Frayed Knot

Jon Harper at the Snooze throws out a bunch of WATPs, which you're free to take or leave. But he does suggest one thing I hadn't considered, and that's that the Orioles have uber-talented Manny Machado playing out of position at 3B. Now he did win the Gold Glove there but if you've got a guy who can play SS then you should play him at SS, all of which may make current SS incumbent JJ Hardy available. Hardy, like Machado, is coming off a GG/SS/AS year, turned 31 in August and has $7 mil remaining in the final year of his current deal. Not a high-OBA guy, but a decent amount of power (52 XBHs in 2013) and has revived his career after somewhat losing his way after a splash start in Milwaukee back in 2007-08.

Current Managers who have yet to manage a game in MLB Current Managers =#0000FF]still with their first managerial job TEAMMANAGERPREVIOUS TEAM(s)METSTerry CollinsAngels; AstrosBRAVESFredi GonzalezMarlinsPHILLIES=#0000FF]Ryne SandbergNATIONALSMatt WilliamsMARLINS=#0000FF]Mike RedmondCARDINALS=#0000FF]Mike MathenyPIRATESClint HundleRockiesCUBSRick RenteriaREDSBryan PriceBREWERS=#0000FF]Ron RoenickeDODGERS=#0000FF]Don MattinglyGIANTSBruce BochyPadresPADRES=#0000FF]Bud Black DBACKS=#0000FF]Kirk GibsonROCKIES=#0000FF]Walt WeissRED SOXJohn FarrellBlue JaysYANKEESJoe GirardiMarlinsORIOLESBuck ShowalterYanx, DBacks; RangersBLUE JAYSJohn GibbonsBlue JaysRAYS=#0000FF]Joe MaddenTIGERSBrad AusmusINDIANSTerry FranconaPhillies; Red SoxROYALSNed YostBrewersTWINS=#0000FF]Ron GardenhireWHITE SOX=#0000FF]Robin VenturaANGELS=#0000FF]Mike SciosciaRANGERS=#0000FF]Ron WashingtonMARINERSLlyoy McClendonPiratesASTROS=#0000FF]Bo PorterATHLETICSBob MelvinMariners; DBacks I was thinking about this after all the new hires because I remembered when Davey Johnson & Jack McKeon were hired as interim managers (Davey later hired permanently) during a fairly short span back in 2011 - and some snarky voice on ESPN used the age of those two as a jumping off point to trash baseball for living in the past yadda, yadda, same-old-shit, etc. He even hit upon what I'm sure he thought was a catchy phrase of "baseball's old, football's bold" cuz lord knows that the always cutting-edge NFL would never hire a retread or engage in copy-cat strategy. Anyway, of the recent hires, only Lloyd McClendon has managed previously and now 19 of the 30 are or will be working with their first team in 2014. Or, if you want to point out that John Gibbons is on his second go-around with the Jays and say that really 18 of 30 are first-timers, that's OK too. Either way, I'm sure the guy has recanted his rant ... yeah right.

Not sure what your point is here. Mine was that the Martino article cites Granderson's HR split as 47/37 H-v-R which it then describes as "fairly equitable" ... and that not only is that not the phrase that first comes to my mind when tagging a 27% difference but if CF becomes his home park rather than YSIII the home advantage might not just disappear it could well go somewhat the other way. And then there are the age/injury/league change factors to consider. - Would a Granderson signing increase the Mets power? -- Sure - Will it be a cost-wise move? -- I dunno, depends on what the cost is

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I like the Davis-for-Aoki deal, I do. But, then, why the hell would the Brewers want it? Semi-filled OF with the return of Braun, the emergence of Gomez and a couple of young'uns; need of 1B power since the departure of Prince; desire to get younger

NY Times Sunday Crossword: 18-Down -- First Mets manager _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I won't give away the answer in case anyone hasn't finished the puzzle yet and wants to do it all on their own.

