Baseball- Major League Baseball news and stats

The former M.V.P. Josh Hamilton, a recovering drug addict, apologized for a ?weak moment? that started with a few drinks in a Dallas-area bar.

Louise Neathway was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of grand larceny, aggravated harassment and of stalking Brian Cashman, the Yankees? general manager.

Steven A. Cohen, a hedge fund manager pursuing the purchase of the Los Angeles Dodgers, is expected to buy a limited partnership in the Mets for $20 million.

The arrest of the Dominican baseball player who used the name Fausto Carmona on Jan. 19 has brought to light the problem of identity fraud among players from the Caribbean nation.

A trustee seeks hundreds of millions for victims of Bernard L. Madoff?s Ponzi scheme, and a trial is scheduled to begin on March 19.

For the past two years I have written a post taking a graphical look at Hall of Fame vote histories for players with similar first-year vote totals to players on the current year's ballot. Here is 2010's, which includes a description of the graphs, and here is 2011's. As I said these graphs are not meant as sophisticated projection into the future, but rather just a rough look at historical precedent. Folks like Chris Jaffe of the Hardball Times have a better handle on the dynamics of HoF voting and future ballot composition in order to make better prediction.

This year's ballot had only one first-year player, Bernie Williams, who broke 5% and will be included on future ballots. Williams got 9.6% of the vote. Here I highlighted the vote trajectories of everyone else who got within 2.5% (7.1% to 12.1%) in their first year on the ballot.

There are a number of historical players who are not going to be a good guide for Williams' trajectory; Hall of Fame voting was much different in the past. Carl Hubbell, for example, was on 9.7% of the ballots in 1945, his first year; shot up to 50% in his second year; and by 1947 was inducted with 87%. Williams will not see a similar rise. More recent players in Williams's pool have fallen below the 5% cut off rather quickly. I left off the names because they would all bunch together but they include: Orel Hershiser, Graig Nettles, Bob Boone, Dave Stewart, Albert Belle, and Pete Rose. It will be interesting to see whether Williams can stick around for years like Don Larsen or fall off quickly like Hershiser and others.

With no other first-year guys above 5%, I am going to look at some guys who have been on the ballot for a couple of years. In each case I chose a salient feature of their vote history to create a comparison pool. Up first is Jack Morris, who, on his 13th year on the ballot, was on 66.7% of the ballots. This is a pretty big jump from last year's total of 53.5%. With no great first year players on the ballot, it seems voters were a little more liberal with their votes on returning players, many of whom saw a double digit rise. For Morris's comparison I looked at anyone else who received between 65% and 70% on some ballot after their 10th.

All these guys eventually made it. Three through the standard 75% BBWAA voting, and then Red Ruffing through a runoff ballot, and Enos Slaughter and Jim Bunning through the Veterans Committee. So things look promising for Morris.

Jeff Bagwell also had a nice increase, from 41.7% to 56%. Here are the players within 10% of these two vote totals.

This picks up other fast risers. Ryne Sandberg and Barry Larkin are bad comps because they are at the very high end of my comparison window for both years; Bagwell is not going to make it next year. He might slowly pick up steam like Andre Dawson or Tony Perez and make it around year ten. But with the amount of talent coming on and the PED stuff, I am not so sure.

I will skip Lee Smith and turn to Tim Raines. Raines has had a nice increase in vote share over the past three years, and is now at 48.7%. I looked at players within 10% of his year-3 to -5 ballots (because they are much higher than his first two years).

Except for Smith who is still on the ballot, all these guys are in the Hall. Johnny Evers and Bunning made it through the VC. As with the Bagwell example this might paint too sunny a picture for Raines.

Finally I look at Edgar Martinez. He did not get quite the same bump the other guys did, and has been pretty stagnant over his first three years. Here are players within 12.5% of each of his three vote totals.

Jack Moore at FanGraphs made the Pee Wee Reese comparison. I think that Jack is right that Martinez will probably end up with a Reese-, Maury Wills-, or Steve Garvey-like trajectory, and not one that takes him up rapidly like Eddie Mathews or Rich Gossage.

Anyone who was born on or within a few days of Christmas has sad tales to share of feeling cheated by "one gift for two days" childhood presents. What kind of treats have been given to fans on December 25? This roster of Christmas babies includes three Hall of Famers along with a smattering of All-Stars and everyday players.

No need to save the best for last, as the All-Christmas team appropriately leads off with Rickey Henderson (born 1958) in left field. His career numbers - 1410 stolen bases (a whopping 472 ahead of second-place Lou Brock's 938 SB), an all-time best 2295 runs scored, 2190 walks (second only to Barry Bonds) and 3055 hits - are jaw droppers.

What else did Rickey do? How about three years of 100 or more steals (including a record 130 in 1982)? A dozen seasons as the league's leading basestealer includes topping the American League with 66 swipes in 1998 at age 39. Then there's 13 seasons with 100 or more runs scored, seven seasons with more than 100 walks (along with leading the AL four times) plus a quartet of 95 to 99 bases on balls and four 20-plus home run seasons. The Hall of Fame had to do some serious editing when they created Henderson's bronze plaque.

