Author Archives: danglickman

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About danglickman

2012 Graduate of St. John Fisher College. Journalist, writer and sponge for information.

Michael Young leaves the Rangers, removing another career-with-one-team man

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Michael Young wasn’t drafted by the Texas Rangers- he came as a Minor Leaguer in a trade with the Blue Jays- but he has for years been Mr. Ranger. But now, he is headed to Philadelphia, waiving his no-trade clause in order to be traded to the Phillies. He has, barring a possible mostly-ceremonial return at the end of his career, hit his final hit and played his final game as a Ranger- he held the record in both categories for the team.

But what it also does is eliminate the chance that Young would join the list of players- increasingly endangered- who have played their entire career with one team.

In fact, as far as I can tell, these are the only active players left who have spent their entire career of 10+ seasons with the same club:

Derek Jeter

Mariano Rivera

Todd Helton

Jimmy Rollins

Brian Roberts

Now, admittedly, there are a bunch of players who are only a season or two away from joining this list: Joe Mauer, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, David Wright, Cole Hamels, etc. But as “Mr. Ranger” leaves Texas, it’s interesting to know this in order to truly appreciate just how rare it is now for a player to spend their entire career with one team… and how Michael Young won’t be one of those players.

The Yankees are just sleeping

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When I was younger, I had a thing for Godzilla movies. But I sort of realized that, at the end of each movie, there probably should have been a scene where the Japanese government realized that Godzilla was going to come back, and that he wasn’t dead, he was just sleeping.

The same could be said of the Yankees this offseason. So tight have their pockets been that Brian Cashman apparently went to the Winter Meetings without authority to sign free agents. Names like Jeff Keppinger and Eric Chavez went elsewhere, and the big names like Josh Hamilton and Zack Greinke have been almost entirely unconnected to them. They haven’t been in for any trades. The only player they seem to have officially been in pursuit of so far is Kevin Youkilis.

But, rest assured, they have a plan. A horrible plan. Much like Godzilla no doubt dreamed of stomping Tokyo or Osaka as he slept between B-movies, the Yankees have dreams as well, and it involves a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement.

You see, there is a threshold of about $189 million dollars. If a team is above it, they have to pay luxury taxes, and a lot of them, and the penalties accrue based on how much and how long the team is over it. The Yankees, as they have been going, would have been paying up to a 50% luxury tax.

But if a team goes under it, the formula for luxury tax resets. They could then proceed to go over the tax threshold and not have to pay close to the luxury tax amount they  would be paying if they didn’t reset the clock.

If what I’m reading is correct, this would mean that they’d be relatively unencumbered in the 2014-2015 off-season in their quest to stomp Tokyo, or at least the American League, free to spend, spend, spend without much worry about all the taxes they’d be inflicted upon.

And here comes the part that is terrifying for the people of Tokyo, or at least the American League: Justin Verlander could be a free agent after 2014. So could Clayton Kershaw. And Felix Hernandez. And Chase Headley, Johnny Cueto and Elvis Andrus.

In other words… they Yankees could spend and attempt to buy a pennant in a way even George would find crazy.

And that is why they are sleeping.

In/Out/In-Between of the WBC as of 9:34 PM on December 7, 2012

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To better show the changes to the list, I’ll list the ins/outs and in-between that are new and then, below the jump, there is a list of all of the players who are in or out (or somewhere in between).

Today’s notes:

Angel Pagan will play in the WBC, according to Henry Schulman. As he has not officially been said by the WBC to be in it, I’ve placed him in the possibly/likely.

Brandon Phillips has been asked and is considering it. I’ve placed him in the possibly/likely side.

Johnny Cueto has said he “probably” will pitch for the DR. I’m putting him in possibly/likely.

Marco Scutaro, probably won’t take part, as the 37-year old wants to “save his bullets“.

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Random videos of the undetermined amount of time: Big long things for me to watch later

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Sometimes, you just don’t have time to watch some of the most interesting/weird/random videos about baseball on the internet. So, if you have some time, feel free to watch these videos that I’m saving for a really slow day.

