Field of Ignorance Hiatus
It has been nearly a year since Field of Ignorance was last active. For those that don’t know, founder Jesse Behr was hired as an associate scout for the Toronto Blue Jays last February. Continuing the site under Behr’s leadership would be a conflict of interest given his new position. For the time being, FOI will remain inactive until the site is turned over to new hands.
With that said, the site domain and title itself are now up for sale. Please contact us at contact@fieldofignorance.com for more information.
Feel free to browse our archives in the meantime.
Read MoreYu Set The Scene: Video
by Jesse Behr | @jj_behr | jjbehr@fieldofignorance.com |
The Rangers have locked down Yu Darvish to a six-year, $60 million deal that includes an additional $10 million in performance-based incentives. Texas set the record with a $51,703,411 posting fee and had until 5 PM EST to sign Darvish. There’s no question about Darvish’s potential as a number one starter, as the right-hander compiled a career 1.72 ERA and 4.90 K/BB in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Darvish is introduced as a member of the Texas Rangers:
Read MoreSaturday Morning in The Caribbean, Vol. 1
by Jesse Behr | @jj_behr | jjbehr@fieldofignorance.com
Stats as of December 10; league leaders in italics
Liga de Beisbol Dominicano
OF Brian Bogusevic, Astros: 33 G, 120 AB, 38 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 26 R, 12 RBI, .317/.446/.500
Bogusevic spent half of 2011 in Houston, finishing the season with 4 HR, 25 wRC, and 2.4 WAR in 87 games (182 PA). Bogusevic could be a combo threat of power and speed (13 HR, 23 SB at Triple-A Round Rock in 2010) if he reaches his full potential.
OF Ricardo Nanita, Blue Jays: 30 G, 103 AB, 35 H, 7 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 15 R, 20 RBI, .340/.425/.583
OF Carlos Peguero, Mariners: 37 G, 140 AB, 38 H, 9 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 24 R, 26 RBI, .271/.346/.550
LHP Shane Youman, Free Agent: 4-1. 0.77 ERA, 6 G, 6 GS, 35.0 IP, 6.42 K/9, 2.31 BB/9, .207 AVG
RHP Manauris Baez, Royals: 1-1, 1.96 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 36.2 IP, 6.37 K/9, 4.90 BB/9, .176 AVG
Read MoreLOS PIRATAS! Act II for “Nate The Great”
AP Photo
by Jesse Behr | @jj_behr | jjbehr@fieldofignorance.com
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said: “There are no second acts in American lives.” While it’s unlikely Mr. Fitzgerald had Nate McLouth in mind, you have to wonder what the second act in Pittsburgh holds for “Nate The Great.”
All-Star. Gold Glover. “Great.” These were all words ascribed to McLouth prior to June of 2009, when he was dealt to Atlanta for prospects Charlie Morton, Jeff Locke, and Gorkys Hernandez. Now, after signing a one-year, $1.75 million dollar contract on Wednesday, McLouth returns to Pittsburgh as just “Nate The Bench Player.” Has quite a different ring to it, don’t you think?
You wonder what happened to “Nate The Great”? As I continue to remind readers, I followed the Pirates as closely as any healthy human being should from May 2008 to early 2010 when The ‘Burgh Blues ran in existence. And to Pirates fans, McLouth was the miniature version (5’11”,185 pounds) of superman.
This throw during the 2008 All-Star game, and his eventual Gold Glove award selection, put him on baseball’s national radar. However, the few that had been following the Pirates, or (what I suppose were) the many that followed McLouth in his days at the University of Michigan saw something special.
Read MoreSet You Free: Catchers in the Rye
With Baseball’s Winter Meetings in Dallas, Texas underway, it’s perfect timing to dive into the free agent pool. This is the second part of our nine-part series entitled Set You Free, which takes a position-by-position look at this offseason’s free agency market. Today, Jesse Behr goes over available backstops.
Last week, in the span of six days, five catchers were taken off the market: Jake Fox signed with the Pirates and Carlos Corporan with the Astros to minor league deals, Ryan Doumit will head to Minnesota and Jose Molina to Tampa Bay on one-year deals, and Ramon Hernandez to Colorado on a two-year $6.4 million deal. Hernandez theoretically swapped spots with Chris Iannetta, who was traded to the Angels for right-hander Tyler Chatwood.
Read MoreBehr Thoughts: Pedro Martinez
Photo courtesy of Hard Knox Sports
Back in 2008, while I was deep in the midst of working on The ‘Burgh Blues, I started a somewhat unconventional campaign on my blog to “Bring Pedro (Martinez) To The ‘Burgh.” Martinez was coming off a 12-start season (including three postseason starts) with the Phillies, where he took the Roger Clemens approach and decided not to pitch in a Major League game until mid-August. As the case always is, the Bucs needed veteran starting pitching, and seeing Martinez at PNC Park would’ve been a sight.
There was something about Pedro Martinez I always liked. It wasn’t just his circle change or his ridiculous K/BB rates that intrigued me. Even when I was a Yankees fanatic, I would watch games in which Martinez started in awe. He was (and still is) a goofy character, a common trait amongst my favorite sports players.
Read MoreInterview with Jason Martinez
MLBDepthCharts.com is the creation of baseball junkie Jason Martinez, who has been intrigued by the construction of rosters since childhood. The website, and a soon-to-be-released digital magazine, allows readers to follow along as he deconstructs and rebuilds the pieces to the roster puzzle for all 30 major league organizations. The website has become a valuable resource for baseball fans, fantasy geeks, beat writers, reporters, scouts, and front office executives. In July 2011, MLBDepthCharts was named to SI.com’s inaugural Twitter 100, a list honoring the most essential twitter feeds in the sports world.
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Jesse Behr: Since the story is hot off the press, what’s your reaction to the Marlins reeling in Heath Bell?
Jason Martinez: I understand the concerns people are going to have. Giving a 34-year-old with a declining strikeout rate a three-year, $27 million deal is risky for obvious reasons. But let me put a positive spin on this, since I’ve watched him on a daily basis here in San Diego. His stuff is still there. I couldn’t tell you the reason why his K rate is down, but the mid-90′s heater and sharp breaking ball haven’t gone away. He’s been one of the best relievers in baseball for the past five seasons, first as a setup man to Trevor Hoffman, then as the Padres’ closer. Bell will be fine for the first two years in Miami. I’d worry how effective he’ll be in year three of the deal when he’s 36 years old. But that’s less of a concern for a team that has a sense of urgency to compete in 2012.
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