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

1. Select Televised Games
2. Lightly Annotated Video: Chris Sale vs. the Dodgers
3. SCOUT Leaderboards: Spring Training Pitchers

Select Televised Games
The best games on MLB.TV today, or your money back. Seriously, all of it.

Atlanta Futures at Atlanta | 19:05 ET
This game features the Braves major-league team versus a team of Braves prospects. Left-hander Mike Minor, who has a 19:14 K:BB in 24.0 innings this spring, starts for the senior team. The roster for the Futures team is available here, courtesy MiLB.com, and features left-hander Sean Gilmartin (ranked fifth in the organization by our Marc Hulet), Christian Bethancourt (seventh), Edward Salcedo (eighth), etc.

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

1. Important Graph re: the Proximity of Opening Day
2. Two Games to Maybe Watch
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: New York (NL) Radio

Important Graph re: the Proximity of Opening Day
Actual data from a totally real source reveals that the baseball enthusiast’s ability to care for most everything declines considerably as the official start of the season approaches.

To wit:

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

1. Select Televised Games
2. SCOUT Leaderboard: Spring Training Batters
3. Superfluous Video: Freddy Galvis Gets Three Hits

Select Televised Games
Today’s notable games available on MLB.TV.

Miami at Washington | 18:05 ET
Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond has a .304 career on-base percentage, has produced one of the worst offensive performahnces of the spring (see batting laggardboards below), and yet has batted in the leadoff spot for at least each of the Nationals’ last seven games — and will likely do so for the foreseeable future. Does batting Desmond leadoff ultimately have a profound negative effect on run production? Probably not. But it appears to be symptomatic of a sort of devotion to baseball orthodoxy (in this case, the Baseball Law that the leadoff spot should be reserved for a fast, light-ish-hitting batter) that one imagines can’t help a team.

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Carson Cistulli is still rubbing elbows with Bill Parcells, Celine Dion, Bryant Gumbel and all the other beautiful people who populate Jupiter, Fla., but he will return tomorrow with observations about the human condition as it relates to baseball that are both insightful and humorous in nature. Today, you are stuck with me, and I will provide neither. Sorry about that.

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

1. Select Televised Games
2. Things You Can Buy With 2.15 Billion Dollars
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Oakland Radio

Select Televised Games
Notable games available on MLB.TV.

2012 National High School Invitational | 13:05 ET, 16:35 ET
Yesterday, the first-ever National High School Invitational kicked off at USA Baseball’s National Training Complex in Cary, NC. If you’re unfamiliar with Cary, it is located just outside of Raleigh, and is one of the primary towns in North Carolina’s fabled “Research Triangle.” This week, 16 of the country’s top high school programs have descended upon Cary to take part in a single-elimination tournament, and the winner gets bragging rights as the top high school team in the land. But while the tourney is single elimination, all teams will get four chances to play, which is just information overload for the scouting community. Several top prospects are scheduled to participate in the tourney, and you can watch two of today’s games live on MLB.com. Today’s games will be quarterfinal games, with the semis being broadcast live on Friday and the Gold medal game being live at noon ET on Saturday. Usually, we get nothing more than snippets of video from amateur players, so don’t miss out on the chance to watch several players that could go in the first two rounds this June. Check here for more details.

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Carson Cistulli remains away, so us the other writers shall — as the Necronomicon suggests we might — play.

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

1. Selected Televised Games
2. Japanese Baseball Wonderments
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Get Your Vote On

Selected Televised Games
Notable games available on MLB.TV.

Mariners at Athletics AL | 6:10 ET
By the time your eyes hit these digital words, this game will should have expired — because this Regular Season series is taking place in yonder JAPAN. But, through the magic of Internet, you can watch this game anytime today and at your leisure! The contest will also be re-broadcast on MLB Network at 9 a.m. (with a three-hour delay, that is), so people looking to get their Yoenis Cespedes / Ichiro Suzuki fix have some options here.

The game is still in progress at the time of publication. I don’t want to give anything away, but suffice it to say: The game involves pitching performances! and multi-hit efforts! and diving/jumping catches!

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I’m Daily Notes Mystery Guest Author No. 1. It’s all down hill from here.

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

1. Select Televised Games
2. Preparations for Opening Day-Japan

Select Televised Games
Notable games available on MLB.TV.

Atlanta at New York NL | 13:10 ET

The Red Sox aren’t the only team with a competition for Opening Day shortstop. The Braves came into camp expecting to name Tyler Pastornicky to the position with a mid-season call-up for prospect Andrelton Simmons. But Pastornicky’s been ho-hum this spring and some inside the Braves camp are pushing for Simmons to make the jump from Single A to the majors to start the year. Watch to see if either or both play against the Mets.

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

1. Programming Note: Mystery Guests
2. Select Televised Games
3. SCOUT Leaderboards: Spring Training Pitchers
4. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Philadelphia Radio

Programming Note: Mystery Guests
The present author will be spending the week in and around Jupiter, Florida, spring home of the Cardinals, Marlins, and the author’s grandfather.

As a result, the next three editions of Daily Notes will be authored by three Mystery Guests. Their identities willn’t be revealed now — with a view, that is, towards preserving the mystery part of their name — but the reader can rest assured that each edition of Daily Notes between Tuesday and Thursday will be full of Heartpounding Excitement and Bone-Chilling Suspense.

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

1. Select Televised Games
2. Five Scouting Reports on Brian Dozier
3. Crowdsourcing Broadcasters: Pittsburgh Radio

Select Televised Games
Notable games available on MLB.TV.

Minnesota at New York AL | 13:05 ET
Left-hander Francisco Liriano makes the start for the Twins today. Liriano was at the top of the most recent SCOUT leaderboard for spring pitchers. Also, another thing about this game: it could very well feature prospect Brian Dozier — and not Jamey Carroll, nor Alexi Casilla — playing shortstop. Dozier, who enters his age-25 season, is likely the best defensive shortstop of the triumvirate. ZiPS projects him for a .295 wOBA; Casilla, .307; and Carroll, .302.

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