Fernando Rodney agrees to sign with Mariners

Rodney can’t get no respect!

The Seattle Mariners have agreed to sign free agent closer Fernando Rodney to a two-year, $14 million deal, Jon Heyman has confirmed. The was first reported by Jonah Keri of Grantland.

Rodney, 36, was unbelievable for the Rays in 2012 when he closed 48 games in 50 chances with a 0.60 ERA (641 OPS+!). He took a step backward last season, though, when he went 37 for 45 in save chances with a 3.38 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 66 2/3 innings. He was excellent ...

Ralph Kiner, Mets broadcasting legend and Hall of Fame Pirates player, dead at 91

Kiner always credited Hank Greenberg, the equally renowned home run hitter who hit 58 for the Detroit Tigers in 1938, as having most influenced his career. Greenberg was acquired by the Pirates in 1947 specifically to tutor Kiner, but besides working with him on his hitting, Greenberg also cautioned Kiner about his partying ways while ingraining in him the value of hard work. In becoming the most prolific power hitter in baseball, Kiner was credited with having coined the phrase “home run ...

Harper: Yankees catcher Brian McCann a throwback to the days of Thurman Munson

McCann: “a volcano in his belly” with home plate tectonics.

As Howie McCann tells it, Hal Steinbrenner was sold on acquiring his new catcher the day Gene Michael stood up at an organizational meeting in the fall and paid Brian McCann the ultimate Yankee compliment.

“Mr. Steinbrenner told me the story the day we were in New York for the press conference,” Howie McCann, Brian’s father, was saying on Wednesday. “He said everyone there agreed they needed a catcher, and then Gene Michael ...

Dodgers, Orioles, D-Backs finalists for Bronson Arroyo

The list of teams with serious designs on signing free-agent right-hander Bronson Arroyo is down to three, reports USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. According to Nightengale, the Dodgers, Orioles and Diamondbacks are the three finalists, with Arizona being, in Nightengale’s words, the “slight favorites.”

Arroyo, age 36, is coming off a 2013 season in which he pitched to a 3.79 ERA, 101 ERA+ and 3.65 K/BB ratio in 202 innings of work. For his career, Arroyo has an ERA+ of 104 across 391 games, 355 ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-6-2014

Milwaukee Sentinel, February 6, 1914:

Cyril Slapnicka is going to show the public that it is just as easy to balance chairs, lamps, and tables with his good twirling arm as it is to strike out Minneapolis batters. Slap is going to do a vaudeville turn at a theater next week and says he is going to open the eyes of baseball fans with his versatility. Slap is successful as a pitcher, a saloonist and a vaudeville actor. One of the local fight clubs will sign him up pretty soon.

Please see rule #1 ...

Lauber: Roger Clemens, Pedro Martinez among star-studded Red Sox 2014 Hall of Fame class

In an alternate universe, one that is free of performance-enhancing drugs and Congressional testimony, it’s easy to imagine Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez sharing a stage in Cooperstown, N.Y., on a July day in 2015, the former welcoming the latter into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Instead we must settle for a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park.

Unlike a vast majority of the more than 500 writers who cast Hall of Fame ballots every year, the 16 voters who elect new members to the Red ...

ESPN: Curt Schilling diagnosed with cancer

Get well soon.

ESPN baseball analyst and former major league pitcher Curt Schilling announced Wednesday that he has cancer.

“I’ve always believed life is about embracing the gifts and rising up to meet the challenges,” Schilling said in a statement released by ESPN. “We’ve been presented with another challenge, as I’ve recently been diagnosed with cancer.”

In December, ESPN announced that Schilling would be part of its “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast team for the upcoming season. It also ...

Texas Rangers’ ballpark now named Globe Life Park in Arlington

My name is Globe Life Park, and you are…

The Texas Rangers have agreed to a 10-year deal with a McKinney-based insurance company to rename the team’s stadium Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Rangers officials declined to say how much the sponsorship is worth. Joe Januszewski, a team executive who led the sponsorship search, said it’s comparable to any top tier naming rights contract in baseball.

The team expects to have all signs in the park changed in time for the Rangers’ March 31 ...

Grantland: Keri: For the Birds

Jonah Keri’s “Big-ass feature on the Orioles, the Nationals, the TV deal that’s bringing the 2 teams to blows…”

In 2013, the O’s spent just a few million more on payroll than the Milwaukee Brewers, who play in the league’s smallest geographic market, and just $10 million more than the Kansas City Royals, who ranked second to last in total revenue last year. It’s no great surprise that a franchise that ranked in the middle of the pack in payroll last season and 23rd as recently as five ...

ESPN: The Yankees have shown remarkable weakness in drafting and developing talent

Gumbs up the works. Wallace Matthews and Andrew Marchand have a look.

