Castro getting early jump on fresh year | cubs.com

Starlin Castro is moving out of the Dominican Republic.

Martino: Ex-SNY analyst Bobby Ojeda takes jab at Mets GM - NY Daily News

Bobby Ojeda doesn’t sound like a fan of Sandy Alderson.

ESPN: Manfred Predicts Resolution Of MASN Dispute

How long did Jarndyce v. Jarndyce take?

“I’m not going to say a lot about MASN because it is in litigation,” said Manfred, who took over from Bud Selig on Jan. 25. “I will say this much. I think in reasonably short order, there will be a resolution of MASN, either by the litigation being done or some other mechanism.”

When the teams couldn’t agree on what the Nats’ rights fees should be, they appeared before MLB’s Revenue Sharing Definitions Committee: Pittsburgh Pirates president Frank ...

Solution to MLB draft dilemma: Don’t have one | FOX Sports

This will never happen. What’s he’s essentially suggesting is a fixed salary cap.The owners might go for it because it will fatten their wallets. The union won’t go for it.

Joc Pederson, Joey Gallo rank highly in ZiPS’ top 100 prospects list - ESPN Insider ($PAY)

The Top 100 List according to ZiPS.

JuCo team to sign first female pitcher; daughter of former MLB closer

History will be made when the Bossier Parish Community College baseball team signs pitcher Sarah Hudek, the first female to play baseball at BPCC, to the roster. She is also one of the first females to play at the collegiate level.

Hudek, the daughter of former MLB pitcher and All-Star, John Hudek, earned her baseball scholarship from head coach Aaron Vorachek and will make it official when she signs with the team at a ceremony in her hometown of Houston at 6 p.m. on Wednesday….

“This is not ...

An Interview With MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred On Pace Of Play, The Media Landscape, And Much More

Maury Brown interviews Rob Manfred.

Royals manager Ned Yost developed app to teach baseball strategy

Yost described the game as “a baseball IQ test.”

On your phone or tablet, you will be given the option of playing any of the nine defensive positions on a baseball field.

The game then fires off different scenarios, and you’re supposed to touch the base where you’d throw the ball.

...

“You’ve got 30 seconds to answer as many as you can,” Yost said.

There are different levels and things get progressively more difficult. Is the infield in or back? Is the ball hit to your left ...

Vladimir Gutierrez, Top Cuban Pitching Prospect, Leaves Team At Caribbean Series - BaseballAmerica.com

How long can Cuba keep the rest of its players on the island?

Righthander Vladimir Gutierrez, one of the top young pitching prospects in Cuba, has left the Cuban team at the Caribbean Series in Puerto Rico, along with shortstop Dainer Moreira, Baseball America has learned. USA Today and El Nuevo Herald also reported earlier that the two players have left the team.

Adam Silver has contacted other commissioners about legal sports gambling

No way I can see MLB coming around on gambling. I give it 50-1 odds.

Silver believes in the potential benefits of legalized sports gambling so much that he’s willing to do what it takes to convince his counterparts in other American sports leagues that he’s right. In an interview with David Purdum for ESPN the Magazine, Silver explains what he’s doing to reach out to other commissioners:

“I have talked to the commissioners in the other leagues about [legalizing sports betting],” NBA ...

Derek Jeter reached on-deck circle while examining Bills purchase, sources say

“The Buffalo Bills????”
“I think owning the Buffalo Bills is pretty good.”
“Yeah yeah.”
“Well explain to me why it isn’t.”
“You just don’t understand football, Marge.”

Two sources have informed me that Jeter, while playing his farewell season with the Yankees, explored purchasing the Bills when they were for sale last year.

Uncertain is whether Jeter wanted to lead a group or be a minority partner. But given the Bills eventual, record-breaking sale price of $1.4 billion, he likely would ...

Obama throws curveball at team owners

The one where Obama and the Koch Brothers are on the same side.

President Barack Obama is using his budget to take on some of the most loathed people in sports — team owners threatening to bolt town if taxpayers don’t help build a new stadium — and it could put Republicans in a tough spot.

The budget proposal released on Monday would eliminate tax benefits that make it easier for cities to raise money for new, luxurious sports facilities.

Close-But-Not-Quite-Top-100 Prospects To Watch « Callis’ Corner

Jim Callis runs down the prospects who didn’t make the cut.

We released the MLBPipeline.com Top 100 Prospects list on Friday, and as always, there wasn’t enough room to include everyone I like. With that in mind, I’ve listed below (alphabetically) 20 more prospects who have caught my eye, some of whom made my personal Top 100 but couldn’t crack the official list once I combined my choices with Jonathan Mayo’s and we got feedback from industry sources.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-4-2015

Pittsburgh Press, February 4, 1915:

Baseball devotees of Murphysboro [Illinois] have introduced an innovation in the world of sport by converting a frozen lake into a diamond, where regulation nine-inning games will be played the remainder of the winter. The members of the opposing teams wear skates, and the agility with which they cavort around is truly amazing. In the first game the Federals defeated the Unions by a score of 11 to 8 in the presence of a crowd nearly as large as the attendance ...

