Zito, Lincecum, and Pence all come off the books after this season, saving them nearly $50 million. Though I wonder how much of that will go to an extension for Buster Posey.

You wouldn't need to balk. Just go to your mouth four times while standing on the rubber.

And the article's headline of "...the Angels sign Madson...?"

It might have been better to examine data for the various Metropolitan Statistical Areas rather than the individual cities. That way you include the population and income data of the suburbs rather than just the decaying core.

Ichiro's resurgence seems to be largely a result of hitting .338/.363/.531 in Yankee Stadium's friendly confines.

What was the cost of the Giant's Freddie Sanchez injury?

Note that Blanco's throw missed Crawford--the designated cutoff man. I presume that most second basemen remain at second base for a possible relay from the cutoff man to second base to trap the trailing runner, but last night Scutaro moved towards third base to back up Crawford and caught the Blanco's overthrow. Perhaps Lamont sent Fielder to home because Lamont saw that Blanco's throw was going to miss Crawford and Lamont didn't see Scutaro moving to catch the overthrow. Without Scutaro's apparent improvisation, Lamont's decision would have worked well. Was Scutaro's move towards third base an improvisation? Or was it part of the Giant's standard drill?

With Victor Martinez hopefully returning in the spring to handle DH duties I don't see any reason to re-sign Young at all.

If you're going to make a Star Wars reference at least check your facts first. ;)

I think you guys might have jinxed him...

NOBODY expects the Pirate inquisition!

I think I remember reading someone's contract over at Cots a few years ago where there was some kind of clause about the difference between US and Canadian taxes.

High-A Sacramento? Someone better tell the River Cats they changed leagues.

*Insert obligatory Barry Bonds comparison*

Seattle is misplaced in the teams' alphabetical order

Kevin, do you think Grant Green can find a defensive home, or would the A's be better suited to using him in a super utility role like a vintage Chone Figgins?

Hopefully if the Giants do not retain the services of Angel Pagan and/or Melky Cabrera they'll result in some nice compensation picks.

"Date: 5/13/11 Pitcher: Brandon McCarthy ​Batter: Alexei Ramirez Runner on 1st: Jose Reyes Believability: 6" The runner was actually Juan Pierre, not Jose Reyes.

The article specifically referenced only the 1990s, not the 80's or 2000's.

It would be interesting to look at what the ten year projections were for Todd Helton when he signed his extension back in 2001 and compare them to the actual results. I do not see this ending well for the Reds.

I don't see him agreeing to an extension without testing the free agent market.

I think Yakety Sax would be fitting.

Giants catcher didn't factor into this? It should be a huge improvement if Buster Posey returns to his previous level of success.

I just noticed that Coco Crisp seems to be missing from the print edition. :(

Was that sarcasm Kevin? Seems like every year we have another player who is outed as falsifying their birth certificate or identity.

The context certainly helps.

Maybe we'll see something along the lines of the Rafael Soriano deal from a couple years ago?

Maybe in future editions there can be a section for unsigned players that sat out the year?

So is Tim McCarver the Jim Rice of the Ford C. Frick Award?

See above.

Still no White Sox half of the Quentin deal?

Kevin, do you think Dominguez has a good enough glove that he could be passable at shortstop? His bat would certainly profile better there.

Yeah, that's it.

Brad, is there any way to link the Player Cards when you click on their name in the list of transactions involving them? That would make it easier to check their stats without having to open another window.

The A's Top 11 Prospects list certainly got a lot more interesting the past two weeks.

Additionally the Red Sox just signed Nick Punto, so they have even more depth.

What with the SEC investigation I was expecting a Go To Jail square.

Typo, 2011.

Kinda hard for Johan Santana to be a draw anymore when he didn't throw a single inning in 2010.

There's bold, and then there's garish.

I didn't say it was a good idea, but it certainly is possible.

Jay, I don't know why you think that Beltran and Melky Cabrera would be a mutually exclusive situation for the Giants. With the way Andres Torres got benched towards the end of the year, I feel there is a possibility he will get non-tendered. That would open up the Giants CF slot for Cabrera (shudder).

Can you provide data for all players on each team? For the Giants, what was the effect of Freddie Sanchez's injury in combination with the negative WARP contributions of Keppinger, Burriss, and Hall? Also, losing Belt early in the season--before Bochy sat him on the bench for weeks--sabotaged his call-up from AAA. There was also a major Giants non-injury: putting Aubrey Huff on the DL for "back issues' would have avoided possibly 200 wasted plate appearances.

