Baseball season is here at last again. Ready for MLB.tv to black you out for any reason it wants. I am here to show you not only by pass the MLB.tv blackout restrictions but also show you nice program that will enjoy your MLB viewing experience.

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In 2009 the Cardinals Starters pitched 1003.2 IP and the Bullpen pitched 437 IP. The starting IP is the highest in baseball and the bullpen is the lowest in baseball. Assuming the 2010 starters will not be as good I have the bullpen pitching 463 innings. Which is still quite good. This is how it currently shapes up under a couple different scenarios with using CHONE projections. When CHONE projected the pitcher as a starter I shaved .5 ERA off their projected ERA.

 

 

With McCellan in the Bullpen

Reliever	ERA	IP	LI	RAR
Ryan Franklin	3.68	66	1.8	14
Jason Motte	3.69	65	1.4	11
Trever Miller	3.64	45	1.1	6
Kyle McClellan	3.71	67	1	8
Dennys Reyes	3.73	45	0.9	5
Mitchell Boggs	4.03	70	0.7	4
Blake Hawksworth	4.07	60	0.5	2
Jaime Garcia	3.95	45	0.5	2
Total:	3.82	463	1.01	51

 

 

Without McCellan in the Bullpen

Reliever	ERA	IP	LI	RAR
Ryan Franklin	3.68	66	1.8	14
Jason Motte	3.69	65	1.4	11
Trever Miller	3.64	45	1.1	6
Mitchell Boggs	4.03	67	1	5
Dennys Reyes	3.73	45	0.9	5
Blake Hawksworth	4.07	70	0.7	4
Jaime Garcia	3.95	60	0.5	3
Pete Parise	4.4	45	0.5	1
Total:	3.9	463	1.01	48

 

The best current reliever remaining is Russ Springer with a projected 3.91 ERA

 

With McCellan in the Bullpen AND Russ Springer

Reliever	ERA	IP	LI	RAR
Ryan Franklin	3.68	66	1.8	14
Jason Motte	3.69	65	1.4	11
Trever Miller	3.64	45	1.1	6
Kyle McClellan	3.71	67	1	8
Dennys Reyes	3.73	45	0.9	5
Russ Springer	3.91	60	0.7	4
Mitchell Boggs	4.03	70	0.5	3
Blake Hawksworth	4.07	45	0.5	2
Total:	3.81	463	1.01	52

 

Without McCellan in the Bullpen AND Russ Springer

Reliever	ERA	IP	LI	RAR
Ryan Franklin	3.68	66	1.8	14
Jason Motte	3.69	65	1.4	11
Trever Miller	3.64	45	1.1	6
Russ Springer	3.91	60	1	6
Dennys Reyes	3.73	45	0.9	5
Mitchell Boggs	4.03	70	0.7	4
Blake Hawksworth	4.07	65	0.5	2
Jamie Garcia	3.95	47	0.5	2
Total:	3.85	463	1	50

 

 

Without McCellan in the Bullpen AND Jamie Garcia staying in Memphis all year as a starter aka Worst Case Scenario

Reliever	ERA	IP	LI	RAR
Ryan Franklin	3.68	66	1.8	14
Jason Motte	3.69	65	1.4	11
Trever Miller	3.64	45	1.1	6
Mitchell Boggs	4.03	67	1.0	5
Dennys Reyes	3.73	45	0.9	5
Blake Hawksworth	4.07	70	0.7	4
Pete Parise	4.40	60	0.5	1
Replacement Level	4.75	45	0.5	0
Total:	3.99	463	1.01	46

 

Without McCellan and Garcia WITH Russ Springer

Reliever	ERA	IP	LI	RAR
Ryan Franklin	3.68	66	1.8	14
Jason Motte	3.69	65	1.4	11
Trever Miller	3.64	45	1.1	6
Russ Springer	3.91	60	1	6
Dennys Reyes	3.73	45	0.9	5
Mitchell Boggs	4.03	70	0.7	4
Blake Hawksworth	4.07	65	0.5	2
Pete Parise	4.4	47	0.5	1
Total:	3.89	463	1	48

