Look, I don’t mean to be racist, but baseball was better when it was just for humans. Vampires have, as usual, ruined the game with their distinct physiological advantages. They’ve also made it more difficult to watch through that gloomy blue filter that follows them everywhere. Maybe this is what’s necessary for baseball to appeal to the next generation of fans. But if it is, count me out. I, and right-thinking Americans everywhere, prefer our baseball fangless. http://www.fangraphs.com/not/index.php/rip-baseball
GrindMedia, a leading action and adventure sports media company and division of Source Interlink Media, has announced the acquisition of Baseball America, and baseballamerica.com. Baseball America, which has been published since 1982, and its associated titles will be added to GrindMedia’s expanding portfolio of enthusiast media, according to Norb Garrett, Senior Vice President and Group Publisher of GrindMedia. Baseball America joins SLAM Magazine (a basketball-focused property) in the company’s stable of stick-and-ball properties broadening a portfolio of trusted brands focused on men’s lifestyle - http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20111214006201/en/GrindMedia-Division-Source-Interlink-Media-Acquires-Baseball
Whether it’s been Yu Darvish, Daisuke Matsuzaka, or Ichiro Suzuki, the “posting system” that has been part of the US-Japanese Player Contract Agreement since 1988 has remained somewhat of a mystery. It was driven, in large part, by the late Hideki Irabu. The Padres won the rights to the pitcher that led the Pacific League in ERA and strikeouts in 1995 and 1996. But, Irabu did not want to play in San Diego and he eventually wound up with the Yankees. The “posting system”, while arguably flawed, was designed to stop that leveraging from occurring. But how, exactly does the process work. While The Biz of Baseball does not have the most current US-Japanese Player Contract Agreement, we do have a copy from 2002 that breaks it out close, if not exactly, as it is today. The following is directly from the agreement, describing the posting process: http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5553:demystifying-the-posting-system-for-japanese-players-entering-mlb&catid=26:editorials&Itemid=39
When it comes to retiring lefties, Dontrelle Willis takes LOOGYs’ lunch money. The low percentage of lefties he faced suggests that teams were stacking their lineups with righties against him, so it probably follows that the lefties who did stay in to face him were better than average. Not only that, but Willis recorded these numbers as a starter; the other pitchers on the list enjoyed all the benefits of pitching in short bursts. Despite that, Dontrelle still dominated same-handed hitters to a degree unmatched by anyone but Randy Choate. If his act doesn’t catch on in the bullpen, there’s nowhere for him to go but back to the minors. However, there’s every reason to think this role change will put the D-Train back on the tracks, even if those tracks no longer lead to the same superstardom he once enjoyed. Willis is making a smart career choice—assuming he had a choice—by swallowing his pride, and the Phillies are just as smart to attempt to establish their own lefty specialist rather than pay a premium for someone else’s. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15685
It's safe to say that Yu Darvish will divide opinion if and when he is posted - just look to the comments on yesterday's piece, where one commenter said he would rank him no higher than 50, while another said Top 15. Part of the trepidation with Darvish is going to be his status as a Japanese pitcher. Here's an important point: Yu Darvish is not Daisuke Matsuzaka or Akinori Otsuka, anymore than Clayton Kershaw is Chris Young, even though they graduated from the same high school. The fact is that Darvish had a historic season for the Nippon-Ham Fighters in 2011, and it's not his first taste of success. If we accept that Darvish has a chance to succeed in Major League Baseball, then what can we expect? There are people out there suggesting that he could put up a 10 WAR season, based on MLE (Major League Equivalency) calculations they've done, and while I would reject those out of hand, I wouldn't be shocked to see a K/9 approaching 9 with an ERA in the low 2s and a WHIP that is above average. Of course, a lot depends on what organization he ends up with (if he does come over), but for now, 25 seems right...to me, at least. http://www.faketeams.com/2011/12/15/2636920/fantasy-baseball-thoughts-yu-darvish-and-others
The Pittsburgh Pirates acquired third baseman Casey McGehee from the Milwaukee Brewers in a trade for reliever Jose Veras on Monday night. The move came hours after the Brewers agreed to terms with free-agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez. McGehee had a strong rookie season in 2009 and a big year in 2010 but slumped at the plate in 2011 and lost his starting job to Jerry Hairston Jr. late in the season. The 29-year-old McGehee batted .223 with 13 homers and 67 RBIs for the NL Central champions, a year after hitting .285 with 23 home runs and 104 RBIs. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7347045/pittsburgh-pirates-acquire-casey-mcgehee-milwaukee-brewers-jose-veras
According to ESPN's Jerry Crasnick, the Red Sox have reached a one-year, $1.35 miilion deal with Kelly Shoppach. The contract will be officially announced on Tuesday afternoon, after Shoppach undergoes the customary pre-signing physical. He batted just .185/.285/.340 in 253 total plate appearances this past season for the Rays, but the 31-year-old is typically productive against left-handed pitchers and should fit snugly behind the switch-hitting Jarrod Saltalamacchia in Boston. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/346831/baseball-headlines?r=1
