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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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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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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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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Quick. Name a starting pitcher on the New York Yankees from the mid-2000’s.

Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina are the gimmes. Andy Pettitte. Javier Vazquez. Carl Pavano. Kevin Brown. Orlando Hernandez. Chien-Ming Wang.

Chien-Ming Wang. The Taiwanese sensation is famous enough in his home country to incite a murder, but is routinely overlooked when reminiscing over quality starters throughout the past decade.

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Some things are only made clear via arrows and sine curves.

Today’s edition of Offseason Notes contains this vital information:

1. Re-Introducing SCOUT Leaderboards
2. SCOUT Batting Leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League
3. SCOUT Pitching Leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League

Re-Introducing SCOUT Leaderboards
Regarding What Is SCOUT
SCOUT is an attempt to derive some sort of meaning from the rather small samples (of plate appearances) that occur in the various fall and winter leagues.

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One of baseball’s best shortstops is playing High-A ball.

1. Assorted Headlines
2. Arizona Fall League Action
3. Prospecting: John Sickels on Atlanta

Assorted Headlines
“Theo Epstein” and Compensation
I’ve placed quotation marks around Epstein’s name not because I suspect the former Boston GM of using a pseudonym, but rather because it’s part of a Google search to which I’ve linked because there are — as you will see — many internet thoughts on Theo Epstein and the compensation the Red Sox are seeking for his departure. If, as some have mentioned, Cub outfield prospect Brett Jackson is a possibility, that’s unfortunate for the Chicagos. Even if we assume that Jackson is only a top 76-100 hitting prospect, he’s likely worth almost as much in surplus value to the Cubs as the Cubs have agreed to pay Epstein over the next five years… Does that make sense? Wait a sec, I’ll read it over again… Okay, it mostly makes sense.

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Aaron Laffey, pictured here beside a floating baseball.

This edition of Offseason Notes contains the following important information:

1. Recent and Minor Transactions
2. Transaction Glossary: Outrighted
3. Arizona Fall League Action

Recent and Minor Transactions
Below are some recent minor transactions with vibrant notes on same.

Colorado Rockies claim Andrew Brown off waivers from St. Louis Cardinals
The Colorado Rockies are in search of someone to platoon with Seth Smith in left field and Ian Stewart at third base, and will very likely give the newly acquired — and right-hand batting — Brown an opportunity to try doing at least one of those things. Brown, who just turned 27, played all four corner spots at Triple-A Memphis (although his single appearance at third suggests he’s not a natural at the position), batting .284/.382/.501 (.340 BABIP) in 428 plate appearances. Notably, 2011 was only Brown’s first season at the level.

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News broke this morning that Red Sox President of Baseball Operations (the de facto Red Sox GM) Theo Epstein and the Chicago Cubs have agreed to, though not finalized, terms which will bring the Yale grad to Chicago’s Northside. The deal appears to be worth $20M over five years, but the Cubs will undoubtedly need to send compensation (say, a prospect or some Benjamins) the Red Sox’s way — which may well escalate the cost beyond what’s beneficial to the Cubs.

If the compensation package includes a number of significant prospects, this may well result in Theo Epstein starting from scratch as the Cubs GM. So, let’s assume he is starting with a largely depleted farm system (one that was half-depleted in the Matt Garza trade). What moves does Epstein need to make immediately? And no, extending John Grabow is not one of them.

1) Fill the Front Office
The Jim Hendry regime nearly took pride in how small their front office was. They had scouts, sure, but their “statistics department” had long consisted of one man, Chuck Wasserstrom, until Cubs owner Tom Ricketts doubled their staff, bringing in Ari Kaplan and presumably purchasing a few more bristles for their push-broom.

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It’s the Mexican Pacific League… en su cara.

1. Arizona Fall League Action
2. Mexican Pacific League Action
3. Some Brief Notes on Baseball America’s PCL Top 20

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