So even under the best scenario the most Russ Springer will add is only 2 runs. Which works out to $880K. Is it worth adding Russ Springer who would take IP away from someone younger and more upside? Or would his veteran leadership be worth it? You decide 

 

Source from Beyond the Boxscore

Nothing I have found on SBNation has been anywhere as frustrating as making tables for fanposts. It simply just didn't work for me no matter what I tried. After a lot of trial, practice, and googling I will share my knowledge with you all.

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Now I have a bunch of extra shirts I want to get rid of. I am not sure if I am going to make any more this season after I am done with this batch. . This is what I currently have in stock and after that I am done. I am lowering my prices just to get rid of everything.  Shipping is $4.95 for Domestic and $10.00 for International. 

T-shirt - Black Ink on Red T-Shirt - $10

 

• S -2
• M - 0
• L -0
• XL - 0

T-Shirt - Red Ink on Blue T-Shirt - $10

• S -0
• M - 0
• L - 0
• XL -0

T-Shirt - Black Ink on Blue T-Shirt - $10

• XL - 1

Long Sleeve - Black Ink on Red - $12.50

• XL - 2

Hoodies - Black Ink on Red - $20

• XL - 2

Hoodies - Red Ink on Blue - $27.50

• L - 2
• XL - 1

Polo's - Red Ink on Blue - $10

• XL - 1

Polo's - Black Ink on Red - $10

M - 1

XL - 2

 

I also have 3 shirts that were messed up for $5 each. They are Black on Red M and Red on Blue XL. I have pics of them if you want to see what they look like.

 

I accept Paypal and you can E-Mail me at FlimtotheFlam@gmail.com. I will send you a Paypal invoice. You can also take a look at the clothes on my Flickr site including the current clearance rack

 

Here is a couple pics of the shirts I have made so far.

 

 

You can e-mail me at FlimtotheFlam@gmail.com with any questions than I will send you an invoice with Paypal if you are interested.

Players	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
Pujols	$16M	$16M($5)	FA
Carpenter	$14.5M	$15M	$15M($1M)
Lohse	$9,187,500	$12,188,000	$12,188,000	FA
Wainwright	$4,837,500	$6,688,000	$9(O)	$12M(O)
Molina	$4,312,500	$5,313,000	$7M(750K)	FA
Franklin	$3M	$3.5M
Miller, T	$2M	$2M($1M)	FA
Reyes, D	$2M	FA
Ludwick	Arb 2[$5.5]	Arb 3	FA
Thompson, B	Arb 2[NT]	Arb 3	FA
Schumaker	Arb 1[$2.5M]	Arb 2	Arb 3	FA
Kinney	Arb 1[750K]	Arb 2	Arb 3	FA
Lugo	$400K	FA
Thurston	$400k	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3	FA
McClellan	$400K	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3	FA
Ryan, B	$400K	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3	FA
Rasmus	$400K	$400K	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3
Motte	$400K	$400K	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3
Boggs	$400K	$400K	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3
Hawksworth	$400K	$400k	Arb 1	Arb 2	Arb 3
TOTAL
	$60,837,500	$47.689	$13.938
w/ Arb	$69,587,500
Left Field
4th OFer
Backup C
SP # 4
SP # 5

 

Players Leaving: Holliday, Glaus, Pineiro, Khalil Greene, DeRosa, Smoltz, Wellemeyer, Ankiel, and LaRue

Notes:

- If it says $7(750K) the ( ) means options and whatever is inside ie 750K means the team buyout. 

- Rasmus and Motte will most likely be Super Two's if they stay on the 25 man roster during most of 2010

- Arbitration normally goes 40%, 60%, and 80% what you would get on the free market. 

