Joe Hamrahi and Sam Miller are inducted into the BBWAA, and existing member Zachary Levine is now a BP representative.
Every year at the Winter Meetings, baseball writers take a break from reporting rumors to attend to baseball writer business. (Except for Ken Rosenthal. Ken Rosenthal doesn't take breaks. Seriously kind of worried about Ken.) One of the items on the agenda at this annual BBWAA meeting is always admitting new members. A year ago, I had the pleasure of announcing my own induction. This year, we have more new members to announce: Joe Hamrahi and Sam Miller are now BBWAA members under the BP banner, as is Zachary Levine (who had previously been admitted as a representative of the Houston Chronicle).
Congratulations and welcome to Joe and Sam (and to Zachary, uh, welcome back, but with BP now). More members with press passes means more access and better baseball coverage at BP, so expect more material that benefits from our presence at the ballpark ahead.
From the Winter Meetings: An interview with Dodgers President Stan Kasten
The public face of the Dodgers now rests with Stan Kasten as their president and co-owner. On Monday we caught up with him at the Winter Meetings and asked him about his new position in LA; how the ownership group was assembled; what Magic Johnson brings to the table, and; how that massive TV deal factors into what the Dodgers do, not only now, but years to come.
Few recent club sales have altered the landscape in Major League Baseball as quickly as that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whether it was the unprecedented purchase price of $2.15 billion, the flurry of trades that including taking on over $163 million in contract dollars as part of the blockbuster trade with the Red Sox that included Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl Crawford, or the media rights deal that the club is on the cusp of completing that is reported to be between $6-$7 billion, the Dodgers have become a juggernaut. The public face of the Dodgers now rests with Stan Kasten as their president and co-owner. On Monday we caught up with him at the Winter Meetings and asked him about his new position in LA; how the ownership group was assembled; what Magic Johnson brings to the table, and; how that massive TV deal factors into what the Dodgers do, not only now, but years to come.
The 2013 Hall of Fame ballot is out and if you're looking for a non-PED reason to exclude any candidate, start here...
One reason not to vote for each of this year's Hall of Fame nominees that has nothing to do with steroids or other performance enhancing drugs.
Jack Morris (14th year on ballot) - His 105 ERA+ in 3,824 career innings pitched is nearly identical to Jamie Moyer's 104 ERA+ in 4,074 career innings.
Jeff Bagwell (3rd) - He would skyrocket to the top of the list of worst facial hair on a Hall of Fame plaque.
David Wells (1st) - Perfect games are overrated, I'm told.
Steve Finley (1st) - 19th all-time in home runs after age 30, but just 1,172nd in home runs through 30—tied with Brian Schneider.
Julio Franco (1st) - Franco is actually ineligible for the Hall, based on the little known rule stating that a player must be on the ballot for the first time within 30 years of his MLB debut.
Reggie Sanders (1st) - Made the postseason six different times for five different teams, but helped win the World Series only once.
Shawn Green (1st) - Mike Schmidt will forever be the last player to hit four home runs in a single game and go on to the Hall of Fame.
Jeff Cirillo (1st) - Managed a career .430 slugging percentage playing from 1994 to 2007.
Woody Williams (1st) - His 103 career ERA+ is nearly idential to Jamie Moyer's 104 career ERA+.
Rondell White (1st) - A rule enacted in Hall of Fame voting since 2004: if you automatically picture the player in an Expos uniform when you hear his name, he cannot be admitted to the Hall.
Jeff Conine (1st) - The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown is for more than just Marlins players.
Mike Stanton (1st) - I know he's a great home run hitter, especially for a 22 year old, but we really should let his career play out before we give Stanton any Hall of Fame consideration.
Sandy Alomar, Jr. (1st) - Even for a catcher, playing only 1,377 games in 20 seasons is a bit low.
The Five Dominican Winter League Prospects Most Likely to Make an Impact in the Majors in 2013
Which Dominican Winter League prospects should we expect to see making major contributions to big-league clubs next season?
Limited action again on the Caribbean Winter League schedules, so I'll take this time to tell you about the five Dominican Winter League prospects most likely to make an impact in the majors next season. No surprises here. These are pretty big names in the prospect world, and all but one spent time in the majors last season. All five maintain rookie status, however, and don't necessarily have clear paths to regular playing time in the majors. So how will this quintet make an impact?
Starling Marte, OF, Pirates (.874 OPS, 8 SB in 24 games for Escogido): Of the five players on this list, Marte easily has the best shot at a starting job on Opening Day. A fantasy baseball stud who can put up numbers in several categories, he can hit for average, steal bases, hit homers and triples, and could very likely be the Pirates' leadoff hitter. So he has to be a lock for 150+ games in the Bucs' outfield, right? Not necessarily. As a young player who hasn't exhibited much plate discipline throughout his minor league career, and during his brief big league stint (8 BB, 50 K), he could be prone to extended slumps as major league pitchers continue to attack his weaknesses.
