Harry Kalas: Irreplaceable

Three years ago today, one of the greatest voices in sports broadcasting history passed away.  Harry Kalas died of heart disease on April 13, 2009.  As you know, Hersh and I are Phillies fans.  Mc, well, we forgive him for being a Mets fan.  Harry's passing was a shock to the entire world of baseball, as Mc would attest, but for Phillies fans, it's as if the world hasn't been the same since his passing.


I found great pleasure listening to games on the radio while Harry was a member of the Phillies broadcast crew.  In fact, listening to games on the radio was my preference (over television). Many nights, I’d head upstairs early and camp beside my clock-radio. The way HK called the game allowed you to feel like you were there – painting a vivid picture with every sentence and every word.  He was truly an artist.  Not only that, but there was just something special about his style; an HK broadcast made you feel intimately connected to the game in a way that television can't.


Listening to HK allowed you to forget how much things have changed over the years.  It peeled away some of the layers that have made the game a little less simple. It always puts a smile on my face to think about what baseball must have been like in the 30′s, 40′s and 50′s… baseball without HD, PED and WAR.  The days where 10 cent tickets were within reach for kids willing to hoard and turn in a few pop bottles.  Not only that, but the emergence of true legends who would go on to transcend the game.  I think about hot summer evenings spent on porch stoops listening closely to transistor radios and the purity of baseball before the business of baseball became public knowledge.  Harry gave you a glimpse of that baseball utopia.  

His style will never be duplicated… the rise of in-depth analysis and statistics has sort of killed the old school broadcasting style of HK.  Harry’s moments of silence allowed you to feel the tenser moments in the game. He allowed you to feel the crowd and think about those breathless moments during the game. His innate ability to set up the play and the situation gave you subtle hints of what might happen while allowing your mind to stir on the game. He gave you enough to have an expectation without over-analyzing the situation to the point where you didn’t have to think about it.

I have a lot of family pictures on my desk of my three sons and my wife but the picture that gets the most comments is an 8 1/2 x 11 collage of HK that I have sitting right next to my computer (they gave them out at the ballpark on HK appreciation day).  Harry is sorely missed.  


Check out these posts from Phillies Nation for more on remembering Harry Kalas.


Harry Kalas Was Baseball

Ozzie Guillen's Regretful Comment Sparks Controversy

Ozzie Guillen is in the news once again for speaking without thinking.  I'm not sure if there is another person in baseball that has suffered from the effects of foot-in-mouth syndrome to the extent that Guillen has over the course of his managerial career.  Players and fans love him because he speaks his mind and wears his heart on his sleeve but he also says the stupidest things sometimes, leaving fans and critics alike to ponder how long he'll be able to survive as a public representative of Major League Baseball.  Guillen has burnt bridges with people at every level in and around the game of baseball; owners, General Managers, umpires, players and members of the media have all felt the effects of Ozzie's oft ill-timed public remarks so his chances of landing a job after he is done with the Marlins are probably pretty slim unless he wins a championship or changes his attitude.  The latter seems to be a long-shot (you can't take the fight out of the dog) while the former seems to hinge upon his ability to keep a job in Miami amidst a growing wave of protests and criticism.

The latest Guillen FUBAR surrounds comments he made for a recent Time Magazine article.  In those comments, he said that he loves Fidel Castro and admires the dictator for spending nearly 60 years in power despite everyone hating him.  For some, the comments may seem tame compared to some of the things Guillen has said but for Cubans, who liken Castro to Adolf Hitler, the comments are reprehensible in any context.  On one hand, I think I understand what Guillen was aiming for with his comments (bear with me).  In many ways, Guillen is sort of like Fidel... there are a lot of people that would love to see him go down in flames and he certainly expects things to be done his way.  To that extent, maybe Guillen was trying to convey to readers that he feels misunderstood.  Maybe I'm completely wrong with that assessment but I'm fairly sure that Guillen was not sympathizing with Castro's philosophies and actions as a tyrannical dictator.  The foreign-born Latin-American manager can probably sympathize with the Cubans better than most and I'm certain that the statement he made wasn't in support of Castro's doctrine of oppression.  Ozzie is saying that things got lost in translation; I'm saying that he clearly didn't see the harm in using a hated dictator as an analogy.  I truly think that this was an honest mistake that has been blown out of proportion, however, it is clear that this was not the result the Marlins were looking for when they hired the colorful Latin-American manager.  They were hoping to find someone that the Latin-American community could connect with; instead, they got a manager that just drove a huge wedge between their franchise and its target market.  I'm not sure if Ozzie can survive this wave of turmoil.  Under different circumstances, it probably wouldn't be as big of an issue but given the money that the franchise has invested in the new look Marlins, I'm not sure they can afford to stand idle with the restless townsfolk standing outside with burning pitchforks.