- Total Payroll currently does not show players receiving Arbitration

- Total Payroll for future years beyond 2010 assume options were decline and buy out added into Total Payroll

- Starting Payroll in 2009 was $88,528,409 but in 2008 it was $99,624,449

- If Players had bonuses they were divided by years of contract. Than added according to each year

- My guesses for Arb: Ludwick $5.5M, Schumaker $2.5M, Thompson Non-Tendered than released, Kinney $750K

 

Most of the info was gathered at Cot's Contracts. I would appreciate any help in filling in the blank spots of Arbitration. I will update this when ever new info is acquired or we acquire someone. 

 

Current Roster

1B: Pujols

2B: Schumaker

3B: (Third Basemen)

SS: Ryan

LF: (Left Fielder)

CF: Rasmus

RF: Ludwick

C: Molina

Bench: Lugo, Thurston, (Backup Catcher), (4th OFer)

 

SP1: Carpenter

SP2: Wainwright

SP3: Lohse

SP4: (Fourth Starter)

SP5: (Fifth Starter)

Closer: Franklin

RHP: McClellan

RHP: Motte

RHP: Hawksworth

RHP: Boggs

Longman: Thompson

LOOGY: Miller

LOOGY: Reyes

 

Just kind of a rough draft to throw out there. I probably have some mistakes and will need to take guesses on the Arbitration of the players. Schumaker could be a difficult one to guess. Not sure if Thompson will even be back on the team myself.

I am not sure if this is the right place or not. But I don't know another way to reach dev's.

Nothing is quite as annoying as when I am typing out a comment reply than someone posts a new comment and the thread shifts. I am no longer looking at the box I was typing the comment into. But a competly new comment someone else posted. Is their anyway to have it auto refresh but have it not jump all around. It used to do this. 

This is quite annoying problem that a lot of people have talked to me about. Especially in game threads where there might be hundreds of comments. 

According to Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals and closer Ryan Franklin are near agreement on a two-year, $6.5MM contract extension that will keep Franklin with St. Louis through the 2011 season.

"A club source indicated some language had yet to be formalized but conceded that momentum appeared in place for an announcement, perhaps as soon as today," writes Strauss.

The agreement includes the previously negotiated $2.75 club option in 2010, along with a $3.75MM deal for 2011. According to Strauss, there are also numerous other performance incentives for Franklin, 36, to attain to increase the total worth of the deal.

Franklin was not even the closer at the start of the 2009 season, but he has thrived in the role, with a 1.07 ERA in 50 1/3 innings so far this year.

 

he day Saturday August 15th is coming up quickly, I would like to give heads up on progress made but more so trying to figure out who is all going. Please post and say something if you plan on coming. 

 

Tickets

I think tickets are going to be free for all. Everyone justs buys their own and we just meet up before and after the game. I do still have my code though for half off the total for any amount of tickets. So if anyone wants to sit with me we can work out something to purchase tickets. I can give you cash when I see you plus I can trade you a ticket for a T-shirt. Which brings me to my next point

 

T-Shirts

The CheBird design won. I have deceided to just make the shirts myself since I already made a screen print and have made a few shirts already. I washed them and they have turned out fine. It isn't to much more work to make them just want to recoup some of my costs I spent making them. I can do them in a couple different colors. I can do a red shirt with blank ink, powder blue shirt with red ink, or powder blue shirt with black ink.  I will sell them for $15 a piece and can give them to you before the game or can ship them priority mail USPS. 2XL and up is another $2

If you want a T-shirt e-mail at FlimtotheFlam@gmail.com with your size and color design. I can take Paypal.

 

Meeting Up

 

So here is the plan. We are meeting up before the game at J Bucks around 4:30 to 5. Game starts at 6:15. We all meet up afterwards on the West 3B entrance of Busch near the Musial Statue after the game. Than we will head over to the Schflay Tap Room. I have updated the VEB Fanpost and will also keep everyone informed through text.

