Per Wikipedia: To be eligible for a team’s playoff roster a player must be on any of the following: (a) the 25 man active roster, (b) the disabled list, (c) the bereavement list, or (d) the suspended list as of August 31 at midnight. The only exception is that a player on the 60-day disabled list may be replaced by another player from the team's 40-man roster (as of August 31) who plays the same position (i.e. position player for position player, or pitcher for pitcher), with the approval of the commissioner of baseball.

However... via Twitter...

8/13

@Buster_ESPN  [Buster Olney]:

About Jesus Montero: Doesn't have to be called up before Sept. 1 to be postseason eligible.

Injuries to [Colin] Curtis, [Reggie] Corona create loophole for NYY.

8/15

@SI_JonHeyman [Jon Heyman]:

jesus montero will likely be a sept 1 callup. due to injuries, he could still make postseason roster, tho.

There you have it, folks! Jesus Montero's ETA in a Yankees uniform will be presumably September 1st when major league rosters expand. If he mashes baseballs like we all think he can and, more importantly, shows ability of playing passable defense at the catcher position, there's a very good chance that Montero will supplant Francisco Cervelli on the 2011 playoff roster.

What is it? A 12-player (or possibly more) Yahoo points-based league. Scoring is based on offensive and pitching categories. Roster positions: (22) C, 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, OF, OF, OF, Util, Util, SP, SP, SP, RP, RP, P, P, BN, BN, BN, BN, BN, DL, DL

When is the draft? The live draft is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 7th* at 8:00PM. I can change this to any time after 7pm next Mon-Thu. to accommodate the league.

Who can join? Any Pinstripe Alley member with at least 500 posted comments. You must use your exact P.A. username for your team's name upon joining.

************************ What do I get if I win? ************************

Bragging rights. The league's winner will get to select a player of their choice in the league and earn the right to author/write up (for one time only) that person's Pinstripe Alley username signature. These rights will begin at the end of league play and expire on Jan. 1, 2012. The selected member will be required to delete any pre-existing signature they may have. The "new" signature can contain no more than 20 words nor any objectionable content (of which is deemed by the community).

For instance, if you win the league and I am the chosen individual, you can re-name (or I will have to change/write) my Pinstripe Alley signature to, e.g., "I am Bartolo Colon's secret lovechild" or anything else you wish. Again, this signature will remain under my P.A. username until 1/1/12.

** Do not be lame and decide to change your Pinstripe Alley username if you are the individual selected by the winner. **

Continue reading this post »

In today's MLB.com article, Tex said that he will now be represented by the Jonas Group and has parted ways with super-agent Scott Boras. Here are a few Tex quotes:

"There's no reason to get into a lot of specifics right now, but sometimes business relationships just run their course," Teixeira said. "For me and my family, right now this is the best decision for me."

"I felt at times I was Mark Teixeira, Scott Boras client, instead of Mark Teixeira, baseball player."

"There are a lot of teams out there that don't like me, as you guys all know, and Scott did a great job getting me my [Yankees] contract."

"I've known him for 12 years. After 12 years, sometimes it's just time to make a little bit of a change. Hopefully when I see him, we'll be able to shake hands."

Via ESPN

I think a lot of Yankee fans are going to be disappointed. If this is coming from Tex, it's pretty good indication that Andy isn't going to come back next year.

"I think, like everyone else [thinks], if he's leaning one way, he's probably leaning towards retiring," Teixeira said on Tuesday at a news conference to kick off Thursday's Pinstripe Bowl game at Yankee Stadium. "I think that's what he's publicly said. It's no secret right now. That's probably where he's leaning. But in a month and a half, a lot can happen."

"Selfishly of course, I love Andy Pettitte like a brother. He's such a great player. He's such a great teammate. I would hate to not play with him this year," said Teixeira, who reported no setbacks in his rehabilitation from the hamstring injury he suffered in the ALCS. "But his family is obviously No. 1 to him and if [returning to the Yankees] is not going to be in his plans then we're going to wish him the best of luck and when he comes back on Legends Day we'll give him a big hug and tell him we miss him."

Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes:

"The swindlers who run the Florida Marlins got exposed Monday. They are as bad as anyone on Wall Street, scheming, misleading and ultimately sticking taxpayers with a multibillion-dollar tab. Corporate fraud is alive and well in Major League Baseball.

A look at the leak of the Marlins’ financial information to Deadspin confirmed the long-held belief that the team takes a healthy chunk of MLB-distributed money for profit. Owner Jeffrey Loria and president David Samson for years have contended the Marlins break even financially, the centerpiece fiscal argument that resulted in local governments gifting them a new stadium that will cost generations of taxpayers an estimated $2.4 billion. They said they had no money to do it alone and intimated they would have to move the team without public assistance......."

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoZ2Nw5VhY6XxuUqPUBmNasRvLYF?slug=jp-marlinsfinancials082410

 

New York Times link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/sports/baseball/25bats.html?_r=1&ref=baseball

Google news links: 

http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&cf=all&ncl=dEYtlqYM1M3PE5Mz0ZfeHPTSgGpbM

For some of you, this may be old news. Full team's financial statements can be found at deadspin.

 

It's only $20 and it'll be cool to see the faces of people whose articles I read regularly in addition to learning a thing or two more about the game I love.

Here are the details:

For those of you who are still making up your minds about whether or not to come to the very first FanGraphs live event in NYC this Saturday, August 7th at 9am, here are the full details:

Location: Florence Gould Hall (55 East 59th Street)

Tickets: $15 online (+$1.36 surcharge). $20 cash only at the door.

NY Baseball (9:00am – 9:40am)

Joe Pawlikowski, MikeAxisa, Benjamin Kabak (All RiverAveBlues.com), Matthew Cerrone (MetsBlog.com), and Mark Simon (ESPN) will be discussing all things baseball in NY. Moderated by Carson Cistulli.

Baseball Media (9:45am – 10:30am)

Jonah Keri (Bloomberg Sports) will host a panel comprised of Will Leitch (Deadspin, New York Magazine), Michael Silverman (Boston Herald), Matthew Cerrone(MetsBlog.com), Alex Speier (WEEI.com), and David Biderman (WSJ) to discuss how baseball media coverage has changed in recent years and will continue to evolve.

Baseball Stats (10:40am – 11:15am)

Jon Sciambi (ESPN), Mitchel Lichtman, Sky Kalkman (Beyond the Boxscore),Dave Cameron, and David Appelman will discuss where advanced baseball stats are right now and where they’ll be headed. Moderated by Carson Cistulli.

Bloomberg Sports Presentation (11:20 – 11:35)

Bloomberg Sports will make a presentation of a brand new product.

FanGraphs Q&A (11:40 – End)

Dave Cameron, Carson Cistulli, Bryan Smith, Joe Pawlikowski, Mike Axisa, andDavid Appelman will take questions until we’re officially kicked out (a little after 12:00).

Afterparty (3:30pm – Game Over)

Additionally, we’re going to host a game-watching party for attendees to gather at a local watering hole and view that afternoon’s Boston-New York match-up together. Those who make it to the event will be invited to join us for several more hours of fun later in the afternoon. Details and directions will be given at the event.

Jump on this deal if you can't watch Yankees games.

MLB.TV Father's Day Sale - 80% off

First 5,000 NEW 2010 subscribers get 30 days for $4.95. This probably won't last long. 

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index.jsp?product=fathers&partnerId=smlb_061810_nyypg_fb

75-word filler: Regular Season Local Live Blackout: All live games on MLB.TV and available through MLB.com At Bat are subject to local blackouts. Such live games will be blacked out in each applicable Club's home television territory, regardless of whether that Club is playing at home or away. If a game is blacked out in an area, it is not available for live game viewing. If you are an MLB.TV Premium subscriber and not within either Club's home television territory, the applicable game will be available as an archived game as soon as possible after the conclusion of the game. If you are an MLB.TV Premium subscriber within either Club's home television territory or an MLB.TV subscriber in any territory, the applicable game will be available as an archived game approximately 90 minutes after the conclusion of the game. Archived games are not available through MLB.com At Bat.