Rickey played in the majors until just three months before his 45th birthday, and he closed with a 3 for 3 mark in stolen bases during a late season stint with the Dodgers in 2003. He was also one of the handful of position players who batted right-handed and threw from the left side.

How about a textbook old-school number two hitter following the best leadoff man in history?

A basestealer couldn't ask for a better partner than Nellie Fox (1925). Taking a pitch to let Henderson steal a base wouldn't have been a problem for the White Sox star, as he has been baseball's toughest strikeout in the past 75 years. It was a thankless job that Fox excelled at when he batted behind the speedy Luis Aparicio.

The left-handed hitting Fox never struck out more than 18 times in a season, and he had 10 years averaging less than a K every 50 plate appearances. With 2663 career hits, a .288 lifetime average and six seasons of .300 or better and a four-time American League season hit leader, Fox would be well equipped to get on base for the heart of the order when Henderson didn't.

Although he wasn't known for drawing walks, "Little Nell" had a knack for getting to first base. He led in American League in singles eight times (1952 and 1954 to 1960) while making the AL's top 10 list in batting average in eight seasons. Fox's 2161 singles puts him at 27th place in baseball history.

The 1959 American League Most Valuable led the White Sox to the franchise's first pennant since the 1919 Black Sox scandal. Fox earned MVP honors with what was a fairly typical season by his standards - a .306 average along with just 2 HR and a career-high 70 RBI. One of Nellie's most impressive feats took place in 1959, as he avoided striking out in 98 consecutive games. The fateful whiff came on a called third strike tossed by Whitey Ford. Close Fox friend and long-time roommate Billy Pierce says the pitch was well off the plate and that the umpire's call even surprised Ford.

A three-time Gold Glover (1957, 1959 and 1960), Fox was known for his sure hands, quick release and skill in turning the double play. With a streak of 798 consecutive games at second base (most ever for that position), Fox's durability and toughness made him hugely popular on Chicago's blue-collar south side where the vast majority of White Sox fans reside.

Known for his bottle bat, small stature and ever-present wad of chewing tobacco, the last characteristic of Fox's image played a role in his death from cancer at age 47 in 1975. After just missing with 74.7 percent of the vote in his final year of Hall of Fame eligibility in 1985, Fox was admitted to Cooperstown by the Veterans Committee in 1997.

Unfortunately, there are no suitable candidates for a starting shortstop on the All-Christmas team, but three-time Gold Glove second baseman Manny Trillo (1950) could do an adequate job on the left side of the infield. That's because Trillo had one of the strongest arms ever displayed at second. With a .263 lifetime average and 1562 career hits, the four-time All-Star provides some production at the bottom of the order.

Switch-hitting Walter Holke (1892) gets the first base job largely by default. That's because Holke's career OBP of 89 for four National League teams is well below average, especially at a position usually reserved for big hitters. To his credit, Holke had 1278 career hits and a .287 average to offset his lack of power, run production and patience at the plate (just 191 walks in 4456 ABs).

1923 appears to be Holke's banner season at first glance, at he hit .311 with 7 HR, 70 RBI and 31 doubles for the Phillies. Those numbers were boosted by playing half his games in the tiny Baker Bowl with a live ball. In reality, Holke did a better job with the New York Giants and Boston Braves in the dead ball seasons of 1917 and 1919.

Third base has a pair of lefty hitters for the Christmas babies roster. Tom O'Malley (1960) spent most of his career shuttling between AAA and the majors from 1982 to 1990. He finished with a .256 career average, 13 HR and 131 RBI in 1213 ABs (466 games) for six different teams.

O'Malley's career took off when he went to Japan in 1991. As a valued member of the Yakult Swallows and Hanshin Tigers, O'Malley hit .300 or better with power (20 or more HR) for six consecutive seasons. Note to clubhouse man: Make sure O'Malley gets pregame meals of sushi and udon for peak performance.

Like O'Malley, Gene Robertson (1897) has a middle of the pack major league resume. The 5'7" St. Louis native played on and off for the hometown Browns from 1919 to 1926 before being traded to the Yankees. Robertson spent 1927 with St. Paul fo the American Association before joining the Yankees for 251 at-bats (just six strikeouts) and nine more plate appearances in the 1928 World Series.

A .280 lifetime average (615 for 2200) with gap power gives Robertson an edge over O'Malley. Frank Ellerbe (1895) played 3B for three American League teams from 1919 to 1924, but the righty swinger's lack of patience at the plate (.268 BA, .306 OBP) and below average power makes him better suited for spot duty.

Ben Chapman and Jo-Jo Moore (both born in 1908) round out a solid starting outfield. Chapman led the American League in stolen bases four times (1931-33 and 1937). The right-handed swinger had a.302 career average with 1958 hits. Even though he wasn't a slugger (90 career HRs), Chapman came through with seasons of 122 and 107 RBI for the Yankees in 1931 and 1932. The three-time All-Star also had six other campaigns of 80 to 98 RBI.

The World War II talent shortage allowed Chapman to extend his big league career, but as pitcher. He went 8-6 with a 4.39 ERA (84 ERA+) for the Dodgers and Phillies in 1994, 1945 and for a single appearance in 1946.

