Yanks to contest ‘milestone HR’

It sounds like the Yankees aren’t horsing around.

Beyond the Box Score’s rankings of the best players for 2015: 45-11 - Beyond the Box Score

Kris Bryant at 45? That’s expecting a lot for a rookie. Of course, only one vote put him there.

IN PURSUIT OF PENNANTS #15 — Walt Jocketty

I am surprised by this choice.

Blue Jays end negotiations for Orioles’ Duquette - Sportsnet.ca

Things have to be uncomfortable in the Orioles front office right now.

Negotiations for Dan Duquette are over after the Toronto Blue Jays refused to consider the Baltimore Orioles’ demands for promising right-hander Jeff Hoffman and two other top prospects as compensation for the executive.
...
Beyond Hoffman, the ninth overall pick in last year’s draft, the Orioles are also believed to have been seeking catcher Max Pentecost, the 11th overall pick in 2014, infielder Mitch Nay and more, ...

New MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s top five priorities - ESPN

More about Manfred’s plans.

Jon Daniels again shoots down Josh Hamilton rumors, Fan Fest crowd applauds | Dallas Morning News

Sometimes it’s a blessing when another team signs your player to a big free agent contract.

In December, Fox Sports reported that the Rangers were one of the teams that had “exploratory” talks with the Angels about trading for Josh Hamilton. Daniels quickly shot down the rumor and did so again on Saturday — much to the delight of the crowd.

Kluber collects Cy Young Award, joins Tribe Fest | MLB.com

“I’d answer that more categorically,” Shapiro told reporters on Sunday. “Corey represents all of the things we look for in players: dependable, reliable person, committed to his work ethic, talented. Then you look at contracts and you say, ‘Can we find that point where we’re both comfortable with the shared risk?’ We don’t know that right now. That’s something that we’ll have to look at.
“As prioritization of the calendar goes, it’s something we’ll probably look at over the next couple of ...

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 1-26-2015

Pittsburgh Press, January 26, 1915:

Morris Farrell, son of the millionaire president of a lumber company [in Little Rock], has been signed by President Allen, of the local Southern association club. Farrell has played with Kansas City and Waco, but quit both clubs because he objected to discipline.

It would seem young Farrell’s time with Little Rock was cut short because he couldn’t play. Farrell hit .143 and slugged .196 in 15 games with the 1915 Travelers. John Henry Williams, eat your heart ...

Bring Back Selig - New Commissioner Manfred is a Moron - Halos Heaven

While I agree that banning shifts and the implementation of a clock (instead of simply enforcing rules on batter and pitchers) aren’t needed, this is a little over the top.
(Edited after posting my comment too quickly. Jim)

Sunday Notes: Adam Everett on D, Norris’ Notoriety, Boggs & Beer, more

Major league players are doing just fine financially under the current system. TV revenue is a huge part of the reason even mediocre players are getting big bucks. So, excuse me for thinking the players should stop whining about getting into the box or throwing pitches a little faster if it shortens an average game time that is out of hand. Returning the game to a more fan-friendly pace is an important step to keep the game growing. Somehow players from the past were able to gather their ...

Red Sox notebook: Following surgery, Mike Napoli feels refreshed and ready - Sports - The Boston Globe

This does not sound like a fun way to spend an off-season.

“I couldn’t do it anymore, feeling the way I was feeling,” he said. “I was like, ‘I need to have the surgery or I’m not going play anymore.’ That’s how bad it was.”

Dr. Leonard Kaban, the chief of oral and maxillofacial surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, broke Napoli’s upper and lower jaw and moved them forward. That doubled the space in his airway.

Kaban inserted a titanium plate and several screws to ...

Yankees reject A-Rod’s mea culpa meeting request - NY Daily News

Relations between Rodriguez, MLB and the Yankees became so heated in late 2013 and early 2014 that baseball executives and team officials hired extra security for protection, going so far as to have their homes and offices swept for bugging devices and employing bodyguards to accompany them, according to sources.

“He put everyone through a lot of undue grief and unnecessary expense,” said one baseball source.
...
It is hard to imagine the frayed relations between A-Rod and the Yankees – ...