Not only that, but Bashir's hand-eye coordination and reflexes were enhanced by genetic engineering when he was a child.

I was starting to fall asleep on the couch before the Cardinals started their comeback.

Calling Carlos Gonzalez a "superstar" is a bit of a misnomer. His career splits: Home: .329/.381/.609 Road: .265/.317/.427 Either that's a Coors Field mirage, or I need to start looking for John Frum. Anderson has been good when healthy, while Cunningham never panned out, Carter is looking like a Quadruple-A player, Greg Smith has bounced between Triple-A and the majors after one good mediocre year, and Dana Eveland has left a trail of broken hearts around the leagues. Quantity doesn't always have a quality all of its own.

I was thinking that myself as well.

And here I almost expected Jim Bowden to suggest signing Fielder to a one year contract to supplement/replace the injured Ryan Howard

Gibson was at least a coach for a few seasons. A.J. Hinch says hi.

Don't ignore the Brewers--Diamondbacks. Unusual plays included a pick-off at second base, a balk on an attempted pick-off at second base, and a desperation throw home (why?) on a squeeze bunt. Managers' pitching decisions were also curious, and did Arizona anticipate Lucroy's squeeze bunt?

We'll see how long he stays healthy and productive.

It was a pun on Jim Bowden's suggestions in the Kiss'Em Goodbye series so far.

Welcome and good luck!

Could you also make the player names come up as hyperlinks like the old Hit List?

Works fine for me...

If anything the Cubs should exercise his option and see if they can flip him during the season for goodies instead of just letting him walk. But his 10 and 5 rights might mess things up.

Eh, maybe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Table_of_United_States_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas

I think the best alignment a few decades down the road would be two 16 team leagues split into four divisions of four. That would require expansion franchises for Portland and San Antonio, or possibly some other locations depending on population shifts.

1. J. Christian CF 2. J. Keppinger 2B 3. C. Beltran RF 4. C. Ross LF 5. M. DeRosa 3B 6. B. Pill 1B 7. O. Cabrera SS 8. C. Stewart C 9. E. Surkamp P Yep, definitely a weak and powerless lineup tonight. :(

I wonder if the D-Backs giving up too soon on Brandon Allen will come back to bite them. He seems to have enjoyed his change of scenery in Oakland.

"It’s possible the Giants chose to designate Rowand (and Tejada, to a lesser extent) for assignment today in order to perhaps ship him to a playoff team and give him playoff eligibility." You know I think I read a Giants press release saying just that.

Why do I get the feeling that Brian Sabean is going to go all-in for another aging shortstop? Especially since he was born and raised in the Bay Area.

They must have read the Facebook post by The Machine calling them a AAA team and gotten pissed off.

Kevin, do you think Brown could hold his own in the majors, or is this perhaps just to give him a taste?

Too true. But going the incentive route the smart move for a GM to make.

I wonder if Jose Reyes would accept a heavily incentive laden contract. Say $7 million base, with $1 million bonuses for 100, 120, 140 games, and roster bonuses as well.

Daric Barton was such a tease in 2007 with a .347/.429/.639 line.

Additionally, what are the chances of him staying at CF?

"... he throws with strong command, takes an extremely cerebral approach to pitching, is very keen on good conditioning, has a relatively clean injury history..." With those $18 million a year numbers being thrown around this sounds like the next Barry Zito contract, only with a worse track record in the past.

Not a peep about Nate Schierholtz's foot fracture?

FYI, Post Reply and the +/- don't work for me either using Internet Explorer on Vista, but they works fine using Firefox.

Actually the Jays had traded John McDonald for a player to be named later. The player to be named later was John McDonald.

Always been a fan of your work Jeff, and I'm glad its now fully integrated with BP!

Picking the inconsistent and injured Jonathan Sanchez as the Giants fourth starter in this article over All-Star Ryan Vogelsong is rather inexplicable.

So was Freddy Garcia's "kitchen accident" equivalent to Jeff Kent's "truck washing" accident?

I knew the Joe Sheehan fans would minus this. Honestly naming a website after yourself (and asking for subscriptions) smacks me as quite narcissist.

Giving Scioscia a contract through 2018 was inexplicable.

My opinion of Joe Sheehan sank even lower when I saw he named a website for himself.

