<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><!-- generator="WordPress/2.9.1" -->
<rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<title>baseballmusings.com</title>
	<link>http://baseballmusings.com</link>
	<description>A blog about Major League Baseball</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:43:48 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	
	<item>
		<title>Texas Talk</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Via Lone Star Ball, the lines of communication between Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels opened up, and the two are getting along very well.
But in October, following the 2009 season and with Hicks clearly on his way out as Rangers owner and a sale to the Chuck Greenberg-Ryan group imminent, Hicks called Daniels and Ryan [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46432</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Heart to Hart</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It looks like Corey Hart will be the first player that actually takes the Brewers to arbitration under Doug Melvin:

At this point, there appears no chance that a deal will be struck before a hearing, which would be the first for the Doug Melvin regime. After Hart&#8217;s agent, Jeff Barry, turned down the club&#8217;s last [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46430</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>The Hyde of the Giants</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In an episode of That &#8217;70s Show, Hyde teaches Jackie how to be Zen so she can better deal with insults from a rival:

In the Forman basement, Jackie is saying &#8220;whatever&#8221;; Hyde keeps telling her to say it again. Jackie suggests that they move on; Hyde explains that she can say more by saying less, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46428</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Balentien Blast</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Redleg Nation wonders if Wladimir Balentien might be the answer to the Reds hole in leftfield.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46426</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Pohlad on Mauer</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Jim Pohlad, who took over for his father as the face of the Twins ownership, talked about Joe Mauer and his possible contract.  He didn&#8217;t talk specifics, but noted that they wouldn&#8217;t include deferred compensation and that payroll would be 50% of revenue, which is getting a boost from Target Field.

Lead owner Jim Pohlad [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46424</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Alan Embree</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Alan Embree pitched for the Colorado Rockies in 2009.  He currently looks for work as a free agent.  Embree is another pitcher with good values for his three true outcomes, especially his strikeouts, 8.0 per 9 IP for his career.  Embree&#8217;s FIP is 4.12 versus a career ERA of 4.58. That means [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46418</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Foot Under the Knife</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Cliff Lee underwent foot surgery Friday:

It doesn&#8217;t sound like a major deal, but it will slow him down early in camp. Lee had a spur in his foot that recently broke loose from its attachment, and the surgery, conducted by Dr. Bryan Burke, removed the floating spur. According to the press release, the procedure alleviated [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46419</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Looking Back at Projections</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Book Blog posts the latest comparisons of 2009 projection systems to reality.  Marcels do very well.  This makes me happy, since I like to use them when calculating run predictions for various teams.  Since Marcels are not based on park, they&#8217;re really good when players change teams over the off-season.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46415</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Selig Statue</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Richard Justice tweets:
Brewers will unveil Bud Selig statue at Miller Park. Why? He has been the sport&#8217;s greatest commissioner, has ushered in a new golden age.
If they want to give him credit for bringing baseball back to Milwaukee, fine.  It&#8217;s tough to be objective about history, however, when the person is still making it. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46413</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Beat Reporter for the Fans</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Fire Jim Bowden is asking you to donate to Mark Zuckerman, so he can be an independent voice covering the Nationals during spring training.  It&#8217;s a great concept, as newspapers die, fans employ the beat writers!
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46411</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Old Jose Tabata Fine, How You?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[There seems to be some doubt about the age of Pirates prospect Jose Tabata.
Let&#8217;s say a 21 year-old Tabata qualifies in the Top 51-75 range, with an expected surplus value of $14.2 million during the first six years of his big league career. If he is actually 23 or 24, it&#8217;s a safe assumption that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46409</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Evans Gets his Due</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Via 6-4-2, Dan Evans gets credit for helping build the current Dodgers team.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46407</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Youngster in the Majors</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mac Thomason gives us his review of Jason Heyward, who appears will make the Braves major league roster at the age of 20.

