Looking at this club, see how close Damon and Alomar are:

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If Damon was a middle infielder, he would have been a lock for Cooperstown, no?

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Of all the players with at least 2,000 hits – but less than 3,000 – in their career, which were the worst players (in that club)?  Here’s one list -

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Any surprises here?

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Better than A-Rod!

Maybe the Packers can use the time off now to go get some haircuts?

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Are they a match? Well, if you use: Pitchers post-1900, From Age 21 to 23, During first season, Throws RH, with 28+ GS, 170-220 IP, and 100-110 ERA+, then they are a match:

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Of course, Pineda is much more of a swing and miss pitcher.  But, is in interesting that both were acquired by a New York team in their somewhat early 20′s.  Betcha the Yankees hope Pineda turns out to be more like this guy.

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It’s pretty close -

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Of course, there’s the difference in the eras in which they both played…

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Funny, just this morning, I read this in a Richard Justice column regarding the Yankees off-season plans and their prospect Jesus Montero -

“First and foremost, people say it’s the quietest winter the Yankees have had,” [Yankees G.M. Brian Cashman] said. “Remember last winter was quiet, too. We tried to do something with Cliff Lee, and once that passed, the old Yankee way would have been to do something.”

Cashman runs down a list of players — Dave LaPoint, Andy Hawkins, Danny Tartabull — signed, in part, as a reaction to moves made by other teams in years past.

“I’ve tried to condition the Yankees to be proactive and smart, and not react,” he said. “It doesn’t mean we’re smart. We just want to play smart. We missed on Cliff Lee. It wasn’t for lack of effort or money. He made a decision he felt was right for him.

“The Red Sox had an incredible winter last year [Carl Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez], and there was a lot of media pressure for us to do something. We held our ground, said no, resisted the temptation. At the Trade Deadline, people said we had to get Ubaldo Jimenez. We didn’t like the price tag.”

“People thought we were taking a step back on [Jesus] Montero when we got Russell Martin. We did the same thing with [Jorge] Posada. It was three or four years until we fully handed it over to him. When people saw Montero at the end of last year, they said, ‘Holy cow, that’s a middle-of-the-lineup bat.’

And, now, we have these two pieces of news -

New York has finally made its move for a pitcher, agreeing to trade for right-hander Michael Pineda from the Mariners in exchange for top prospect Jesus Montero, CBSSports.com’s Jon Heyman reports. The Mariners will also get right-hander Hector Noesi, while right-hander Jose Campos goes the Yankees, Heyman reports. The deal is pending physicals.

Big night for the Yankees. They have agreed to a 1-year deal with [Hiroki] Kuroda, pending a physical. Deal will be between $10 and $11 million.

So, the Yankees add two starting pitchers. Does this mean that A.J. Burnett is on his way out? And, why would the M’s give up Michael Pineda for a player who’s best position is D.H.?

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Pitchers, since 1901, with 3+ seasons of an ERA+ of 170 or better where they qualified for the ERA title:

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King Felix could join the list some day…he’s knocking on the door with two.

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Having the Mantle Twins on your roster had to be a drawing card, even for Class D-Ball, no?

Of course, it’s not up there with having the Barbi Twins on the roster…

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Who are the only 2 pitchers in baseball, since 2008, to have 3+ seasons of “180+ IP, 70+ BB, 6+ WP and less than 15 wins”?

Here is the answer -

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Holy Bookends Batman!

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MLB Network today announced the launch of Baseball IQ, its first-ever game show, premiering Tuesday, January 24 at 9:00 p.m. ET. Hosted by MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian, Baseball IQis a recall-based trivia show featuring two participants, 30 minutes and a chance to win up to $45,000 for charity. Questions will cover all things baseball, from current players and managers to World Series champions, MVPs, Cy Young Award winners, Hall of Famers, milestones and more.

MLB Network surveyed all 30 Clubs, MLB.com and the National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum for the best and brightest trivia minds in their organizations to represent them in Baseball IQ, and thirty-two participants will be matched up in a bracket-style tournament across 31 episodes. Two new episodes will air every Tuesday through Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET from January 24 through February 23, leading up to the start of Spring Training. 

“Baseball fans are passionate about the sport’s statistics and launching Baseball IQ is a way for us to expand our offseason programming lineup to let viewers test their baseball knowledge,” said MLB Network President and CEO Tony Petitti. “The premise of Baseball IQ is a natural extension of how fans talk about baseball at home or during a game by putting a current story, player or moment into historical context.”

Baseball IQ features participants from front office personnel, equipment managers, scoreboard operators and museum curators. When possible, Baseball IQ participants will be matched up in a bracket opposite their clubs’ rivals, pitting the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs, the Boston Red Sox against the New York Yankees, the Los Angeles Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim against the Texas Rangers. The winning player of each episode will win $5,000 for the organization’s charity they represent. The championship episode will award $25,000 for the winner’s charity and $15,000 to the runner-up’s charity.

The complete Baseball IQ bracket with participants scheduled to appear is below and more information, including rules, participant and charity information can be found here.

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It’s a small group -

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Anyone missing from the list that you would have expected? First one I thought of: A.J. Burnett.  (He just missed with 91 wins and 1,458 IP.)

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Here is the list -

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I forgot what a big deal Fernandomania was…

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Great stuff from Bob Klapisch today -

There was a time, earlier in my career, when voting on the Hall of Fame was a clean, clearly defined exercise, allowing me to honor the careers of can’t-miss candidates like Wade Boggs and Eddie Murray, while taking up the fight for the underappreciated, like Goose Gossage and Bert Blyleven.

Those were the days, when forgiveness of sins was as benign as cutting Roberto Alomar a break for having spit on umpire John Hirschbeck. Next year, however, the election process dissolves into chaos when the referendum on steroids arrives with the class of 2013, which includes Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio and Curt Schilling.