Moore made the National League All-Star roster five times and spent his entire career (1930-41) with the New York Giants. A left-handed hitter, Moore had 200-hit seasons in 1935 (201) and a career-best 205 hits in 1936. With just 247 strikeouts and 348 walks in 5427 career at-bats (1615 hits, .298 lifetime), Moore was one of many old-time players who seldom struck out while not working the count for walks.

"The Gause Ghost" got his nickname from his hometown of Gause, Texas. Moore died at age 92 on April 1, 2001.

Our Christmas catcher had just 10 major league at-bats, but that cup of coffee wasn't due to any lack of ability on his part. Quincy Trouppe (1912) was one of the better Negro League receivers. Like other players who were stymied by the color barrier, Trouppe spent much of his career in Latin America in addition to bouncing around from team to team in the U.S. Negro circuit.

At age 39, Trouppe backed up Jim Hegan for a few weeks with the Indians in 1952. He appeared in six games at had a single and a walk in 10 at-bats before being sent to Ottawa of the International League. He wasn't in the same class as Josh Gibson, but Trouppe had the ability to be a starting major league catcher if he had been given the opportunity at a younger age. Trouppe easily stands out from the glut of weak-hitting backup catchers (Chris Krug, Greek George, Marty Pevey, Frank Baldwin) who share a December 25 birthday.

Hall of Fame pitcher James "Pud" Galvin made numerous adjustments during a big league career that spanned from 1875 to 1892. He pitched underhand and overhand just 50 feet from the plate.

The 5'8" "Little Steam Engine" was an iron man even by 19th century standards. Galvin went 37-27 in 66 starts for Buffalo Bisons in 1879, as he appeared in all but 12 of the team's games. He pitched "only" 458.2, 474 and 445.1 inning in the next three seasons before tossing a record 656.1 innings (76 games, 46-29, 2.72, 117 ERA+) in 1883 and followed that up by going a career-best 46-22 with a 1.99 ERA (158 ERA+) in 636.1 IP in 1884.

Seasons of 20-35 in 1880 and 16-26 in 1885 reduced Galvin's career record to 365-310 for a .540 winning percentage. This is a guy Bert Blyleven ("My goal was to be the workhorse of the staff") could appreciate. You're our number one starter, Pud, but you'll have to adapt to being 60 feet 6 inches from the plate with a mound (wasn't used until the 1890s). How will the workaholic Galvin adjust to having four days off between starts? He has been a Hall of Famer since 1965.

Ned Garver (1925) fills the 2 slot nicely. The 86-year old pulled off one of the most impressive pitching accomplishments in history when he went 20-12 with the last-place 1951 St. Louis Browns. Since the perennially inept Browns were 52-102, Garver was responsible for 38.5 percent of the team's victories. The Brownies went just 32-92 (.258) when Garver didn't receive a decision.

Did Garver get the Cy Young Award? That honor didn't exist until 1956, so Garver had to settle for a second-place finish behind Yogi Berra in the MVP voting. A career record of 129-157 with mostly losing teams is a poor way to judge Garver's skill. His career ERA of 3.73 and 112 ERA+ is a more accurate indicator. Garver swung the bat well enough to see occasional duty as a pinch-hitter. His career stats include seven home runs, 180 hits and a .218 average.

This rotation screams for a lefty, and Lloyd Brown (1904) is it. The Beeville, Texas native went 91-105 with a 4.20 ERA (105 ERA+) in a big league career than lasted from 1925 to 1940. 1930 to 1932 was the peak of the southpaw's career, as Brown went 16-12, 15-14 and 15-12 with the Senators. A career-best 3.20 ERA was good for fourth place in the AL in 1931. The 5'9" Brown was tagged with the nickname "Gimpy" in what was obviously a much less politically correct and sensitive era.

Welsh-born Ted Lewis (1872) pitched in the majors from 1896 to 1901. He went 21-12 with a 3.85 ERA (116 ERA+) for the 93-39 (.705 winning percentage) 1897 Boston Beaneaters. Lewis followed that up with a career-best 26-8, 2.90 (127 ERA+) in 1898 for Boston. Lewis spent his entire big league career in the city. His final season came during the American League's debut in 1901. The 5'10" righty went 16-17 with a 3.53 for the Boston Americans, later known as the Red Sox. A 94-64 career record with a 3.53 ERA (113 ERA+) is definitely better than average for a number 4 starter.

Charlie Lea (1956, recently died on November 11) should be dependable at the back of the rotation. The right-hander went 62-48 with a 3.54 ERA for an injury-shortened career with the Expos and Twins. A 15-10, 2.89 ERA (seventh in the NL) performance with Montreal in 1984 was good enough to provide Lea with his only All-Star appearance.

Hideki Okajima (1975) is the closest thing to a potential closer on the All-Christmas team. The Japanese-born Red Sox lefty reliever has a U.S. career record of 17-8 with a 3.11 ERA and six saves in 261 games and 246.1 IP. Journeymen such as 19th century hurler George Haddock (born in 1866 and 95-87, 4.07 from 1888 to 1894), Eric Hiljus (1972, 8-3 and a 4.79 ERA in parts of four seasons with the Tigers and A's) are in the mix for long and middle relief.