Since Manny Banuelos was promoted to Triple-A ball before the 2011 season, he is 2-4 with a 4.32 ERA. His walks-per-nine innings ratio has soared and his strikeouts-per-nine innings ratio has dropped.

Plus, he is coming off Tommy John surgery and has not thrown a pitch in a professional ballgame in more than 18 months.

In spite of it all, the soon-to-be 23-year-old remains the only top prospect in the Yankees’ farm system ...

Slate: Baseball’s First Black Player Lived His Life as a White Man

The William Edward White story…

Until she was contacted last month, White’s only grandchild, Lois De Angelis, said her family had been unaware of White’s role in baseball history, and of his racial background. De Angelis, who is 74 years old and lives in Grayslake, Ill., said she knew that her grandfather worked as an artist and had been published in the Saturday Evening Post or another magazine, and that he was separated from her grandmother, who worked as a secretary for Sears. Beyond ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-5-2014

Toledo News-Bee, February 5, 1914:

Charley Faust is out again. The champion jinx-killer of the Giants of 1911 showed up [in New York] on Wednesday. He told Secretary Foster the Federals had been after him, but he wouldn’t take advantage of McGraw and jump. Faust has given up the idea of being a star pitcher and now says he is the greatest catcher that ever wore a mask.

It was Faust’s final Spring in baseball. He was institutionalized by July 1914, spent most of the next year in mental hospitals, ...

OT: 2014 Winter Olympics Thread

hopefully this isn’t jumping the gun too much, but i just can’t hold the snark in any longer. behold the glory of russian (the country, not the user here with the same screenname) bathrooms:

Braves extend Freddie Freeman

The deal with Freeman could be for as much as $125 million, Fox Sports reported Tuesday. Financial terms were not released.

Freddie will not be a Free man for at least 8 more years.

Berri: Why Masahiro Tanaka’s Yankees Contract Is Good for Baseball

As Professor Lavoof said: “There has to be a world off the books”.

So baseball people have thought large salaries are a threat for more than 130 years.  Despite this sentiment, Major League Baseball – unlike the NBA, NFL, and NHL – does not have a salary cap.  Consequently, baseball – relative to these other sports – has substantially more disparity in payroll.  In sum, there does appear to be a difference in baseball between the “haves” and “have-nots.”

At least, that is ...

Calcaterra: The Mets are not screwing around with Ike Davis this spring

First and foremost: first base. Where Lucas Duda and Ike Davis are set to battle it out. It sounds like it’ll be a good battle.

Collins says it’s “wide open” and makes it clear that there won’t be a lot of hemming and hawing. Davis is going to get 90 at bats — way more than a veteran usually has in the spring — and it seems obvious that if he doesn’t produce he’s basically done as a Met.

That’s tough on Davis and Duda I suppose, but it may be good for Mets fans.

What ...

Charlie Manuel to be inducted to Phillies Wall of Fame

Countdown to ridiculous “Gil Hodges belongs in the Wall of Fame!” movement begins…

Charlie Manuel already owns the Philadelphia Phillies’ record for wins by a manager with 780, but since records are made to be broken, the franchise will immortalize the legendary skipper another way.

The team announced on Tuesday that Manuel will join the ranks of the great Phillies of all time in a pre-game ceremony to be held on August 9, less than one year from the day he was relieved of his duties as ...

MLBTR: Braves To Extend Freddie Freeman; Braves Sign Jason Heyward To Two-Year Deal

The Heyward deal.

Braves buy out last two years of Heyward’s arbitration at 13 mil or so, then drop a reported 8 year/125 mil buyout extension for Freeman. This carries Heyward through 2016 and should extend Freeman well past the Turner Field era.

No word on the young starting pitchers. They will absolutely go to arb with Kimbrel.

Bleacher Report: Finding the Best Consumer Value

One of those annual comparisons of stadium prices and experiences that crops up in the sleepiest season for baseball news. 

The Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs are three of the most iconic teams in baseball, but given their inflated ticket prices, it’s hard to call any of them a bargain.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-4-2014

Milwaukee Journal, February 4, 1914:

Leonard L. (King) Cole, who recently jumped organized baseball and signed a three-year contract with the Chicago Federal league club, has jumped back to the New York Americans. Cole signed a one year contract with the Yankees yesterday for $3,300, the figures named by Cole to President Farrell on Dec. 23, which Farrell duly accepted.

The salary is the same as that stipulated in the Chicago Federal league contract, which Cole signed in Chicago on Dec. 30. The ...

Indians go behind the numbers with analytic department, looking for an edge

Woolner, Andrecheck, please.

