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Will Carroll has seen a partial list and thinks it could have a major impact on public perception of the game. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=121

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His 2006 season netted him 17 wins because he had hands-down the best offense in the game behind him. As of now, they're rotation consists of Mussina, Pettitte, Wang, Johnson, and Pavano. It's a strong 1-3, but if they could net a decent #4 pitcher who isn't facing the injury risks and performance decline Johnson is, or if they feel that Jeff Karstens is ready to start full-time, all while getting rid of his $15M+ contract, it's a no-brainer on their part. IF Johnson is healthy theres a very very good chance he will be the #1 pitcher in that rotation. Nate Silver agrees.

It appears any Todd Helton trade would be off the table and the pie in the sky deal of Figgins for Jones will live as only a message board rumor. Why would anyone want Figgins over Jones? .267/.336/.376 last year. That was worse than Pierre. I knew people didn't like Jones, but this is getting ridiculous. Yep.

Yeah, I'm with nilo on this one. Johnson isn't coming to Chicago, but if he were I'd welcome him with open arms.

I'd be pissed if I were the dodgers :D Good catch. Clearly he means Adam LaRoche, but I didn't notice he said Andy when I first read it.

Carroll just updated that a deal seemed close over the weekend but isn't as close now, which doesn't mean it won't happen as Schuerholz usually works slowly. Andruw Jones is the centerpiece. The Braves want to replace Jones and they want to improve last year's horrid bullpen. CF possibilities include Granderson, Markakis, and Baldelli. The Braves are willing to include Andy LaRoche. Some of the deals being worked on include Tim Hudson, Mark Texeira, and Dontrelle Willis. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/unfiltered/?p=120

Expected BABIP for knuckleballers is very different than expected BABIP for other pitchers. What should it be then? Here is what Wake has done: Actual vs Expected (LD%+.120) 2002: 245 vs 300; 55 better 2003: 297 vs 327; 30 better 2004: 288 vs 256; 32 worse 2005: 265 vs 291; 26 better 2006: 276 vs 284; 8 better He's done better than expected overall, but 04 was worse and 06 was pretty much right on. Should a knuckler's expected BABIP be LD%+.100, or is using LD% not even a valid way of estimating? For comparison, here are 2006 stats for two other knucklers in the minors, both of whom are very close to the LD%+.120 estimation. Jered Fernandez's actual BABIP last year was 308 vs an expected of 292. Charlie Zink's actual BABIP last year was 272 vs an expected of 265. Smarter people than me have done studies on knucklers and BABIP. I don't have access to the articles right now (I'm traveling), but some analysts will argue that knucklers actually have a degree of control over their BABIP that "normal" pitchers don't. Also muddling matters a little is that minor league BABIP numbers are usually a little inflated due to poorer than major league defense. I really haven't followed Haeger, so I don't have an opinion on him one way or the other, although I believe he should get a shot at the rotation. As to why there aren't more knucklers, that's a good question. Wasn't Boston trying to develop knuckleballers in the recent past? I don't know what came of that.

Doug Melvin called Suppan a "proven winner" and cited his win totals from recent years, a lot like what Hendry did with Marquis. It's a lot easier to be a proven winner when pitching for the Cardinals instead of the Brewers.

My unauthoritative view is that the Sox got the better end of this trade. We'll see in the near future.

Expected BABIP for knuckleballers is very different than expected BABIP for other pitchers.

I got drunk on half a sip of Zima....or was it O'Douls? ( :-k :lol:

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/HeadLines.aspx?sport=MLB And the NL Central trembles.

If only he were the Ultimate Fighting Champion Barrett has a shot if he gives up baseball.

Mark Derosa had a .357 OBP last year and Loretta had a .345. Derosa is clearly the best choice for 2B. :twisted:

His point wasn't just that this is a normal fluctuation, but that park effect had a lot to do with it.

Its there. If you click on "Cubs" in the left-hand margin, its the 2nd article down. When I do that, the 2nd story is "stopgap CF". I did find it at the bottom, as the last headline under the "more headlines" topic. But seriously, what is tinyurl.com? It's useful. Read about it: http://tinyurl.com/

If Floyd is signed: 1) Even if Floyd were to begin the season platooning with Murton, it wouldn't mean the Cubs had to do so all year. The Blue Jays, for example, began the season with platoons in both left field and right field before giving the fulltime jobs to Reed Johnson and Alex Rios. If Murton dominates in the early part of the year, the Floyd signing wouldn't prohibit him from playing every day. 2) As I've suggested elsewhere, there's little reason to expect a spike in power from Murton unless he changes his swing. ZIPS and CHONE both project Floyd to have a higher OPS than Murton next year. 3) I love Floyd as a hitter off the bench. 4) Maybe adding Floyd means the Cubs can get rid of Angel Pagan.

Bench? Pshh...give him the start in the OF ;) You know Macias can pitch, right? The Nats could play Macias in right field when Mike O'Connor starts and bring Macias in whenever O'Connor is supposed to face a tough righty. O'Connor could just switch back and forth with Macias in right field.

Stats aren't everything. Macias brings intangibles that make the whole team better. Can you measure the psychological value of knowing that if one of the starters gets hurt - no matter what position he plays - Macias can step right in? Plus he's a switch hitter. He instantly breaks up an all left-handed or all right-handed lineup. And his age is a positive, not a negative. He'll teach the youngsters how to play the game the right way. He'll tutor Ryan Zimmerman just like Maddux tutored Sean Marshall. Bowden pulled off Kearns/Lopez for junk and he got good prospects for Vidro. If he can get Macias signed, he's 3-0 in my book.

:oops: When I posted I was drunker than Jim Bowden channeling William Faulkner. I swear by Phoebe Cates that it won't happen again. at 11:12 AM? i guess its 5 o'clock somewhere :oops: OK, not really. I just wanted to make a Jim Bowden joke. Honestly, the thought of Jose Macias playing for another major league team has me giddy like a schoolgirl.

huh?

I've got a good recipe for roasted potatoes with spinach leaves and rosemary garlic butter that might interest you in four more years. Northside Baseball Cookbook, anyone?

:oops: When I posted I was drunker than Jim Bowden channeling William Faulkner. I swear by Phoebe Cates that it won't happen again.

The difference between Rocco Baldelli's actual OPS and his prOPS is greater than Theriot's. I really think Baldelli's numbers will drop next year. If the D-rays are smart, they trade him for the best pitching package they can get.