So is Jack Hamilton (1938), who is notorious for beaning Tony Conigliaro. The wild righty had a 32-40 career mark, and his 4.53 ERA is quite high for the offensively eager 1960s. Mike Blyzka's major league record (3-11, 5.58) is unimpressive, but his two seasons included playing for the final St. Louis Browns squad in 1953 and the first-year 1954 Baltimore Orioles.

Team depth is pretty ordinary. Wallace Johnson (1956) gives the Christmas squad a capable pinch-hitter who also displayed enough speed (19 SB) to pinch-run when needed. As a switch-hitter, a manage could insert Johnson into any situation. Nearly 60 percent of Johnson's career knocks (86 of 145) came off the bench.

Bill Akers (1904) played around the infield for the Tigers and Braves from 1929 to 1932, and he's a utility infielder with more pop in his bat (11 HR, 69 RBI, .261, .349 OBP) than average. Ruben Gotay (1982) and Rich Renteria (1961) provide competition for Akers.

Speedy Willy Taveras (1981) is a 1970s-style Astroturf chopper/slasher who seems out of place in the 21st century. Scott Bullett (1968) is another possibility for a backup job in the outfield.

Since America is in a significant recession, costs need to be managed. That's why former White Sox and Pirates manager Gene Lamont (1946) gets to back up Trouppe behind the plate in addition to running the squad. Lamont may not see much playing time, as the one indispensable member of the roster is also a backup catcher - and he was born on December 9. How could this happen?

What would the all-Christmas team be without Steve Christmas? The lefty-hitting catcher played 24 games with 37 ABs (.162, 1 HR, 7 RBI) in three small cups of coffee with the Reds, White Sox and Cubs from 1983 to 1986. With that name, it doesn't take a December 25 birthday to earn a roster spot on the all-Christmas team.

The news that the Los Angeles Angels signed Albert Pujols to a ten-year contract for $250 million has motivated me to put up my first post in a month.

While I would have preferred a shorter and less expensive contract, anything under ten years and $250 million was not going to seal the deal. As such, the way to think about this signing from an Angels' perspective is to break it into two five-year periods. That's right, 5x30 and 5x20 for an average of 10x25. Sure, 5x25 and 5x15 might be closer to what Pujols is likely to produce in terms of value but an aggregate of $200 million was going to come up short of luring the three-time NL MVP to Orange County.

Pujols turns 32 in January so the Angels just signed him to a 10-year deal with a no trade clause for his age 32-41 year-old seasons. I think he will give the Angels five very good-to-great seasons for a 1B and five average-to-good seasons for a 1B/DH. If one thinks about it as I suggested above, the Angels can easily justify the first five seasons. I mean, wasn't the consensus calling for as much as an 8 x 25-30M deal as recently as last winter? Sure, Albert's numbers fell off a tad this year but he put together an outstanding second half and postseason. In other words, I believe he is basically the same player today as he was perceived a year ago. Pujols may not earn his keep during the second half of the contract unless baseball salaries inflate significantly between now and then. But that's the risk the Angels had to take to acquire the greatest right-handed hitter of the past 80 years, if not ever.

Ironically, after signing Pujols and C.J. Wilson (5/$77.5M), the Angels actually have more flexibility than they did yesterday. Therefore, it says here that Arte Moreno and Jerry DiPoto will pull off at least one more headline signing or trade before spring training. At a minimum, they have freed up Mark Trumbo and possibly Ervin Santana. In addition, the Halos can easily move Peter Bourjos, if need be, plus Bobby Abreu (if they agree to eat at least half of his contract) and either Alberto Callaspo or Maicer Izturis.

Where am I going with this? Well, I wouldn't rule out going after David Wright or Ryan Zimmerman. The Mets are reportedly interested in Bourjos. The Nats have been linked to him, too, and have indicated a desire to shore up center field and first base. Why not a Bourjos and Trumbo deal for Zimmerman? The Mets have Ike Davis and Sandy Alderson and Paul DePodesta aren't likely to be interested in Trumbo's low OBP. As such, the Angels might have to replace Trumbo with Hank Conger. Either way, I would only give up those packages for Wright or Zimmerman if I could sign them to a longer-term deal first as both are under team control for just two more years. Wright is owed $15M in 2012 with a team option at $16M for 2013 and Zimmerman is due $12M in 2012 and $14M in 2013.

Let's dream for a minute, Angels fans. Assuming the Halos trade Bourjos and either Conger or Trumbo for Wright or Zimmerman, here is a potential lineup for 2012:

Trout, CF
Kendrick, 2B
Wright or Zimmerman, 3B
Pujols, 1B
Morales, DH
Hunter, RF
Wells, LF
Iannetta, C
Aybar, SS

While I realize that Mike Scioscia would never start the season with Trout as the lead-off hitter, he can flip Trout and Erick Aybar in April and May until he realizes how much better Trout is. After he makes that change, he can flip Chris Iannetta and Aybar if he's worried about having three RHB in the 6th through 8th slots.

If Kendrys Morales doesn't recover from his leg injury, then the Angels can slide Abreu into the role of DH, hit him first or second in the batting order, slide Howie Kendrick down to sixth or seventh, and not miss much of a beat.