Braun Wins Appeal While Baseball Loses Invaluable Credibility

By now, I'm sure that everyone has heard the news that Ryan Braun won his appeal of a 50 game suspension yesterday, becoming the first player in MLB history to win such an appeal.  As mentioned in this previous post, Braun hired high-profile defense attorney David Cornwell to represent him through this appeal process.  In these arbitration cases, there are three arbitrators; one appointed by the Players Union (that almost always sides with the players), one appointed by Major League Baseball (almost always sides with the office of Major League Baseball) and an independent arbitrator, agreed upon by the office of Major League Baseball and the Players Union, who is supposed to evaluate the facts and circumstances of the case, inevitably casting the deciding unbiased vote.  Because this case has been such a hot topic of discussion, some of the details concerning the case have been made public, an anomaly in and of itself.  Typically, the results and facts are to be kept private, as agreed upon contractually by the both sides (player's union and the office of MLB) but the magnitude of this decision, levied in favor of the reigning MVP was just too great to keep private.  The independent arbitrator, a man by the name of Shyam Das, who has been MLB's independent arbitrator since 2000, looked at the facts and circumstances surrounding the mishandling of Braun's urine sample and determined that the proper judgment was to rule in favor of the player.  Unless other facts become available, Braun seemingly won his appeal on a technicality (the FedEx center closest to the collector was closed on the Saturday the results were collected, so the collector held the samples at his house for two days, which was construed as improper).  Braun's victory comes at the expense of the credibility of MLB's drug testing program.  I'm happy that Braun has been exonerated because he is a great player and a tremendous person, by all accounts, but his victory has shed serious doubts on baseball's ability to test effectively and that truth is tough to swallow considering how long it has taken baseball to turn the page on an ugly era of steroid and performance enchaning drug use.  The office of major league baseball has made a statement vehemently disagreeing with Das' decision, something they had to do to save face.  What they will do from here remains to be seen

At this point, I don't see how there aren't enough facts and circumstances publicly available to form an opinion in this case.  Just because Braun won his appeal doesn't mean he has to be exonerated in the court of public opinion.  If he was taking something that he shouldn't have been taking, he's still a cheater, regardless whether he's playing the first fifty games of the season.  If the results were mishandled, tainted or falsified, someone needs to be held accountable and a serious investigation needs to occur.  The likelihood that a malicious collusion exists is slim but, at this point, nothing can be ruled out.  If an honest mistake occurred, that is something we all can live with (at the expense of the credibility of the MLB testing program) but I'm not willing to assume anything and I'm still not sure that clears Braun of wrongdoing.

There are three conclusions that one could arrive at.  Three different scenarios with three different parties.  upon where the blame offically rests and without further details it's impossible to make an informed decision.  Here are the possible scenarios that I see and where I feel the blame would rest:

1. Braun took something but won because his urine sample was mishandled - Braun is guilty because he cheated, the handler is guilty because he didn't do his job and major league baseball is guilty because it happened under their guidance
2. Braun did not take anything and the urine sample was tainted - Braun is not guilty, the handler is guilty and major league baseball is guilty. Whoever may have been a part of the coercion is certainly guilty (if there was another party that influenced the tainting of the sampling).

3. Braun took something but won his appeal because of external forces in the appeal process - I'm going to apologize in advance for this one.  I apologize to the Brewers fans for what may seem like a conspiracy theory but as a fan of baseball, it's impossible to overlook the obvious appearance of a potential conflict of interest here.  As an investment advisor, I have had the privilege of working closely with a number of attorneys and one thing that I've learned is that, in many cases, the appearance of a conflict of interest is enough to be found guilty in the court of law.  That is, if a relationship exists that could lend itself to a potential conflict of interest, there is a serious risk to all parties involved (these types of relationships are highly discouraged).  In this case, Selig being an ex-owner of the Brewers... a statue bearing his likeness currently standing outside of Miller Park... likely has some input on whether or not the arbitrator keeps his job (a job which he had kept for 11 years).  The water gets muddier when you consider that many fans believe Selig still has strong influence in Brewers franchise matters.  The scary part about this scenario is that it doesn't need to be completely accurate or true to be detrimental.  The problem here is that this relationship actually exists.  The problem is that this is just one of many situations that could come up (and has come up) where Bud Selig's relationship to the Brewers could be construed as a conflict of interest to his duties as league commissioner.

BBA Member Exclusive: Gary Carter's Last Interview

BBA Member, Bill Ivie of I-70 Baseball sent me an email today with a small piece of baseball history.  Ivie League Productions, in conjunction with Kiner's Korner and The Kult of Mets Personalities produced, what is thought to be, Carter's last known recorded interview on February 18, 2011.  Nik Kolidas, the producer of that show, recalls that it was hard to schedule him as he kept cancelling, stating that he "couldn't shake the flu" and was feeling ill.  Three months later, it was revealed that Carter had a brain tumor.

The podcast is Carter at his best.  He talks about his favorite memories as a big leaguer, highlighted by the 1986 World Series and why Gary thought that team was able to be successful.  Other notable moments he mentions- the thrill of getting his first Major League hit off of Jon Matlack in 1974, hitting his first major league home run off of Steve Carlton and catching all-time greats, Tom Seaver and Doc Gooden.  He also discusses the disappointment of falling short in 1988 (losing the Kirk Gibson and the Dodgers in the NLCS).

The interview provides a glimpse into Carter's career and his memories as a big league player.  It also stands as a living memory of why Carter is so endeared by the baseball world.  The entire interview lasts about forty minutes.  Carter is candid, up-beat and genuine with all of his answers for the entire interview.  He ends the interview by plugging the Gary Carter Foundation, which was set up to help underprivileged children.  Baseball is losing a wonderful ambassador, the world is losing a tremendous human being but Heaven is gaining one heck of a backstop.

