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

1. Brief Previews for Select Games
2. Video: Verlander’s Curveball Against Boston
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Los Angeles (NL) Radio

Brief Previews for Select Games
Here are brief previews for four of today’s games — each including the preferred television feed of FanGraphs readers, per the results of our offseason crowdsourcing project. (Information on probable pitchers from MLB.com.)

Chicago AL at Cleveland | 12:05 ET
Justin Masterson makes his second start for Cleveland. He was excellent on Opening Day. To wit: 8.0 IP, 27 TBF, 10 K, 1 BB, 10 GB on 16 batted-balls (62.5%). Also, from the box score: 2.19 FIP, 1.14 xFIP, 30 xFIP-, 86.9% fastballs (89.3 mph), 13.1% sliders (81.3 mph), .296 WPA.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Cleveland.

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

1. Brief Previews for Select Games
2. Sweet Table: Matt Moore on Five Top-Prospect Lists
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Miami Radio

Brief Previews for Select Games
Here are very brief previews for four of today’s games — each including the preferred television feed of FanGraphs readers, per the results of our offseason crowdsourcing project. (Information on probable pitchers from MLB.com.)

Tampa Bay at Detroit | 13:10 ET
Left-handed wunderkind and New Mexican Matt Moore makes his first start of the season. At no point at any of his minor-league stops did Moore, who enters his age-23 season, strike out fewer than 30% of opposing batters. Here’s his Steamer projection: 149.0 IP, 9.60 K/9, 4.53 BB/9, 0.87 HR/9, 3.80 FIP… The Tiger offense has been potent — through three games, at least. As of Monday, they led the majors in wRC+ (176) and had the second-lowest strikeout rate (13.4%)… Right-hander Rick Porcello, 23, starts for Detroit.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Detroit, Barely.

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Episode 162
Managing editor Dave Cameron is the guest — as he is most Mondays — on this Monday edition of FanGraphs Audio. Discussed: two recent pieces by Cameron: one on Felix Hernandez’s loss of velocity in the early days of the 2012 season; another on the Shutdown as potential replacement for the Save. Also: a pair of season debuts Monday night, one courtesy Japaniranian wunderkind Yu Darvish; the other, left-handed soft-tosser Tom Milone.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 39 min. play time.)

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

1. Brief Previews for Select Games
2. Lightly Annotated Video: Darvish’s Repertoire
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Milwaukee Radio

Brief Previews for Select Games
Here are very brief previews for four of today’s games — each including the preferred television feed of FanGraphs readers, per the results of our offseason crowdsourcing project. (Information on probable pitchers from MLB.com.)

Miami at Philadelphia | 13:05 ET
This is Monday’s lone early game (to be followed, at 16:10 ET, by C.J. Wilson’s Angels debut against Nick Blackburn and the Twins). Here’s an update on Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis: he’s only struck out twice (in 12 plate appearances), but is 0-for-8 on batted balls, giving him a line of .000/.091/.000 (.000 BABIP), .061 wOBA, -67 wRC+. Starters: Anibal Sanchez and Cole Hamels.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Miami.

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Episode 161
RotoGraphs editor and father-to-be Eno Sarris is the guest on this edition of FanGraphs Audio. Topics discussed: closing situations in Boston and Tampa Bay and Washington (and probably elsewhere, too); Sarris’s most-drafted list; and FanGraphs: The Game, what it is and how to win it (sort of).

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 41 min. play time.)

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

1. Unhelpful Previews for Select Games
2. Video: A Baltimore Oriole Eating an Orange
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Minnesota Radio

Unhelpful Previews for Select Games
Here are very brief, and largely unhelpful, previews for five of today’s game — each including the preferred television feed of FanGraphs readers, per the results of our offseason crowdsourcing project.

Chicago AL at Texas | 14:05 ET
White Sox DH Adam Dunn was worth almost three wins below replacement last year after averaging about three wins above replacement per season over his first 10 years in the majors. He was excellent this spring. “Will it carry over?” is the question you’ve maybe asked yourself, maybe once this spring. Starters: John Danks and Colby Lewis.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Texas.

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Read the methodology behind the ratings here. Remember that the grading scale is 20-80, with 50 representing league average.