Here is how the starting rotation stacks up:

Weaver
Haren
Wilson
Santana
Williams

That would be about as strong as any rotation this side of Philadelphia.

Here is how the bullpen shapes up at this moment in time:

Walden
Downs
Thompson
Takahashi
(and perhaps two of three of Jepsen, Richards, and Cassevah)

Add Ryan Madson (hey, it's not my money) as the closer and you're looking at a team that would be favored to win the World Series.

***

You can read more about the Pujols and Wilson signings at Halos Heaven, which has several articles and links to other posts at SB Nation.

A friend of mine, Ross Moskowitz, is the director of Camp Westmont, a beautiful summer camp in the Pocono Mts. of Pennsylvania. It's the kind of place every kid should be able to attend at least once in their lives. He's also a baseball man. Played Division One NCAA baseball at the University of Maryland. So when he told me that John Denny was going to be his baseball instructor this past summer, I thought it would make for a very interesting story/interview. How does a good pitcher become the best pitcher in the world for one season and win the Cy Young award? From Bob Turley to Randy Jones to Mark Davis to Pat Hentgen, just to name a few, there have been a bunch of pitchers who've taken that step.

I spent a morning with John Denny at the end of August. He's 58 years old now and has kept in great shape. Simply put, he's one of the nicest, soft-spoken people I've ever met. Aside from working for the Arizona Diamondbacks for a few years, he hasn't had that much to do with Major League Baseball since he retired in 1986. Like most former ballplayers, he has a amazing memory of games, players, even specific at-bats from 25-35 years ago. He's also quite introspective about himself and his place in the game's past. His response to my question "So you won Game One of the 1983 World Series?" was unexpected. "Yeah, how about that," as if he still couldn't quite believe his good fortune. We went off topic at times, but his stories about his Hall of Fame teammates were worth hearing. I turned on the tape recorder.

David: In looking at your career, the numbers tell a story of a pitcher with obvious talent, twice leading the NL in ERA, who would follow those seasons with quite a few off years. Were injuries a major factor?

John: Injuries were a big problem for me. My rookie year, 1975, I started the season 2-2 for St. Louis, they sent me back to Triple-A for a month. When I came back, I won seven games in a row, I'm 9-2 and some people were talking about me as a Rookie of the Year candidate. One day, I'm jogging in the outfield in Cincinnati and I tore a lateral ligament. We were only a few games out of first, so I pitched through it and wound up 10-7. The next year, 1976, I was healthy and led the league in ERA (2.52). Then, in 1977, I started the season 7-0 and I strained my hamstring covering first base, then tore that hamstring at Dodger Stadium. And I wound up going 8-8. 1978, I was healthy again and had another good year (14-11, 2.96 ERA).

David: Who was your manager with the Cards?

John: Red Schoendeinst was my first manager, then Vern Rapp and finally Ken Boyer. This was right before the Whitey Herzog era. I would've loved to have played for Whitey, but I was traded to Cleveland. But I loved my time in St. Louis. I played with Joe Torre, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock. They were true professionals and some of that rubbed off on me.

David: So you go from a great baseball city to playing in Municipal Stadium?

John: It was tough. That park seated 80,000 people, so even if we had 40,000 people in the stands, which we rarely did, it was half empty. And I think that affected a lot of our players. We had a good rotation. Bert Blyleven, Rick Sutcliffe, myself, Rick Waits, who won 15-16 games one year. Later, Len Barker. After a few years, I became a free agent while with Cleveland. And George Steinbrenner offered the world to me, but I turned him down.

David: I never knew that.

John: My agent handled it all. I never met Steinbrenner, but his quote the next day in the newspapers was something like "John Denny will never wear a Yankee uniform as long as I'm alive." I would've loved to have played for the Yankees, but word was he was very interfering, came down to the locker room all the time. I didn't think I could play for an owner like that.

David: I've never been shy about my feelings for him. I believe he demeaned the game more than anyone in my lifetime. Younger people, especially Yankee fans, forget just how hated he was in New York until they started winning again in 1996.

John: Well, he offered me the best contract with wonderful perks and opportunities for the future. I would've been way better off financially. But my thinking was I worked very hard and I played the game very hard. And I pictured myself working my butt off, putting every ounce of energy I had into the game. I was a thinking pitcher and I studied the hitters. And I pictured if things weren't going well, he'd call me into his office and air me out. And then go to the papers and tell them what he just did. I didn't want to put myself in that situation. And I eventually wound up with the Phils and I loved my time there. I missed almost the entire 1982 season, but then got involved with a strength and flexibility coach that Steve Carlton recommended and he helped me enormously.

David: Before we get to your time with the Phils, let me ask you, "Who was your toughest hitter to face? Who lit you up?"

John: Easy, Tony Gwynn. His pitch recognition was incredible. So I'd make some adjustments and the minute I thought I had him, he'd make adjustments too. Always one step ahead of me. As time went on, I thought I was starting to figure him out. If he had a weakness, it was inside. But you couldn't live in there. The moment you thought you could pound him inside, he'd make that adjustment and take you deep. So I'd go to my sinking fastball and start to pitch him away, but he used to take that to left field really well.

David: How was Willie Stargell to face?

