Glassey: Wannabe Scouts: Show Some Respect

Conor Glassey explains the difference between what writers do and what scouts do:

Yes, we often will write about players we’ve seen and we’ll tell you how fast a pitcher was throwing, what kind of offspeed pitches he throws, or how fast an outfielder got from home to first. That’s not scouting, that’s just reporting. Anybody can sit at a game and hold a radar gun or click a stopwatch.

However, there’s a growing number of people online who think the opposite. It’s baffling to me how many blogs are popping up where writers try to come off as if they’re scouting players. This is a trend that needs to end.

Just because you have a radar gun or a video camera, that doesn’t mean you’re a scout. If you don’t work for a professional team, you’re not a scout. And frankly, calling yourself a scout is just plain disrespectful to the men out there putting their name on the line every day.

In addition to the daily schedule and grueling travel of a professional scout, there are many more elements that set the real guys apart. Watching players is only part of their job. They have to develop relationships with coaches, players, parents and agents. They have to gauge signability, research medical history and get a good feel for the player’s makeup. This is as important to scouting as the evaluation of a player’s tools and it can’t be done by seeing a player once.

SweetSpot TV: All-Underrated team

Like Darby Crash says, “See you all at Aoki-Dog!”

There is no scientific way to pick an all-underrated team. Well, I suppose there is some formula we could come up, but that would be about as much fun as watching Brendan Ryan take batting practice.

RF—Norichika Aoki, Brewers
He came over from Japan last year and quietly hit .288/.355/433, lashed out 51 extra-base his, stole 30 bases and played a very good right field. He also made appearances as Bernie Brewer and at least four times raced as the Italian sausage.

Reddit: I am Jose Canseco, famed steroid user and former MLB player. Ask me anything.

Q: How meaningful was it when Jim Carrey screamed “I’m Jose Canseco!” in Liar Liar?

He could have screamed many other names when he thought of playing baseball with his kid.

A: hes a big fan of mine plus we had a threesome together

Musical Grand Slams

Not sure I’d agree with any of these but Len Kasper contributed so, ummm, baseball-related.

With Baseball’s Opening Day around the corner, Jim and Greg team up with Len Kasper, TV voice of the Chicago Cubs, to pay homage to their version of a Grand Slam. We all know how this works in baseball (though sports-phobe Jim DeRogatis is still getting the hang of the rules). A batter hits a home run with bases loaded, sending four players to home plate. In music, Jim and Greg define a grand slam as four masterpiece albums in a row. Which artists have achieved this rarest of rock feats?

Beer and Hot Dogs: Which ballparks charge most

cheap eats in cincy. mets getting scr8wed. this is news?

Grantland: Curtis: Being a Latino ballplayer in Arizona

I put those concerns to Joe Arpaio, the sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. Sheriff Joe is a noisy supporter of SB 1070 and stricter deportation policies. It is a strange fate of the times that Sheriff Joe has jurisdiction over the Cactus League territory.

“Nobody’s going to go around stopping them at a restaurant, asking for their ID,” Arpaio says.

He pauses and adds, “Unless there’s some other reason to do that.”

Sheriff Joe is a Red Sox fan. Since he was raised outside Boston, he sees his continuous fandom as one more sign of his political consistency. When I reach Sheriff Joe one afternoon, he has just gotten off the DL — he fell on a sidewalk and broke his shoulder in two places. “I know how the ballplayers feel now,” he says.

“Bring those ballplayers to me,” he barks. “I’ll give ‘em a pair of pink underwear.” This is more welcoming than it sounds. For though Arpaio puts pink underwear on county inmates, he also uses it as a gift for visiting celebrities. Sarah Palin got a pair when she toured Arizona last year.

Really, Sheriff Joe wants any Latino ballplayer who fears he might be racially profiled to stop by. “I wish they’d come to my office and come out and meet the sheriff,” he says. “I’ll tell ‘em all the facts about this … We don’t stop people because they look like they’re from somewhere else. I’m an equal-opportunity guy. My guys arrest everybody.”

...To a police officer, Barajas could arouse the same “reasonable suspicion” as Elian Herrera. Barajas’s parents are Mexican immigrants; his skin is olive-colored. But he was born in Ontario, California. He’s as American as Mike Trout. I ask Barajas if he is ever worried about being asked for his papers.

“I don’t know if I should carry my birth certificate or passport. I never thought about it,” he says. “I’m sure it could happen.”

Then Barajas’s eyes narrow. “I think of myself as an American citizen. There’s no reason whatsoever for me to have to carry that around.”

Thanks to Vance.

Arizona Diamondbacks add missing pieces - Veteran leaders who keep things loose

“You have no idea how important it was to bring in some of these guys,” closer J.J. Putz said, “especially a guy like Hinske.”

Hinske, 35, has never been a .300 hitter in the major leagues. He’s never belted 25 or more home runs in a season, either. But it’s all the intangibles he offers that makes him just as valuable as a superstar.

“Having those kinds of guys is huge,” Hinske said. “It doesn’t have to be one person. It doesn’t have to be an everyday player. It just needs to be a veteran guy who’s been around, who understands what it takes to win in the game.