J Bucks

1000 Clark Street, St Louis, MO‎ - (314) 436-0394‎

 If we get enough people (at least 10-15) my girlfriend can get us some good deals on drinks at JBucks. Just throwing that out the

Schlafly Tap Room

2100 Locust St, St Louis, MO 63103

Who's Coming With Me

 

Here is a list of everyone I have going so far confirmed

 

1. Me (FlimtotheFlam)
2.  Cards Fan in Chitown
3.  fourstick +1
4. liam
5. SoIlanus + 1
6. madeintaiwan + 1
7. indakind 
8. rencelas
9. Alxfritz (post)
10. birds 4 life
11. goodymobb (no game)
12. spants (no game)
13. DanupBaby (Pre)
14. JPBarnett 

I really need to get everyone on this lists e-mail and phone numbers. My e-mail is FlimtotheFlam@gmail.com and my Google Voice number is  (636) 487-4192. I will update this all this week with new info.

 

Lots of good ideas where posted on the last thread but now we need to get the ball rolling. I am just going to post all the T-shirt ideas that were posted in the last thread as posts. Just rec the one you think the one is the best. Also, if you like a front but not the back vice versa SAY SO. I like to get this hammered out by Saturday.

Also, We still need a place to get these made. I prefer a place with easy online ordering but open to anything. I might personally just screen print myself one. 

 

So this is my first attempt at making the T-shirt. I think it turned out pretty good. Going to print red on powder blue shirt soon also. Will hopefully have pics for that soon. I have deceided to just sell the Che shirts myself and put Hardcore Legend's black shirt up on CafePress. I will probably sell the shirts for $15+shipping. I can do pretty much what ever color's you want to mix and match with the Che. Black on Red, Red on Blue, Black on Blue,....

 

 

P.S I know I missed an exclamation point. 

P.S.S Those lines went away they were just temporary from ironing. 

The day Saturday August 15th is coming up quickly, I would like to give heads up on progress made but more so trying to figure out who is all going. Please post and say something if you plan on coming. Also, say where you are coming from if not STL to get idea of travel arrangements.

 

Hotels

The best hotels will most likely be through Priceline.com name your own price service

I have had good luck bidding for hotels as low as $43 for the Crowne Plaza Downtown which came out to $56.99. Which is a good price for 2 people downtown. Now deals like these can change regurally so I reccomend checking out Bidding for Travel

It is forum that people post the best deals they find for hotels in STL. If you found a good deal on hotel please post it up. Plus, if you have a room and don't mind a VEBer crashing on the floor or air matress say something.

 

Travel

If you live in STL it is not a far drive but if you don't here is a couple different options.

Megabus

Now something like Chicago will run you under $40 Round Trip. Now I know they do run deals for $1 each way but I don't know exactly know the details since I don't use it. More details from someone else would be great

Amtrak

Is a great for those living in Missouri but not in STL. They are currently running a promotion for 50% off for in state travel if you are going with a companion.

So coming from KC would cost $78 for 2 people

Car Pooling

If some of us live in neighboring areas it wouldn't be such a bad idea if we just ride together.

 

Tickets

This is the most confusing part so far that I am looking for help from others on. I know I personally want to get an all inclusive seat especially if I already got a hotel. Now I tend to be rather frugal so I am still trying to find a good deal for tickets for August 15th. Looking for any and all input for August 15th.

Now for the August 16th game I also want to go to personally. Now this one should be cheaper to go to. I figure for who ever wants to go the game will most likely be already downtown in a hotel. With the Cardinals First Pitch promotion.

You can get 2 tickets for only $11 but they are a grab bag so you don't know what you are going to get. Still a great deal and I know people that have gotten club seats out of this promotion. I figure we all could get 2 tickets and just use the good ones.