Mex17 wrote: There is no deal being discussed for Tulo. It's all media speculation that has been debunked by Colorado's owner (who flat out said that they are NOT trading him). [Mofo]Well then, dammit, why the hell didn't [crossout]Phillips[/crossout], [crossout]Omar[/crossout], Sandy make a deal for him when he was available!?!?! I heard we could have had him for Valdespin[/Mofo]

... Granderson hit 47 home runs at home during those recent healthy seasons, and 37 on the road, a fairly equitable split. Not sure I'd define 27% more at home v on road as "fairly equitable". Then throw in the idea that CitiField might mean a 10% or so decline - meaning that 84 over two seasons (H=47 + R=37) turns into maybe 70 (H=33 + R=37) and that's even if there's not a decline due to age, injury, surrounding line-up, league change, sun spots, whatever.

smg58 wrote: His home park makes [his power] tough to gauge. I also think he overadjusted to his park to the point of diminishing returns. This is my fear too. In his younger/Detroit years he had a decent BA even though inept vs LHP, and was cutting down (somewhat) on his Ks as he aged after leading the league in his first full season. He then openly changed to a pull-happy approach in order to take advantage of the LL porch when he went to YSIII and the result was a jump to league-leading type of power (250 IsoP) but a K-rate which started to climb again plus a drop in BA & OBA despite vastly improved numbers vs LHPs. I'd hate to think of a guy trying to re-re-adjust at the age of 33 and who knows what the result would be if he did. If the Ks stay high (which they will - it's just a matter of high or REALLY high) but the BA & OBA remain only ordinary (.245/.345 w/Yanx and .231/.319 in 2012-13) while the 40 HRs/yr drops to more like 20 due to CitiField/aging/changed approach, his value is likely to fall well short of where the price tag will probably land. And he's not going to play CF here so you've got these declining skills for an aging guy with decent but not great defense at a corner OF spot.

Ashie62 wrote: Choo is a part-time player... 54 rbi's last season lands that kinda dough..yeesh... RBIs, always an excellent way to judge a leadoff hitter.

Hart has six full ML seasons under his belt where he averaged 62 XBHs per year. Just a shade different than Nick Evans wouldn't you say?

Related to this topic, Joel Sherman suggests dealing Davis to Milwaukee for OF Nori Aoki -- something which could be instead of a Corey F. Hart signing or in addition to. There's only two seasons worth of ML data on Aoki (32 next spring) but what there is adds up to a better leadoff man than EYII [.287/.355/.399 - 50 steals in 70 attempts] and has been consistent across the two season suggesting that he's no one-year wonder who then can't adjust to the adjustments of MLB pitchers. In his eight seasons in the Japanese league he was .329/.402/.454 Has played all three OF positions although mostly RF. My gut tells me he's good enough defensively although that could be just be via brief glimpses.

Giamatti, playing considerably older than himself as the 60-ish y/o Abraham Zapruder, is probably the biggest star of the movie, at least as judged by lines of dialogue. In fact there isn't a ton of dialogue in the whole movie (so anyone worrying that the presence of Zac Efron ruining things can rest easy). Kind of quiet little film for the most part, especially considering the event that inspired it. BB Thorton and JE Haley also are made up to be older men, Haley virtually unrecognizably so as the priest giving JFK last rites.

I'm not sure how many SS days Peralta has ahead of him at this stage. His range was never the greatest to begin with and no one gets quicker as they get older and thicker (turns 32 early next season). IOW, I wouldn't mind a signing, just wouldn't make it all that long.

Parkland, as in Parkland Memorial Hospital, the facility in Dallas where first John Kennedy and then, two days later, Lee Oswald were taken in vain attempts to saves their respective lives. Although this certainly is a topic on the already well-plowed events in Dallas, Texas of a half-century ago (exactly a half-century as of two weeks from tomorrow), this one is a variation where, rather than focusing on the major players or the overall impact and meaning of the whole thing, it's a much more low key look which focuses on the surrounding characters such as the staff at Parkland, Robert & Margueritte Oswald (brother & mother), Abraham Zapruder, the local FBI crew, the traveling Secret Service contingent, etc. So even if one of your goals in the next two weeks is to avoid the sure-to-be saturating media onslaught of 'Camelot' retrospectives, the blow-by-blow recreations, conspiracy theory updates, conspiracy theory shout-downs, Kennedy hagiographies, Walter Cronkite hagiographies, and so on, this isn�t a flick you should automatically go running and screaming from as it certainly avoids all of that.. And if you are into all that stuff well maybe this is just one more thing to add to your list. Marcia Gay Harden, Billy Bob Thorton, Jackie Earle Haley, and Jimmie Dale Gilmour are featured, as are a bunch of people with only two names like Paul Giamatti, Zac Efron, and Colin Hanks

Hart has sported more than a few bad tats and bad haircuts/dyes over the years. I think any contract offer should take those things into account. I don't remember his defense as being all that bad. Maybe Monk has a take on this.