Listen to internet radio with Ivie League Prod on Blog Talk Radio

Yoenis Cespedes Signs With A's For Record Deal

The A's dropped a bombshell on the free agent landscape today by signing Cuban defector Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year deal reportedly worth $36 million.  The $36 million would be a record for a Cuban defector, besting the six-year, $30 million dollar covenant reached by the Reds and lefty flamethrower, Aroldis Chapman.  I've seen as much Yoenis Cespedes as you have... that means, I watched his somewhat bizarre 20 minute YouTube promo as well as a few other clips.  So, to be fair, I'm not a professional scout and I haven't seen him play which means, like most, I'm totally unqualified to form an opinion on his talent.  But... from what I've seen, the kid appears to have a nice swing (he has decent power, he likes going opposite field and doesn't appear to have any hitches), he moves pretty well (he's a little heavy up top which makes him look a little stiff at times but he appears to have enough speed to play the corner outfield positions) and as far as prospects go, he looks refined.  I did notice that he seems to lunge a little bit or maybe it just looks that way because his upper body is so big.  He kind of reminds me of Sammy Sosa with less bat speed.  He hit 33 HR in a short Cuban season (90 games), so he definitely has raw power but he also was consistently atop the leader boards in doubles and runs scored, which tells me he is a well above average multi-faceted offensive player.  That's my unprofessional and unqualified opinion, for what it's worth.

What I do know is that acclimating to life in Oakland as a major league baseball player is going to present monumental challenges for the young Cuban star.  Besides the baseball adjustment (talent level in the big leagues is slightly better than what he encountered playing in the Cuban leagues for his native Granma club), he's going to be faced with the difficult task of figuring out what life outside of Communist Cuba is supposed to look like.  The temptations of wealth and freedom have been known to wreak havoc on the lives of American born young men, who have had the privilege of firsthand examples of wealth generated problems - in Cespedes' case, he has to adjust to life in a free country, by himself, on the West Coast with more money in his bank account than he likely knows what to do with and plenty of new 'friends' that will want to show him how to spend it.  Further, Oakland's O.co Coliseum has been known to eat the children of mortal home run hitters so Cespedes' plate discipline will certainly be tested.

I think that this move is a strong indication that Oakland is in the stages of an exciting rebuilding period; the fact that the A's were able to land Cespedes for four years is curious (when the Marlins and others were throwing out six-year offers).  Billy Beane seemingly always has something up his sleeves and right now, he seems to be attempting to exploit some expiring rules (under the new CBA, it's going to be harder for teams to overbid for international talent) and solidify his team of the future by buying low on Cespedes.  At $9 million per season, Cespedes is the most expensive person on the A's payroll but down the road, that $9 million could end up being a very nice bargaining tool, especially considering the bid were supposed to be north of $60 million but a lackluster performance in the Dominican Winter Leagues brought the bidding down and opened the door for Billy Beane.  Yoenis is too old to be considered a prospect; at 27, he's going to have the opportunity to be an immediate impact player.  Make no mistake, if Yoenis is able to show a glimpse of what made him so highly coveted, he's going to be a tremendous trade chip for Billy Beane and the A's.  If he is able to step right in and mash the way he did in Cuba, the A's could find themselves winning some ballgames but, in my opinion, this move is not about Cespedes in Oakland for the long haul.  In this offseason, Beane has already traded away Gio Gonzalez, Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson for prospects and he let Josh Willingham leave for free agency.  Given where the A's ended up last year, Beane felt that he needed to do some re-tooling, so the window of opportunity is still likely a few years away.  With Cespedes, the A's have a guy that could end up being worth a king's ransom, in terms of prospects.  And if he doesn't pan out, the A's are on the hook for $9 million over the next four years- about the same amount that the A's would have owed to Gio Gonzalez.  Low risk, high reward.  Typical money ball.

Correlation Between Payroll and Playoffs - BBA Member Analysis

BBA member 85% Sports did an interesting twelve-season analysis of the correlation between payroll and wins.  Essentially, tackling the age old debate of whether spending money equates to wins and championships.

Some key points:

- 69% of playoff participants (66 of 96) over the past 12 seasons spent more on payroll than the league average
- 75% of the World Series participants (18 of 24) over the past 12 seasons spend more on payroll than the league average
- The team with the most wins over the past twelve seasons was the Yankees (1,157 victories); they also spent the most per win ($1.823 million per victory)
- There were eleven teams that breached the 1,000 victory mark over the past 12 seasons and the Oakland Athletics were the team that achieved that mark the "cheapest" (paying $641,000 per win)

Check out the full article here.  

Pineda for Montero: Yankees Taking a Huge Risk

As you probably already know, last week, the Yankees and Mariners engaged in a trade which sent highly coveted prospect Jesus Montero to Seattle in exchange for Michael Pineda.  The trade sent shock waves through the baseball world for two reasons; it went against the assumed perception that Montero was off limits in any and all trade talks (he was reportedly off-limits when Roy Halladay was being shopped) and it broke the number one rule that GM's learn in GM school, which says that you don't trade a young starting pitcher who is under control for any reason.  So determining who "wins" in this trade is very hard but I'll give you some of my thoughts on why I think the Yankees might have bought a little too high for Pineda (and given up Montero, too soon).