It's not like they got turned into a Newt Kimball.

Pirates certainly made a splash...

True, but its not like he was hitting above the Mendoza Line.

I guess Hideki Matsui's line of .400/.458/.610 since the All-Star Break doesn't count for DH since the A's are so far out of contention. Or perhaps because he's been seeing some time in LF.

What's the usual recovery time for position player Tommy John surgery? Would Cozart be back time for Spring Training?

Okay, he may have pointed out a run-on sentence, but really, -13?

Better to invest money in player development than wasting it on bad free agents.

The problem is the free agents Billy Beane HAS brought have been quite mediocre or even below replacement level for the past several years. It's not a backlash. It's a fact.

So when did Brandon Allen turn from being a Reno mirage into a "big time power acquisition"? Heck, just look at his AAA Home/Road splits this year. He'll be even worse leaving Chase Field for the Coliseum.

Yeah both this and the Royal/Sox trade seem to have their formatting messed up, as the moving pieces aren't listed in each section at the top like normal.

Several teams could upgrade at catcher by acquiring Josh Donaldson or Anthony Recker since they are buried behind the rotting carcass of Kurt Suzuki.

Looks like the streak is over unless the Mariners bullpen has a meltdown of epic proportions.

Bacon makes everything better.

I was thinking more along the lines of "Roughened odor".

Rougned Odor should look into promoting a men's cologne line.

I wonder if the Brewers have another move in mind to flip Rodriguez to another team for some kind of goodies?

Jeter needs to pull a Mr. 3000 and retire now.

Particularly when Joe said himself "it’s fair to say we weren’t able to use a conversational tone". How would you like someone yelling in your ear all game?

I wish we had a "Like" button for BP articles.

Color me cynical, but I have a feeling the Giants merely were looking for an excuse to stash Jonathan Sanchez on the DL so they could activate Barry Zito. He has always had patches of wildness.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=13408 As JP says, promises haven't been kept.

The Curse of Buster Posey certainly has screwed with the Marlins. Since that fateful day they've gone 4-21.

Sure, his pitching development has been okay. But look at his questionable position player free agent signings, retentions, acquisitions, and trades of players who have blossomed elsewhere.

Jake Sisco? That's close enough spelling to amuse the Star Trek fan in me.

Might be a bit of an exaggeration, but look at the end results.

You want an itemized list?

I was at Game 1 of the 2006 ALCS in Oakland. It's been nothing but questionable roster decisions by Billy Beane since then. If the organization is going to have a turnaround it needs to start at the very top: Beane and Lew Wolff.

I don't know why we have to keep saying this. Posy wasn't blocking his path. He wasn't on the base line. He was in fair territory.

Huff can't cut it at third anyways anymore. Before Belt got injured I was thinking the Giants should release Tejada when Sandoval gets activated. But his injury will make the decision wait until until a later date.

I thought it was the slugfest with Michael Barrett.

Josh Outman hasn't exactly been lighting things up with the River Cats. He's basically relearning how to pitch after a year and a half lost to injury.

I wonder if Billy Beane will consider picking up the DFA'd Armando Galaraga as a temporary rotation patch. He might find the friendly confines of the Coliseum more to his liking.

+5 Internets to anyone that makes a Why Are the Runs Gone? internet video meme.

Out of curiousity I poked around on Wikipedia looking at the history of the Jeff Fulchino article. The glowing additions appeared on 20 August 2010 posted by an anonymous user. They happened to have an IP address out of New York City and have only edited that particular article. Anyone know who his agent is?

The real problem is Billy Beane keeps signing retread veterans to be his position players. I mean, for how many consecutive seasons has he signed a mediocre token veteran outfielder? It seems like this year he's just handing out money to keep the union happy. Mark Ellis : $6M Option exercised Brian Fuetes : 2 years/$10.5M (2011-12), plus 2013 club option Kevin Kouzmanoff : 1 year/$4.75M (2011) Hideki Matsui : 1 year/$4.25M (2011) Conor Jackson : 1 year/$3.2M (2011) Rich Harden : 1 year/$1.5M (2011) Ryan Sweeney : 1 year/$1.4M (2011) It would've been better to just save the money and play the kids, service time be damned. See what Chris Carter, Eric Sogard, and Steve Tolleson could do in a full season. /rant

Any way to make a prediction on Brandon Belt?

