For the second year in a row, Mark Kotsay has received a major league contract. The Padres agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.25 million with the 35-year-old (about to enter his age-36 season) on Tuesday.
For the second year in a row, Mark Kotsay does not deserve a spot on a major league roster — at least, not on his merits as a baseball player.
The Oakland Athletics are currently seeking a Full-Time Programmer, Baseball Systems. This position reports to the senior Baseball Operations staff and will assist in the development and operation of an aggregated player information and evaluation system. This position requires strong statistical, database management, and software development skills and experience, as well as a demonstrated ability for independent thought and for working within a team framework.
A couple of years ago, Sky Andrecheck used the power of hindsight to see if an MLB team could have built a 2009 playoff contender using only players who were available on the free-agent market that previous off-season. The only caveat was that this team had to have a league-average budget. Using actual WAR and salaries, Andrecheck pieced together the perfect 25-man roster — actually 18, since he left his bullpen to fend for itself with replacement-level players — and on Aug. 24, his hypothetical team was on pace to win 96 games. And it all happened for the bargain price of $78.6 million.
While this is an interesting exercise, and one I replicated for the 2008 season, I don’t need to tell you that a pretty strong team could have been built on the backs of 2011 free-agent steals such as Bartolo Colon, Brandon McCarthy, Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Vogelsong. Instead, Mr. Dave Cameron, in his infinite generosity, has given me a budget of $80 million FanGraphs Pesos to piece together a free-agent team for next season, without the benefit of hindsight. In case you’re wondering, the ratio of FanGraphs Pesos to Schrute Bucks is 3:1.
Chicago (AL) lefty Chris Sale is one of the few major leaguers to play in khakis.
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Offseason Notes.
1. Assorted Headlines
2. SCOUT Leaderboards: Arizona Fall League
3. Prospecting: Baseball America’s Top-10 List for Chicago (NL)
Assorted Headlines
Confirmed: Sale to Start in 2012
White Sox general manager Ken Williams confirmed on Tuesday that left-hander Chris Sale will be a starting pitcher next season, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Sale, 22, was an enormously successful starter in college at Florida Gulf Coast University, but has pitched exclusively in relief for Chicago, posting this line in 2011: 71.0 IP, 27.4% K, 9.4% BB, 49.7% GB, 2.73 SIERA, 3.00 xFIP, 74 xFIP-. Dave Cameron discussed on Monday’s podcast (around the 8:10 mark) how Sale might profile as a starter. Mike Podhorzer reflects on the changes in Sale’s fantasy value over at RotoGraphs.
Eric Hosmer finished third in this year’s American League Rookie-of-the-Year balloting, but you might not want to bet against his going on to have a better career than the players who finished one-two. The left-handed-hitting Royals first baseman hit .293/.334/.465, with 19 home runs, and he did it as a 21-year-old. By comparison, Jeremy Hellickson is 24, and Mark Trumbo 25.
Hosmer, who came into the season rated as Kansas City’s top prospect, made his Royals debut on May 6. A few months later he sat down to talk about his hitting approach and his early impressions of the big leagues.
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David Laurila: What is your approach at the plate?
Eric Hosmer: You can’t really think too much. It’s more about just having a plan against the guy you’re facing. You’re basically knowing his strengths, knowing your own strengths, and sticking with your plan. I try to see ball and hit ball, and keep it as simple as possible.
DL: What do you know about hitting now that you didn’t when you signed your first professional contract, three years ago?
Read the rest of this entry »
Episode Ninety-Nine
Stay-at-home dad and author of one alright book Dayn Perry discusses NL Central prospects, new Cardinal manager Mike Matheny, and his own personal workout regimen. “Riveting” is not the right word to describe it.
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The BBWAA confirmed what most already expected Tuesday by tabbing Justin Verlander as the 2011 American League Cy Young award winner. Verlander was absolutely dominant in 2011, pacing both circuits with 24 wins, a 2.40 ERA, and an astonishing 251 IP. Verlander similarly dominated ballots by receiving all 28 first-place votes for a perfect total of 196 points, according to the BBWAA’s tabulation system. Rounding out the top-five were Jered Weaver, James Shields, CC Sabathia, and in a bit of a head-scratcher, Verlander’s teammate and closer Jose Valverde.
There are just shy of a million ways to quantify just how incredible Verlander’s season was, so just let me highlight a few of those most noticeable.
