(Ed. Note: Before I get into my topic for this post, I want to lay out a disclaimer. I am just now learning how to manipulate/play with all the pitch f/x data, not to mention I haven't worked with spreadsheets since my junior year in college. Also, I realize that only comparing two Eveland starts is a small sample size, but I didn't know how else to compare early Eveland 2009 to late Eveland 2008 in another way. Anyway, without further ado...)

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Yay for some Saturday baseball excitement! The WBC is here, and with that brings Team USA vs. Canada at 11am, Pacific Time.

Also, among the veteran sightings at the WBC is none other than Bernie Williams, who is playing for Puerto Rico. No word as to whether playing guitar helps you stay in shape.

One last WBC tidbit: Ichiro finally got a hit. To all Mariner's fans I want to impress this message; you can breathe now.

In other news, the A's apparently have signed Andrew Sisco. There was a fanpost about this a while back by notsellingjeans, but it looks like a good signing for such a low risk investment.

Another good piece of news for the A's here. Apparently Vlad has instantaneous aging syndrome. Here's hoping it begins to afflict Lackey as well.

In some non-related baseball sports news, Rafael Nadal is at it again. Personally, I'm still waiting for that Pete Sampras comeback.

Tiger sighting next week at WCG-CA Championship. Yay Tigers!

via img.dailymail.co.uk

A few notes around baseball on a slow day today:

The Oakland A's agreed to terms with outfielder/designated hitter Jack Cust on a one-year contract. Personally, I'm glad they did so without a prolonged process. I feel like arbitration is just a battleground where the only possible outcome is player-team relationship damage. Cust was earning 410k, and that figure is surely going to climb a few million. Any thoughts as to what his new salary will be?

(Edit: Cust signed for $2.8 Million. Cust figures to be worth ~ 3 WAR next season. On the market with a rate of $4.4m per win, Cust should cost $13.2m. Cust is still a ridonckulous bargain to the A's. Every day he plays makes Billy Beane look like one smart man).

Bud Selig has given the A's permission to "discuss a ballpark with other communities" if officials in Fremont, Calif., don't quickly approve a proposed new stadium. This gives the A's a possibility of moving to Santa Clara since the territorial rights will now be in the hands of Selig and not the Giants. Hopefully this gets done in a timely manner.

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In case you guys and gals weren't aware, Aaron Cunningham has been featured in a short post over at Driveline Mechanics. Kyle Boddy's post is simply a primer for a yet-to-come analysis, but I think it's still pertinent to pick apart his swing and analyze his mechanical flaws. Of course, I'm going to let Boddy do all the dirty work, but it did give me the urge to dedicate a fanpost in an Aaron Cunningham's honor, and any ensuing discussion should primarily include what you think of his mechanics, defensive capabilities, and what your projections are for his 2009 stats.

CHONE has Cunningham with a .254 avg, .310 OBP, .400 SLG, 11 HR, and .314 wOBA in 473 ABs. He received a grade B from Sickels and ranked 4th in the AthleticsNation poll/list.

I personally believe that Cunningham is going to have a rough time this year in the majors and probably needs more seasoning in AAA. I don't mean this to be a slight towards Cunningham, but rather a comment on his age and inexperience above AA (small sample size at AAA notwithstanding). I could see him putting up a line of .250/.320/.385 with 7-10 HR's and average defense in 200-300 PAs. While that isn't terrible, it isn't great either.

Lastly, does anyone think it would be a good idea to do a Community Projections series a la Viva El Birdos and other SB Blogs? Anyway, let the discussion begin...

This all according to ESPN

LAS VEGAS -- The New York Yankees were "very close" to a preliminary agreement with CC Sabathia on Wednesday morning, following an in-person meeting between Yankees GM Brian Cashman and Sabathia in California, a baseball source with knowledge of the deal told ESPN.com.

Sabathia

Sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney the deal offered by the Yankees is now worth $160 million over seven years -- the most money ever paid a pitcher in major league history. The team had originally offered six years and $140 million.

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In light of all the recent Matt Holliday/Furcal posts, I decided it was time to discuss something new. In order to keep my head from popping from all the supernumerary redundancy that results from the never-ending discussions and familiar conclusions in these posts, I figured that the best place to start was to find something that the A's can do this season. As such, I ventured to see what the A's can get cheaply (i.e. without trade or significant money) at positions of need like SS, which lead me to the minor league free agent list. While having a shortstop prospect in our system soon may be a moot point, considering all the Furcal-to-A's rumors, I found this list and perused it for anything of value at the SS position. What I came up with was Doug Bernier and Kevin Howard. Of course, I didn't take into consideration any players that weren't listed at the SS position since I don't follow the minor leagues close enough to know who can play where. As such, if anyone can think of any other players who may be listed at another position, like 2b, but can legitly play SS, then feel free to list them. Anyway, here are everybody's favorite thing: player stats (hat tip and thanks to minor league splits).

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