Matt Williams was officially named the Nationals' new manager on Thursday morning.
"I feel privileged and honored to be a part of this team," Williams said in a written statement. "It’s a wonderful group of guys and a great organization. I’m simply here to help take us to the next level." The former Diamondbacks third base coach will be introduced at a press conference Friday at Nationals Park. Williams is replacing Davey Johnson, who stepped down at the end of the regular season.


Source: Washington Post Oct 31 - 11:22 AM

Do we get that $5 million now?

Pretty sure they spent that on Sizemore in 2012 !

Talented hurlers can be found on free-agent market

Solid pitchers such as Santana, Jimenez, Wilson available ...

and then there's Tanaka

By Doug Miller / MLB.com | 11/1/2013 10:00 A.M. ET

For as many statistical advancements as there have been over the past decade or two, nobody has ever been able to crunch an exact number that quantifies the value of pitching.

The legendary Connie Mack is believed to have estimated it as contributing 75 percent to success.

Maybe it's less than that, but it doesn't seem outlandish given what we've seen over the past few years. It's safe to say the San Francisco Giants won the 2010 and 2012 World Series primarily because of their arms. It's also not a stretch to say that this year's Red Sox were helped to the top because two of their most important pitchers, Jon Lester and John Lackey, rebounded with stellar postseasons.

So yes, pitching is important, and now that the free-agent market is open and teams are sure to be swarming around the available hurlers, there will be millions upon millions of dollars that tell us exactly how important it is, at least for this year and the years written into the contracts.

To be sure, trades will be made, but here is a primer on 10 of the top projected pitchers -- starters and relievers -- available this offseason.

Masahiro Tanaka, RHP: Tanaka, who turns 25 next year, technically isn't a free agent but it's expected that more than a few teams will bid for his services. He wants to pitch in the Major Leagues and should be posted by the Rakuten Golden Eagles following the Japan Series. Tanaka happens to be coming off one of the greatest seasons in Japanese baseball history, with a 24-0 record and 1.24 ERA. He figures to get the most lucrative contract of all the available pitchers if he makes the move.

Ubaldo Jimenez, RHP: Talk about a career rejuvenation. It looked like the once-dominant Cy Young contender, who will turn 30 in January, might fade into mediocrity, but Jimenez locked into something with Cleveland this year and rode it out to very good and very timely results. Jimenez went from losing 17 games in 2012 to posting the best ERA in the American League in the second half. Jimenez went undefeated and had a 1.09 ERA in September and tied a career high with 13 strikeouts in Cleveland's Wild Card-clinching victory in the final game of the regular season.

Matt Garza, RHP: Garza still brings it in the mid-90s and has playoff experience, both attractive qualities, especially for a guy who won't turn 30 until later this month. Garza had a rough end of the season with Texas in the ERA category, but he stayed healthy after coming back from arm problems in May.

Ervin Santana, RHP: Santana has been inconsistent through the years, but he picked a good time to post the lowest ERA of his career (3.24) and top the 200-inning mark for the fifth time in his nine seasons in the Major Leagues. He's going to get serious looks from plenty of teams, but if his signing costs a Draft pick, clubs might look elsewhere, because Santana won't come cheap.

Ricky Nolasco, RHP: Nolasco isn't a No. 1 starter, but he's solid, and he proved it while splitting his season with the Marlins and Dodgers. Nolasco went 8-3 with a 3.52 ERA down the stretch for Los Angeles and he struck out 165 batters overall in 191 1/3 innings. He'll turn 31 in December and figures to land a multiyear deal as a mid-pack starter for a contending team.

Brian Wilson, RHP: Coming off his second Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, it made sense that the bearded one would need time to get back his velocity. When he did and he signed with the Dodgers at the end of July, he went right to work proving he's still effective. Wilson pitched to a 0.66 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings to finish the regular season and was excellent in the playoffs, setting up for closer Kenley Jansen with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings. The small sample size might be a concern, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him be a closer again.

Hiroki Kuroda, RHP: Kuroda will be 39 by the time Spring Training rolls around, but teams will be giving him a look, especially after he had another solid season for the Yankees. Kuroda might have had a losing record of 11-13, but he pitched to a 3.31 ERA and chalked up 201 1/3 innings while striking out 150 batters. That's worthy of some serious salary, whether it's for one year or maybe even more.