Here and now... the upside for the Yankees


On the surface, it seems like this will be a great trade for the Yankees as they will get a pitcher that can have an immediate impact.  Pineda will have the opportunity to propel the Yankees rotation to a place that it hasn't been in quite a few years.  Pineda burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2011 and took the MLB world by storm.  Over the first half of his 2011 rookie season, he boasted a 3.03 ERA to go along with 113 strikeouts in 113 innings and a WHIP of 1.035.  Those numbers would be impressive for any pitcher, let alone a 22 year-old rookie.  The 6'7" right hander kept hitters at bay with a brilliant mid to upper 90's fastball (he boasted the highest average fastball in the big leagues in 2011) and a solid slider.

The Yankees are getting a big pitcher with great upside who will have the opportunity to learn from another big pitcher with tremendous talent and a Cy  under his belt (CC Sabathia, of course).  If Michael Pineda doesn't get any better than he was in 2011, they're almost surely getting a decent middle of the rotation pitcher who is capable of beating anyone on any given day.  But the true value in this deal is the fact that Pineda's upside rivals that of any other pitcher in baseball.

The But... cause for concern

Pineda's fastball/slider combination proved to be very effective over the first half of the season but as the season wore on and the scouting report got thicker, his numbers normalized, a bit.  His second half ERA was 5.12 with a WHIP of 1.224.  Maybe the decline was due to fatigue or maybe it was the fact that teams had learned how to catch up with his fastball; whatever it was, it's clear that Pineda was not as dominant in the second half as he fell out of the Rookie of the Year race.  

There are three things that should concern the Yankees.  First, Pineda doesn't change speeds as well as he should (doesn't have confidence throwing his change up and his slider has proven to be a bit "hard" at times).  The result thus far has been a lot of fly balls.  In fact, he ranked 87th among 94 qualifying starting pitchers in groundball percentage (only 36.3% of balls hit were ground balls).  He also ranked 85th in BABIP, which indicates that he may have been the recipient of some good luck (or a pitcher friendly ballpark), which brings me to my next point.

Pineda surely benefited from playing his home games at Safeco, a notorious "pitcher friendly" ballpark and it's not a stretch to say that the move to the new homer-friendly Yankee Stadium might be a tough one for the young right hander.  You don't need to look much further than Pineda's home and away splits - his ERA at home was 2.92 compared to 4.40 on the road.  The power alley in right field at Yankee Stadium is one of the friendliest in the game for left handed hitters (lefties hit .237 off of Pineda, compared to .184 by righties) so you can bet the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles will be lefty heavy when Pineda is on the mound.

And lastly, Pineda's velocity decreased as the season went on and he showed some inconsistency with his slider.  Early in the season, his average fastball was right around 94 MPH.  By the end of his season, it was sitting around 91.  That coupled with the fact that Pineda only pitched 47 innings in 2009 due to elbow soreness, leads me to wonder how durable the big man will be.

Sellers Remorse... Jesus Montero appears to be the real deal

Montero was rated among the top 5 prospects in all of baseball by Baseball America in each of the past two seasons.  He has boasted a triple slash line of .308/.366/.501 over five minor league seasons and his home run totals have been trending up since the Venezuelan prospect joined the Yankees organization in 2006.  Montero appears to be an immediate impact "can't miss" hitting prospect.  It still remains to be seen whether he has what it takes to be an every day catcher at the big league level but given Jesus' tremendous hitting ability, it's safe to say that he'll be an impact player no matter where he winds up (whether it's at 1B or C).  In a short stint with the big league club at the end of the 2011 season, Montero was absolutely tremendous.  He posted a .996 OPS in 69 plate appearances.  In his two postseason at bats, Montero collected two hits, scored a run and drove in a run.  Small sample size, for sure, but that raw hitting ability is the main reason why the Yankees were so hesitant to give up Jesus Montero for anything in previous discussions and why they could be faced with some seller's remorse a few years down the road when this kid is raking.

Merry Christmas Baseball Junkies!

Just wanted to wish everyone following our site a very Merry Christmas... may all of your armchair GM wishes come true! The three wise guys at FBJ are working hard to bring you a blog chock full of baseball bliss in the upcoming year.

Local Reaction: Ryan Braun and the Fallout

Check out our blog roll partner Brew Crew Ball for the Brewer faithful reaction to Ryan Braun's failed drug test.

There are a lot of comments... 315 comments on the first two posts announcing the failed test.  The emotions have been running hot in Brewer nation and everyone wants to see what becomes of this increasingly bizarre story.  For Brewers fans, the hope of exoneration lies in the details and handling of the tests.  The initial reports were that Braun had failed a test and the test was linked to the use of performance enhancing drugs.  Those initial reports have been somewhat denounced; the allegations have now shifted to unusually high levels of exogenous testosterone in his system; levels so high that (according to an anonymous source cited by Ken Rosenthal and others), "there had (has) never been a result like this in in the history of the (MLB drug-prevention) program."  The question is, how did it get there?  Were the tests somehow tainted?  Is there an alternative explanation that does not involve unknowingly taking a drug that he should not have taken?  And, finally, do high testosterone levels indict Braun of using performance enhancing drugs (which carries a mandatory 50 game suspension) or could that test result somehow be linked to a lesser offense (like using a banned substance, which only carries a 25 game suspension)?  Again, it remains to be seen how this will all play out and exactly what Braun's defense will be but it's pretty clear that he's not going down without a fight.  He has hired high profile defense attorney David Cornwell (who has represented athletes like Warren Moon, Randy Moss, Gilbert Arenas and Reggie Bush over the course of his career in various roles)... one thing is for sure, this thing is likely to get more bizarre as it progresses.

