A bearded man attempts to steal Jim Thome’s tie during a Cleveland-area event Monday afternoon.

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

1. Assorted Headlines
2. Discovery: Winter League Stats by Organization
3. SCOUT Leaderboards: Mexican Pacific League

Assorted Headlines
News as it happens about 16 hours after it happens.

Phillies Decline Options on Lidge, Oswalt
The Phillies declined options on both Brad Lidge and Roy Oswalt, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. Oswalt would’ve made $16 million in 2012; Lidge, $12.5 million. The players’ respective buyouts were $2 million and $1.5 million. Oswalt finished with an xFIP- above 100 for the first time in his career this season, although he still managed to post a 2.5 WAR in 139 innings — or roughly $12.5 million dollars of value. Brad Lidge, for his part, struck out 42.6% of the 369 batters he faced in 2004. His 2011 was less productive.

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We continue our contract crowdsourcing today with starting pitchers. Bradley “The Body” Woodrum provided a summary of the options available as part of this offseason’s class of free-agent starting pitchers.

Like last time, I’ve added some alternate questions for each of the players below — inviting speculation, for example, on whether CC Sabathia will choose to opt out of his contract or if the reader has ever been tempted to describe Edwin Jackson as “mercurial.”

While we’ll reserve all contract information until the end of the present series (to avoid bias), data from Friday’s polling suggests that this year’s free-agent class of center fielders is sad enough to make the whole world cry.

Forms after the jump.

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Ryan Madson is hailed as a Proven Closer.

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

1. Assorted Headlines
2. SCOUT Batting Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League
3. SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League
4. Prospecting: John Sickels’ Top 20 Prospect Lists for St. Louis and Texas

Assorted Headlines
Amaro and the Search for a Closer
In the event that the team is unable to re-sign Ryan Madson, Ruben Amaro would like to sign an experienced closer, reports Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer — this, despite appearing to fully acknowledge the fact that Madson himself (a) was not an experienced closer and (b) performed admirably (60.2 IP, 2.63 SIERA, 2.94 xFIP, 76 xFIP-) in said role. Amaro continued by stating that the world is flat, while holding a globe in his hands.

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We continue our contract crowdsourcing today with center fielders. New Man on Campus Jason Roberts provided a summary of the options available as part of this offseason’s center-field free-agent class — a class that’s essentially Grady Sizemore and a group of other players.

Given the paucity of the available center fielders, I’ve included only two polls below. The first is in two parts, asking readers to speculate on whether the Indians will exercise Sizemore’s 2012 option. Based on that choice, the reader will be brought to one of two pages.

The other poll concerns the four other main center-field options outlined by Roberts and asks the reader, simply, to decide which is likely to be most productive in 2012.

While we’ll reserve all contract information until the end of the present series (to avoid bias), data from yesterday’s polling suggests that 56.8% of respondents believe Carlos Beltran will be as misunderstood by his next fanbase as he was by the Mets’ fanbase.

Forms after the jump.

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Jose Reyes will almost definitely play for one of the 30 MLB teams in 2012.

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

1. Assorted Headlines
2. SCOUT Batting Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League
3. SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League

Assorted Headlines
Jose Reyes, Washington National?
A pair of unnamed New York Mets “wouldn’t be surprised” if Jose Reyes signed with the Washington Nationals this offseason, David Lennon of Newsday reports via his Twitter computer. While Reyes is clearly special, and likely to be worth five-plus wins in a healthy season, the Nationals already have an excellent young shortstop in Danny Espinosa, who posted a 3.5 WAR this season as the team’s second baseman. Moving Espinosa to short would open up a spot for Matt Antonelli, the former Padre prospect who had a rebound season at Triple-A Syracuse this year — and who’s also Italian, in case you didn’t even know.

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We continue our contract crowdsourcing today with corner outfielders. Eno Sarris provided a summary of the numerous options available as part of this offseason’s corner-outfield free-agent class. (While Sarris outlines a number of the free agents at the position, we’ll look at only the top five here — to “set the market,” as it were.)

Like last time, I’ve added some alternate questions for each of the players below — inviting speculation, for example, on whether Josh Willingham will post between 2.0 and 3.0 WAR for the seventh consecutive season, or whether Carlos Beltran’s new fanbase will misunderstand him to the same degree that the Met fanbase did.

While we’ll reserve all contract information until the end of the present series (to avoid bias), data from yesterday’s polling suggests that Rafael Furcal’s run with the NL Champion Cardinals will earn him a little over $2 million per annum on his next contract.

Forms after the jump.

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Offseason Notes Mission Statement
Mission Statement
It’s the mission of the author, in writing Offseason Notes, to identify and digest and present in as compact and readable a form as possible the news most relevant to the learned, and very dedicated, baseball fan.

What That Means in Practice
In practice, what that means is keeping readers abreast of events in baseball’s various fall and winter leagues (including, most notably, the Arizona Fall League); of the internet’s various prospect lists, as they’re released; of minor transactions (which, it should be said, are minor to everybody except the person to whom they’re happening); and other marginalia.

Regarding the Spirit in Which the Notes Are Composed
The notes are composed in a spirit of great enthusiasm and goodwill to all men — or, at least all the men that don’t use Axe body spray.

Regarding the Use of the Word Abreast Up Above
Effing hilarious.

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

1. Offseason Notes Mission Statement
2. SCOUT Batting Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League
3. SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League
4. Prospecting: John Sickels on Kansas City and Milwaukee

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We continue our contract crowdsourcing today with shortstops. Brandon Warne provided a summary this afternoon of the actually-pretty-good free-agent class.

Like last time, I’ve added some alternate questions for a few of the players below — inviting speculation, for example, on how many games Jose Reyes will average per season over the course of his next contract and also the degree to which Rafael Furcal’s playoff run with the Cardinals has increased the per-season value of his next deal.

While we’ll reserve all contract information until the end of the present series (to avoid bias), data from yesterday’s polling suggests that Josh Vitters is most likely to take Aramis Ramirez’s place as Chicago’s third baseman in 2012 — although at least one respondent likes Kid from Kid ‘n Play’s chances.

Forms after the jump.

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Red Sox minor leaguer Dan Butler is patient in at least two ways.

Today’s edition of Offseason Notes contains within it:

1. An Announcement Regarding How SCOUT Is Better
2. SCOUT Batting Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League
3. SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League

An Announcement Regarding How SCOUT Is Better
Bolded Heading
Today’s SCOUT leaderbaords — that is, the leaderboards for the metric we use to make something out of the small samples found in baseball’s various fall and winter leagues — contain three! three! three! changes.

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Episode Ninety
In which the guest is as bad as he wanna be.

Headlines
Cardinal Fandom in the American South — Discussed!
The World Series — Previewed Poorly!
Invective — Hurled!

Featuring
Dayn Perry, Baseball Writing Veteran

Finally, you can subscribe to the podcast via iTunes or other feeder things.

Audio on the flip-flop. (Approximately 25 min. play time.)

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