John: I don't know what my actual stats against him were, but I'll tell you this story about Stargell. I was pitching in Pittsburgh one night and I threw him a fastball, down and away. He turned that sucker around right up the middle. I could hear that ball singing as it went by me. It short-hopped the fence in left center for a double. He hit it so hard and I remember thinking to myself that ball might've killed me. From then on, I pitched him only inside and I didn't care if he hit it five miles. He was a true professional too, an old school guy and I was a newer type of player. And I learned so much from the old schoolers.

David: Who else?

John: Pete Rose. I pitched a great game one night with St. Louis against the Big Red Machine — Monday Night Game of the Week. The next day he calls me over before our game. I'm 23 years old and I'm wondering what does Pete Rose want to talk to me about? He says "John, I just want to tell you last night you threw one hell of a ballgame. Your fastball was in on my hands all night. But I'll tell you something, next time I'm gonna get you good, you S.O.B." More than anyone, he helped show me how to be a professional and still show respect to the other team and the other players and still be the man and the player you need to be.

David: Let's talk about the 1983 Phils and your Cy Young season. Who was your pitching coach there?

John: Claude Osteen, who had been my teammate and pitching coach with the Cardinals. He was the perfect pitching coach for me.

David: The 1983 Phils are one of my favorite teams. The team had started to age quite a bit, had a lot of veterans, Schmidt, Carlton, Rose. Then they get even older by adding Joe Morgan and Tony Perez at the end of their careers and they win the pennant. Remarkable story.

John: They called us "the Wheeze Kids." (The 1950 pennant winning Phils were called the Whiz Kids).

David: Right. Now, obviously, you were healthy. Did you add a new pitch, change your motion?

John: No, but a few things happened. First, I was in great shape, the best of my career. I had started working out with a strength and conditioning coach, Van Hoefling. He had been with the Los Angeles Rams and when Roman Gabriel was traded to the Eagles, Van followed him to Philly. And Lefty and I got involved with him. And he was great for me. But no new pitch or motion. I was basically a fastball, curve pitcher. And I could add some sink or movement to both of them, so I guess I threw four pitches.

The biggest difference was that I was playing on a team with guys who knew how to win and it rubbed off on me.

David: It was attitude?

John: Attitude and being in great shape. Here's one example and this is what I loved about Pete Rose. I'd get two strikes on a batter and I'd hear him yell or whistle from his position at first base. "You got two strikes on this guy, you know what to do." Because you never want to lose a batter with two strikes on him, you need to finish him off. And Rose was the kind of guy who pounded it home. Just like his career. He took the talent he had and pounded it home, never let up. He stayed on me all year. I am so blessed I was able to play with him. And Lefty and Schmitty and Morgan and Perez too.

Lefty and I had lockers next to each other. Talk about two different guys. I was a Christian and he believed in Eastern religions, mysticism. But we were so close, worked out in the offseason together. One time I said to him, "Lefty, I've never thrown a slider in my life, show it to me." So he held the ball up, put his hand up and says "I just turn my wrist a little bit like this and I throw the shit out of it." (Laughter).

He had great catchers in Bob Boone and Tim McCarver who got to know him as well as he knew himself. I don't recall Lefty shaking off many pitches. And it was a combination of three things. I know what I'm doing out here, I really don't need to take charge because my catcher is handling it very well and I know I can throw what they want.

David: What a huge advantage for a pitcher.

John: Oh yeah. One of the things I tried to do was not to get into a disagreement with any catcher. If he's calling for a fastball down and away and I want to throw up and in, I would say to myself "What the heck, I can throw down and away and still get this guy out." And it made me a better pitcher and it also made my catcher better too because now he knows that I trusted him and then they would work even harder and call a better game." And Lefty had his catcher's trust and that's huge.

David: What was it like in 1983 to look behind you and see Rose at first, Morgan at second and Schmidt at 3rd?

John: You know, the first real ballgame I ever saw in my life, I was ten years old (1963) and my Little League coach, who I still stay in touch with, he was like a father figure to me, took me to Los Angeles from where I was born and raised in Arizona.

David: Were you a Dodgers fan?

John: Well, actually I used to listen to the Giants all the time because I could get KNBR radio very well where I lived. Willie Mays was my favorite player. So he took me to a Dodgers/Giants game. Juan Marichal and Don Drysdale and the Dodgers won 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning. I can still remember Marichal throwing that incredible overhand curve for a strike with that big leg kick. So at 10 years old, I get to see two great Hall of Fame pitchers in this great pitching duel and in 1983, I get to play alongside five Hall of Famers.

Now we played mostly on Astroturf back then. Perez, Morgan and Rose were all on their way out, had already lost a step, but anytime there were runners in scoring position, they'd always dive for balls. They saved me run after run after run. They always gave it everything they had and we won the pennant that year to a large degree because of their professionalism. And that leadership rubbed off on Schmitty and we desparately needed that because he could be quite volatile. The fans could really get on him.

David: Give me an example of Schmidt's leadership.

