Baseball 2012

[sbr]

LA Angels have signed Josh Hamilton to 5 year, $125 deal.  They still don't have any pitching but that is probably the best line-up in the game next year.

Trout
Callaspo
Pujols
Hamilton
Trumbo
Kendrick
Morales

They are committed to $50 million a year between Pujols and Hamilton for the next 5 years.  I think they will regret both deals before they are done.

[derspiess]

http://maria Sharapova completed a career Grand Slam in her sport this June when she won the French Open. Now that she's reached the pinnacle of tennis, what's next? Judging from this photo, it looks like she might be moving to another ball-hitting sport.

Shooting a commercial for the Head racquet company on Tuesday, Sharapova took the field at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., the Orioles' Spring Training home. As you can see in the photo she posted on her Facebook profile, she shortens the long-armed swing coming out of her 6-foot-2 frame by choking up. And if you're wondering about her choice of batter's box, keep in mind a two-handed backhand for a righty tennis player is a lot like a lefty baseball swing.

-- Dan Wohl / MLB.com

All I can think of is that poor girl taking a 95mph fastball in the ribs from some overly aggressive pitcher.

[Ed Anger]

I have a screwball for her.

[jimmy olsen]

Piazza and Bagwell make an interesting comp.  Roughly same batting ability; Bagwell stretched that performance out over more PA though.  Piazza was a terrible fielding catcher; Bagwell a good field-1B.  The trick is all the unknowns involved in evaluating the negative impact of Piazza's defense vs. the positive impact of getting his bat in the lineup from the C slot.  I think I would lean towards admitting both.

It seems that his defense may not have been as bad as people made out. Also, I made a baseball 2013 thread already.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/01/hof-voters-choose-mike-piazza-or-accuse-him-of-using-steroids/

Piazza's defensive reputation was shaky at its best, dreadful at its worst. But that was mostly (almost entirely?) due to his arm. It doesn't seem like he ever held back his his teams. Here are the NL ERA ranks from all of Piazza's staffs in his years as a team's primary catcher:

1993 Dodgers: 3rd
1994 Dodgers: 9th
1995 Dodgers: 2nd
1996 Dodgers: 1st
1997 Dodgers: 2nd
1998 Mets: 4th
1999 Mets: 5th
2000 Mets: 3rd
2001 Mets: 5th
2002 Mets: 5th
2005 Mets: 3rd
2006 Padres: 1st

So, how bad of a defensive catcher could he have been? In 12 years as a primary catcher, his pitchers finished in the top third of the league in ERA 11 times.

(And whether it's worth pointing out or not, the 1994 Dodgers, the one odd ball on the list, had a 3.97 ERA with Piazza catching and a 5.28 ERA with Carlos Hernandez and Tom Prince behind the plate.)

[The Minsky Moment]

What the hardtalk post shows is that Piazza played for good teams with good pitching staffs.  Good for him.

They do the 94 comparison but the backup catcher that year was the equally dubious carlos Hernandez.
A quick look of the game logs shows that Hernandez was put in early in several huge blowouts where the opposing team just piled up runs.

They don't compare other seasons but there are a few (i checked at random) where the numbers with Piazza were worse, and a few where they are better.
No pattern, and given the small samples, little to support drawing conclusions.

My recollection was on the Mets, Piazza had an OK rep for handling the staff, nothing great.  What is unquestionable is that he could not control base stealers.

I still vote yes but he is borderline.

Also, I made a baseball 2013 thread already

Remind me again Jan 1.   

[The Minsky Moment]

They are committed to $50 million a year between Pujols and Hamilton for the next 5 years.  I think they will regret both deals before they are done.

IIRC they still have to pay 20 to Vernon Wells next year.  And he no longer has a position.

[jimmy olsen]

Also, I made a baseball 2013 thread already

Remind me again Jan 1.   

The 2012 season is over, ergo it is the 2013 pre-season.