If he can make adjustments throughout the season, he can stick in the majors. And if he sticks in the majors, he could hit .270 with 90 runs, 15-20 homers, 25 doubles, 10 triples, and 25 stolen bases as a rookie.
Mike Olt, 1B/3B/OF (.814 OPS in 18 games for Licey): Texas' loss of free agent Mike Napoli leaves the team short on right-handed power and Olt could have an opportunity to help fill the void. He won't get many starts at his natural position of third base unless Adrian Beltre gets hurt but he could see significant time at first base, a corner outfield spot, and as the designated hitter against lefties. With rumors that there could be teams interested in Michael Young, who'd have to approve any trade, the 24 year-old Olt could also be the beneficiary of the designated hitter at-bats available against right-handed pitching if Young is moved.
In 95 Double-A games before his call-up, he hit .288 with 28 homers in 354 at-bats. If he can get 300 at-bats in the majors next year, I wouldn't be surprised if he hit 15 homers and knocked in 45 runs.
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On the first day of the Winter Meetings, Brian Cashman faced the writers to talk about A-Rod's injury. Here's what he said.
Earlier today, the Yankees put out a press conference about the latest injury to Alex Rodriguez. Shortly after flying coach class into Nashville (no, not because of budget issues), Brian Cashman confronted a room full of reporters eager to ask him how thrilled he is to have Rodriguez for five more years (and maybe some stuff about steroids too, because hey, might as well). Here are some notes from his appearance, which lasted about half an hour:
Rodriguez didn’t say anything about the hip until after Girardi went to pinch hit for him with Raul Ibanez in Game Three of the ALDS. At that point, A-Rod said something about being bothered by his right hip and (Cashman was paraphrasing) not feeling like he was firing on all cylinders. He didn’t feel pain, but he did feel some discomfort. Rodriguez was examined after the game and got a clean bill of health, but that’s because he had the wrong hip—the problem was with the left one, not the right one (which was operated on in 2009). Cashman says that if the doctors had examined his left hip at that time, they would have found the tear, but they didn’t (and shouldn’t have been expected to, since the patient’s complaint pointed elsewhere). Cashman couldn't or didn't explain how A-Rod could be confused about which hip was hurt.
Cashman blames A-Rod’s struggles down the stretch and in October on the hip issue. According to Cashman, with the use of not just one but two “likelys,” it’s a “likely scenario that the struggles that we saw in September and October are more likely than not related to this issue.” Cashman went on to say that it “makes sense that this was something that was hindering him, even if he couldn’t put a finger on it.”
Cashman didn’t disclose the condition earlier because, well, no one asked him about it. When he was asked about DHing or trading A-Rod, he simply said he wasn’t considering either. Yesterday, though, someone asked specifically about the hip, which is why the team chose to announce the issue now.
Cashman compared the injury to Brett Gardner’s and Mariano Rivera’s, in the sense that the Yankees have faced this sort of challenge before and found a way to surmount it. He’s willing to be aggressive with a short-term fix, if something makes sense. If it doesn’t, he’s willing to be patient. In other words, Cashman didn’t give away his precise gameplan for replacing Rodriguez. Shocking.
Cashman said that “Alex has a lot of peace of mind.” The third baseman was bothered by his struggles and happy to have an explanation for them, even though the explanation is something that requires surgery.
The estimated recovery time from this surgery is four-to-six months, at least twice as long as it took Rodriguez to return from the first hip operation. Cashman explained that the bone impingement involved this time around makes the new hip surgery’s recovery time longer.
Cashman hasn’t considered Eduardo Nunez as a third baseman. He views him as a shortstop, which is very charitable of him.
Cashman asked if upgrading the left side of the infield is a “must.” Not surprisingly, he declined to say that it was, since he doesn't like losing all of his leverage. However, he did indicate that it’s important, which didn’t come as a tremendous surprise.
Cashman says there are no long-term restrictions placed on Rodriguez by the surgery. The right hip that was fixed still looks fine, so he expects the left hip to make the same smooth recovery.
Cashman doesn’t believe that the injury to the previous hip has any connection to the new injury, and he doesn’t know if it will affect the rehab process.
Rodriguez said he felt better than he ever had in his career right before the playoffs, and he wasn’t getting any special physical treatment. According to Cashman, the Yankees had no inkling that this was an issue before Rodriguez spoke up.
Cashman says he’s still happy to have A-Rod (independent of the crushing contract, at least). He thinks third base is a difficult position to find a fit for and that A-Rod is still above average offensively at third. He believes the Yankees are still better off with a healthy Rodriguez than a hole to fill, which isn’t the most ringing endorsement, but is probably nicer than the things most writers are writing about A-Rod today.
Cashman was asked if A-Rod’s injuries had anything to do with his steroid use. His answer: “I have no idea.”
Minor League Update
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