Seitzer encouraged by workouts with Upton

“Any hitter that has a tendency to be long [with their swing], where their hands get away from the body, is going to have a tough time catching up to fastballs,” Seitzer said. “They will also be vulnerable to offspeed pitches and inside pitches.”

Mariners notebook: Zduriencik says `no favorite right now’ in spring shortstop battle between Miller and Taylor | Mariners Insider - The News Tribune

Bob Dutton runs down some Mariner news.

Ted Lilly Charged With Felony Insurance Fraud

Flo from Progressive is not going to like this.

The Tribune in San Luis Obispo (Ca.) reports that Lilly was charged back in October with three felony counts of “filing a false insurance claim, filing a false statement in connection with an insurance claim, and concealing a material fact in connection with an insurance claim,” and faces five years in jail.

According to the Department of Insurance, the uninsured Lilly got an estimate for damage on his motor home, bought insurance five days ...

Pedroia ‘ready to go,’ sees Sox rebounding | MLB.com

In case you were worried.

Toronto Sun: The inside story on how Ed Rogers tried to replace Jays President Paul Beeston

If this is all true, Ed Rogers (Deputy Chairman of Rogers Communications, which owns the Blue Jays) has an enormous amount to answer for, both in the court of public opinion AND to Major League Baseball.

We’re not sure if this is the way Harvard Business School teaches Forbes 500 companies on how to make upper management changes.

Or the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the London Business School, for that matter.

Yet, here is how Rogers Communications went about the dirty business of ...

Sean Doolittle has a “slight” rotator cuff tear, won’t be ready for Opening Day | HardballTalk

This doesn’t sound too good.

DallasNews: Prince Fielder in best shape of his life

Fielder, speaking before the club’s annual pep-rally awards banquet at the Dallas Omni, said all is well heading into Year 2. The rehabilitation work has gone well, and he expects to be a full participant when spring training opens.

“I could play a pick-up game right now,” Fielder said. “I’m 100 percent. … Whatever it was before, it’s back.

“I feel healthy. That’s the difference. I’m feeling really good and ready to go.”

Round is a shape…

2015 Prospect Watch: Top 10 catchers | redsox.com

MLB.com’s list.

Mariners notebook: Montero’s weight down; targeting another outfielder; four spots set in rotation

i bet he is in the best shape of his life.

Ernie Banks, Hopeful Mr. Cub, Dies at 83; His Mantra Was ‘Let’s Play 2’

Long after retiring, Banks recalled the sweltering midsummer’s day in 1969 when he bubbled over in a phrase that became his trademark.

“We were in first place, and all the reporters were already in the locker room when I arrived at Wrigley for a game with the Cardinals,” Banks told The Arizona Daily Star. “I walked in and said: ‘Boy, it’s a beautiful day. Let’s play two.’ They all thought I was crazy.”...

“Ernie was the eternal optimist,” the former Cubs second baseman ...

Report: Brewers discussing trade for closer Jonathan Papelbon

Doug Melvin Develops Dementia;Local Fan Provides Diagnosis.

Tribune: Ernie Banks Dead at 83.

R.I.P. Ernie.

Keri - Wayward Marlins Take Aim at Sustained Success

How did the Marlins go from a frequently penny-pinching club that couldn’t find the money to sign future first-ballot Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera to a team that just paid Giancarlo Stanton $325 million before making a slew of other offseason moves intended to turn Miami into a consistent contender? After 22 tumultuous years for the franchise, why do the Marlins now believe they are financially secure enough to pay their best player a third of a billion dollars and talented enough to compete ...

Chicago Cubs—2015 ZiPS Projections

The most important event of the offseason!

Neyer: That time Bud Selig yelled at me

I let the machine pick up, and was more than a little bemused to hear this: Rob, this is Commissioner Selig. I read your column on ESPN and wanted to talk to you about it. When you get a chance, please call me at …”

Selig clearly had a print-out of my ESPN.com column at hand, probably with the offending passages highlighted by a flunky. And he spent the next half-hour or so simply going through the passages, and telling me exactly how I’d gotten each one so horribly wrong. A few times, I ...

2015 Prospect Watch | Top 10 First Baseman | MLB.com

Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell is #1.

Announcing finalists for 2015 SABR Analytics Conference Research Awards | SABR

Congrats to the nominees.

Ranking the commissioners: Selig’s No. 1 - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

Is there a sexier topic?