Baseball Analysts
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A Note on the Champs
If I were an owner of a Major League Baseball team, I would want my Baseball Operations staff to draft well and then to develop those players so that they could become Major League assets quickly. I would want them to keep tabs on every professional baseball player, within and outside the organizat ...
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Arb Barbs
Thanks to Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors, we are able to present the list of players who were and weren't offered salary arbitration by their 2008 teams. In all, 24 players have until Sunday at midnight to accept or reject the offer of arbitration. This total compares to 17 last year. There are ...
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The 2008 Rule 5 Draft: The Hitters
It is almost here. The 2008 Rule 5 Draft is 10 days away. Last week, we took a look at some of the pitchers that could be scooped up during the draft, as organizations look for cheap, talented options that will hopefully stick on the big league roster for the entire 2009 season. As always, if you ne ...
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Happy Birthday, Minnie, No Matter Your Age
Depending on the source, Minnie Minoso either turns 83 or 86 years old today. Minoso's actual age may or may not matter at this point. What's most important is that he's alive and apparently doing well. However, as it relates to his baseball career, Minoso's age is relevant. You see, it could be ...
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The 2008 Rule 5 Draft: Previewing the Pitchers
There are only 15 more shopping days left. Major League Baseball's Rule 5 draft will occur on at the end of the Winter Meetings on Dec. 11. The draft, which is explained here, has become extremely popular in the eyes of online fans, but participation amongst teams has been up and down in recent year ...
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The Bill James Handbook 2009 - Part Three
In the final segment of our three-part series on The Bill James Handbook 2009, we will focus on the 2008 Leader Boards. This section of the book has always been one of my favorites. Although many of the stats are now available online at Baseball-Reference, ESPN, Fangraphs, and The Hardball Times, ...
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The Bill James Handbook 2009 - Part Two
Last week, in Part One of The Bill James Handbook 2009, we reviewed four chapters: Team Efficiency Summary, Baserunners, 21st Century Bullpen, and Young Talent Inventory. We had previously covered the Fielding Bible Awards and Plus/Minus Leaders in a separate post. In Part Two, we will examine Man ...
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Manny Syndrome
Manuel Aristides Ramirez was all of 15 months old on Aug. 23, 1973, when Jan Erik Olsson walked into Kreditbanken, a Stockholm bank on Normalmstorg square, shot a member of the Swedish police and took four people hostage. The hostage crisis continued for five days as Olsson and his alleged accompl ...
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How D'Ya Like Me Now?
The 2007 draft had an interesting mix of college and prep players selected in the first round. The first-overall selection of David Price, who had a significant impact in the Rays' 2008 late-season success, was a no-brainer at the time and still looks like the overwhelming correct choice. That pick ...
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Pujols Wins Second MVP
Albert Pujols won his second National League Most Valuable Player Award yesterday, capturing 18 of the 30 first-place votes. Ryan Howard was the recipient of the other 12 first-place votes. While not surprised by the results, it seems to me that the race between Pujols and Howard was much closer t ...
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The Bill James Handbook 2009 - Part One
One of the beauties of November is the arrival of The Bill James Handbook, the most stat-filled annual baseball guide available. The book, produced by Baseball Info Solutions and published by ACTA Sports, is always the first one to hit the market following the just-completed season. Key features i ...
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Swish, Splash...White Sox Take a Bath on Trade With Yankees
News: The White Sox and Yankees completed a trade with Chicago sending first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher and minor league relief pitcher Kanekoa Texeira to New York for infielder Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez. Comments: I have to admit that I don't under ...
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The Rookies of 2008... and Those Who Came Before Them
The 2008 Rookie of the Year awards were handed out recently and the winners came as no surprise. Evan Longoria, of the Tampa Bay Rays, was the unanimous choice in the American League, while Geovany Soto, of the Chicago Cubs, received all but one first-place vote in the National League. In reality, ...
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Billy-Holliday Hook Up in Oakland
Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane has pulled off another big trade by acquiring slugger Matt Holliday from the Colorado Rockies for Huston Street, Greg Smith, and Carlos Gonzalez. The transaction is expected to be officially announced today. The trade is interesting from several aspects. H ...
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Awards and More Awards
On the day before Veterans' Day, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced its Rookie of the Year Awards. Third baseman Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays and catcher Geovany Soto of the Chicago Cubs were named the American League and National League Rookies of the Year for the 2008 se ...
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Adding Perspective to the Jacobs Deal
News: The Texas Rangers exercised their $6.2 million option on Hank Blalock for the 2009 season. Rangers pick up first baseman Blalock's $6.2M option for '09 ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers on Friday exercised a $6.2 million option on oft-injured infielder Hank Blalock. Blalock has played ...
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Even Small Trades Can Have Big Impacts: A Review of 2007-08
The 2008-09 Major League Baseball off-season is in full swing with the General Managers Meeting underway and with MLB free agents busy declaring their freedom. Last week I took a look back at some of the larger trades that were made during the 2007-08 off-season. This week I am going to continue the ...
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Not So Quick, My Friends
In the first trade since the end of the World Series, the Kansas City Royals acquired first baseman Mike Jacobs from the Florida Marlins in exchange for relief pitcher Leo Nunez. This transaction has been panned throughout most of the baseball blogosphere. Dave Cameron, Keith Law, and Rob Neyer &n ...
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The New Testament of Fielding Stats and Awards
With the World Series behind us, the baseball world now turns its attention to award winners, free agents, the Rule 5 draft, and the hot stove league. We will cover all of these matters &ndash and much more – this off-season. The Fielding Bible Awards, chosen by a ten-man panel, were announc ...
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The Big Chase
Rain or shine, the Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Series champions. Congratulations go out to all of the players, coaches, staff, Charlie Manuel, Pat Gillick, ownership, and the City of Brotherly Love. As a Long Beach native, I am extremely happy for Chase Utley. He and my son Joe are t ...
Baseball Analysts
