Offseason Notes for October 5th

Ray Knight, seen here mocking Red Sox fans.

Assorted Headlines
Dodgers Decline Options on Blake, Garland
The Dodgers declined to exercise 2012 options on pitcher Jon Garland and infielder Casey Blake, according to MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick. Garland would have received $8 million in 2012; Blake, $6 million. While the former has been roughly replacement level for the past couple years, Blake posted a 1.1 WAR this season despite making only 239 plate appearances.

Sizemore Has Surgery
Grady Sizemore underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Monday. The news is notable not because Sizmore had surgery, per se, but because he has an $8.5 million club option for 2012. Sizemore had the third-highest WAR in the majors from 2006 to ’08 (ca. 22 WAR), but has been worth just under two wins in the three years since.

Buckner Ball to Be Auctioned
The owner of the very famous Buckner ball will be auctioning same for ca. $1 million on eBay this month. On the one hand: memorabilia schmemorabilia. On the other hand: there would be some satisfaction in buying the ball in question, peeing all over it, and then throwing it at Ray Knight’s entire life. In a friendly way, I mean.

Arizona Fall League
Arizona Fall League Action
This is the part of the show where we discuss Arizona Fall League action.

Arizona Fall League Action, Part II
In Arizona Fall League action last night, 41 total runs were scored in just two games.

Notable Performances
Here are some notable AFL performances from Tuesday — where “notable performances” mostly means “hit a home run”:

• Blue Jay prospect, 21-year-old Anthony Gose, went 2-for-5, hit a home run, and didn’t strike out. Gose was recognized by Baseball America in August for being the best baserunner, best defensive outfielder, and most exciting player in the Double-A Eastern League.
• Cub prospect, 22-year-old Josh Vitters, went 2-for-5 with two home runs and zero strikeouts. Vitters cut his strikeout rate by seven percent (18.0% in 2010, 11.1% in 2011) in his second year at Double-A.
• Cincinnati reliever, 23-year-old Bradley Boxberger, struck out all four batters he faced and distinguished himself as one of the few pitchers not to leave the field in tears.

Prospecting
John Sickels Reviews His Top Fitty
Prominent, and probably really nice, prospect maven John Sickels reviewed his top-50 hitting prospects from before the season. Texas’s Jurickson Profar and Colorado’s Nolan Arenado most improved their prospect status. Athletics Grant Green and Chris Carter — along with Pirate Tony Sanchez — are likely to find their way down Sickels’ next list.

Baseball America’s Eastern League Top 20
Baseball America released its list of the Double-A Eastern League’s Top 20 Prospects from 2011.

Here are the top five:

1. Bryce Harper, OF, Nationals
2. Travis D’Arnaud, C, Blue Jays
3. Anthony Gose OF, Blue Jays
4. Brad Peacock, RHP, Nationals
5. Jacob Turner, RHP, Tigers

Photo of Ray Knight by Scott Ableman.