Bartolo Colon, RHP: It would be tough to expect the wide-bodied Colon to repeat what he did while forging his way into the AL Cy Young conversation at the age of 40, but then again, it was impossible to believe he would improve on a 10-win 2012 campaign for the A's that earned him another year and $3 million. Colon went 18-6 with a 2.65 ERA and walked only 29 batters in more than 190 innings. That has this ageless wonder primed for a possible two-year deal and bigger bucks.

A.J. Burnett, RHP: Yes, he'll be 37 in January, but he had 209 strikeouts in 191 innings and a 3.30 ERA, which means he's in line for a good deal. Burnett said he'll consider retirement if he doesn't re-sign with the Pirates, so we'll see if Pittsburgh goes after him.

Suk-min Yoon, RHP: Here's the wild card of the bunch. Yoon is 27 years old and wants to play in the Majors after starring in South Korea. Yoon had a 2.45 ERA in 2011 and a 3.12 ERA in 2012, striking out more than eight batters per nine innings. He has experience as a reliever but intends to start in the big leagues. If his Korean numbers translate to the bigs like Hyun-jin Ryu's did this past season for the Dodgers, Yoon could be a steal.

Other starters: Bronson Arroyo, RHP; Scott Kazmir, LHP; Josh Johnson, RHP; Tim Hudson, RHP; Scott Feldman, RHP; Roy Halladay, RHP; Bruce Chen, LHP; Jake Westbrook, RHP; Chris Capuano, LHP; Gavin Floyd, RHP; Roberto Hernandez, RHP; Shaun Marcum, RHP; Mike Pelfrey, RHP; Jason Hammel, RHP; Dan Haren, RHP; Phil Hughes, RHP; Paul Maholm, LHP; Clayton Richard, LHP; Joe Saunders ; LHP; Jason Vargas, LHP; Edinson Volquez, RHP

Other relievers: RHP; Joaquin Benoit, Kevin Gregg, RHP; Fernando Rodney, RHP; Joba Chamberlain, RHP; Francisco Rodriguez, RHP; Joe Smith, RHP; J.P. Howell, LHP; Javier Lopez, LHP; Eric O'Flaherty, LHP; LaTroy Hawkins, RHP; Manny Parra, LHP, Matt Thornton, LHP; Oliver Perez, LHP

Masahiro Tanaka, If he can muster up the strength to blow the Yomiuri Giants away one more time, the new 25-year-old will give himself and the Tohoku region a party that won’t soon be forgotten.

Tanaka, the recently crowned 2013 Sawamura Award (Cy Young equivalent in Japan) winner who hasn’t lost a decision since August of 2012, will make his final start of the year on Saturday in Game 6 of the Japan Series at Kleenex Stadium with the franchise’s first-ever title just a win away.

Tanaka put together a historic season in 2013, meeting all but one of the seven criteria (15 or more wins; 150 or more strikeouts; at least 10 complete games; an ERA under 2.50; at least 200 innings pitched; 25 or more games started; and a winning percentage greater than .600), by which winners are judged.

“Ma-kun” finished the season 24-0, with a save, 183 strikeouts and eight complete games. He posted a 1.27 ERA over 212 innings in 28 starts and, of course, had a perfect 1.000 winning percentage.

Tanaka gave up just six home runs during the season and finished with a 0.94 WHIP.

Tanaka has continued to pitch at a high level during the postseason — currently 2-0 with two complete-game victories and a save — confounding hitters with a solid array of pitches, and putting away more than a few with the devastating forkball that was on display in Game 2 of the Japanese Fall Classic on Sunday.

“Ma-Kun” went the distance and struck out 12 in the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles’ 2-1 win over Yomiuri in Game 2, but this start comes with a little bit more on the line.

The Giants figure to face an uphill climb to stay alive against a pitcher who didn’t lose a game all year, and finished the season with a 1.27 ERA in 183 innings.

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Baseball / MLB

Fan suing Royals over hot dog injury

AP[/b]

Nov 2, 2013

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI –

If it had been a foul ball or broken bat that struck John Coomer in the eye as he watched a Kansas City Royals game, the courts likely wouldn’t force the team to pay for his surgeries and suffering.

But because it was a hot dog thrown by the team mascot — behind the back, no less — he just may have a case.

The Missouri Supreme Court is weighing whether the “baseball rule” — a legal standard that protects teams from being sued over fan injuries caused by events on the field, court or rink — should also apply to injuries caused by mascots or the other personnel that teams employ to engage fans. Because the case could set a legal precedent, it could change how teams in other cities and sports approach interacting with fans at their games.

