

Baptist pastor Russell Conwell began Temple College, which we know as Temple University today, in the basement of his north Philadelphia church in 1884 to give working men (and later women) the opportunity to better themselves through education.

Friday’s announcement by the university’s bean counters to eliminate seven sports – but, oh, no, it’s not because of football – must have the good pastor rolling in his grave.

Athletic director Kevin ...

Speier: Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia and the value of Red Sox clubhouse culture

But in the end, Napoli knew with certainty that he wanted to return to the Sox, and valued that above the possibility of a larger guarantee in terms of absolute dollars or even more years—a significant concession for a player who a year ago discovered that he had a potentially career-ending hip condition. He elected to take a straight two-year deal from the Sox (one that did indeed feature the highest average annual salary of any of the offers he received), to stay with a team and a city that ...

HHS: The Top 50 Pitchers Since 1950

Where the #### (####) is Jack (Jack) Morris?!

Who are the best starting pitchers of the past 60+ years? One way to answer that question is using RE24, the measure of how much a pitcher reduces his opponent’s’ run expectancy with each batter faced.

Starting from each of the 24 base-out states (ranging from nobody on, nobody out to to bases loaded, two out), there is an expected number of runs a team will score in the remainder of that inning, based on average hitters facing average ...

Seattle Times: Dysfunction at the top

The Mariners’ front office is plagued by “total dysfunction and a lack of leadership,” according to former manager Eric Wedge. Wedge and other former and current team employees describe problems at the top of the organization.

#6org!

Fay: Players’ sentiments can’t be discounted

The Aroldis Chapman situation…

The logical thing, or the Sabermatical thing, to do is to move Aroldis Chapman to the rotation.

Anyone who knows WAR from ERA+ will tell you that. A No. 1 starter is probably the biggest commodity in baseball. Chapman has the stuff to be a No. 1. The Reds have three or four guys on the roster who likely could convert saves at the rate Chapman does.

New manager Bryan Price knows that Chapman’s value is greater as a starter. He espoused moving Chapman to the ...

The Juan Vené HOF ballot

Don’t know what’s funnier…Juan Vené‘s HOF ballot babelfished or Juan Vené‘s HOF ballot! (Maddux, Glavine, Morris, Smith)

This is the month of the year when I not only get more calls from my colleagues in the Major League Baseball Writers Association, but also more times I call them. Comment, we consulted, we discuss about how voting for the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.

Some ask me this time why not vote for Mike Mussina. Do not think that it deserves my vote, and less in their first year… * ...

Willie Davis, Shot from Remote Camera, 2nd Base

It’s just a picture of Willie Davis sliding into second base at Dodger Stadium in 1965. Which, gulp, was almost 50 years ago.

Lawrence: Can Phillies realistically deal Papelbon?

Pap guidelines: Recommendations and Rationale.

“SOURCES: Phillies trying to trade Papelbon.”

That’s from the Twitter feed of Ken Rosenthal, foxsports.com’s leading baseball writer and arguably the reporter in the sport who breaks the most news on a regular basis. Rosenthal was the first to float out the idea of the Phillies’ trading Cliff Lee in order to acquire Roy Halladay 4 years ago this month.

With all due respect to Rosenthal - and perhaps there is a team out there, given that it takes ...

The Yankees Genius Strategy For Success: Get As Old As Possible

Olden the way.

A day after letting Robinson Cano walk (to a team he was clearly using for leverage and DID NOT want to go to), the New York Yankees signed former Met/WWII paratrooper Carlos Beltran. He’s 36. And now he has a three-year deal worth $45 million. You can’t make this stuff up. Last year they were the oldest team in baseball by a full year (31). It’s like they’re trying to build a high end convalescent home on River Ave.

Some of you might say this is a transitional period ...

MASN: Nationals sign Nate McLouth to 2yr/$10.75 million deal

The Nats also have a club option for 2016 at $6.5 million on this deal but I’ll eat my topsiders if they end up exercising it.

Mike Rizzo got his experienced starter in Doug Fister earlier this week. Now he has his left-handed-hitting reserve outfielder in Nate McLouth.

The Nationals have signed McLouth to a two-year contract, a source confirms, giving the Nats their fourth outfielder, one who can play any outfield spot and has a little bit of pop from the left side of the plate.