Ryan Braun Tests Positive for PED's: Synthetic Testosterone Confirmed

The major league baseball world was rocked today by the news that 2012 MVP, Ryan Braun tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.  The test was administered during the 2011 playoffs and Braun was alerted about the test about a month before the MVP award was announced.  Braun is appealing a 50 game suspension, mandatory and imposed by Major League Baseball.  Braun's agent issued a statement stating "highly unusual circumstances" will prove that Braun is, in fact, innocent.

Anyone close to baseball is hoping that Braun's image will somehow be vindicated through the appeal process.  The Hebrew Hammer is a good guy and Ryan has been one of the most underrated and consistent players in baseball over the past five seasons.  At 28 years old, Braun was seemingly on the fast track to the Hall of Fame but these allegations could leave a huge black mark on his legacy.  Innocence should always be assumed but no player has ever won an appeal in a case involving the use of performance enhancing drugs... saying that Braun is fighting an uphill battle is a vast understatement.  His testosterone levels were elevated and deemed to be "exogenous."  That is, they were from outside the body, synthetic.  In cases like this, claiming ignorance never works.  If Braun claims that he didn't know what he was taking, he will not win his appeal.  Given the immense pressure that major league baseball is under to maintain the image that it is cleaning up the game, I'm not sure that there is anything Braun can say to win this appeal but I hope that I'm wrong.

With Pujols, Reyes and Wilson Off the Market, Who's Next?

The big shoe dropped yesterday (Albert Pujols), and then it dropped again (C.J. Wilson). In the blink of an eye, the top position player and the top pitcher available via free-agency had both somehow ended up in LA (Angels). So with Pujols, Wilson and Jose Reyes all accounted for, the focus now shifts to the rest of the market... who's next? Here's a list of some of the biggest names still available and likely destinations.

Prince Fielder

Likely Destinations: Miami, Chicago, Baltimore and Toronto

Predicting where Fielder will go is tough. There are many more suitors in the mix for Fielder than there were for Pujols - despite a slightly limited skill set (he hits home runs in bunches) his pricetag isn't as hefty so the sticker shock is a little less paralyzing. He's also younger than Pujols. While I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up somewhere else, you have to think that the teams that missed out on Pujols will go hard for Fielder. I don't think St. Louis would look to replace Albert with Fielder this quickly, nor do I think that Fielder would want to be burdened with the pressure of replacing a legend so the Cardinals are probably out, in my opinion. I could see the Orioles and Blue Jays getting into the bidding - building around the 27 year-old Pujols would make sense for both teams as they both boast a core of younger talent. But at the end of the day, I think that the front runners in this race have to be the two other teams in the NL that missed out on Pujols- the Miami Marlins and the Chicago Cubs.

Yu Darvish

Likely Destinations: NY Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles and LA Dodgers

Here's the write-up we did on Yu Darvish.  Not much has changed since then except we have a general idea of what it might cost to negotiate with Yu (between $50 and $100 million).  That will be enough to scare a lot of teams away.  My gut tells me that the Yankees might be the only team comfortable enough with Yu to pay the price of negotiating and signing Darvish but I think that a lot of teams would love to have him and I would be shocked if he wasn't playing in the major leagues in 2012.  He is simply too good to pass up.

Jimmy Rollins

With Jose Reyes signed and accounted for, Jimmy Rollins remains the best shortstop available on the free-agent market.  Rollins and Philadelphia have seemingly been close to an agreement but a five year deal is tough to swallow for the Phils brass.  It will be interesting to see who balks first. 

Likely destinations: Philadelphia, St. Louis and Milwaukee... we talked about Rollins' free agency in greater detail here.

Carlos Beltran

No one was more coveted at the 2011 trade deadline than Beltran.  The 34 year old, six-time all-star was courted by many of the top contenders at the 2011 trade deadline and it seemed like the free agent would be in line for a big payday this offseason.  Well, Beltran ended up in San Francisco (it should be noted that the Mets received a fine haul for his departure) and that experiment did not go according to plans.  The Giants failed to make the playoffs in 2011 and despite the fact that Beltran posted a career best 152 OPS+ for the season, it seems like his value has diminshed a bit.  Despite the incredible numbers he posted last year, teams saw flashes of the "bad" Beltran down the stretch; the one that is playing on surgically repaired knees.  When healthy, he was one of the premier outfielders in the game but he'll be 32 at the onset of the 2012 season and I'm not sure who's going to be eager to negotiate with him and his agent, wonder-agent Dan Lozano.

Likely destinations: Atlanta, Miami, St. Louis, Texas, Toronto, Baltimore... honestly, this thing could go in any direction.  If the market is so thin that Beltran is forced to take a one or two year deal (a la Bobby Abreu in 2009), anyone could get into the mix.

