The rosters for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) were announced yesterday's and here is the US roster. Player Pos. Team Mark Teixeira 1B Yankees Brandon Phillips 2B Reds Jimmy Rollins SS Phillies David Wright 3B Mets Joe Mauer C Twins Ryan Braun LF Brewers Adam Jones CF Orioles Giancarlo Stanton RF Marlins Ben Zobrist INF Rays Willie Bloomquist INF D-backs …
Young Minor Leaguers in the Cubs system
This is something interesting to document that doesn't deserve a real post. I was curious to see what Cubs are "young" for their level. So, what I've done is gone through each minor league system the Cubs contribute to and looked to see if any Cubs are in the Top 10. Here are the results. Note: only prospects who had …
Some minor MLB rule changes for next year
This ESPN blurb lists three relatively minor rule changes for the upcoming season. Here's the highlights Coaches and managers are now allowed to bring an interpreter when conferencing with a pitcher. The article implies that this rule is mostly due to Yu Darvish. Due to the recent trend in teams having two hitting coaches, teams may now have seven managers …
Milton Bradley charged with 13 misdemeanors
All around nice guy Milton Bradley has been busy lately. Bradley denies the charges against him, brought by his soon-to-be ex-wife (the two are in the middle of a contentious divorce, no doubt brought on by the fact that he’s around the house quite a bit more often now). Milton Bradley is probably not a good person.
Hall of Stats
Glad someone did it. I like it better than the real thing. They inducted 13 from this ballot. I created the Hall of Stats so we wouldn’t be ignored. And today, the Hall of Stats includes: Barry Bonds Roger Clemens Curt Schilling Jeff Bagwell Larry Walker Mike Piazza Alan Trammell Edgar Martinez Kenny Lofton Tim Raines Craig Biggio Mark McGwire …
Jeff Idelson, President of the Baseball Hall of Fame, full of shit
From Joe Posnanski: “Let’s put it this way,” Idelson says. “Every year I root for someone to be elected. I’m not alone in Cooperstown in that wish. By the same token, I was fully aware that a shutout was possible and was prepared for it. We have tremendous faith in the writers’ process.” I think you have to be an …
Luis Valbuena avoid arbitration with Cubs
The Cubs have signed Luis Valbuena for $930,000, which is about $930,000 more than he deserves. Then again, the Cubs have few options at 3rd so maybe Valbuena is worth $930,000. Valbuena hit .219/.310/.340 in 303 plate appearances with Chicago this past season while playing second base and third base. The 27-year-old was first time arbitration eligible as a super …
Nelson Perez performs in the DWL
Nelson Perez, essentially a non-prospect, tore up the DWL. Good for him, I guess? Pretty hard to get jazzed about .732 OPS AA LF repeaters who are 25, but nice to see.
The worst first ballot hall of famers vs. the best ones not make a 2nd ballot
Good stuff. SP Sandy Koufax 50 C Johnny Bench 72 1B Willie McCovey 61 2B Jackie Robinson 59 3B Paul Molitor 73 SS Ozzie Smith 73 LF Lou Brock 43 CF Kirby Puckett 48 RF Dave Winfield 59 Total: 538 SP Kevin Brown 64 C Ted Simmons 47 1B Jon Olerud 54 2B Lou Whitaker 71 3B Buddy Bell 62 …
2013 Cubs ZiPS Projections
The Cubs ZiPS projections for 2013 are available on Fangraphs now. The Cubs are projected by ZiPS to have, in shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo, to have a pair of basically All Star-type players who are also just 23 years old. Those are good kinds of players to have — especially for a team that isn’t likely …