@ Bob MLB.com has something like that. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/wsfb/news/injuries.jsp?tcid=mm_mlb_players

CHIPPER brings two things to mind for me: Chipper Jones and Fargo. Both seem appropriate for an injury forcasting system.

Was the title a play on the Star Trek DS9 episode "Who Mourns For Morn?"

Jose Bautista = Brady Anderson

There seems to be a lack of spaces between the player names and the next word in the final paragraph. I'm curious, is the increase in oblique injuries due to an increase in correct diagnosis's?

So an OPS of .775 outside of Coors Field makes you a superstar now? I guess I better start waiting for John Frum then.

Nevermind, answered above.

Whatever happened to that pair of Indian pitchers the Pirates signed as a publicity stunt a few years ago?

Scott Sizemore in the tall weeds at this point?

It'll be interesting to see if Beltre will bring his human wrecking ball act to Texas. Elvis Andrus better watch out.

Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were just announced as being elected.

I wonder if a salary *floor* should be included in the next CBA.

Out of curiosity, where would the players given up in the Marcum and Greinke trades have slotted in?

I wonder what the JAWS score for Albert Pujols is already at this point in his career.

I'm trying to figure out how the table is sorted, but it doesn't seem to have any particular pattern. It would've been nice if it had been sorted by one of the TAv or WARP categories.

Remember the DHL commercial with Kenny Lofton from a few years ago? I think they need to do a new Cliff Lee version.

Hey Christina, any chance of a pre-meetings Transaction Analysis?

I wonder if the Rangers should'be put Vlad the Impaler in left and moved Nelson Cruz back to right field for the series. Guerrero just can't play a good right field anymore, especially in San Francisco.

@Mike Yeah something like that. Kinda science fiction like though.

I'm not sure that we have the technology, but theoretically could a strike zone consisting of a laser grid be possible? A ball would be a strike if it intersected the grid at some point during the delivery for example.

If you hadn’t noticed, Jose Guillen hit .234/.286/.364 in September and October, and he wouldn’t have played in 24 days by the time the World Series starts. To top it off, he’s not exactly a warm and fuzzy kind of guy.

Jose Guillen should not be allowed on the roster at all. If anything Burrell should be the DH in the games in Texas, with Ross shifting to left and Schierholtz in the game in right field from the start for his defense.

Did the wild pitch by Casilla that bounced over the backstop hit home plate? We couldn't really tell from where we were seated in section 308.

A link to the previous article would be a whole lot nicer...

I think they should've replaced Mota on the roster with Zito. Sure, neither of them have pitched well of late, but Zito does have his left-handness going for him, and he does give the Giants a long man.

Brian Sabean seems to have a fascination for hitters whose only skill is speed.

I think Vazquez would do well to sign with a National League team that plays in a pitcher's park over the offseason to rebuild his perceived value.

They Yankees didn't sign Vasquez. They traded RHP Arodys Vizcaino, LHP Mike Dunn, and OF-S Melky Cabrera to get him and LHP Boone Logan. You have this correct in the first part of the article, but not in the conclusion.

The Molina suggestions have been by Jason Churchill, not Buster Olney.

Adam Dunn I could understand. Any team in baseball could improve themselves by signing him. But Bengie Molina and Jeff Francoeur? Somebody is partying like it's 2005.

Good to have you back Christina.

Buck Showalter is 54, not 45. It'd be amusing if he was managing when he was 20 years old.

Thanks Christina.

The Giants summary get forgotten?

Sheet's contract specifies that the club will not offer arbitration if Sheets is Type A free agent after 2010 (Courtesy of Cot's).

Hey Christina, is there a chart with the pitch counts missing from the Royals section?

Well for the guy with negative career WARP3 the team would have to at least pay him Major League minimum salary. For the complete washout, they would only have to pay him a minor league pittance, assuming he did not have a monster Major League contract.

I've always wondered if a change of league and/or hitting coach might do him some good.

Don't you mean Charlie Manuel Christina, not Jerry Manuel? Though I'm sure Mets fans would love to trade managers.

"I assume the comment on Stanton projected to hit 34 homers is not for 2010, but for some point in the next seven years or so." Presumably it's from the Matt Wieters or Jay Bruce brand of ridiculous projections.

So by your definition of good manager, you must love Joe Girardi huh? You can't have a winner if you don't have any thoroughbreds in your stable.

Ah for the days of Jeromy Burnitz.

Excellent, thanks Christina.