Coomer, of Overland Park, Kan., says he was injured at a September 2009 Royals game when the team’s lion mascot, Sluggerrr, threw an 11-gram (4-ounce), foil-wrapped wiener into the stands that struck his eye. He had to have two surgeries — one to repair a detached retina and the other to remove a cataract that developed and implant an artificial lens. Coomer’s vision is worse now than before he was hurt and he has paid roughly $4,800 in medical costs, said his attorney, Robert Tormohlen.

Coomer, 53, declined to discuss the case. His lawsuit seeks an award of “over $20,000″ from the team, but the actual amount he is seeking is likely much greater. Tormohlen declined to discuss the actual amount.

According to MLB.com's Mark Bowman, Tim Hudson has already been contacted by approximately 10 teams.
Bowman says the Royals and Indians are "the clubs that have shown the most interest so far." Hudson, 38, posted a 3.97 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 95/36 K/BB ratio in 131 1/3 innings (21 starts) this summer before fracturing his right ankle. He is hoping to pitch for 2-3 more seasons.

Nelson Cruz received a qualifying offer from the Rangers.

Cruz was the last MLB player to be tendered a qualifying offer. The Monday afternoon deadline passed with 13 players officially receiving an offer (Robinson Cano, Hiroki Kuroda, Curtis Granderson, Ervin Santana, Shin-Soo Choo, Kendrys Morales, Brian McCann, Mike Napoli, Jacoby Ellsbury, Stephen Drew, Carlos Beltran and Ubaldo Jimenez were the others). Those players have one week to decide if they want to accept the one-year, $14.1 million offer or decline to seek a multi-year deal on the open market. The Rangers elected not to tender any other impending free agent an offer, including closer Joe Nathan.


Related: Joe Nathan
Source: Evan Grant on Twitter Nov 4 - 5:27 PM

No one on that list I would give $14 million to. Did I understand correctly? Each of those players were offered $14 million?

They were offered a one year 14.1 million dollar contract by their current teams and if the players refuse that qualifying offer then their current teams are due draft compensation in this years draft if they sign elsewhere.

How did anyone come up with that figure?

I love it when the greedy bastards turn a good offer down and end up with a lot less when their pipe dreams dry up.

Type A and Type B designations have been eliminated. Instead, teams will have to make players a qualifying offer to be eligible for draft pick compensation.
The value of the qualifying offer, which is determined annually by averaging the top 125 player salaries from the previous year, will be worth $14.1 this offseason. All qualifying offers are for the same duration (one year) and the same amount ($14.1MM for 2013-14).
Teams have until five days after the World Series to make qualifying offers. At that point the players have seven days to accept.
Once a team makes a qualifying offer, the player has two choices: he can accept the one-year deal or decline in search of other offers. If he declines the offer and signs elsewhere, his new team will have to surrender a top draft pick (the selection doesn't go to the player's former team).
Teams that sign free agents who turned down qualifying offers will surrender their first round picks. However, the forfeited picks don't go to other MLB teams. Instead, the first round simply becomes condensed.
The first ten selections in the draft are protected. Teams with protected picks will surrender their second-highest selections.
The player’s former team will receive its compensatory selection at the end of the first round. Teams now obtain one compensatory selection, instead of two.
If teams don’t make a qualifying offer, the player can sign uninhibited.
Only players that have been on their current teams the entire past season are eligible for qualifying offers.

The value of the qualifying offer, which is determined annually by averaging the top 125 player salaries from the previous year, will be worth $14.1 this offseason.

How many free agents are among the top 125 players in the game? Seems like a high amount for a team to pay, so I can see why most won't get an offer.

FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Ricky Nolasco is looking for a five-year, $80 million contract this winter.
It would match the deal that former rotation mate Anibal Sanchez received last offseason. Nolasco posted a solid 3.70 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 165/46 K/BB ratio over 199 1/3 innings between the Marlins and Dodgers this season. He faded down the stretch, though, and held a combined 4.68 ERA over the previous four campaigns. Needless to say, handing him $80 million would be a huge risk.

Source: FOXSports.com Nov 7 - 8:00 PM
Ervin Santana - S - Royals


FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports that Ervin Santana is seeking more than $100 million on a five-year contract.
MLB clubs are flooded with cash right now, and Santana is arguably the top starter on the market after Masahiro Tanaka. Still, it would be a surprise if he's able to net that kind of deal. Santana made $13 million this season for the Royals while putting up a 3.24 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 161/51 K/BB ratio over 211 innings.
Source: FOXSports.com Nov 7 - 7:56 PM