Improving Billy Hamilton | FanGraphs Baseball

Jeff Sullivan puts Billy Hamilton under the microscope.

How do you make Billy Hamilton better at the plate? It’s easy to notice the strikeouts being a little high. It’s easy to notice the bunts that didn’t go for hits. But Price touches on something pretty basic. Hamilton is a burner, and he’s not known for his strength. Never will be. Your classic leadoff-hitting burner slaps the ball onto the ground. Hamilton hit too many into the air, and no mathematical gymnastics are required to see ...

Well-reinforced Cuban team loses Caribbean Series opener

Nonetheless, a scout for a major league team who has long followed Cuban baseball believes there is still plenty of talent left. He points to Gourriel as a player who would make an impact in the majors right now, and accomplished hitters like Cepeda and Despaigne as possible big-league DHs. Gourriel’s brother, infielder Lourdes Gourriel, is among a group of youngsters who would be high-level major-league prospects, among them pitchers Hector Mendoza and Norge Luis Ruiz.

Hochman: Jim Bunning’s not-so-perfect day

But I draw the line on voting for the COBRA!

Jim Bunning spent the first weekend in December in San Diego, a member of a 16-man committee voting on Golden Era players to be inducted into Baseball’s Hall of Fame. Dick Allen needed 12 votes. He got 11.

“I felt useless,” Bunning seethed the other day, his voice crackling with anger. “It was the most disappointing 3 days I’ve ever spent in my life!”

...Let’s back up. The voters, who included baseball writers, gathered in San Diego. Did they meet ...

Hamilton to have right shoulder surgery; out 6-8 weeks

ANAHEIM—The Angels announced Tuesday that Josh Hamilton will undergo surgery to repair the AC joint in his right shoulder, a procedure that is expected to keep him out for six to eight weeks and makes him doubtful for Opening Day.

Hamilton’s AC joint was considered the main culprit of a slew of ailments that plagued his right side throughout September, a month in which he played in just one of the Angels’ last 23 regular-season games before going 0-for-13 in the American League Division ...

Cole Hamels will still cost the Red Sox Blake Swihart - Over the Monster

The Red Sox should not trade Swihart for Hamels.

SABR announces 2015 Henry Chadwick Award recipients

Another great class of recipients.

David Block: In 2005, his early research was published as Baseball Before We Knew It, the 2006 Seymour Medal winner. It was a study of references to games called some variant of Base Ball which were published long before Cartwright and the Knickerbocker rules. His research continued, using dictionaries, novels and diaries that contained references to the game from 18th- and early 19th-century England

Dick Cramer: Cramer has been doing sabermetrics for just ...

WaPo: Nationals & Astros Take Another Step Toward West Palm Beach Spring Training Site

The Nationals and Astros made incremental progress toward a joint spring training home Monday night when the West Palm Beach City Commission approved a non-binding agreement with West Palm Beach County to swap the land to be used for the site. Progress continued Tuesday morning when the Palm Beach County Commission voted 6 to 1 to approve the term sheet, according to the Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post.

The terms of the agreement include the environmental provisions required for the project ...

IN PURSUIT OF PENNANTS #9 — Dave Dombrowski

I have been told, Dombrowski is the last of the current GMs on the list.

Just say no to caps in other teams’ colors | HardballTalk

I’m lucky enough to have a full head of hair, so I don’t need to wear a cap all the time. Nevertheless, I agree 100% with Craig on this issue.

On the Epstein/Rosenthal idea of making relievers face more than one batter - GammonsDaily.com

LOOGYs and ROOGYs, oh my!

Whither James Shields? | FanGraphs Baseball

Tony Blengino gets into James Shields’ numbers.

The Year Ron Hunt Got Hit By 50 Pitches | FiveThirtyEight

No, it’s not a typo.

If Shields’ price has dropped, Yankees should open wallet | MLB.com

It looks like someone misjudged the market.

Dan Duquette puts Toronto in past, focuses on Orioles

He insisted that Toronto’s advances did not distract him from seeking to put a better club on the field in 2015.

“It’s important for the Orioles fans to know that my focus — and my singular focus — is on improving the team,” he said. “We do that day by day, trade by trade, addition by addition. We did that this year in the offseason like we’ve done it in the past.”

Phillies have begun looking at Cody Asche in the outfield | Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

Maikel Franco might think Asche will be an outfielder.

He’s still our third baseman,” general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told CSNPhilly.com on Monday. “We view him as our opening day third baseman.

“But we have introduced him to some outfield. He’s doing some light drills out there, getting acclimated to outfield drills, rudimentary stuff.”

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 2-3-2015

Pittsburgh Press, February 3, 1915:

The president of the Phillies [William Baker] was closeted with [Braves owner] James E. Gaffney and George Whitted for several hours. Whitted refused to tolerate a transfer to the Quakers.
...
“I appreciate,” said [Whitted], “that I am not a star. I have worked hard to advance in my chosen profession. In Boston finally I was able to establish myself in the esteem of fandom as a regular. I am not sure that I would earn kindred distinction in Philadelphia.
... ...