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Lookout Landing (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Baseball players can make contributions in a number of different ways, the most obvious and talked-about of which is how they do at the plate. Defense, position, and baserunning tend to be brushed off as secondary concerns. What follows are the top and bottom 15 in the sum of these latter three values, as determined by UZR, Fangraphs' position adjustment, and Baseball Prospectus' EQBRR. Note that catchers...
Explore : Adam Dunn,
Adam Lind,
Adrian Beltre,
Andre Ethier,
Aubrey Huff,
Ben Zobrist,
Billy Butler,
Bobby Abreu,
Brad Hawpe,
Brendan Ryan,
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Chone Figgins,
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Jack Wilson,
Jermaine Dye,
Jose Guillen,
Michael Bourn,
Michael Cuddyer,
Nick Johnson,
Nyjer Morgan,
Rajai Davis,
Ryan Braun,
Ryan Sweeney,
Ryan Zimmerman,
Sports
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DRaysBay (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP The "sign and trade" of Akinori Iwamura is another example of the Rays getting creative in order to acquire new talent. Browse more photos » It is no secret that the Tampa Bay Rays are never going to be major spenders in the free agent market like their AL East Rivals, the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees . Instead, this team is built...
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Akinori Iwamura,
Ben Zobrist,
Boston Red Sox,
Carlos Pena,
Delmon Young,
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Edwin Jackson,
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Gabe Gross,
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Jack Wilson,
Jason Bartlett,
Matt Garza,
Michael Young,
New York Yankees,
Scott Kazmir,
Sports,
Yuniesky Betancourt
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Baseball Time in Arlington (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
If you take a step back and really think about it for a second, the fact that so much attention is being directed towards a non-player and non-managerial position -- that being the hotly discussed Texas Rangers hitting coach vacancy -- is, to some extent, a needless overreaction. Whatever. I'm as guilty of engaging in the commotion as the next person, if not guiltier, but it's an indication that people...
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Baseball Time in Arlington (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
For what seems like months now, the concept of achieving better run prevention via the power of defense has been stuffed down your collective throats. Knowledgable fans are embracing it, sportswriters are begrudgingly recognizing it -- some more quickly than others, of course -- and front offices have taken steps to neutralize any market inefficiencies that might have left it undervalued. Baseball,...
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Chris Davis,
David Murphy,
Hank Blalock,
Ian Kinsler,
Josh Hamilton,
Marlon Byrd,
Michael Young,
Nelson Cruz,
Omar Vizquel,
Sports,
Texas Rangers
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Walkoff Walk (Free subscription) | 10/25/2009
I feel like it makes sense to get this out at the very beginning: The American League Rookie of the Year Award in 2009 makes me very, very angry. What's truly quite strange though is the fact that this...
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The Hardball Times (Free subscription) | 10/24/2009
At least according to TotalZone. I ran these ratings from a different datasource than usual. Specifically, someone sent me files with data from MLBAM. Later in the offseason I'll compare it to the results from the source of all the other TotalZone ratings, the retrosheet files. Anyway, the top 15 runs saved for 2009: 1. Franklin Gutierrez, CF, +28 2. Nelson Cruz, RF, +23 3. Chone Figgins, 3B, +20 4....
Explore : Brendan Ryan,
Brett Carroll,
Carl Crawford,
Carlos Beltran,
Casey Blake,
Chone Figgins,
Colby Rasmus,
Erick Aybar,
Evan Longoria,
Franklin Gutierrez,
Ichiro Suzuki,
Nelson Cruz,
Pedro Feliz,
Sports,
Torii Hunter,
Yunel Escobar
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Batter's Box Interactive Magazine (Free subscription) | 10/23/2009
Short is a big issue for 2010. Scutaro cannot be counted on we'd haveto assume (the Jays would do full medicals to know a lot better than usI hope) so what do they do? A strong #1 or #2 shortstop is needed. With this staff it has to be aleague average or better defensive one too (ala Scutaro & McDonald)but ideally also an offensive force (as good or better than Scutaro in2009). Checking Fangraphs...
Explore : Adam Everett,
Alexei Ramirez,
Alex Gonzalez,
Asdrubal Cabrera,
Brendan Ryan,
Cesar Izturis,
Cinema,
Crossover,
Derek Jeter,
Erick Aybar,
Hanley Ramirez,
J.J. Hardy,
Jack Wilson,
Jason Bartlett,
Jhonny Peralta,
Jimmy Rollins,
Juan Uribe,
Maicer Izturis,
Marco Scutaro,
Miguel Tejada,
Movies,
Nick Green,
Nick Punto,
Paul Janish,
Rafael Furcal,
Robert Andino,
Ryan Theriot,
Sports,
Stephen Drew,
Troy Tulowitzki,
Yunel Escobar
6Vote!