[u:35ea3to8]SILVER SLUGGERS[/u:35ea3to8] NL: C - Yadier Molina, StL 1B - Paul Goldschmidt, Ariz 2B - Matt Carpenter, StL SS - Ian Desmond, Wash 3B - Pedro Alvarez, Pitt OF - Michael Cuddyer, Colo OF - Andrew McCutcheon, Pitt OF - Jay Bruce, Cin P - Zack Greinke AL: C - Joe Mauer, Minn 1B - Chris Davis, Balt 2B - Robinson Cano, NYY SS - JJ Hardy, Balt 3B - Miguel Cabrera OF - Mike Trout, LAA OF - Torii Hunter, Det OF - Adam Jones, Balt DH - David Ortiz, Bos

30 - HARVEY 29 - WRIGHT 28 - MURPHY 27 - BYRD 26 - GEE 25 - NIESE 24 - YOUNG 23 - HEFNER 22 - LAGARES 21 - PARNELL 20 - WHEELER 19 - HAWKINS 18 - DUDA 17 - TORRES 16 - BUCK 15 - RICE 14 - DAVIS 13 - QUINTANILLA 12 - ATCHISON 11 - SATIN 10 - TEJADA 9 - TURNER 8 - BROWN 7 - GERMEN 6 - AARDSMA 5 - RECKER 4 - MEJIA 3 - MATSUZAKA 2 - BLACK 1 - d'ARNAUD

Some of those options on various manager contracts had already been picked up prior to this past season or were triggered during it. So now only the Cubs now remain manager-less for 2014. Padres bench coach Rich Renteria is reportedly the favorite. TEAM MANAGERSIGNED THRUSTATUSMETSTerry Collins2013New two-year deal thru 2015 + optionBRAVESFredi Gonzalez2013Has 2014 Option - Option Picked UpPHILLIESRyne SandbergInterimGiven permanent job thru 2016NATIONALSDavey Johnson2013Will not return -- Matt Williams hired, Terms = ???MARLINSMike Redmond2015CARDINALSMike Matheny2013Has option for 2014 - Option picked upPIRATESClint Hurdle2014CUBSDale Sveum2014Fired - Sept '13REDSDusty Baker2014Fired 1-yr into a 2-yr ext. -- Hired Bryan Price on 2-yr dealBREWERSRon Roenicke2014DODGERSDon Mattingly2013Has option for 2014 - Option vested w/2013 NLDS winGIANTS Bruce Bochy2016PADRES Bud Black2013Has options for 2014 & 15 - Options picked up for both seasonsDBACKSKirk Gibson2014ROCKIESWalt Weiss2013RED SOXJohn Farrell2016YANKEESJoe Girardi2013Re-signed thru 2017ORIOLESBuck Showalter2018BLUE JAYSJohn Gibbons2014RAYSJoe Maddon2015TIGERSJim Leyland2013Will not return / Brad Ausmus hired on three yr deal + 2017 optionINDIANSTerry Francona2016ROYALSNed Yost2013TWINSRon Gardenhire2013Extended thru 2015WHITE SOXRobin Ventura2014ANGELSMike Scioscia2018RANGERSRon Washington2014MARINERSEric Wedge2013Will not return - Lloyd McClendon hired, Terms = ??ASTROSBo Porter2013ATHLETICSBob Melvin2016

