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 MoreField of Ignorance April Announcement
We are currently going through some internal changes. Please stay tuned.
Read MoreYankees to Cut Payroll; An End of an Era?
by Jan Stransky and Tyler Wasserman | Field of Ignorance
Perhaps the era of big-money teams dominating the free agency market is about to come to a close, at least to a certain extent. The managing general partner of the New York Yankees, Hal Steinbrenner, announced last week that the franchise plans to cut its payroll all the way down to $189 million by the start of the 2014 season. This means the Yankees, who in 2011 had a payroll of $202 million, will have to reduce their total payroll by $13 million in just two seasons. Since the introduction of the luxury tax in 2003, the Yankees have paid $206 million of the $227 million collected by the league, slightly over 90%. The team is looking to eliminate their luxury tax expense all together by 2014.
Read MoreThe DH Advantage: Prince Fielder
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
by David Wilson | Guest Writer |
There’s no denying Prince Fielder can hit. He posted a .981 OPS and batted a career high .299 last year. There’s also no denying that Prince Fielder can’t really field. Last season he had a -0.7 defensive WAR and -5.1 UZR.
The obvious reason to believe the Nationals passed up on one of the best hitters in the game is the presence of Adam LaRoche. Laroche is entering a contract season, as is Michael Morse, who is coming off a breakout season. Where would Fielder play if Washington trusts LaRoche?
In a way this leads right into my point; the National League’s lack of the designated hitter cost the Nats one of the game’s best power hitters.
Read MoreYankees Reshape Rotation
AP Photo
by Tyler Wasserman | @tylerwasserman | tjwasserman@fieldofignorance.com |
Over the course of about an hour, the Yankees completely changed 40% of their starting rotation. They shocked the baseball world by trading penciled-in DH Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi to Seattle for starting pitcher Michael Pineda and prospect Jose Campos. Pineda will slide into the #2 spot in the Yankees rotation, while Campos will likely begin the season in either the A or AA level. Then, about an hour later, news broke that the Yankees had also signed Hiroki Kuroda to a one-year, $10 million contract.
Let’s start with the two main players of the trade with the Mariners: Jesus Montero and Michael Pineda. Montero is widely considered to be one of the top, if not the best hitting prospect in all of baseball. However, the Yankees clearly did not feel he would be an adequate catcher, as they’ve tried to deal him before and were very hesitant to put him behind the plate during his September call-up last year. With Mark Teixeira holding down 1B for the foreseeable future, that would leave Montero as strictly a DH with the Yankees for years to come.
Pineda, on the other hand, has the potential to be a number one starter. He finished 2011 with 9.11 K/9 and only 2.89 BB/9, both extremely impressive numbers for a 22-year-old rookie pitcher. The main concern with Pineda is his 5.12 post All-Star break ERA. While it’s never good to see pitchers fade that much in the second half of the season, I don’t think there’s cause for concern with Pineda.
Read More‘Jorgie Juiced One!’ On Posada’s Retirement
Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images
by Tyler Wasserman | @tylerwasserman | tjwasserman@fieldofignorance.com |
“All I can say is I gave it all on the field.” That was Jorge Posada’s comment during his interview after the Yankees had just been eliminated from the ALDS. Shortly after, he teared up and apologized for not being able to answer more questions. At that time, we all knew that he had played his last game as a Yankee. Recently, we learned that was in fact the last game of his career.
Posada was always described as a fiery team leader. While Jeter is the captain, Jorge was the player who would be willing to get in another player’s face from time to time. As his career progressed, he learned to effectively handle pitching staffs, and was always a favorite of both his teammates and Yankees fans everywhere.
I could go on and on about memories and moments of Posada’s career, but let’s take time for an analytical look at it. He was always a consistent power threat, a rarity coming from behind the plate, averaging 95 wRC from 2000-2007. This is very impressive as a catcher with less plate appearances than most other position players. In 2007, Posada had a career year, creating 116 runs and earning himself a 4-year contract, which expired after this past season.
Read MoreBig Z, Volstad Swap: Why Both Sides Benefit
Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images
by Jan Stransky | @janstransky | jstransky@fieldofignorance.com |
This past Thursday, Carlos Zambrano was traded to the new-look Miami Marlins in return for pitcher Chris Volstad. The Cubs’ new GM, Theo Epstein, spurred the transaction on after taking into consideration the input of team players and personnel. Considering the fact that Zambrano waived his no-trade clause, it seems that the Cubs and Zambrano simply did not get along any more. On a side note, I find it funny that the new Cubs’ GM has taken such an interest in the flow and legitimacy of the clubhouse, this after reports of teammates playing games and boozing around in the clubhouse during games in Boston. Nevertheless, compare Zambrano to Volstad:
Read MoreOakland Deals Bailey to Boston
AP Photo
by Jan Stransky | @janstransky | jstransky@fieldofignorance.com |
Last Wednesday, the Oakland Athletics traded former AL Rookie of the Year, closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney to the Boston Red Sox in return for Josh Reddick and prospects Miles Head and Raul Alcantara. Let’s sum up the obvious: this deal fills the closer role for the Red Sox after they parted ways with Jonathan Papelbon, and furthers what seems to be the annual gutting to rebuilding process of the Oakland Athletics. However, Billy Beane is no fool. So just how does this deal pan out?
Read MoreBeltran Has Big Shoes to Fill
by Craig Merrens | cmerrens@fieldofignorance.com |
Less than three weeks after losing Pujols to the now mighty Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Cardinals signed Carlos Beltran to a two-year, $26 million dollar contract this Thursday. Beltran, who turns 35 in a few months, is a veteran player who, when healthy, is capable of putting up big numbers. A six-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, Beltran looks to be the biggest piece in the “replacing Pujols” puzzle.
Last year, his first full season since 2008, Beltran came back strong with the Giants after a midseason trade from the Mets. He hit .300, had an OBP of .385, and an OPS of .910. That’s not too shabby for anyone, let alone someone who played 145 games in the previous two seasons combined. By the way, those numbers are all higher than what Pujols put up last year in the same categories. He also had a higher wOBA with .389 to Pujols’ .385.
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