Three weeks ago, we announced two FanGraphs Live events while our staff was going to be hanging out in Phoenix. You have just two days left to purchase tickets for the event in Goodyear, where we’ll be meeting up with the Cleveland Indians front office for a Q&A and then sticking around for the game between the Indians and Mariners. Baseball, nerds, and unlimited food – tough combination to beat.

However, you can no longer purchase tickets to the event on Saturday, March 12th… because we’ve decided to make this event free to attend. You’ll still get a chance to interact with White Sox Assistant General Manager Rick Hahn and Mariners AGM Tony Blengino, talk baseball with nearly 20 members of the FanGraphs staff, and bug Jonah Keri to sign your copy of his book, but now, you don’t have to pay to attend. Tough to beat this deal.

The team executives will be around from 6:30-7:30, and there’s only space for approximately 75 people, so I’d suggest getting there a few minutes early. After the formal Q&A, we’ll do some more informal talks. If you want to talk to Jonah about the book, he’ll be there (and might even have a copy or two to give away!) with bells on. If you want to talk about OttoNeu or fantasy baseball in general, Niv Shah, Eno Sarris, and several RotoGraphs writers will be hanging out. Hipster clothing? Carson Cistulli will be your man for that conversation. I’ll find something to talk about, I’m sure. Directions to the venue can be found in the preceding link.

So, whether you’re in the mood to watch baseball on Friday or just hang out with a bunch of folks who love the game on Saturday, we’ve got options for you. We look forward to seeing you guys in just over a week.

I’ve written about platoon skill generally and as applied to different players in the past. Today, I’d like to briefly take a look at general platoon performance as expressed in wOBA over the past decade or so (FanGraphs’ player pages have splits since 2002), noting some general tendencies and perhaps a couple of surprises.

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After being ousted by the recent NL powerhouse Philadelphia Phillies in three NLDS games, Reds fans may be left wondering “what if?”. But 15 postseason-less and nine losing seasons later, the city of Cincinnati should be proud of their ballclub and can be assured that the organization is in good hands. The future has finally arrived at the Great American Ball Park while years of whiffing on player development appear to be over. GM Walt Jocketty has been able to anchor both the homegrown talent he inherited in 2008 and the talent the team drafted and acquired under his rule. Manager Dusty Baker received a two-year extension and will lead a team of seasoned veterans and promising young players, favorites for another NL Central crown.

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A pair of great, Kansas City-based writers, Sam Mellinger and Joe Posnanski, both weighed in recently on Jeff Francoeur and his role with the Royals. Mellinger discusses Francoeur’s new physique, and how dropping 25 pounds could help him regain his lost mojo. Poz focuses on Frenchy’s WINNING! personality, and his lack of success as a big league hitter.

High-quality discussion, to be sure. But all the discussion of Francoeur’s amazing start as a rookie, his complete lack of plate discipline, and his new Humpilates regimen ignores the key point here: He’s a warm body. That’s all Dayton Moore and the Royals wanted, or needed.

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For the Pirates, 2010 was the worst of times. The team’s struggles are well documented. They haven’t finished above .500 since 1992, a year they went to a seventh game in the NLCS. The closest they came to respectability during that span was in 1997, when they finished 79-83, second in the NL Central. The furthest they came was in 2010, when they won just 57 games and finished their fourth straight season in the NL Central cellar.

There is room for hope, though. The team has a number of promising young players already in the majors, and another crop that could help in the years to come. The rebuilding process might take a few more years, but it is certainly under way.

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1. Jesus Montero, C
Acquired: Signed as a Free Agent 2006 (Venezuela)
2010 Level: AAA (International League)
Age on Opening Day: 21.4

Notes: One of the best pure hitter in the minors, there isn’t much Montero can’t do at the plate. He is extremely strong, and has the balance and quick hands to drive the ball to all fields. He got off to a slow start in his first taste of AAA in 2010, but he rebounded to post a more-than-respectable overall line of 289/353/517 and a career high 21 home runs. Unlike many power hitters, Montero is tough to strikeout. He struck out in only 20.1 percent of his at-bats last year, and that was even higher than his 2009 rate of 13 percent. While there are few questions abut Montero’s bat, there are plenty about his defense. He has improved over the past couple of seasons to the point where he is now merely well below-average behind the plate, but he is still not good enough to profile as an every-day catcher. He committed 15 passed balls in 2010, a total surpassed by only four other teams in the fourteen-team International league, and he only threw out 23 percent of would-be base-stealers. Still, Montero’s ability to fill in behind the plate has value. He could serve as a team’s everyday DH, as well as filling in as the back-up catcher, saving a roster spot and probably around a million dollars for his team.

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Did any team make a bigger splash over the winter than the Milwaukee Brewers? During a winter when the team was expected to sell on star first baseman Prince Fielder and restock for the future, the Brewers did exactly the opposite, emptying the farm to add Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum to a rotation desperately needing a shot in the arm. Even as the team still has some glaring flaws, these additions have the Brewers poised to compete for a return to the postseason.

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Today, Garret Anderson announced his retirement, ending a long 17-year career, the verdict of which depends on which L.A. team you root for. Anderson hit .293/.324/.461 for his career with 287 home runs and 1365 RBIs. His peak years came in and around the Angels’ 2002 World Series run, averaging 3.2 WAR seasons between 1999 and 2003 and placing fourth in AL MVP voting during the Halos’ championship year. He ends his career as the Angels’ franchise leader in total games played, hits, doubles, total bases, runs, extra-base hits, and RBIs.

Drafted out of the 4th round in 1990 and spurning Division-I basketball offers, he batted .321/.352/.505 with 2.8 WAR in his 1995 rookie season, finishing second in Rookie of the Year voting. For 13 seasons after that, Anderson was a fixture in the lineup, always hitting and always healthy. One highlight during his career was winning both the 2003 Home Run Derby and All-Star Game MVP honors by almost hitting for the cycle, the first All-Star at the time to win both awards in the same year since Cal Ripken Jr. in 1991.

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Given that the injury is now being reported as a hamstring strain, we can be pretty sure that his workload last year didn’t cause this injury. Still, the point of the post stands.

The hits just keep coming for the St. Louis Cardinals, as Chris Carpenter left the mound with the team trainer after throwing 32 pitches today. Following the loss of Adam Wainwright and the devastating blow of Nick Punto’s absence – as well as some contract talks that might not have gone very well – the Cardinals just can’t afford to keep hemorrhaging talent.

Carpenter, of course, is no stranger to the DL. He’s had both labrum and Tommy John surgery, and essentially missed entire seasons in 2003, 2007, and 2008. Carpenter has an extensive history of arm problems, so today’s news isn’t entirely shocking. That said, when Carpenter has been healthy enough to pitch, he’s been a workhorse. In 2005/2006, he was third in total innings pitched behind only Johan Santana and Brandon Webb. Last year, he threw 235 innings, tied with Dan Haren for the fourth most in baseball.

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