Baseball Time in Arlington (Free subscription) | 10/20/2009
One of the thoughts that incessantly rattled around inside my head during the 215-mile drive from Round Rock to Tyler yesterday related to our seeming willingness as baseball fans -- and, on a larger scale, as people -- to affix neat and tidy labels to people and things for the sake of time and convenience. Elvis Andrus is a "franchise shortstop," C.J. Wilson is a "power setup man,"...
6Vote!
Subway Squawkers (Free subscription) | 10/16/2009
I did a Baseball Bloggers Alliance ballot for the AL Rookie of the Year. Here are my picks: 1. Andrew Bailey , Relief Pitcher, Oakland Athletics: This rookie closer is something else - 26 saves, 6-3 record, a 1.84 ERA, and 91 strikeouts. Too bad he plays for Oakland and has a generic name - he should be as famous as Joba. 2. Rick Porcello , Starting Pitcher, Detroit Tigers: He got off to a rough start,...
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Minor League Ball (Free subscription) | 10/14/2009
Here is the Top 50 PRE-SEASON Hitting Prospects list from the 2009 book. Remember, this was the PRE-SEASON list. I always do a post-mortem on the list every year to see how things panned out. Top 50 Hitting Prospects for 2009 1) Matt Wieters , C, Baltimore Orioles Hit .288/.340/.412 in 96 games for the Orioles. He was hot late in the season and I still expect him to be an excellent player. The power...
Explore : Atlanta Braves,
Baltimore Orioles,
Boston Red Sox,
Cameron Maybin,
Colby Rasmus,
Colorado Rockies,
Dexter Fowler,
Florida Marlins,
Matt Wieters,
Minor League Baseball,
MLB,
Pedro Alvarez,
Pittsburgh Pirates,
San Francisco Giants,
Sports,
St. Louis Cardinals,
Texas Rangers,
Toronto,
Toronto Blue Jays
5Vote!
Lone Star Ball (Free subscription) | 10/13/2009
More photos » by Tony Dejak - AP about 1 month ago: Texas Rangers' Ian Kinsler, left, and Elvis Andrus celebrate after the Rangers beat the Cleveland Indians 10-0 in a baseball game, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2009, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak) Browse more photos » Ian Kinsler has become something of a lightning rod for criticism among Rangers fans, in part because of his offensive struggles...
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Bless You Boys (Free subscription) | 10/12/2009
More photos » AP Did Rick Porcello make a late-season push among voters for the AL Rookie of the Year award? Or had the decision largely been made beforehand? Browse more photos » Since Sunday night would've been Rick Porcello 's turn in the Tigers ' starting rotation, had Detroit made the playoffs, I thought maybe we'd make him the focus of this week's poll question. (Plus, we just need...
5Vote!
Baseball Time in Arlington (Free subscription) | 10/12/2009
About three months from now, industry publication Baseball America will disclose its major league organization talent rankings for the 27th consecutive year, all but one list of which have been placed on a numerical best-to-worst scale. While they can hardly be interpreted as any sort of guarantor of future success, they're useful indicators of the relative health -- or lack thereof -- of a given...
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Baseball Time in Arlington (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
Is Jurick Profar the next Elvis Andrus or the next Pedro Strop? Signed out of Curacao for a Rangers record $1.55 million, Profar arrived in the States with his sights set on the middle infield and not on the mound. Before the July 2nd signing period, most teams considered Profar a better pitching prospect, thanks in part to his electric fastball (low-90s that can hit 93 mph) and a 55-future grade...
5Vote!
Lone Star Ball (Free subscription) | 10/05/2009
Buster Olney offers his ballots on the major awards today, and the ROY balloting is, of course, the most compelling to me as a Ranger fan: AL Rookie of the Year : Elvis Andrus Rick Porcello Andrew Bailey My gut feeling is that that is how the top three will end up going -- Andrus will win, followed by Porcello and Bailey. Porcello has just gotten a lot more buzz than the other rookie starting pitchers,...
3Vote!
pomonae2e8t | 09/30/2009
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Explore : Adrian Beltre,
Baseball park,
Derek Holland,
Felix Hernandez,
Fenway Park,
Ichiro Suzuki,
Jack Wilson,
Jose Lopez,
MLB,
Seattle Mariners,
Sports,
Texas Rangers
3Vote!
phedrav8h9g | 09/30/2009
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galiena5336w | 09/30/2009
ARLINGTON, Texas – Ichiro Suzuki beat out an infield single to become the first player in major league history with at least 200 hits in nine straight seasons, Felix Hernandez scattered four hits over seven shutout innings, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-0 for a doubleheader split on Sunday night. In his second at-bat of the nightcap, Suzuki hit a slow roller to shortstop Elvis Andrus,...
Explore : Adrian Beltre,
Baseball park,
Derek Holland,
Felix Hernandez,
Fenway Park,
Ichiro Suzuki,
Jack Wilson,
Jose Lopez,
MLB,
Seattle Mariners,
Sports,
Texas Rangers