Cutnpaste: - Rusty Staub, Chris Young, Chris Capuano, CBA Year, and Jerry Grote

Rusty Staub:

Why isn’t Rusty Staub a Hall of Famer, and how did he get to play so much anyway? Staub’s own website provides an good answer to the first part: “He was never a great player . . .” Well, that’s certainly modest. For my part, I would argue that Staub was a great player for a few seasons, particularly his three seasons with Montreal, when he hit .296/.404/.501 and averaged 26 home runs, 90 RBI, 94 runs, and 99 walks a year . . . but that’s besides the point. Three great seasons don’t make a Hall of Fame career, and although he hung on the ballot for seven years, I don’t think anyone thinks Rusty Staub not being in the Hall is a serious injustice. -

patrickfloodblog.  

Chris Young:

Newly signed Chris Young says he expects his arm to hold up this season. "I feel the life on the ball and the arm speed is better now than it was at the end of the season," Young said. "I feel like my arm is stronger now than it was at the end." After battling injuries for the past three seasons, Young is somewhat of a reclamation project for the Mets. If he remains healthy and comes even close to his career numbers (3.80 ERA, 1.21 WHIP), he would be a steal. The big question is whether he can return to pre-injury form. - rotoworld  



Chris Capuano:

Capuano, despite not having an odd fastball (it's a two-seam fastball with good tailing action but without any sink), is a strong sinkerballer against same-handed batters (left handed batters) but is a clear fly ball pitcher against opposite-handed batters (right-handed batters). The split came from Capuano's fastball, but Allen could not identify WHY a player, throwing the same pitch to both types of batters would have such different Ground Ball splits. - beyondtheboxscore.  



CBA Year:
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) expires on Dec. 11, 2011. That means from now until a new contract is reached, we will be hearing about negotiations, what the players want to gain, what the owners hope to accomplish. With luck, we’ll hear very little strike or lock out talk. The fact that MLB and the MLBPA seem to be getting along so well could mean that an agreement is met with little acrimony. - http://baseballmusings.com/  


Jerry Grote:

Was a defensive cog behind the plate for 12 years. Didn’t hit much (career batting average of .252), but did enough to make a couple of All Star Teams. Known to be very competitive and gave those late sixties/early seventies Mets teams some “spit and vinegar.” If not for the fact he played at the same time as Johnny Bench he would have a few Gold Gloves to his name. - nybaseballdigest