August 15th is a 6:15PM Game vs SD
August 16th is a 1:15PM Game vs SD

Now their is also promotions through Phillips 66 if you get 10 gallons of gas you get a buy one get one free ticket. I might end up doing this and just spliting the cost with a fellow VEBer. It  would be nice next time someone gets gas get it at Phillips 66 and go inside than get the free coupon. It will help someone if you don't plan on going August 15th. This is the only promotion that works on the Weekends.

 

Meeting Up

Here is ideas for a couple places we can meet up before and after

 

Missouri Bar and Gril

701 N Tucker Blvd, St Louis, MO‎ -(314) 231-2234‎

Review

Mercury

1026 Spruce Street, St. Louis, MO

 

Paddy O'Reilly

 

 

618 S 7th St St Louis, MO 63102 

 

Review

 

 

Al Hrabosky's Saloon

 

800 Cerre St St Louis, MO 63102

 

 

Review

 

  I really just want to know how many people are coming and hear ideas about tickets. I think the Phillips 66 is the best deal for tickets. Also, If you have booked a hotel how much did you pay.

Lot's of chatter about this subject so I thought I would finally put up a fanpost. We need a new VEB shirt that brings us past the old 90's one we had before and into the 21st century. The problem is no one yet has steped up to the plate to make one. So I think a good ol Contest should be in order for it. 

 

Two weeks from today I will revulate all contestants and will put up a new Fanpost with a poll so everyone can vote on the best T-Shirt. Thier will be no prize but the pride of winning. Even if you don't think you are any good at designing or drawing please put up a picture of your idea. Your idea might help someone else to make the best VEB shirt possible.

 

T-Shirts can eithier be only one sided or two sided. It is up to you. Just put up a picture in this fanpost of the T-shirt design. It doesn't have to be full size but do keep a higher image shot on your computer so when we do deceide to make T-shirts.

Remember these T-Shirts are going represent VEB so make it tasteful.

 

P.S

I am looking for a cheap online T-Shirt supply so we can post up the new T-Shirt and everyone has chance to purchase it from there.  

 

P.S.S

I will even tell you guys my idea so far for a T-shirt. On the back I want Viva El Birdos like the back of a jersey with the numbers 67. Than at the botton of the T-Shirt this quote "When (Player's Name) gets back from the DL it will be like we traded for an All-Star!"

We have already picked the day from previous discussions for August 15th. A few of us have free hotels from a deal I posted earlier. I really just want to put this up as a discussion for everything else. Such as tickets, hotels, and meeting up.

 

Hotels

The best hotels will most likely be through Priceline.com name your own price service

I have had good luck bidding for hotels as low as $43 for the Crowne Plaza Downtown which came out to $56.99. Which is a good price for 2 people downtown. Now deals like these can change regurally so I reccomend checking out Bidding for Travel

It is forum that people post the best deals they find for hotels in STL.

 

Travel

If you live in STL it is not a far drive but if you don't here is a couple different options.

Megabus

Now something like Chicago will run you under $40 Round Trip. Now I know they do run deals for $1 each way but I don't know exactly know the details since I don't use it. More details from someone else would be great

Amtrak

Is a great for those living in Missouri but not in STL. They are currently running a promotion for 50% off for in state travel if you are going with a companion.

So coming from KC would cost $78 for 2 people

Car Pooling

If some of us live in neighboring areas it wouldn't be such a bad idea if we just ride together.

 

Tickets

This is the most confusing part so far that I am looking for help from others on. I know I personally want to get an all inclusive seat especially if I already got a hotel. Now I tend to be rather frugal so I am still trying to find a good deal for tickets for August 15th. Looking for any and all input for August 15th.

Now for the August 16th game I also want to go to personally. Now this one should be cheaper to go to. I figure for who ever wants to go the game will most likely be already downtown in a hotel. With the Cardinals First Pitch promotion.