“If you don’t have any chemistry together in the clubhouse, you’re not going to win together on the field. If there’s a bunch of guys that really don’t get along, you’re not going to have success on the field, no matter how talented you are. We’ve all seen that quite a bit.”

Can you believe the #### we have to put up with Nick Piecoro has a day off ?

Major League Baseball 2K1213: The Kotaku Review

Major League Baseball 2K13 is an offensively recycled product and an embarrassment to sports video games. In my five years as Kotaku’s sports writer, I’ve spent a good deal of time in comments defending the genre, and those who make its games, from the worn-out slur that annual sports titles are nothing but reskinned roster updates. Yet that is exactly what MLB 2K13 is, and its existence is forever an argumentative trump card to any advocacy I can make for sports…
[...]
Major League Baseball itself also deserves blame for MLB 2K13, and not just for buck-stops-here reasons because its name is on the box. Take-Two Interactive may have signed an outrageously priced contract back in 2005, but baseball had absolutely no long-term vision for the license either, despite clear signals sent years ago that it would have no dancing partner on the Xbox 360 under any normal deal in 2013. This game was announced, by surprise, in January, and is plainly the product of Major League Baseball reckoning with the embarrassment of missing a year on the Xbox 360 and the fact it had zero leverage in avoiding it.

Cashman: Yanks make ‘significant offer’ to Cano

TAMPA, Fla.—The Yankees have made a “significant offer” to Robinson Cano, according to general manager Brian Cashman, who is hoping to lock the All-Star second baseman into a contract extension before he reaches free agency.

Cashman confirmed on Thursday that an offer has been presented to Cano and agent Scott Boras. There have been negotiations between the two sides in recent weeks, but Cashman declined to comment further on the state of the talks.

Canseco: Ancient Gravity Was Weaker

Gravity had to be weaker to make dinosaurs nimble

Neil Degrasse Tyson, he ain’t.

Diamondbacks Knew about Didi Gregorius’s Elbow

the Arizona Diamondbacks knew of Didi Gregorius’ elbow problem, and they had no trouble trading for him even with that knowledge.

There were initial reports that the Diamondbacks did not do a proper physical or proper medical background check on Gregorius.  That is simply not the case.  Kevin Towers, the DBacks GM, said the team knew that Gregorius had hurt his elbow preparing for the World Baseball Classic.  Gregorius was doing so in December when Arizona acquired him.  They knew.

The most bizarre offseason ever just got weirder

Former Braves’ star Otis Nixon accused in scam

some people…claim the ex-Brave used his baseball reputation to trick them out of as much as $1,000 each by falsely promising he could win early release for their loved one in state prison.

Atlanta News, Weather, Traffic, and Sports | FOX 5

620 career steals… and counting!

D Backs hope to overachieve and beat Pythag

“Last year, we scored more runs than in the previous year. It’s not all how many runs you score. In 2011, we were very good and efficient at winning close ballgames. Last year, we weren’t. If you look at statistics, high-leverage situations we were not good. Late and close we were not good. Yet we improved ourselves with runners in scoring position. 2007 was the same way, we had a negative run differential (and still won 90 games). That’s what we’re looking for. We’re looking for the net effect.”

*Gibson on last season: “I can say that 81-81 does not sound good to me at all. I took it very personally. I take responsibility for it. You analyze why does that happen. Again, you analyze numbers and reality and in 2011 we overachieved. In 2012 we underachieved. We want to overachieve again regardless (of what people predict).”

Well, at least we know what the plan is now.

Chris Jaffe Evaluating Managers on MLB Network Today

Our very own Dag Nabbit (of BTF/THT fame) was in New York to film a segment evaluating managers for a MLB Network show.  They ran the segment on Clubhouse Confidential today.

Angel Villalona Gets Visa, Will Be In Giants Big League Camp

Villalona had been charged with the September 2009 murder of 25-year-old Mario Felix de Jesus Velete in the Dominican Republic at a bar in La Romana, where Villalona is from. Villalona eventually settled with de Jesus Velete’s family, reportedly for around $139,000. A prosecutor was planning to move forward with the case, but the charges were dropped.

Tim Raines, George Bell, headline Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s class of 2013

Still waiting for Cooperstown, Tim Raines can say he’s a Hall of Famer.

The former Montreal Expos outfielder was selected for induction Thursday into the Canadian Baseball of Fame. Also included in the class of 2013 are former outfielders George Bell and Rob Ducey as well as former announcer Tom Cheek and longtime minor league owner Nat Bailey.

Can’t stop the Rock.

Enrique Soto Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison

Enrique Soto, one of baseball’s most prominent trainers in the Dominican Republic for the last two decades, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted of charges of sexually assaulting two boys that were part of his academy 10 years ago, according to a report that first aired Monday night in the Dominican Republic on Noticias Sin.

Better late than never.