Prince Albert Taking His Legacy West - Angels Sign Pujols to 10 Year Contract

The Angels made headlines today, signing Albert Pujols to a 10 year pact worth upwards of $250 million.  The contract rivals the ten year deal that Alex Rodriguez signed with the Rangers in 2000 which totaled $252 (but falls well short of the re-negotiated 10 year contract that A-Rod signed with the Yankees in 2007 which totaled $275 million).  The Angels also acquired the top pitching free agent, inking C.J. Wilson to a five year deal worth about $75 million.  We did pieces on both Pujols and Wilson and our estimates weren't that far off.  At one time, Pujols was asking for a $300 million contract and given the fact that A-Rod got a $275 million deal at roughly the same age, I don't think those demands were unreasonable... unfathomable to think that a player could be worth that much but when you consider how much operating income franchises are bringing in and the value of franchise growth, as a whole, the key employees deserve to be rewarded (you don't like it, stop buying tickets and merchandise).

This move vaults the Angels into an elite status and sends a message to baseball that they're going for it.  For years, they've been known as a franchise that delivers value.  Their payroll is usually competitive, their team is always relevant and their farm is well run.  These moves will no doubt elevate them from relevant to serious contender for at least the next five years. 

Their 2012 rotation will anchor this team; Jered Weaver (finished top 5 in Cy Young voting in each of the past two seasons), C.J. Wilson (6th in Cy Young voting in 2011), Dan Haren (7th in Cy Young voting in 2011) and Ervin Santana will rival any staff in the AL, perhaps in the big leagues.  The final two spots will be up for grabs - Jerome Williams and Garrett Richards are the favorites, at this point.

The real question, I believe, is whether Pujols is enough to lift the Angels lineup by himself.  The Halos ranked among the bottom five in runs scored and boasted a .253 batting average.  Kendry Morales still represents a huge question mark; he had a second surgery this off season on his ankle/leg after rehab stalled. With a healthy Morales and Pujols, the Angels will have no problem scoring runs.  Without him, they will still need to figure out who will provide protection.  The Angels also have a bevy of young talent to watch.  With young players like Peter Bourjos, Mark Trumbo, Hank Conger and Mike Trout eager to earn their stripes, the Angels were one of those teams that everyone was planning on watching in spring training, anyway.  Now, with the addition of Pujols, there is no way to ignore them.  Here's my projected lineup

1. Peter Bourjos (CF) - too much speed to keep this kid out of the every day lineup

2. Howie Kendrick (2B) - could be in for a really nice season 

3. Albert Pujols (1B) - best hitter bats third, right?

4. Kendry Morales (DH) - if he's back and if he's healthy, he probably slides in here 

5. Mark Trumbo (3B) - led all rookies with 29 HR... Raw power, low average... They're working on converting him to third - this is the biggest question mark, in my mind.  Can he play third?

6. Vernon Wells (LF) - can't move him.  If he's dialed in, Wells could have a great season.

7. Torii Hunter (RF) - faithful and 

8. Chris Iannetta - the Angels acquired Chris Iannetta so he's the likely starter but I think Conger could still earn a starting spot by midseason. Will be something to watch in ST.

9. Erick Aybar (SS) - slick defense and great on the base paths; turns the lineup over

They Finally Got It Right: Ron Santo Elected Into Hall

Today, Ron Santo was posthumously elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee.  Santo is an iconic figure in Chicago Cubs history.  He made our All-Time Cubs team as well as our 1960's NL All-Decade team.  We actually referred to Santo as the ultimate Hall of Fame snub... that comment probably tells you everything you need to know about how we feel on this matter.  It's a shame that Santo was not around to witness his enshrinement.  Santo was a tremendous fielder, earning five Gold Gloves.  He ranks fifth all-time in assists as a third baseman and 8th in total games played as a third baseman.  Besides being a tremendous fielder, Santo was a very good hitter.  He was a career .277 hitter but he also maintained a stellar .362 on-base percentage and a respectable .464 slugging percentage.  Santo was a beacon of consistency over the course of his 15 year career, earning nine all-star appearances.  He was also made contributions to baseball after his playing years, spending two decades as a Cubs broadcaster and a statue was resurrected outside of Wrigley Field this past August, less than a year following his death, a result of complications from bladder cancer.  Santo represents all that is right in baseball; revered by fans, players and everyone else around the game.  Congratulations to the Santo family and the Cubs organization.

Check out the reaction over at Goat Riders of the Apocalypse, our Chicago Cubs blog roll partner.

Know Our Roll: LA and Milwaukee Reactions to MVP Vote

Yesterday was an exciting day in the world of baseball.  As we noted, Ryan Braun was awarded the NL MVP award over Matt Kemp.  While I respectfully disagree with the selection (Kemp did more statistically with less around him, he plays a tougher defensive position at a higher level and even though the Dodgers didn't make the playoffs, they did win 82 games in the face of adversity), I am always intrigued by what the real fans in these markets have to say.  Check out posts from our Blog Roll affiliates; LADodgerTalk and Brew Crew Ball discussing the awards.  The comments are always great.


LA Reaction: Braun Wins?

Milwaukee Reaction: Braun Wins!