The first is some college student’s presentation on the sabermetrics of baseball… Mario Superstar Baseball for the Nintendo Gamecube, to be exact:

Secondly, a abridged version of The Emerald Diamond, a documentary on baseball in Ireland, has been uploaded on Youtube. Given my love of International baseball, this is right up my alley and will probably watch it soon.

Finally, there’s a documentary on Japanese High School baseball over at Hulu that I’ll probably watch one of these days.

In/Out/In-Between of the WBC as of 8:39 PM on December 6, 2012

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Who’s playing in the WBC? Who’s dropped out? Who is still being considered or might be taking part? Well, go below the jump for it:

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2013 World Baseball Classic Provisional Roster Analysis: Korea

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While the western WBC teams have yet to release provisional rosters publicly, the

Thanks to @MyKBO for making this and sharing it with everybody on Twitter, as well as making the statistics available.

Go after the jump for analysis.

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Random Semi-Humorous Post: And they say American fans don’t care about the WBC…

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The WBC is an afterthought for most Americans, aside from freaks like me. But let it not be said that everyone has that opinion. Rest assured, the WBC is a big deal for some people. Just look at what I found while looking on Twitter for WBC news:

 

Yes, a yogurt place in Orem, Utah is offering Bryce Harper free yogurt for life if he changes his mind about the World Baseball Classic. Harper is from Nevada and has family in Utah (his girlfriend is a star soccer player for BYU), so he presumably would be able to stop in Orem to collect it. But will the power of yogurt be enough? Time will tell…

Winter Meetings Actions and Reactions: Part 5 (Ben Revere-is-traded edition)

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Action:

Reaction: The Twins had two good center-fielders. Now they have none. However, they also had very little pitching. For the two CFs they have traded, they have acquired three pitchers: Vance Worley, Alex Meyer and Trevor May. Worley, who did admittedly miss the end of last season with some injury problems, instantly becomes the top starter for the Twins. He’s gone 18-13 with a 3.50 ERA during parts of three MLB seasons, has good upside and won’t be hitting free agency until after the 2017 season.

Meyer (who they got for Span) and May are more of gambles- every pitching prospect is, to the extent that somebody once said that “there is no such thing as a pitching prospect”. However, May is by all accounts a good power-pitching guy who can strike people out and could become a front-line starter if he gets his mechanics under control, and Meyer also is a well-regarded prospect.

While it is likely sad for Twins fans to see Revere go, it probably won’t hurt the team in the long-term. Aaron Hicks, one of the top prospects for the Twins, hit .286 for AA New Britain last season and is a CF. He probably will be up with Minnesota by the end of the 2013 season, and could be the CF for years to come. And although Revere was great fun to watch in the field and on the basepaths, he was more of a slap-hitter at the plate and his arm was… lacking.

So while it is probably sad for Twins fans to see him go, the return in this case- as well as the Twins’ minor league depth in the outfield- make this trade look like a winner for Minnesota, and a good step on the path back to competing in the AL Central.

Still, one last time:

2013 WBC Team USA projections Version 2.1

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THE LATEST PROJECTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.

Well, with some players beginning to confirm their inclusion or non-participation in the WBC, here are my latest projections. While Team USA is hurt by the fact that Bryce Harper (who likely wants to spend the spring preparing for what will be just his third year as a professional) and David Price are apparently not going to take part, it is bolstered by the fact that Joe Mauer and David Wright have confirmed that they are in. Starting with this set of projections, players who have confirmed that they are participating will be italicized.

A refresher on my selection rules/assumptions:

  • Any player coming off a major injury or who has a history of injuries is unlikely to participate. This is especially true for the pitchers.
  • Players that will be on new teams are less likely to participate, but shouldn’t be completely ignored, with the exception of pitchers.
  • Teams are made up of 28 players, of which 13 of them must be pitchers and two of them catchers.
  • The pitch count rules make relievers extremely important.

Now, go after the jump for the full look:

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In/Out/In-Between of the WBC as of 9:00 PM on December 5, 2012

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Continuing as your source for the WBC, go below the jump for the latest update of players that are in, out or somewhere in-between of the WBC.

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