Le Batard: Issues of morality in sports exist in confusing gray area

We are OK with Kirk Gibson hitting one of the most famous home runs ever on one steroid (cortisone), but we slam the Hall of Fame door on the face of everybody else who might have used the anabolic kind. Granted, cortisone is not a banned performance enhancer, but it certainly enhanced Gibson’s performance, which wouldn’t have been possible without it. Lost in the shouting of “Cheater!” and “Fraud!” from a pill-popping America is how often athletes have to go through the pharmacy for the healing properties of hormones — not just to hit home runs but because what they do for a daily living really hurts…

But you have to admit we’ve arrived in a barbaric, confusing place when the following is true: Destroying your body by cutting off your finger or playing with a catheter in your penis is not against the rules, but using some kind of deer antler spray to speed up healing is, and we spend a lot more time questioning the morality of athletes than we do the morality of the athletic culture or its rules.

Piecoro: Arizona Diamondbacks didn’t get enough from Atlanta Braves for Justin Upton

My opinion on the deal is right in line with the general consensus: The Diamondbacks didn’t get enough. Which, in so many ways, is incredible to me. After close to 2 1/2 years of on-again/off-again trade discussions involving Upton, this is the deal they settle on? After saying time and again that they’re only going to trade Upton if/when the right package comes along, this is the one they deem the right one?

*This whole off-season seems like a huge overreaction, something Towers said in early December he didn’t feel any pressure to do. This is from a story I wrote just before the winter meetings:

“Even though last year was a disappointing year,” Towers said, “I still think that same ball club, given maybe a different year and a different set of circumstances and doing some of the little things that are hard to measure better and smarter, that we can be a much better ball club.

“I know everybody thinks you have to tweak it here and tweak it there and there are some years you have to, but I still look at my club and am a little dumbfounded (at the results). I think we were a better ball club.”

He mentioned the number of highly regarded prospects in his farm system. He brought up the fact that the organization has no bad contracts. He said his roster has flexibility.

“I really like the state we’re in,” Towers said, “and I don’t want to do something drastic just because we finished .500 last year.”

It seems he’s done exactly that.

Reports: Shortstop Alexander Guerrero defects from Cuba

Guerrero has been one of Cuba’s best players the last few years, hitting .338/.408/.641 in 2009, .343/.414/.583 in 2010 and .310/.400/.599 in 2011. Between the three seasons, he delivered 60 homers in 886 at-bats.

He sat out the 2012 season due to a reported lack of motivation after being passed over for the national team, but still seems like a very interesting talent.

Kuwata rejects corporal punishment in sports

Former major league pitcher Masumi Kuwata has spoken out against corporal punishment in sports following the suicide of a Japanese high school student who endured repeated beatings by his basketball coach.

Good for Kuwata.

Police Raid Home of Local “Crazy Utility Player” Guy

While police officers on the scene say the house had a musty smell of urine and fecal material, all of the utility players appear to have been well-fed and cared for. Donald Leius, director of the Major League Players Association, a non-profit group dedicated to finding homes for players, is not surprised. “We could always count on Dayton to help. Finding a home for all our players can be difficult, but Dayton specialized in the hard cases, the ones nobody else wanted. Whenever we would get a little full here at our shelter, we would call Dayton in to take a look. He specifically asked for the ones with little to no power and the ones who nobody else had looked at. Don’t be too hard on him. He’s a good guy.”

Neighbors aren’t as quick to praise Moore. “Frankly, it’s a little creepy.” said Jean Patek, who lived across the street from Moore. “He would spend all night long sitting on the swing on his front porch with a bunch of utility players running around in his front yard. He would then stare at anybody who walked by, not saying anything. Where did he get them all? It just didn’t seem right.”

AZ Snakepit, McLennan: How have the Diamondbacks done under Kevin Towers

But as we saw in reactions to the Bauer trade, a GM’s reputation is the absolute epitome of, as Janet Jackson (or Eddie Murphy, depending on taste) put it: “What have you done for me lately?” That the Diamondbacks came within a squib of the National League Championship Series last year, while spending only more than the Pirates and Padres in the league, has apparently all been forgotten. Instead, Towers has often been dismissed as “lucky” at best, and incompetent by many. Let’s see if the past two seasons have provided anything to back up those assertions, focusing for data on the simplest input and output: budget and team record.

To do so, we’ll introduce the concepts of Marginal Wins and Marginal Payroll, which was originally developed by the late Doug Pappas, for Baseball Prospectus in 2003.

Paranormal presence haunts home of Iowa baseball players

Every night when he got ready to go to bed, Hawkeye baseball player Trevor Kenyon usually left his TV on the Big Ten Network. One night, he decided to fall asleep to FX.

When he returned to his room after brushing his teeth, he discovered his TV had been changed to BTN. Kenyon turned the TV off and put the remote on the floor next to his bed. When he rolled over, he discovered the remote next to him on the pillow. After that, Kenyon turned the TV back on to BTN and let “Tim” watch sports as he fell asleep.

Kenyon, along with five other members of the Iowa baseball team and one club hockey player, recently learned they might not be the only ones living in their house on North Dubuque Street. A local paranormal-investigating task force claims to have confirmed the residents have two spirits in their house. One, an older, grandfatherly figure — whom the guys have named “Tim” — roams the halls and rooms of the three-story house. Another, a younger girl, stays put in one particular room of the house.

Pop culture and the pastime: Willie Mays and Bewitched

How can you go wrong with that combo?