You can get 2 tickets for only $11 but they are a grab bag so you don't know what you are going to get. Still a great deal and I know people that have gotten club seats out of this promotion. I figure we all could get 2 tickets and just use the good ones.

August 15th is a 6:15PM Game vs SD
August 16th is a 1:15PM Game vs SD

T-Shirts

Now I wanted to make up some T-Shirts for the meet up and just looking for design ideas. I wanted to use Baseball Cut shirts with red sleeves. On the back I wanted Viva El Birdos with the number 67. The front though I really had no clue. Some people talked about getting their nick names on the back which is a cool idea but without designing each one personally it could be difficult. I even thought about actually printing on the front of the shirt a place for a built in name tag to just write in our nicknames.

Really I am open to all ideas from design to where to get them made.

So for right now that is about it. I will make another fanpost after we hash out some details. But for now I am just looking for any kind of ideas.

First off, You are going to need a couple programs


Firefox 
Foxy Proxy 

I also recommend getting

Google Chrome


Download and install both Firefox and Foxy Proxy.

If you are already using Firefox. Fire it up and press Cltrl+Shift+Del including cookes but not saved passwords is not necessary. 

Now you are going to need a Proxy for Foxy Proxy. Get one from here

You might have to try a few till you find one that works but I have had best luck with ones that end in Port 3128

In Firefox go to Tools->Foxy Proxy->Options->


Click on Add New Proxy

You can put the name as anything
Click on the Proxy Details tab
Than click on Manual Proxy
The host name is (ie. 92.51.145.217 Port: 3128) put what ever proxy you got off the list

After that close out  Now go back up to Tools->Foxy Proxy->Use Proxy 92.51.145.217 for all URLS
Go to here 

Click on the Cardinals game MLB.TV basic feed


Now this might be going slow and you might have to try to reload it a couple times but eventually it will pass the Blackout check. Put in your login info. Let the video feed actually start. As soon as it starts going back up to Tools->Foxy Proxy-> Completely Disable FoxyProxy

That is it. It should work now. I also recommend using Google Chrome or IE while using MLB.tv sometimes using Firefox while broadcasting can mess things up. It is just another precaution but not entirely necessary.

P.S

If the Proxy ever stops working just get a new one.

 

 

McDonald’s is running a promotion where you buy a value meal you get a promotion code for various codes like $10 off and $20 off….

Here is the site

I don’t know why they did this but they set it up so it would be so easy to figure out the code. It just took me a couple minutes to figure out the codes. Now unfortunately they do not have all the games but enough to make it worth while. It would not help us on the August 15th get together but should be able to get some kind of other deal by then.

 

Here is the codes I have figured out so far and seem to be the best deals

$50 Off All-Inclusive Seats – MCD928

 

Dates Available:

 

6/8 vs COL, 6/16-6/18 vs DET, 6/29-7/2 vs SFG, 7/27-7/30 vs LAD, 8/10-8/12 vs CIN, 8/25-8/27 vs HOU, 9/1-9/3 vs MIL, 9/14-9/16 vs FLA

 

All these are weekday games. They do include though free food and booze/drinks. With some of them being as low as only $38 which is a steal.

$20 Off Tickets – MCD163

 

Dates Available:

 

6/8 vs COL, 6/16-6/18 vs DET, 6/29-7/2, 7/27-7/30 vs LAD, 8/10-8/12 vs CIN, 8/25-8/27 vs HOU, 9/1-9/3 vs MIL, 9/14-9/16 vs FLA

 

All these games are also weekday games. Some being as low as only $18 for 1st and 3rd base Loge Boxes. All the tickets are either club or box seats so quality seats.

 

These will go fast so I recommend getting them while you can. 

 

P.S

 

Phillips 66 is currently a running a promotion where if you buy 10 gallons of gas you get a code "Buy One, Get One Free" Cardinal Tickets. I am curious if anyone has used this promotion yet cause I want to know if I can use them on all inclusive tickets.

