Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. A Brief Guide to Yusmeiro Petit’s Start Today
2. Today’s Complete Schedule

A Brief Guide to Yusmeiro Petit’s Start Today
Introduction
In his most recent start, on September 6th against Arizona, 28-year-old Giants right-hander and former half-prospect Yusmeiro Petit retired the first 26 opposing batters he faced en route to a one-hit shutout of the Diamondbacks (box). Notably, this wasn’t even Petit’s most impressive recent start, so far his defense-independent marks are concerned: on September 1st, also against Arizona, he produced a 1.59 single-game xFIP in 6.0 innings (box).

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Several news outlets reported on Tuesday that the Yankees will ink a new contract with CBS Radio worth $15 million to 20 million per year. As part of the deal, the Yankees’ radio broadcasts will move from one CBS Radio-owned New York station to another. Starting in 2014, Yankees games will be heard on WFAN (660 AM), the sports-only radio station that’s been home to the Mets since 1987. The Mets are in discussions with several radio broadcasters and expect to announce a new radio home in the next six weeks.

Radio broadcast rights in the $15 million to $20 million range are a rarity in MLB. The Red Sox are the only other team that reportedly rakes in close to $20 million per year from its radio broadcaster, WEEI (93.7 FM). It was big news when the Red Sox signed that 10-year/$200 million deal in 2006, to cover the 2007 through 2016 seasons. At the time, WCBS paid the Yankees only $10 million a year for the right to broadcast its games.

But the Red Sox deal doesn’t appear to have led to an escalation in radio rights fees, the way the Rangers’ multi-billion dollar contract with Fox Sports Southwest did on the TV side. Indeed, the Yankees’ radio revenue jumped from from $10 million in 2006 to just $14 million this season.

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Introduction
The Fringe Five has been a weekly exercise (introduced in April) conducted by the author this year with a view to identifying the most compelling of those rookie-eligible minor leaguers excluded from three notable preseasoon top-100 prospect lists: Baseball America’s, Bullpen Banter’s, and FanGraphs’. Each week, the author submitted the names of five “compelling” minor leaguers, each name attended by a brief summary of that prospect’s most relevant credentials.

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Many of my younger years were spent living in San Diego. As such, I got to watch a lot of the Padres and the Braves — the Padres, because they were local, and the Braves, because they were inescapable. As such, I got to watch a lot of Ryan Klesko, and of all the things Klesko ever did, one in particular stands out in my own mind. I remember few of the important details — I don’t remember the year, I don’t remember the pitcher, and I don’t even remember for whom Klesko played. What I know is that Klesko hit a pitch for a home run, and the pitch was somewhere up near his eyes. Over time, my reenactments probably grew exaggerated, and my memory now is that Klesko homered off a pitch literally over his head. Wherever the pitch really was, though, it was up. Klesko chopped at it, and it soared 400 feet, over the fence and into my brain.

I thought of Ryan Klesko when I saw the most recent clip of Wladimir Balentien in Japan. The single-season Japanese home-run record, if you don’t know, is 55. At present, Balentien’s home-run total, if you don’t know, is 54. He’s mighty close, and he’s got a lot of time. Many of Balentien’s homers this year have been impressive, but I’m guessing none have been quite like his 54th. That homer is unlike most; that homer is straight-up hard to believe.

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Two things jump out when you watch Nate Jones deliver a pitch. The Chicago White Sox righthander has an unorthodox delivery and he throws hard. Working primarily as a setup man, he features a 97-mph fastball.

What doesn’t jump out is that he is putting up better numbers than last year. The 27-year-old Northern Kentucky product is 4-5, 3.86, compared to 8-0, 2.39. But a closer look tells a completely different story. Jones has improved in nearly every other category, with a markedly better FIP.

Jones, who has made 63 appearances this season, discussed his evolution as a pitcher — including his funky delivery — on a recent visit to Fenway Park. Also weighing in were former teammate, and current Red Sox reliever Matt Thornton, and White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben and Sam answer listener emails about Mariano Rivera’s workload, rarely applied rules, FIELDf/x and shifts, quality starts, and more.

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It’s long been a foregone conclusion that Miguel Cabrera is going to win the 2013 American League Most Valuable Player Award. It’s long felt like a foregone conclusion that this will happen despite Cabrera again finishing well behind Mike Trout in league WAR. The question hasn’t been whether Trout will finish first or second; it’s been whether Trout will finish second or third or fourth or worse. We’ve already been through this, and if Cabrera has a serious challenger, it’s in the person of one Chris Davis. It’s Davis who has the lead on Cabrera in dingers. It’s Davis who’s playing for another AL contender. It’s Davis who stands the only real chance of knocking Cabrera down, in the event of a white-hot few weeks. But it still presumably won’t happen. Cabrera has packed a lot into his time.

This has been a foregone conclusion because we’ve tried to predict the tendencies and beliefs of the voters. Precedent: most previous votes. Specifically, last year’s votes. Cabrera will win because he’s a beast on a playoff team. Trout will not win because he’s a beast on a non-playoff team that hasn’t been close to the race. The overwhelming majority of voters place extra weight on productivity in meaningful games. Because we debate the awards every year, it’s pretty hard to find a fresh argument. It’s hard to feel like it’s worth writing something, when you feel like you’ve written it a thousand times before. But every so often, there’s an unexplored nugget of interest, and if you follow the thought processes of the voting writers, I think you can make an argument that this year’s AL MVP should or could be Josh Donaldson.

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For the fourth time this season, Derek Jeter has been sidelined. There is no timetable for his return, and unless the Yankees reach the postseason — and there is still hope on that front — there is a decent chance that he will make no meaningful contribution to the team at all this season. Even with the expectation that he would miss time this season, it seemed likely that he would contribute at some point, so this comes as a bit of a surprise, even at this late date. The question is then, just how much should the Yankees expect him to contribute next season?

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