John: I was pitching against Nolan Ryan in Philadelphia. I was down 2-1 in the bottom of the 8th. Ryan was so unhittable that day, throwing darts. Top of our order, he goes through the first two guys. Garry Maddox or Gary Matthews, I can't remember which, draws a walk. Schmitty comes up and Ryan had been making him look terrible all day. Schmitty had no chance. Ryan was on the attack the whole game — attack, attack. He goes 3-2 on Schmitty. And Schmidt would always try to analyze what pitch was coming. Everyone on the bench was hoping for a fastball, because if Ryan dropped that hook on him, he had no chance.

Ryan was grunting on every pitch, never saw anyone throw harder than he did that day. He was so intimidating. Fastball. Ball landed in the second deck and we won the game 3-2. Now that's talent, but it's also leadership because Schmitty knew no one else on our club could touch Ryan that day. It was up to him.

David: So you win the pennant and you win Game One of the World Series?

John: Yeah, how about that.

David: Was the game at the Vet?

John: No, it was in Baltimore, won it 2-1, beat Scott McGregor. I gave up a home run to Jim Dwyer, who was my minor league teammate on the Cardinals, pitched well rest of the game. Only game we won.

David: 19-7, 2.37 ERA, Cy Young Award, win a World Series game.

John: Pretty great year to live through.

For the past 30 years, David Bromberg has lived in Northeast Pennsylvania, former home of the Scranton/Wilkes Barre Red Barons (Phils Triple A team) and current home of the S/WB Yankees Triple A team. He was dubbed "the most inveterate baseball fan in northeast Pa. by Ron Allen, who hosted the local nightly sports radio call-in show there.

No Boston Red Sox. No New York Yankees. No Philadelphia Phillies. The three highest payrolls in Major League Baseball failed to make the final four. In fact, seven of the top ten teams didn't even make the postseason.

With the Yankees losing the ALDS to the Detroit Tigers yesterday and the Phillies falling short to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS this evening, none of the top nine payrolls are still alive and well.

As shown below, the 10th, 11th, 13th, and 17th highest payroll teams remain in the hunt to win the World Series. Congratulations to all four organizations, as well as the No. 25 Arizona Diamondbacks and No. 29 Tampa Bay Rays.

Num	TEAM	TOTAL PAYROLL	AVERAGE SALARY
1	New York Yankees	$202,689,028	$6,756,300
2	Philadelphia Phillies	$172,976,379	$5,765,879
3	Boston Red Sox	$161,762,475	$5,991,202
4	Los Angeles Angels	$138,543,166	$4,469,134
5	Chicago White Sox	$127,789,000	$4,732,925
6	Chicago Cubs	$125,047,329	$5,001,893
7	New York Mets	$118,847,309	$4,401,752
8	San Francisco Giants	$118,198,333	$4,377,716
9	Minnesota Twins	$112,737,000	$4,509,480
10	Detroit Tigers	$105,700,231	$3,914,823
11	St. Louis Cardinals	$105,433,572	$3,904,947
12	Los Angeles Dodgers	$104,188,999	$3,472,966
13	Texas Rangers	$92,299,264	$3,182,733
14	Colorado Rockies	$88,148,071	$3,390,310
15	Atlanta Braves	$87,002,692	$3,346,257
16	Seattle Mariners	$86,524,600	$2,884,153
17	Milwaukee Brewers	$85,497,333	$2,849,911
18	Baltimore Orioles	$85,304,038	$3,280,924
19	Cincinnati Reds	$75,947,134	$2,531,571
20	Houston Astros	$70,694,000	$2,437,724
21	Oakland Athletics	$66,536,500	$2,376,303
22	Washington Nationals	$63,856,928	$2,201,963
23	Toronto Blue Jays	$62,567,800	$2,018,316
24	Florida Marlins	$56,944,000	$2,190,153
25	Arizona Diamondbacks	$53,639,833	$1,986,660
26	Cleveland Indians	$49,190,566	$1,639,685
27	San Diego Padres	$45,869,140	$1,479,649
28	Pittsburgh Pirates	$45,047,000	$1,553,344
29	Tampa Bay Rays	$41,053,571	$1,578,983
30	Kansas City Royals	$36,126,000	$1,338,000

* The salary information is courtesy of USA Today.

Despite reaching Triple-A last August and showing strikeout stuff, pitching phenoms Dellin Betances and Manny Banuelos enter spring training this year further away from the big leagues than they were last spring.

The Mets consider righthander Jeurys Familia a valuable asset for their future, and they treat him as such. After he logged 124 innings in 2011, he pitched a mere five innings over five relief appearances in winter ball.

Most professional players begin with overwhelming physical gifts, then learn how to harness them. The Twins hope 22-year-old righthander Tim Shibuya takes the opposite route.

Long-time major league veteran Craig Counsell took his first steps toward realizing his goal of becoming a front-office executive by announcing his retirement and joining the Brewers front office.

Bobby Crocker gave up the rodeo to play baseball, eventually landing at Cal Poly and then the Athletics via the fourth round of last year's draft. Oakland is excited about the outfielder's potential.

The future of the Giants` farm system will largely depend upon the team`s most recent draft.

Josh Hamilton may be his own worst enemy, but coming in a close second are those that would scourge him for weakness.

What if you could only place two players at a time on the disabled list? The history, inside.

As the bidding on Yoenis Cespedes begins in earnest, take a look back at some prior prospects from Cuba who tried to make the major-league leap.