 

Phillips 66 - "Step Up to the Plate"

 

 

I have heard a lot of chatter about us needing a new 3B and a RH bat. I am not so sure about needing a new 3B but we do need a RH bat. I am going to over a few topics such as what is the current value's of players on our team($$$), their splits, roster management, and what is needed to patch these holes.

Continue reading this post »

So I found a way to get free hotel rooms in downtown Saint Louis for free but the only date I could find was Saturday  August 15th night for free. We are playing the San Diego Padre's that weekend so I thought it would be a cheap way for some of us to attend the game and see the new ballpark.

The way this is all possible is because Wyndham hotels Best Rate Guarantee. If they don't have the lowest price on their web page than they will give you the first night of your hotel stay for free. So if you just stay one night than it is free. It is actually pretty hard to find a room that is cheaper but I found one.

Book Here

All you have to do is book the "Premium Suite 2 Queen Beds Non Smoking" or "Premium Suite King Non Smoking" for 8/15/09 till 8/16/09. It should be $189 and it is refundable. So they would not even charge you the $189 till 8/14/09 regardless but that doesn't matter. So book the room just like normal. Make sure you put down 2 adults for the room.

Just to be clear per Wyndham but it doesn't matter anyway.

"Please cancel by 4PM on Saturday August 15, 2009 (Hotel Local Time), to avoid a charge of 189 (US Dollar) to your credit card.
This booking requires a credit card. Select or enter a new credit card below. "

After you are done booking the room, click on this form. It is the claim form for the Best Rate Guarantee.


Where it asks you for " Web site address where lower Wyndham rate was found(http://)" just put http://www.orbitz.com

Put the price as $170.10 .


After that anywhere from a day or two you should get an email saying "After reviewing your claim, you will be receiving a free night stay at this Wyndham Franchised Properties property. "


That is it and you will get a free room for that night. If you are down for it do it fast as possible cause they will probably close the loop hole up soon. Hit me up with any questions.

 

ST. LOUIS -- The Cardinals signed two players to Minor League contracts for 2009 on Tuesday, while details of the organization's Minor League coaching staffs for the upcoming season also began trickling out.

St. Louis signed infielder Joe Thurston and catcher Justin Knoedler to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League Spring Training. Thurston, 29, was once one of the Dodgers' more highly-regarded prospects and is coming off a fine season with the Red Sox's Triple-A Pawtucket affiliate. Knoedler came up through the Giants organization, but struggled at the plate for the A's Triple-A Sacramento club in 2008.

Continue reading this post »

I liked chuckb's idea about putting 'True Value' to each player I just didn't like the data he used. Instead of WAR (Wins Above Replacement) I used Total Value.

Total value (TotalValue) measures value above replacement level for position players, in runs. It is based on hitting (Runs Above Replacement; RAR), as well as a composite fielding measure (average runs saved according to zone rating and revised zone rating). This measure also includes adjustments for differences in difficulty among defensive positions, as well as differences in difficulty of leagues (AL>NL). Pitchers are rated via two measures—RAR (runs above replacement) and FIP-Runs. RAR measures actual value similar to total value for position players, whereas FIP-Runs is a defense-independent estimate of value. Closers receive a bonus reflecting the leverage of situations in which they pitch.

http://tinyurl.com/5u8l2r

 

Now I broke down the values for the Cardinals and saved them to my own Google Doc's

Hitters

http://tinyurl.com/5ojkbe

Pitchers

http://tinyurl.com/63h9n3

Now in the case of pitchers I used FIP-Runs because it is defense independent estimate.

Now it essentially takes 9.3 RAR to equal 1 WAR (Win Above Replacement). 9.3 is double the NL league run average per game.  So I divided the Total Value by 9.3 than multiplied it by the $4.4 mil marginal win figure chuck used than subtracted the league min of $396,000. This left you with the True Value in $ terms.

As you can see their is some big differences between the two of our tables.

 

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