When New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira went down with a wrist injury, that will likely keep him out of the lineup and off the field through May, the Yankees must have regretted letting Nick Swisher walk via free agency. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Brian Cashman, Chipper Jones, Dan Johnson, Derrek Lee, Free Agents, Juan Rivera, Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees, Nick Swisher, Scott Rolen | Leave a Comment »
With just three weeks until pitchers and catchers start reporting to spring training locations, the baseball offseason is winding down, but it’s not ending with a whimper. This has been one of the more eventful offseasons in recent memory, with constant activity, surprises, and even some quality free agents like Kyle Lohse and Michael Bourn still available at this late date.
If the 2013 season can be half as eventful as this winter has been, fans should be in for quite a treat.
Unfortunately, this past week ended with some truly sad news about two baseball legends; considerably darkening this installment of notes. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Corey Hart, Earl Weaver, Free Agents, Kyle Lohse, Mark McGwire, Mat Gamel, Michael Bourne, Mike Napoli, Milwaukee Brewers, Mudcat Grant, PEDs, Sammy Sosa, St. Louis Cardinals, Stan Musial, WBC, World Baseball Classic | Leave a Comment »
It’s now less than two months until pitchers and catchers report for spring training. We’ve finally gotten to the point of the offseason where teams are starting to scramble to fill the final holes on their rosters. Because the majority of the big-name free agents have already signed, the depths of the available player pool are starting to be plumbed. This makes the weeks leading up to spring training some of the most interesting to watch for diehard baseball fans.
***The Texas Rangers added another bat to their lineup by agreeing to a one-year contract with free-agent first baseman Lance Berkman. The switch-hitter will be 37 before the start of the season and played in only 32 games last year with the St. Louis Cardinals because of injuries. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Bobby Abreu, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Dontrelle Willis, Free Agents, J.P. Howell, Javier Vazquez, Lance Berkman, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Sergio Romo, Texas Rangers | Leave a Comment »
The holiday season slowed down the hectic MLB offseason, which had operated on full blast for more than a month. Although many free agents have signed with new teams, there is still a lot going on around baseball as 2012 comes to an end.
***It may be the week after Christmas, but it’s never too late to share stories of baseball and good will. Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Times wrote about a young fan’s actions and experience of a lifetime while attending a Los Angeles Dodgers’ game earlier this year.
11-year-old Jack Baur (no, not the guy from 24) was sitting in the stands during an August game when he was struck by a bat that slipped from the grasp of Los Angeles third baseman Hanley Ramirez and ricocheted off another child. Fortunately, both youngsters were okay. Security immediately retrieved the bat to return to Ramirez, but new team owner Magic Johnson saw everything transpire and brought autographed balls to the two boys and made sure they weren’t hurt. It turned out that wasn’t the end of the situation. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: A.J. Pierzynski, Andrew Bailey, Boston Red Sox, Bruce Nash, Daniel Bard, Free Agents, Hanley Ramirez, Hideki Matsui, Jack Baur, Joel Hanrahan, John Farrell, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Melancon, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Russell Martin, Texas Rangers, Trades, Ugeth Urbina | Leave a Comment »
The baseball offseason is a busy time. Really, no further introduction is needed for the notes from this past week.
***The hyperbole machine has been revved up to a fevered pitch now that the 2013 National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has gone out and people have started debating the merits of various candidates. I will surely go into who I would vote for at a later time, but for now can offer up these thoughts: (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Boston Red Sox, Free Agents, Hall of Fame, Josh Hamilton, Kevin Youkilis, Los Angeles Angels, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Noah Syndergaard, R.A. Dickey, Ryan Dempster, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Trades, Travis d'Arnaud | 1 Comment »
With catcher and pitchers two months away from reporting to Spring Training, Mets GM, Sandy Alderson, is forgetting an important factor….PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT TO SPRING TRAINING IN TWO MONTHS! In other words….do something! The Mets outfield right now consists of Lucas Duda, and no one in particular. The Mets bullpen consists of Frank Francisco, Bobby Parnell, and no one in particular. Granted, signing David Wright to an extension was paramount, but there is still work to do. Is the Dickey situation consuming all of Alderson’s time? Can he not do two things at one time? (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Free Agents, Jason Bay, New York Mets, Sandy Alderson, Terry Collins | 2 Comments »
If you happen to follow many baseball writers on Twitter, chances are your timeline was blowing up this past week. With MLB’s winter meetings taking place in Nashville, Tennessee, there was a lot of activity, as more free agents were taken off the market. Heck, there was even some trading going on. It was all part of the dance as we get closer and closer to the start of spring training.
***Perhaps the most shocking move to come out of the winter meetings was the Red Sox giving a three-year, $39 million deal to outfielder Shane Victorino. The Red Sox have publicly declared their new distaste in giving out large contracts of lengths exceeding more than three or four years. Apparently they are content with grossly overpaying players on shorter-term deals. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Alex Rodriguez, Angel Pagan, Boston Red Sox, Free Agents, Josh Lindblom, Jurickson Profar, Kevin Youkilis, Los Angeles Dodgers, Marco Scutaro, Michael Young, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Shane Victorino, Terry Francona, Texas Rangers, Trades, Zack Greinke | Leave a Comment »
Free agent utility infielder Jeff Keppinger has agreed to a three-year deal with the Chicago White Sox worth $12M in what could be a bargain if Keppinger, one of the best contact hitters in the game, can keep his line-drive rate and BABIP up.
Last season, with the Tampa Bay Rays, Keppinger hit .325/.367/.439 with 127 wRC+; the second best mark of his career. Keppinger maintained his high contact rates, striking out in less than 7.5% of his plate appearances, and posted the second highest line-drive rate of his career at 23.2%.
Line-drives have the best chance of falling for hits so it was no surprise that his BABIP was nearly a career high at .332, and, for a man who rarely hits the ball over the fence or strikes out, his overall average will likely be close to his BABIP and heavily influence his offensive production at the plate. Take a look at his BABIP compared to his average: (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Adam Dunn, Carlos Lee, Chicago White Sox, Dayan Viciedo, Free Agents, Jeff Keppinger, Juan Pierre, MLB Winter Meetings, Tampa Bay Rays | Leave a Comment »
The Boston Red Sox decided to give a three-year deal worth $39M to free agent Shane Victorino to become their starting right fielder but Victorino comes with a lot of red flags that may end up making this deal a loss for the Sox. (more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Boston Red Sox, Free Agents, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB Winter Meetings, Philadelphia Phillies, Shane Victorino | Leave a Comment »
Free agent outfielder Angel Pagan, who put up nearly a 5 fWAR season in 2012 with the San Francisco Giants, has agreed to a four-year deal worth $40M to return to the Bay area to man center field and wreak havoc on the base paths.
(more…)
Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis | Tagged: Angel Pagan, Free Agents, MLB Winter Meetings, San Francisco Giants | 2 Comments »
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