Evidence of rampant PED use in 1937.

(TOP STORY) The next few years will not be fun for left-handed hitters, especially in the American League. [more...]

Update: PHI -- The Phillies added some inning-eating bullpen help by signing free agent Chad Qualls to a one year deal today, according to ESPN. Qualls is no spring chicken, but he's as reliable as they get when it comes to eating up middle innings and inducing ground balls. (2/1/2012)

These prospects have moved up in our composite rankings recently: Alex Meyer (#100)... Nathan Eovaldi (#149)... Brody Colvin (#169)... Chris Carter (#194)... Gerardo Concepcion (#195)... Norichika Aoki (#212)... Angel Villalona (#236)... Sammy Solis (#267)... Russ Canzler (#321)... See our detailed prospect rankings for more info. (2/4/2012)

These prospects have moved down in our composite rankings recently: Tom Milone (#161)... See our detailed prospect rankings for more info. (2/4/2012)

It's so hard being a big market ballclub. Unfairly forced to compete on an uneven playing field while smaller teams scout, draft and moneyball all the good talent away. All the persecuted big market teams can do is burn suitcases full of money in a desperate attempt to keep up with the Royals and Rays. [more...]

I'm not as high as on Arizona's hitting prospects as others are, but I love the arms this organization is accumulating. The 2011 draft was tremendous not just for the number of quality pitchers they drafted, but for how well rounded all those early drafted pitchers are. By this I mean they all have good stuff that they can throw for strikes and in some cases, command. The quality of the organization's depth has improved compared to just a couple of years ago, but they definitely need to find some more disciplined hitters who can both draw a walk and keep the strikeouts down to an acceptable rate...

A similar story for Baltimore: a very top heavy system without much depth. If this team is going to have success, they need to stockpile young talent through the draft and take some risks Internationally with top level talent and not just search for diamonds in the rough. It's not enough to rely on 2 or 3 or even 4 elite level prospects. You have to have quality depth behind them. This is where the Orioles have failed since the mid-90s.

Philly's system is definitely lacking in depth, but when you consider all the prospects they've sent out over the past couple of years for established and All Star quality big league talent, the system is doing OK....a couple of solid drafts and the system will be right back to where it was before.

The Twins have a system on the rise, with much of their talent located in the lower levels of their farm system. This team has a surplus of premium outfield prospects, which could lead to trades down the road...

The Brewers farm system shows improved pitching depth this year, but is seriously lacking offensive talent, and suffers from lack of depth on both sides of the field....

After a mysterious “illness” it was finally revealed that Heidi Watney (WikiPedia) was down for the count with a concussion but will return to her duties with the gang at NESN. Here’s an article at The Herald to explain. The article doesn’t give many details but does seem to suggest that the injury was sustained doing something [...]

Normally anytime you can take 2 out of 3 games in a series would be considered a victory. Let’s face it – the lowly O’s, who had come into Sunday’s game winning only 2 of their first 18 games are ripe for picking. Anything less than a sweep of these cellar dwellers is a fail in [...]

For two nights in a row the Red Sox have turned their lackluster play into nail-biting excitement.

Once they tied it in the bottom of the eighth..., I summoned the courage to go back out and watch the last inning

Seems like everytime Garza takes the mound against the Sox, he wins. Just once I’d like to see them get to him early, gain a comfortable 4 or 5 run lead before he has a chance to settle into the game. The problem is, the way they’ve been playing, even a 5 run lead wouldn’t guarantee [...]

Ken Arneson confronts his white whale in the final blog entry on BaseballToaster.com. "Load the harpoons, gentlemen, it is showdown time. Today, my adventure as a baseball blogger ends. I'm going down, and I'm taking Moby Dick with me."

If you've been paying attention lately, you've noticed that Baseball Toaster has had a bunch of its knobs and switches and dials and wires fall off in recent months. Today, with the largest part of our engine leaving to join the Los Angeles Times, we are officially sending the Toaster to the scrap heap.

It hurts, any time you lose something you care about, something that's been a part of your life for years. It hurts, any time you watch as a community you love slowly fades away, as much by your own doing as anyone else's. You flog yourself with notes of things unwritten, things unsaid, with thoughts of what could have come to pass, with dreams of success left unfulfilled, and it hurts even more. But such is the way of the world.

Because I'm retainingScott Boras I'll hold out, and not join the chorus With new homes online. If you want me tosign, Bid a mil and a golden thesaurus.

(Go to nsfwsports.com if you want to find Scott's new blog site.)

The Toronto Blue Jays communications department reaches out to the blogging community.

Video highlights and analysis from the Toronto Blue Jays’ State of the Franchise event. On a snowy Monday in January, Matthias and I were invited to attend the Blue Jays? ?State of the Franchise? event.  The State of the Franchise allows season-ticket holders a chance to grill the Blue Jays …

Live notes and thoughts from this years State of the Franchise address.

Taking a look at the Jays 2012 Promo Schedule.

This morning I was scrolling through twitter and came across a tweet from our friend Craig Robinson.  It was in regards to Mexico?s roster composition for the upcoming Caribbean series. Mexico?s Obregon Yaquis won the Mexican Pacific League final over the Guasave Algonderos in 4 straight games and will move …

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