FOXSports.com ...

ESPN: Stark: Winter meetings forecast

Most likely to get traded

So which player in baseball is the best bet to get dealt next week? Ryan Hanigan was leading in the early returns, until the Reds had to go screw up our balloting by dealing him early. So here’s the rest of the voting:

• Jeff Samardzija 3 votes
• Mark Trumbo 2
• Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Logan Morrison, Billy Butler, Howie Kendrick, Didi Gregorius, Adam Lind, Jeremy Hellickson, Mitch Moreland and Ike Davis 1 each

But for every Samardzija voter, there’s a ...

Apple iBeacon Leads You to SALES

Major League Baseball already plans to use iBeacon next year to customize fans’ experiences at its ballparks, through the At The Ballpark app. In a demo earlier this year, MLB officials showed how the app can offer special features based on users’ location in a stadium, such as coupons in the souvenir shop or a video that plays near landmarks.

Maybe MLB can improve the app by alerting umpires to pitches actually near the strike zone???

Cubs Receive Approval on Branding Arch and Expanding Footprint

Sadists! What’s next…Branding Arch Hall?!

The Cubs received approval on the new branding arch and expanding the footprint of Wrigley Field by the City Council Zoning Committee on Thursday.

The Cubs moved closer to beginning the restoration project on Thursday when the zoning committee gave the team the approval to move the outer wall of the park 25 feet closer to Sheffield Avenue. The branding arch will stretch over Clark Street between Patterson and Addison streets and will allow the team to ...

Yankees agree to three-year contract with Carlos Beltran

The Yankees have agreed to a three-year contract with Carlos Beltran, reports Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News .

Napoli returns to Sox for two years, $32 million

First baseman Mike Napoli made it clear after the World Series that he wanted to stay with the Red Sox. He liked his first season in Boston so much that he stuck around for a few weeks after the World Series.

Team officials also wanted Napoli back and on Friday night a two-year, $32 million deal was reached.

“The beard is coming back to Boston!!! Couldn’t be happier!!” Napoli posted on Twitter at 9:09 p.m. WEEI reported first that a deal was in place.

The Red Sox had competition from ...

Keidel: Robinson Cano Will Be Sleepless In Seattle

From Ross Malinger to Robinson Malinger.

Jay-Z prides himself on being a hustler – a universal street handle for someone who does what he must to make money. Even people in prison have a hustle, from selling soda to cigarettes to hooch.

So it should surprise no one that his new agency arm bilked the Seattle Mariners for $240 million in the name of his new and most glittering client, Robinson Cano.

But in the process, did he also hustle Cano? Cano just tacked 3,000 miles onto his commute to ...

Brian Wilson agrees with Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reached a one-year, $10 million agreement to bring back free-agent reliever Brian Wilson, sources told ESPN’s Jim Bowden.

Brian Wilson and his trademark beard will be staying in Los Angeles as the reliever agreed to a one-year deal with the Dodgers, a source said. Wilson can earn an additional $700,000 in performance incentives, and the deal includes a player option worth between $9 million and $10 million based on performance, according to sources.

It’s a lot of ...

Astros, Scott Feldman Agree to Three Year Deal

Astros sign starting pitcher Scott Feldman to a 3 year, $30 million contract (pending physical).

Perry: With Robinson Cano gone, what’s next for Yankees?

Here’s the uncomfortable reality for the Yankees: You don’t merely replace a player like Robinson Cano. Cano, until Friday the Yanks’ franchise second baseman, has of course agreed to terms with the Mariners on a whopping 10-year contract. The upshot is that the Yankees have now lost one of the five best players in baseball.

So, if you’re the colossus in the Bronx coming off a rare playoff absence and bent on contention in 2014, what do you do? You make up ground in other areas.

Already, the ...

Mets to sign Curtis Granderson

New York Mets and outfielder Curtis Granderson have agreed on a four-year, $60 million deal, pending the outcome of a physical, ESPN sources say.

Mariners break off talks with Robinson Cano after Jay Z “overplayed his hand”

Just when it looked like Robinson Cano was ready to say goodbye to the Yankees and sign a massive long-term contract with the Mariners talks have broken down and Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News reports that “Cano’s chances of landing in Seattle have apparently ended on a sour note.”