Good luck to anyone trying to make sense of the ballot’s hazy instructions, which urges voters to consider a candidate’s “character.” But, how, exactly does that apply to the juicers?

Punish the ones who openly admitted to cheating? No forgiveness for them?

How about the ones who were suspected but never caught or, for that matter, not even mentioned in the Mitchell Report? Obviously it’s a messy science, although some have suggested a black-and-white solution: Either let them all in, or banish them all to purgatory, convicts and suspects alike.

Maybe it’s time to take the vote away from the writers and give it to the players?  Say…any retired player who has at least ten years service time in the bigs gets the vote.  Would that work?

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The vote:

Barry Larkin 495 (86.4%)
Jack Morris 382 (66.7%)
Jeff Bagwell 321 (56.0%)
Lee Smith 290 (50.6%)
Tim Raines 279 (48.7%)
Edgar Martinez 209 (36.5%)
Alan Trammell 211 (36.8%)
Fred McGriff 137 (23.9%)
Larry Walker 131 (22.9%)
Mark McGwire 112 (19.5%)
Don Mattingly 102 (17.8%)
Dale Murphy 83 (14.5%)
Rafael Palmeiro 72 (12.6%)
Bernie Williams 55 (9.6%)
Juan Gonzalez 23 (4.0%)
Vinny Castilla 6 (1.0%)
Tim Salmon 5 (0.9%)
Bill Mueller 4 (0.7%)
Brad Radke 2 (0.3%)
Javy Lopez 1 (0.2%)
Eric Young 1 (0.2%)
Jeromy Burnitz 0
Brian Jordan 0
Terry Mulholland 0
Phil Nevin 0
Ruben Sierra 0
Tony Womack 0

Brad Radke got two votes?

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Post 1900, here is the list -

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Welcome to the club, Casey Kotchman.

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The Moneyball DVD is being released next Tuesday.  If you saw the movie and liked it, here’s your chance to own it.  And, if you read the book and have yet to see the movie, here’s your chance to check it out at home.  Lastly, of course, if you haven’t read the book or seen the movie, here’s your chance to see what everyone is talking about…

I’ve seen the movie – and have read the book – and I thought the film was an interesting look at the inner-workings of a major league baseball team.  My wife saw the movie with me – and knew nothing about the story prior to that – and found the film to be an effective depiction of a team that was supposed to be terrible and who went on to win 20 games in a row (and advance to the post-season) using unconventional means.

Hey, just for fun, watch the movie and see where you can spot this item.

Of course, the DVD and Blu-ray come with extras.  They’re listed below.  Again, the Moneyball DVD is being released on January 12th.

MONEYBALL DVD Special Features include:

• Deleted Scenes
• Blooper with Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill
• Billy Beane: Re-Inventing the Game  (In this featurette we introduce the real Billy Beane, ex-professional baseball player and current General Manager of the Oakland A’s and reveal the history behind the story of “Moneyball”. Billy Beane explains his struggles being a small market GM and how having a third of the payroll of the Yankees or Red Sox forced him to think differently in drafting the 2002 team and to find value in players using On Base Percentage and Sabermetrics. We will also look at how the “Moneyball” concept is still influencing players and teams today. Director Bennett Miller, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and author Michael Lewis round out the story of “Moneyball” and how Billy Beane took on an institution and beat the odds of an unfair game.)
• Moneyball: Playing The Game

Exclusive to Blu-ray:

• Drafting The Team
• Adapting Moneyball  (No book adaptation is without its challenges and “Moneyball” was no exception. Author Michael Lewis, Screenwriters Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian and director Bennett Miller discuss the themes of the book; being an underdog, taking on an institution and re-thinking tradition as well as what drew them to the project and why this story has meaning beyond the world of baseball. Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman introduce us to their characters and tell us why this was a project they wanted to be a part of.)
• Exclusive MLB® 12 The Show Preview Trailer

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Here’s one list -

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Hip, Hip…

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Look at the bright-side Yankees fans…at least he kept his shirt on this time.

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How many teams had 3+ players in the same season with at least 110 RBI? Here is the list -

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The Rockies thing was the perfect storm – the ballpark, it being sorta/kinda soon after an expansion period, with many players juicing.  A somewhat ditto on the Phillies – with the Baker Bowl and rabbit ball.

As such, I don’t think we’ll ever see a team with 4+ of these guys again.

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Here is the story.

No word if we can expect a Torre/Verducci book entitled “The MLB Years” now that Joe has moved on to his next quest.

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It’s hard to pick one over the other, right?

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An offensive era like no other in baseball history?

Perhaps it all depends on your definition of “offensive”?

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Edgar Martinez and David Cone shared more than this homerun.  Do you know what it is?

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Brandon Lee recently shared a great write-up on the comeback hopes of Johan Santana.

When I see the money that Santana is going to make in 2012, 2013 and maybe 2014, all I can think of is how the Mets would love to see that ~$24 million off their payroll in each of those years.

If Johan can pitch well this Spring and carry it into the start of the 2012 season, would the Mets look to deal him? If they’re smart, they should…

Of course, there’s the matter of him having a full no-trade clause. But, if the Mets are playing poorly, perhaps he would want to waive that and join a winner?

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I love the MLB Network. 

Really, I know it has not been around all that long.  However, I don’t know what I would do, now, without it.

It’s my “go to” channel any time I turn on the T.V. and I do not have something specific in mind to watch…

But, gosh, they keep playing that New Era “Rivals Are…” commerical over and over and over….

It’s so annoying.  Is that the only advertiser that they have?

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Here’s one way to slice it -

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If Dave Steib played on better teams, we would be debating why he’s not in the Hall of Fame, eh?

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