2012 Organizational Rankings

#30 – Baltimore
#29 – Houston
#28 – Oakland
#27 – Pittsburgh
#26 – San Diego
#25 – Minnesota
#24 – Chicago AL
#23 – Seattle
#22 – Kansas City
#21 – Cleveland
#20 – New York NL
#19 – Los Angeles NL
#18 – Colorado
#17 — Miami
#16 — Diamondbacks
#15 — Cincinnati
#14 — Chicago NL
#13 — Milwaukee
#12 — San Francisco
#11 — Washington
#10 — Tampa Bay
#9 – Toronto
#8 – Atlanta
#7 – Detroit
#6 – St. Louis
#5 – Philadelphia

Anaheim’s 2011 Ranking: 12th

2012 Outlook: 65 (3rd)

If you want to find a weakness on the 2012 iteration of the Angels, you can. It’s very possible, for example, that the team’s second-best position player is a prospect (Mike Trout) who’s likely to spend a great deal of the season in the minors. It’s very possible, moreover, that one of the players by whom Trout is blocked (Vernon Wells) will fight to produce something north replacement level. Finally, the team lacks a capital-S Starter both at third base and designated hitter, which isn’t — traditionally speaking, at least — a recipe for success.

Here are a couple things the Angels do have, though: probably the league’s best starting rotation and also Albert Pujols. The ZiPS projection system — which, like most projection systems, is conservative by nature — projects the Angels’ top-four starters (Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Ervin Santana) to post a collective WAR of about 18.0. By comparison, only three starting rotations (Philadelphia, Chicago AL, Texas) posted WARs better than 18.0 in 2011 — and even the Angels themselves, sans free-agent signing C.J. Wilson, posted a fourth-place 17.8 WAR. As for Pujols, this is a player for whom a 5.1 WAR — what he posted in 2011 — is considered sub-par. All told, Pujols plus the team’s four best starters should be worth close to 25 wins. Were the rest of team to be average, the Angels would be expected to win ca. 96 games.

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

1. Announcement: All-Day Chat
2. Every Game, Previewed Inadequately
3. SCOUT Leaderboards: Spring Training Batters

Announcement: All-Day Chat
FanGraphs will be hosting basically an all-day chat today, featuring many of the writers you know and love — and also the ones to whom you’re entirely indifferent.

Every Game, Previewed Inadequately
Here are all of today’s games, previewed inadequately and including the preferred television feed of FanGraphs readers, per the results of our offseason crowdsourcing project.

Boston at Detroit | 13:05 ET
Jon Lester faces AL Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander. Ryan Raburn is scheduled to DH for the Tigers.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Boston.

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Episode 160
After an ennui-shortened episode two weeks ago — that, coupled with the podcast’s hiatus last week — this edition of the program represents Mr. Dayn Perry’s first real contribution to the program in some time. The episode begins with Perry in the middle of a vigorous workout on his treadmill and becomes no more substantive after that.

Don’t hesitate to direct pod-related correspondence to @cistulli on Twitter.

You can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio after the jump. (Approximately 57 min. play time.)

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Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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

1. Actual, Real Game: St. Louis at Miami, 19:05 ET
2. Timeless Video: Marlins Home Run Display
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: New York (AL) Radio

Actual, Real Game: St. Louis at Miami, 19:05 ET
Regarding What the Deal Is With This Game
The deal with this game is that it’s the first regular-season contest of the 2012 season both (a) being played in the United States and also (b) not involving the A’s and Mariners.

Regarding What Else the Deal Is
Another deal is that it’s also the first real-live game to be played in the Marlins’ new ballpark, ever.

Regarding How the Learned Reader Might Feel About That
Ambivalent, probably.

On Why That Might Be the Case
Because new stadia — especially new stadia replacing older, multi-purpose stadia like Sun Life — generally represent improvements, aesthetically speaking, over their predecessors. On the other hand, they’re also almost always the product of public funding, which, according to economist Andrew Zimbalist, is like the worst thing.

For How Much Longer the Author Could Hold Forth on Stadium Financing
About three more seconds.

What He’d Do After That
Maybe start talking in a hilarious accent — as, like, a diversion.

What He’d Do After-After That
Remind the reader that Josh Johnson is pitching for the Marlins (exciting!); Kyle Lohse, for the Cardinals (say wha-?).

Television: ESPN.

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