Ryan Braun, Not Matt Kemp, Wins 2011 NL MVP

Today, Ryan Braun edged out Matt Kemp for the 2011 NL MVP award.  The announcement came as a bit of a surprise; Kemp, who fell one home run shy of being the fifth player in baseball history to reach the coveted 40/40 mark, was the odds on favorite to win the award.  We chose Kemp over Braun for the Stan Musial Award on our BBA ballot and Kemp was announced as the unanimous winner of that award on October 26, 2011 (the BBA awards are voted on by Baseball Bloggers across the country). 

Ryan Braun had a tremendous season and led his Brewers into the playoffs.  The award was well-earned; he finished second in the NL in batting average, first in slugging percentage and extra base hits, second in runs scored and total bases and was among the top ten in doubles, home runs, RBI and stolen bases. We congratulate him on his achievement.

Justin Verlander Wins 2011 AL MVP

As you have likely already heard, Justin Verlander beat out a host of other players for the 2011 AL MVP award.  Verlander earned 13 out of 28 first place votes and 280 points, overall.  The next closest player was Jacoby Ellsbury who earned 5 first place votes and 242 vote points.  The 280 points is the lowest point total by a winner since 2003 when Alex Rodriguez eeked out a victory over Carlos Delgado while tallying 242 vote points (considered by some to be one of the biggest snubs in MVP award history).  Verlander was a worthy MVP, in our opinion.  In fact, when For Baseball Junkies casted its vote for the 2011 BBA Stan Musial Award, we chose Verlander.  It wasn't without debate and we did not have concensus but at the end of the day, there wasn't a better choice on the docket.  The BBA Stan Musial award was awarded to Jose Bautista who finished third in the actual MVP voting.  Despite the BBA's track record for picking winning horses in these races, they missed on this one.  To be fair, we had Ellsbury fifth on our ballot so we weren't perfect, either.  The only major remaining award to be given is the NL MVP, where Matt Kemp was our pick.

Astros Sold - Switch to AL Unanimous

In case you have not heard, the Houston Astros were sold and subsequently moved into the American League West Division.  The Astros are a proud franchise with decent history so it is not a shock that the fan base has reacted with disdain.

I just loved this comment at Astros County, our blog roll affiliate on the situation:

Anonymous said...

I hate Bud Selig with the hate of a thousand suns. Fifty years of tradition flushed down the toilet.

November 17, 2011 12:18 PM

Hate on, Anonymous.  Truthfully, we don't really like it either but for different reasons.  The implications of the switch are far reaching.  The switch means that the American and National Leagues will be split equally into 15 members.  With an even number of teams, it means more interleague play... a lot more interleague play.  There will likely be upwards of thirty interleague games on each team's schedule with interleague games being played into September.  With the realignment, it was also announced that Major League Baseball would, in fact, expand the number of playoff teams by two.  At the end of the season, there will be two Wild Card teams from each league that will compete for one spot in the League Division Series'.  It has yet to be determined what format that extra round will take but it widely presumed that it will be a one game play-in.  We have speculated about this proposed change for quite some time; I welcome the extra playoff layer but not at the expense of more interleague play.  I love the fact that every game played in September has the potential to be a meaningful Division game that could generate a huge swing in the standings.  I'm also not a huge fan of what a coast-to-coast road trip could do to my team in a midst of a playoff chase.  The extra playoff team doesn't bother me; I don't think it waters anything down.  Baseball is still the most difficult sport to make the playoffs, even with the two team addition (sending 33% of teams to the playoffs is still less than the 37.5% of teams that make the playoffs in the NFL).  

My $0.02... tell us what you think.

Getting to Know Our Roll

"Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning." - Benjamin Franklin

Our primary goal since launching this blog has been to share and debate our views and opinions of America's pastime with others.  Each contributor has his own allegiance but we collectively decided that we wanted to focus on broad baseball to accommodate our background and our skill sets.  Given the diverse nature of our experiences, loyalties and knowledge base, we felt that we could provide an entertaining forum for all baseball fans while sticking to our area of expertise (which is nothing, really).  

In order to be current and fluid and to increase the number of engaged readers, we set out to make connections with people from different baseball cities around the country that could provide our readers with an authentic voice when their market was in the news.  We deliberately attempted to make connections with different bloggers from around the country and our main objective with this exercise was to add one top notch blog from each MLB team to our Blog Roll, along with a few extras for entertainment purposes (you have to check out The Baseball Collector).  The Blog Roll is located in the right margin on the classic site and I'm happy to say that we now have one blog from every team on our Roll.  

Our membership in the Baseball Bloggers Alliance played a huge part in finding blogs that were both active and serious.  Our hope is that our Blog Roll will help bring a different perspective to baseball stories and debates as they're happening.

In the future, we will periodically scour our Blog Roll blogs and cherry-pick stories that we like and/or hot issues.  We'll come up with a clever name for this bit at some point but in the mean time, we suggest you take some time to check out some of our partner blogs.  

OCP

MLB Silver Slugger Awards Announced

The 2011 Silver Slugger awards were announced yesterday on the MLB Network in a much less "glamorous" awards production (than the Gold Glove awards, which were announced the day before).  The MLB Network does a very nice job with their productions and yesterday was definitely proof of that.  We heard from some of the winners, they anaylzed the selections and kept the production quick and fluid. 

Here are your winners with some commentary of some of the notable snubs. 