Woolner’s claim to fame before joining the Indians was developing the runs-based statistic VORP (an acronym that stands for Value Over Replacement Player), which is widely recognized by the sabermetrics community as a key component in the analysis of a baseball player’s performance and market value. Woolner’s VORP is a cousin to the current en vogue sabermetric term WAR (Wins Above Replacement).

“They’ve extended VORP in some ways,” Woolner said. ...

Mattingly says Puig may take on leadoff role

Yasiel Puig could be the Dodgers’ leadoff hitter this year, manager Don Mattingly indicated this weekend.

Mattingly said by switching Puig and last year’s leadoff hitter, lefty-swinging Carl Crawford, in the order, it would provide better righty-lefty balance, with right-handed hitter Hanley Ramirez batting third and left-handed hitter Adrian Gonzalez batting fourth.

But it also would be a nod to the reality that the 23-year-old Puig is more dynamic offensively than the 32-year-old Crawford, ...

Astros sign Jerome Williams

Send it in, Jerome!

The contract! Before they realize its a MLB guaranteed contract!

The Astros will be the fifth team and eighth organization Williams has pitched for in what will be his 11th season as an MLB pitcher. Last season with the Angels, Williams finished 9-10 with a 4.57 ERA and a 4.60 FIP. Williams posted a 0.3 WAR and has never posted a WAR over one since his rookie season in 2003.

When investigating Williams’ track record, it’s not too surprising that general manager Jeff ...

Of All People, Bob Uecker Claims That ‘Major League IV’ Is In The Works

Wesley Snipes could use the work.

“I’ll be honest with you, they’re talking about it,” Uecker said, according to Milwaukee Brewers beat writer Adam McCalvy. “The storyline is all set, too. They’ve already asked me if I would be in for ‘Major League IV,’ and I told them I would.

“I’ve talked to the directors. They’re talking about it and they’re pretty serious, but that’s all I can tell you, really. If there was more, I would tell you that, too. They have been talking ...

Michael Kay opens show on YES with shot at Mike Francesa by throwing Diet Coke in trash can

Aspartame says goodbye forever…

Michael Kay kicked off his gig as Francesa’s replacement on the Yankees’ station Monday with a silent dis to the man who anchored the afternoon programming on the network for a dozen years.

As YES’ cameras focused in on Kay and sidekick Don LaGreca, a bottle of Diet Coke was in clear sight. Unlike Francesa’s shows, the label was still on the bottle.

While Kay began his monologue, he picked up the bottle of soda and deposited it into a trash bin that was ...

Baseball America: 2014 College Preview: All-America Teams

Top-ranked Virginia leads all teams with four players on Baseball America’s preseason All-America teams, released Monday.

Outfielder Derek Fisher is Virginia’s lone first-teamer, while outfielder/first baseman Mike Papi makes the second team, and shortstop Branden Cogswell and outfielder Brandon Downes land on the third team. No. 4 Cal State Fullerton and No. 6 Florida State land three players apiece on the three teams.

Baseball America annually polls major league scouting directors to ...

Fernando Tatis zings the Broncos.

8 points in the superbowl…i had 8 rbi in one inning

Sweet slams bro.

Jim Palmer on A.J. Burnett and the O’s rotation

What does the three-time Cy Young winner, eight-time 20-game winner, MASN broadcaster and greatest pitcher in O’s history think of Burnett?

“Well, he had a nice year with Pittsburgh,” Palmer said at FanFest on Saturday. “I was talking to Dom Chiti who is going to be our bullpen coach. He goes, ‘Entirely different leagues.’

“Now that doesn’t mean ... at least he’s a groundball pitcher. Maybe command is not where you want, at least when he was with the Yankees. But he’s got experience and has ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-3-2014

Milwaukee Sentinel, February 3, 1914:

...baseball on ice is getting to be as popular a diversion in Milwaukee as elsewhere. Every afternoon on the upper Milwaukee river, opposite Blatz park, members of the Milwaukee Hockey league, all expert and fast skaters, meet for a game of sides. Indoor baseball rules and an indoor baseball are used and plenty of excitement as well as close play develops during the afternoon.

Indoor baseball is pretty much just softball.

First two picks of the Ice ...

Drooker: Converting Baby Boomers to SABRmetrics

Dunno…after watching the Scarborough/Barnicle tandumb slamming Sabermetrics this morning, this might be tough.

On a previous visit, the effort was made to convince fans who were youngsters in the 50’s and 60’s that advanced metrics are really more telling than just the stats on the back of a baseball card. A good friend of mine, who was born in the 40’s and might be the world’s most avid Willie Mays fan, isn’t quite ready to convert. However, after realizing that WAR (Wins Above Replacement) ...