There’s a lot to be excited about. At the same time, let’s be careful here. Post-integration, there are only about ten players who have had really great seasons at twenty years old, and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46405</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>History Minute</title>
		<description><![CDATA[More Hardball celebrates Black History month.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46403</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Jacoby Ellsbury</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Jacoby Ellsbury plays outfield for the Boston Red Sox.  His strength as a player comes from his speed, which in three MLB seasons resulted in 129 stolen bases in 152 attempts, a 85% success rate.  That&#8217;s truly outstanding.  Jacoby doesn&#8217;t show much power, but his OBP improved in 2009, his second full [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46401</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Saints Win</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on their Super Bowl victory!  If they can win the big game, maybe the Cubs can win the World Series.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46399</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Mark Ellis</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Mark Ellis plays second base for the Oakland Athletics.  He reached the majors at age 25, just as he entered his peak years.  He posted very good OBPs in two of his first three years, with excellent power for a middle infielder in 2005.  That, however, was his age 28 season, and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46397</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, David Eckstein</title>
		<description><![CDATA[David Eckstein plays middle infield for the San Diego Padres.  He&#8217;s one of my favorite players as we share the same first name and height.  Eckstein&#8217;s specialty was getting on base.  He had no power, as 80% of his hits were singles.  He walked just enough to keep his OBP above [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46395</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Score!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Walk like a Sabermetrician wants your scoresheets.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46393</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Adam Eaton</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Adam Eaton pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and Colorado Rockies in 2009.  He was released by both teams and now looks for work as a free agent.  He may have trouble finding it.  In his 10 seasons of major league ball, Eaton never posted an ERA under 4.00.  The 2003 season [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46391</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Jermaine Dye</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Jermaine Dye played outfield for the Chicago White Sox in 2009.  He currently looks for work as a free agent.  Dye would play 2010 as a 36-year-old, and teams seem to be less interested in older free agents today.
Dye&#8217;s strength as a hitter lies in his power.  Dye probably was not quite [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46389</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Chad Durbin</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Chad Durbin pitches in relief for the Philadelphia Phillies.  In his 10 seasons in the majors, Durbin both started and relieved.  His opposition batting stats show he&#8217;s much more suited to the relief role.  As a reliever he strikes out 7.1 batter per 9, versus 4.8 as a starter, hence the much [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46387</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Hayhurst Lost</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Right shoulder soreness led to labrum surgery for Dirk Hayhurst.
Though the club expects Hayhurst to miss four to six months with the injury, shoulder surgeries are notoriously unpredictable. When starter Dustin McGowan underwent surgery on his frayed labrum in July 2008, the club expected him back in the rotation by May of 2009. Eighteen months [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46385</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Adam Dunn</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Adam Dunn gets a piece of a pitch.  Photo: Icon SMI
Adam Dunn plays the outfield for the Washington Nationals. (They seem to be trying to corner the market on players whose last name begins with Du.)  Fielders might take a rest when Dunn is at the plate as over 44% of his plate [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46380</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Chris Duncan</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Chris Duncan played outfield for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009.  He recently signed with the Washington Nationals.  Duncan&#8217;s offensive production flamed in and flamed out very quickly.  At age 25 he played 90 games and posted a .363 OBP and a .589 slugging percentage.  His slugging percentage dropped 109 points [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46378</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Gene, Gene, the Doping Machine</title>
		<description><![CDATA[John Hawks posts about gene doping, and how difficult it might be to detect:
The essay includes a few paragraphs that describe the prospects of future detection of gene doping. It may be very difficult. Detecting some synthetic performance-enhancing agents requires the cooperation of primary producers, who add tracers to their products. Gene doping might enhance [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46376</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Tweeting to Fame</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Wheaties is holding a Most Valuable Tweeter contest during the Super Bowl tomorrow.
]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46374</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Eveland Goes Blue</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Jordan Bastian tweets:

Blue Jays acquire LHP Dana Eveland from the A&#8217;s in exchange for a player to be named later or cash.
Eveland has a 5.54 ERA and high walk numbers.  He strikes out a decent number of batters, but his low home runs numbers seem to be an artifact of Oakland.  He allows [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46372</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Players A to Z, Elijah Dukes</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Elijah Dukes plays centerfield for the Washington Nationals.  Dukes at times showed both the ability to get on base and hit for power, most recently during an abbreviated 2008 campaign with the Nationals.  He did not build on that success in 2009, despite a good showing at AAA.  For a centerfielder, Dukes [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46370</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Bedard Deal Done</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Erik Bedard is officially back with the Seattle Mariners:
He is rehabilitating with a physical therapist in his native Canada following surgery in August to repair a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder. Last week, Mariners trainer Rick Griffin said the normal recovery time for the procedure is 10-12 months. That would have Bedard making his [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://baseballmusings.com/?p=46368</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>