My assessment of Yu Darvish was based on what I saw last season (2010). My big concerns were that he seemed to go to his vertical slider (which is really more like a power curve) quite a bit, and my perception was that he was leaving a lot of them hanging over the middle of the plate. NPB hitters seemed to foul those pitches back a lot of the time, and he wouldn’t get away with those types against MLB hitters. Also last year, he showed a lot of 90-92 mph fastballs, and would top out around 95. This season he was a lot better. The most obvious difference was his fastball velocity, which was more consistently around 94 and touched 97 on his best days. His cutter seemed to take a step forward this year, giving him three pitches above 90 mph with movement (2-seamer, 4-seamer, cutter). I think the velocity gains are real, as he added 10 kg of strength to his frame last offseason. I didn’t really see the same mistakes with his slider this year, he actually looked like he was using all his stuff effectively. There would be times when decent hitters would start to catch up and foul off his harder stuff, and he’d come right back with a slow curve or softer slider, and the hitter would be helpless. So he looked better overall this year, and my concerns about his mistake pitches and velocity are mostly gone. He’ll certainly still make the odd mistake, as he’s not a robot, but I’m more optimistic about him than I have been of anyone in the past. http://riveraveblues.com/2011/12/an-informed-opinion-of-yu-darvish-60935
The Philadelphia Phillies have reached agreement on a one-year major league deal with free agent Dontrelle Willis, a baseball source said Tuesday. The deal, pending completion of a physical, would pay Willis about $1 million and include additional money for performance bonuses, the source said. Willis, 29, is 72-69 with a 4.17 ERA in nine seasons with Florida, Detroit, Arizona and Cincinnati. He held lefty hitters to a .127 average (7-for-55) with the Reds last season, and had attracted interest from Seattle, Toronto, Boston and Cincinnati this winter as a left-handed arm out of the bullpen. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7347989/2011-free-agency-cincinnati-reds-dontrelle-willis-philadelphia-phillies-agree-source-says
According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Nationals and Chien-Ming Wang have agreed to a one-year deal. The details of the contract still need to be finalized, but that should be done by Thursday. Wang, 31, posted a cool 4.04 ERA and 1.28 WHIP in 11 starts this season while registering a 53.4 groundball percentage. If he can keep his sinker working and maintain his health in 2012, he should be a fine No. 3 starter for the Nationals. http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/mlb/344853/baseball-headlines?r=1
Pitcher Andrew Brackman has been released by the New York Yankees, four years after signing a contract for a $3.35 million bonus. New York drafted Brackman in the first round with the 30th pick in 2007, knowing the 6-foot-10 right-hander from North Carolina State likely would need elbow ligament-replacement surgery. He had the operation that Aug 24. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/11/01/yankees-release-pitcher-andrew-backman
Texas Rangers left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson, set to hit the free-agent market on Thursday, said recently that there's a "great chance" he returns to Texas. "I like it here and I've won here," Wilson told ScoreboardDaily.com. "I've proved that I can be a good pitcher here. There have been a lot of people over the years that have said it's impossible to pitch here in Texas, and look what we did here on the rotation -- we went out and won a bunch of games and threw a bunch of innings and did stuff that no other organization can say." Wilson, who turns 31 later this month, has made a successful transition from reliever to starter the past two seasons. He was 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA in a team-high 223 1/3 innings as the club's No. 1 starter in 2011. That followed a solid 2010 performance -- 15-8 with a 3.35 ERA in 204 innings. Wilson asked the club for an opportunity to start, came into spring training in 2010 committed to winning a job in the rotation and now is one of the most consistent starters for the Rangers the past two seasons. http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/7177081/cj-wilson-great-chance-stays-texas-rangers?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Dontrelle Willis (30) – Look, he’s not a starter anymore. The sooner teams realize this the better. Despite the fact that Willis has appeared in a relief role only once in his major league career (not counting postseason play), he has posted absolutely dominant numbers against left-handed batters. In 65.2 innings in 2010, Willis posted 12.9 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 against lefties. He has even better against lefties this past season, posting 10.6 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9, good for a 10/1 K/BB ratio in 75.2 innings. I suggested that teams view Willis this way before last season’s free agent frenzy. I’ll do so again this offseason. http://www.bloguin.com/theoutsidecorner/2011-articles/november/2012-free-agent-primer-top-10-left-handed-relievers.html
Brad Lidge Age: 35 Position: RP 2011 Stats:0-2, 1.40 ERA, 1.500 WHIP, 10.7 K/9, 1 SVs CURRENT TEAM: PHILLIES BEST FIT: METS Arm trouble kept Lidge from making his first appearance until late July, by which time he had permanently lost the Phillies' closer's job to Ryan Madson. If Lidge was a bit wild (he walked 13 batters in 19.1 innings over 25 appearances), he was ultimately effective, and his strikeout rate shows that he retains excellent stuff. The Phillies chose to buy out his $12.5 million option, and that should mean that he will move on from Philadelphia after four years there -- perhaps up the road to the Mets, whose bullpen ERA of 4.33 was baseball's third highest. www.si.com