According to Feinsand the contract talks “collapsed after Jay Z apparently overplayed his hand in a negotiating session with the Mariners” by asking for a 10-year, $252 million deal following ...

Caesar: Will McCarver join Cardinals broadcasts?

Prediction: There will be more Gibson mentions than the St. Louis Cardinals at a high class tavern.

Tim McCarver left the Fox television booth after the World Series following his record-shattering 34-year run as a network baseball analyst. But he never said he was retiring from broadcasting.

Could his next stop be into the Cardinals’ announcer mix?

Sources said there have been discussions about him being a part of the team’s broadcasts next season, probably in a limited role.

...

Noble: In pursuing McCann, Yanks draw from Boss’ playbook

I once took a violent swollen header at a McCann’s Bar in NYC. I’m feeling woozy again.

Once Chipper Jones was something less than an everyday player for the Braves, McCann subtly slid into the role Jones was vacating. He became the player who provided a sense of on-field security for teammates.

“No doubt Mac [McCann] would be one to fill that role,” Jones said Thursday night by telephone. “He comes by that naturally. He does make the players around him feel more secure. They sense his ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 12-6-2013

Toledo News-Bee, December 6, 1913:

Comedian Nick Altrock, whose funny antics has [sic] amused the American league fans, is practicing some new comical business on the employees of a lumber yard in Chicago, where he is employed shoving board for 40 cents and hour. Nick declares he is coming back as a pitcher. He hopes to get his arm in shape during the winter.

Altrock did come back as a pitcher in 1914…and threw one scoreless inning. He’d continue to make token appearances here and there for the ...

Camden Chat: Peter Angelos responsible for Jim Johnson trade, until he’s suddenly not

The Isidor Fink case left more clues than this!

Public comments from Orioles owner Peter Angelos about the state of the franchise are rare. Baltimore Sun columnist Peter Schmuck found one way to lure out Angelos on Thursday afternoon:

Peter Schmuck @SchmuckStop

Schmuck Stops Here: Ownership fingerprints are all over the Orioles’ trade of Jim Johnson

...Ownership fingerprints are all over the Orioles’ trade of Jim Johnson

If you’re waiting for the Jim Johnson trade to fit nicely into some ...

Baseball America: 2014 Arizona Diamondbacks Top 10 Prospects

Corey Myers is 33 years old (dumps RC’s).

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. Archie Bradley, rhp
2. Braden Shipley, rhp
3. Chris Owings, ss
4. Matt Davidson, 3b
5. Aaron Blair, rhp
6. Jose Martinez, rhp
7. Stryker Trahan, c
8. Matt Stites, rhp
9. Brandon Drury, 3b
10. Jake Lamb, 3b

While the major league team treaded water, the farm system provided a few success stories. Rookies Gregorius and A.J. Pollock, who put up a .730 OPS and played strong defense in center field, provided solid contributions. ...

“Natural Hitter My Ass”:  The perfect swing and complicated lfie of Ted Williams

That’s one long biography—800-plus pages.  Although the review is largely complimentary, it makes it clear that there is some deadwood.  Can’t tell how much new information is presented.  Williams seems to attract extended biographies.

George Castle: Broadcasters Would Bring Knowledgeability to Flawed Hall of Fame Voting

I guess John Sterling’s voice doesn’t carry past the moat and into the Castle…

Full disclosure: I’m not a BBWAA member despite covering baseball for more than three decades based in Chicago, and two decades for a sizeable daily newspaper. Even in Cliff Notes form, the politics of why I’m not a member is too thick and involved to discuss here. That’s best left as a book chapter or three. Suffice it to say, I’d still believe the following thought process if I was on the inside looking ...

Mariners willing to offer Robinson Cano a 10-year, $240 million deal

Seattle: The killing just got renewed.

Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that Robinson Cano flew to Seattle to meet with the Mariners today and they’re willing to offer him a 10-year contract worth as much as $240 million.

Previous reports claim the Yankees aren’t willing to go as high as $200 million, so if Rojas’ information is correct the money isn’t even close.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik predictably declined to comment about Cano specifically when asked ...