I haven't edited this all down yet or figured out how the pitchers and non-pitchers are going to mesh. I suppose I could wait until I figure it all out and just publish the final list but I'd rather inflict my thinking process on you all. HARVEY -- Unquestionably the best year among pitchers even with the abrupt end factored in GEE - Only starter to go wire to wire and get more than 30 starts. Tough start but strong finish NIESE -- More baserunners than we�re used to from him, plus almost two months blown out of his season HEFNER -- Was the best starter on the team for a short stretch before the premature end PARNELL -- Solid if not spectacular, and then ended early WHEELER -- Talented rookie who alternated pitching like he had talent and like he was a rookie HAWKINS -- Stepped into the closer�s role and didn�t miss a beat TORRES -- Occasionally quite good, plus points for versatility RICE -- Didn�t look like a career minor leaguer most of the time ATCHINSON -- GERMEN -- AARDSMA These three are close enough to put in any order: Atchison goes first with most innings and lowest WHiP, Germen 2nd for lowest ERA and strongest finish MEJIA -- Encouraging five starts MARCUM -- Wasn�t as bad as his record, but then it would be tough to be BLACK -- Looked promising in his short trial EDGIN -- BURKE -- FELICIANO -- CARSON WRIGHT -- Muffy played the entire year and had 1/3 more PAs but 70 pts of OBA and 100 of Slg is a BIG gap so I'm putting a little Sugar on top of the hitters heap MURPHY -- Only position player to play the entire season and, despite seeming to rack up singles most of the time, still managed 52 XBHs BYRD -- Team leader in HRs and more XBHs (51) than Wright despite fewer ABs. May have finished 1st among hitters if he had finished the season here YOUNG -- Not the OBA you want from a leadoff hitter, but played hard, ran well, played some good LF, and was the 4th non-out in the lineup for much of the year LAGARES -- Hitting is still a question but oh that defense was sublime!! DUDA -- Was the better 1B of the year even if that�s like being the tallest midget in the circus BUCK -- Great April then plummeted DAVIS -- Only an improved finish got him this high QUINTANILLA -- Out of place as a starter, but better than the alternative TEJADA -- Total regression to where he wasn�t even as good as his waiver-wire backup SATIN -- Some decent hitting, but contributes almost nowhere else TURNER -- I seem to be less down on him than many of you folks, but still only average in a limited role BROWN -- Gotta like the power off the bench RECKER -- Was good for the occasional HR and, of course, prettying up the team photo d�ARNAUD -- Offense was essentially Recker�s minus the power and we're not voting on future promise here VALDESPIN -- More headaches for his own manager than for the other team's NIEUWENHUIS -- Has yet to adjust to ML pitchers� adjustments to him after the first time around and, fighting it out for the last couple of places: FLORES -- den DEKKER -- ANKIEL, probably in that order

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I like that he can scratch his ear with his foot. My dog can do that too! How's your dog's curve ball?

Much better option as long as he promises not to bring back his cornrows look.

I wouldn't want Furball as the main SS, but I have no problem with them talking to him about some kind of job.

metirish wrote: Furcal is only 36.....what's that in Dominican baseball age? IIRC, he's already had one age 'correction' since the beginning of his career -- so either his claimed age is the actual one, or it's at least closer to the actual one.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I suspect that Beltran will accept the offer from St. Louis. Unless he thinks this is his last best chance to get a multi-year deal - even if 'multi' means no more than two. Only Ortiz and I think one other player in this same situation last season (there were about nine players offered the cut-off number last year) remained with their own team and both did so via a negotiated settlement. No players has accepted the one-year offer so far, although last season was the first time this particular system was in effect.

Thirteen FAs received the $14.1mil "qualifying offer" from their teams meaning that an outside team signing them would forfeit a draft pick. Jacoby Ellsbury Mike Napoli Stephen Drew Robinson Cano Curtis Granderson Hiroki Kuroda Carlos Beltran Shin-Soo Choo Nelson Cruz Ubaldo Jimenez Brian McCann Kendrys Morales Ervin Santana A player accepting one of these offers would, in effect, be agreeing to a one-year contract for that amount. They could also accept and continue to negotiate toward a multi-year deal but would lose the ability to talk to other teams. The Mets' 1st round pick (10th overall) is exempt from being lost if they were to sign one of the above,. They would forfeit their 2nd round pick instead - probably around pick #50 Other than that, no real news so far. Jeter re-upped with the Yanx. Giambi signed a minor league deal to stay with Cleveland.