I assume Ben Sheets is too late to get into the book, but can we get a PECOTA projection for him with the A's?

A little late to the party Justin Cuddy.

No "M" in Brandon Lyon

Well, they also really need a center fielder...

Hey if it gets David Segui a vote, maybe it will give MacGwite a few more.

Jack Cust will have a lower base salary in 2010 than Aaron Miles. Aaron Miles! Billy Beane must've owed Jim Hendry a favor...

Eh? Aren't you two years out of date Ivan?

No comment on what benefits if any Bill Hall would provide to the Red Sox bench?

Love your work Jeff. Welcome aboard!

Juan Uribe missed the deadline?

Someone want to tell me how Aaron Rowand had a "bounce-back" season?

No comment about the Cardinals overpaying for Jason LaRue for three straight years? Surely they would be better off dredging through the minor league free agent pool, and saving themselves $500,000 in the process. I guess it's only money though.

Post Reply doesn't work for me in IE8.

If you see Brian Sabean, ask him if he borrowed some of Tim Lincecum's weed.

I wonder if it's time for PECOTA to get some adjustments, with the wildly optimistic projections for Matt Wieters and Jay Bruce in back to back years.

Agreed. Acquiring Brad Penny has nothing to do with Jonathan Sanchez, who's been dealing.

I hadn't heard the Cubs invited back Sammy Sosa. Alfonso Soriano on the other hand...

Steven, what's your opinion of Nick Swisher's problems at New Yankee Stadium? Is he pressing in front of the home fans?

To explain why "the AL is going to win interleague play for the sixth straight season...," the article focuses on the AL East's contribution. Test another hypothesis: are the Washington Nationals and Pittsburg Pirates and other National League non-competitors responsible for the imbalance?

They were traded for Mark Mulder, not Mark McGwire.

I bet the Rays are wishing they still had Adam Kennedy right now.

Dumping Ortiz, making Mike Lowell the DH, moving Youkilis to 3B and installing Adrian Gonzolez at 1B would be a godsend for the Red Sox. Keeping Ortiz around based on past performance, and batting him cleanup as well, is killing the Red Sox. The improved lineup and defense would do wonders for the team.

I think in this scenario it would be pretty obvious to designate David Ortiz for assignment, unless they can find someone to take some of his contract.

That 14/20 K/BB ratio is just begging for a correction to Trevor Cahill's ERA.

Hmm. I wonder if the Playoff Odds Report can take suspensions into account?

And some people, like me, can't wear contacts.

I wish there was an Edit function, I meant Angel Villalona.

Angel Villanova turns 19 this August. And he's hitting .322/348/.460 at High-A.

Am I the only one that noticed the big correction Jarrod Washburn got to his stats yesterday courtesy of the Angels?

What ever happened to Brooks Kieschnick?

For 2006: Billy Wagner $10.5M Aaron Heilman $0.359M Duaner Sanchez $0.3995M Chad Bradford $1.4M Darren Oliver $0.6M Pedro Feliciano $0.359M Guillermo Mota $3M Total $16,617,500

Adolf Hitler was democratically elected.

Old Alameda Navy Air Station would\'ve been a decent ballpark/development site if it wasn\'t a Superfund site. Not to mention being slated for a different developer.

As of the 2000 census, the Sacramento Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 1,796,857 (though a July 1, 2007 estimate placed the population at 2,091,120). That\'s only slightly smaller than Portland. Besides, Sacramento Athletics just sounds nice.

Anyone want to guess how long it will be before Nick Johnson goes down with an owwie and Dunn has to play 1B?

Might as well have Griffey pull a J.T. Snow and sign a one day contract to play for the Mariners after he retires.

Matt Williams, HOFer? Jesus.

I would have though Mark Kiger would have been an interesting addition to the list.

Am I the only one that thinks the Giants don\'t need to be saved from Schierholtz? Sure he doesn\'t walk alot, but he hits for a high average and modest power while just turning 25 years old this year. If the Giants were to be serious about signing Manny, a better idea might be to see if he can learn to play first base. Better than seeing Pablo Sandoval waddle out there.

C.C. Sabathia is no greater a reward than Orlando Hudson? Now I\'ve seen everything...

Cot\'s didn\'t include Eric Chavez\'s $11M salery for 2008 for the Opening Day payroll because he was on the DL. That would have made their 2008 payroll about $60M if you include Duchscherer.