Some things to read while changing with the times.
It's kind of a weird day around here. Pitchers and catchers still haven't reported, so there's not much news to tell you about. That's not really surprising.
What I did find, though, was at least one story pertaining to almost every contentious debate we've had on this site since the end of the 2009 season, all published in the same 24 hours. So, my apologies if this feels a bit like a BCB clip show: That wasn't my intention, it's just the hand I was dealt.
On trading Prince Fielder: Rob Neyer thinks the Brewers need to seriously consider it. He makes the case that no player with Fielder's body type has ever gone on to enjoy a long and productive career, and thinks the Brewers could trade three or four wins in 2010 for a dozen wins down the road by dealing him.
On Rickie Weeks: Jerry Crasnick listed Weeks fourth on his list of players looking to rebound from a 2009 injury.
On 2010 projections: Matthew Pouliot of Hardball Talk (formerly Circling the Bases) has Ryan Braun (.575) and Fielder (.570) projected to have baseball's second and fourth highest slugging percentages, respectively. (Semi-related note: Adam McCalvy has a story on Braun's decision to choose baseball over soccer.)
On Corey Hart and arbitration: Tom Haudricourt notes that Corey Hart's arbitration win was likely used as precedent in Cody Ross's arbitration win over the Marlins. This means the Mets have successfully managed to screw three teams now, including themselves: By signing Jeff Francoeur for $5 million, they provided precedent for Corey Hart to get more than he's worth, which in turn provided precedent for Cody Ross to win his case. Ross will earn $4.45 million in 2010.
On Doug Davis and Randy Wolf: Hotstove.com recently asked three Brewer writers which new Brewer starting pitcher would have a better season in 2010. Here are the results.
On J.J. Hardy: The Minneapolis Star-Tribune has a profile of the Twins' new shortstop, telling some stories about Hardy that I'd never heard before. The story somehow manages to both give me a greater appreciation for some of the things Hardy's been through and make me feel a little better about the fact he's no longer a Brewer.
On Tony Gwynn, Jr.: A plurality of Gaslamp Ball readers are giving him a "1" on the Zero to Tony Gwynn scale.
On Felipe Lopez: Steve Henson of Yahoo listed Lopez third on his list of free agents that still need to find teams.
On Braden Looper: This should hardly come as a surprise, but Braden Looper was the starting pitcher on a day when the Brewers allowed hits to 12 different opposing batters, the most in the majors in 2009. Thanks to the B-Ref blog for pointing that out.
In the minors:
- Bernie's Crew unveiled their list of the top 30 Brewer prospects. Compared to our Community Prospect Rankings, they're a little higher on Cody Scarpetta (sixth), and lower on Caleb Gindl (16th).
- Brewers Bar has a look at the crowded rotation in Nashville, and some of the pitchers that might be left out.
- The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers announced that single game tickets will go on sale on March 6, and they'll also be holding the annual Rattler Rummage Sale that day.
- The Rattlers also have Twins GM Bill Smith (GM of the Appleton Foxes from 1983-1985) in their Interrogation Room.
Around baseball:
Nationals: Designated pitcher Doug Slaten for assignment.
Yankees: Signed pitcher Dustin Moseley to a minor league deal.
Elsewhere in the division, Wisconsin Sports Tap continued their series on the NL Central with a look at the Reds. For roughly the 27th straight season, the Reds will be a somewhat trendy pick to vault into contention, but I just don't see it.
John Sickels had some interesting comments this week that have turned into a notable discussion on statistical analysis in baseball. Sickels expressed some frustration and apathy with some of the statistical work being done and the attention paid to it, drawing responses from Tom Tango and others.
At the end of the day, I find myself in agreement with the sentiment I think Sickels is trying to express: I find the end result of statistical analysis useful and interesting, but I learned a long time ago that I'm not well-enough equipped to stand on the cutting edge of it. As such, I'm not really interested in the process, just the result.
There must not be much going on at Mets' camp in Port St. Lucie: Brian Costa of the Newark Star-Ledger has a story today on reserved parking spaces.
Happy birthday today to:
- 2009 Timber Rattler Maverick Lasker, who turns 20.
- 1981-83 Brewer Jamie Easterly, who turns 57.
That's all I have for you today, unless you really wanted to know about Ivy League basketball tiebreakers.
Drink up.