This edition of Offseason Notes contains the exact perfect numbers of mustaches.

Marginally Important News
In which the author tells the truth, but tells it slant.

Top 25 Rule V Possibilities
The Rule V Draft occurs on December 9, and Baseball America has published — in subscriber-only format, unfortunately — a list of the top-25 available players. Luckily for the thrift-minded, contributor Vlad at Bucs Dugout has annotated the frig out of it. Among the names, you’ll find Marquez Smith, whose talents I’ve celebrated in these pages, and who might very well not be a Cub by mid-December.

S. Fasano Named Double-A Manager
Excellently mustachioed former catcher Sal Fasano has been named the manager of Toronto’s Double-A affiliate, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. The announcement comes just one year after Fasano began his coaching career, with Toronto Class A affiliate Lansing. Mostly, this is just a flimsy pretense for including a photo of everyone’s brother from another mother (Sal Fasano, that is).

Notes on Dodger Pitching Prospect C. Withrow
Chris Withrow’s star — and the relative brightness of it — was the subject of some contention in these pages early-early this year. Here, Call to the Pen’s Nathaniel Stoltz attempts to understand Withrow’s tough 2010. Mostly I bring it up because Withrow is one of the only baseball players with whom I’ve had a conversation — one which was rendered into print, no less. (You care deeply about this, I’m sure of it.)

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. Equal parts insult and injury.

and

2. An illustrative graph.

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Marginally Important News
In which the author examines some news that’s maybe less-than-fit to print.

Arbitration Deadline Tomorrow
A total of 21 teams have at least one decision to make in offering arbitration to eligible free agents tomorrow. MLB Trade Rumors has a complete list. Among the more interesing cases: Derek Jeter, Frank Francisco, Felipe Lopez (a Type B free agent), Paul Konerko, J.J. Putz.

Cubs Leave M. Smith Off 40-Man
Chicago third-base prospect Marquez Smith was noted in these pages late last month for his favorable ZiPS minor-league translation (zMLE). Now he’s being noted for another reason — namely, for being excluded from the Cubs 40-man roster (and thus eligible in December’s Rule 5 Draft). Though contact remains a (legitimate) issue for the 25-year-old Smith, TotalZone likes his defense to the tune of 1.0 to 1.5 wins per season.

Dan Moore Uses Word “Machinations” in Title of Post
Let’s just celebrate that, is all.

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This edition of Offseason Notes is funnier than about 60% of all episodes of The Jeffersons.

Marginally Important News
In which the author examines news that’s just barely fit to print.

Juan Carlos Linares Getting Attention
SCOUT-leaderboard-fixture Juan Carlos Linares is discussed glowingly by Sox GM Theo Epstein and a mysterious scouty-type person. “He rakes,” says — er, actually, texts — the latter, presumably not discussing Linares’s fondness for yardwork.

Amazin’ Avenue Starts Book Club
Clearly aware that sporting news can reach absurd heights at this particular juncture of the baseballing calendar, Amazin’ Avenue’s James Kannengieser has started a virtual book club, and the first assignment is Moneyball. Among the penetrating discussion questions, we find this, for example:

5. Was early 1980s Billy Beane [pictured above right] really as handsome as the scouts declared? How would he stack up vs. other 1986 Mets in that department? As a GM, would you rather sign a lothario or a mature, married player (like Ollie)?

It’s obvious, America: Metropolitan fans are willing to ask the tough questions..

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. SCOUT leaderboards — now with organizational names!
2. Some pretty serious LOL-type writing situations.

and

3. The antidote to all life’s worries.

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. Some headlines from around the internet.
2. Some joy-sodden notes on those headlines.

and

3. Two swear words.

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. Some overenthusiastic assessments of AFL SCOUT leaders.
2. Some notable ZiPS projections for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

and

3. Some shameless promotion for our impressive new NotGraphs blog.

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. An invitation to take my, Carson Cistulli’s, money.
2. Some notable ZiPS projections for the Florida Marlins.

and

3. By popular demand, the return of the Bryce Harper Watch.

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This edition of Offseason Notes contains:

1. A list of notable minor league free agents.
2. Some notable ZiPS projections for the Texas Rangers.

and

3. A diamond not quite as large as, but nearing the size of, the Ritz.

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This edition of Offseason Notes has the good face. It’s a fact!

SCOUT Batting Leaderboard
The Leaderboard
Here is the SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League. (Click here for more on SCOUT, the metric that’s “sweeping” the “nation.”)

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