AL
C - Alex Avila
1B - Adrian Gonzalez
2B - Robinson Cano
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera
3B - Adrian Beltre
OF - Curtis Granderson
OF - Jose Bautista
OF - Jacoby Ellsbury
DH - David Ortiz

NL
C - Brian McCann
1B - Prince Fielder
2B - Brandon Phillips
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
3B - Aramis Ramirez
OF - Ryan Braun
OF - Matt Kemp
OF - Justin Upton
P - Daniel Hudson

A few notable snubs were Miguel Cabrera, Lance Berkman, Jose Reyes and Mike Napoli. 

With all due respect to Adrian Gonzalez, who had a fine year posting a .957 OPS and a 5.5 offensive WAR, Miguel Cabrera did more with less.  He posted a higher batting average (.334, 1st in the AL), a higher on-base percentage (.448, 1st in the AL) and a higher slugging percentage (.586, 2nd in the AL).  He led the league in doubles, he posted 30 HR and was first in runs created despite not batting in a murderer's row-esque lineup. 

Berkman was also robbed, in my opinion.  Justin Upton had a great season by any standard but Berkman had the same amount of home runs while posting a better batting average (.301), on-base percentage (.412, second in the NL) and slugging percentage (.547).  His .959 OPS was 61 points higher than Justin Upton and let us not forget that Berkman hits in a pitcher-friendly park (his 166 OPS+, which factors in ballpark statistics, was 2nd best in the NL). 

Jose Reyes might have hurt his chances by taking himself out of the final game of the season to secure a batting title but the fact remains, he won a batting title hitting .337.  That might seem like an oddity but in 32 years (the Silver Slugger began in 1980), the batting title winner has not earned a Silver Slugger twelve times.  Tulowitzki was a worthy recipient but Reyes' Offensive WAR of 6.2 was good for third best in the NL and he also led the league in triples.

Mike Napoli probably did not win the award because he was not the full-time catcher the entire season and played other positions (he only played 57 games behind the plate) but if Napoli was eligible, by most accounts, it sounds like he was, then he should have won the award.  His 1.047 OPS was good for second best in the AL.  His thirty home runs landed him in the top ten and his triple slash numbers (.320/.414/.631) were all better than Avila's.  It's tough to argue with the numbers but the fact that he was caught in a time share early on (and because catchers don't play every day) makes the debate a little sticky.  If you asked me who was the best offensive catcher in 2011 and showed me the numbers without any qualifiers, I would say Napoli was that guy. 

You could also make arguments for Yadier Molina, Joey Votto, Andrew McCutchen, Evan Longoria, Dustin Pedroia and Carlos Beltran, among a few others but I'm ok with the rest of the selections as is.  That's my $0.02, what do you think?

The Envelope, Please: Gold Glove Winners Announced

Your 2011 Gold Glove winners are:

AL
C - Matt Wieters
1B - Adrian Gonzalez
2B - Dustin Pedroia
SS - Erick Aybar
3B - Adrian Beltre
LF - Alex Gordon
CF - Jacoby Ellsbury
RF - Nick Markakis
P - Mark Buehrle

NL
C - Yadier Molina
1B - Joey Votto
2B - Brandon Phillips
SS - Troy Tulowitzki
3B - Placido Polanco
LF - Gerardo Parra
CF - Matt Kemp
RF - Andre Ethier
P - Clayton Kershaw

My predictions from this post were pretty close.  I missed in the outfield in the NL (I had Chris Young over Kemp and Jay Bruce over Ethier.  I mentioned my disdain for picking corner outfielders over center fielders so Bruce... it is what it is but Kemp would have actually been my third pick behind Young and the incumbent, Shane Victorino in CF) and I also missed at 1B, SS and LF in the AL.  I'll admit that Adrian Gonzalez and Teixiera was a pick 'em for me so I'm ok with that selection but I stand by J.J. Hardy over Erick Aybar... Aybar was better at turning the double play but all other defensive metrics point towards J.J. Hardy including a UZR that was almost 10 points higher, half as many errors and a slightly better range factor.  Hardy did play in 13 fewer games so I guess that hurt his candidacy but I'd still take him.  I'm also more than a little bit surprised that Alex Gordon won the award over Brett Gardner, who was clearly the best defender in the bunch.  Don't get me wrong, Gordon had a phenomenal season, especially considering the fact that he was playing a new position and his 20 assists are certainly impressive and make him a worthy recipient, but if you asked all thirty GM's who they would rather have playing defense in the outfield, Gardner would likely earn all thirty votes.  In fact, his 31 UZR is the highest of any player at any position... arguably the fastest player in baseball, he gets to balls that others don't and, unfortunately, he was passed up.

As for the event itself, I think that ESPN has to be a little bit upset with the way things panned out.  Slated to start at 10:00, the show started 45 minutes late due to a Toledo-Northern Illinois football game that featured 123 combined total points and 1,165 combined total yards (and zero defense).  The hour long show was a bore but I'm saying that's par for the course; lengthy awards shows must generate better ratings than late night reruns, otherwise they would get the hint that we deserve better.  And truth be told, John Kruk probably wouldn't be my first pick to sit on a panel dedicated to discussing position defense but I guess Ozzie Smith wasn't available.

My $0.02... tell us what you think.