Last week, Forbes released its 2010 annual valuations of all 30 Major League Baseball teams. Despite a bad economy and an overall stadium attendance drop by 6.58%, the average team increased their value to $491 million, a 2% increase from 2009. Average baseball salaries last year also increased fractionally to $3,340,133.

Complete Forbes Magazine article

BizofBaseball summary

RAB summary

Not a big shocker here. The Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, and the San Diego Padres were three of the top five most profitable teams in 2009. Only the Tigers and Diamondbacks lost money.

[edit. note: Maury Brown of The Biz of Baseball takes ESPN to task for a recent story about the luxury-tax and revenue sharing.]

MLBTR had an interesting piece yesterday where Tim Dierkes offers his opinion on the worst contract that each of the thirty major league teams currently carries in their organization.  He hypothesized that if each MLB team was to be granted authority to freely eliminate one player from their payroll, the New York Yankees should dismiss A.J. Burnett and the $66 million owed to him over the next four years.

I disagree with Mr. Dierkes.

According to Fangraphs, A.J. Burnett produced a 3.1 WAR last year during regular season play.  His pay was $16.5M.  In 2008 while with Toronto, Burnett's WAR was 5.5 when he went 18-10 and had an ERA of 4.08. Using Fangraphs' 2008 estimate figure of $4.5M value per WAR ('09 value not available yet), A.J.'s .'09 performance was worth about $14M -- slightly below his true salary value. That figure is certainly not terrible when you take into account A.J.'s critical postseason role in pitching the Yankees towards another World Series championship crown.  Barring a debilitating slip on a gob of whip cream or injury, I can see A.J. justify the $66M the Yankees will pay him through 2013 when he becomes 36 years old.

If the decision was to be left to me, I'd drop Alex Rodriguez like a hot potato right now. So who do you replace him with tomorrow? That'll be another story. Of which I couldn't tell.

During his surgery-recovering shortened season last year, A-Rod was able to crank out a highly respectable 4.4 WAR.  However, that's a far cry from the lofty 9.5 WAR (a $39.1M! value) that he had created in 2007.  At 34 now, A-Rod is still remarkably one of the best players in all of baseball.  But can the same be said when he reaches 39? 40? Or 42 when that ridiculous 10-year contract finally expires?  He will for sure still be paid like one (while likely serving as a DH) even if you don't include each of the five $6M homerun milestone bonuses that we'll assume will be attained.

Let's say generously that A-Rod in each of his final three years in New York would maintain a 4.5 WAR (or around Ryan Braun's '09 output) while not playing defense. 4.5 x $4.5M = $20M.  For inflation purposes, we'll bump up the future dollar value of one WAR to $5.5M for those years. That figure still doesn't quite match up to what the team will be paying him annually (plus HR bonuses). OK. These numbers are arbitrary and A-Rod could still be mashing like Albert Pujols in 2017 so I'll just stop here.

Anyhoo, on to the poll...

Poll

Who would you boot off the team this year? ...along with Kei Igawa

14%

Damaso Marte - $4.25M / 1 yr. ...Ticking time bomb

32 votes

7%

Nick Johnson - $5.75M / 1 yr. ...Mr. Glass

18 votes

11%

Jorge Posada - 26.2M / 2 yrs. ...Can't catch, throw, nor run

25 votes

0%

Mariano Rivera - $15M / 1 yr. ...It's Joba Time!

1 votes

1%

Derek Jeter - $21M / 1 yr. ...Over-rated

4 votes

9%

A.J. Burnett - $66M / 4 yrs. ...Strike zone is a myth

22 votes

0%

C.C. Sabathia (not opting out) - $138M / 6 yrs. ...Will eat til eventual explosion

2 votes

1%

Mark Teixeira - $155M / 7 yrs. ... Giambi 2.0

3 votes

13%

Alex Rodriguez - $206M (+ $30M potential HR bonus) / 8 yrs. ...PED-addict

31 votes

1%

Curtis Granderson - $25.75M / 3 yrs. ...Can't hit lefties

3 votes

1%

Nick Swisher - $15.75M / 2 yrs. ...Abandoned by the circus

4 votes

0%

Robinson Cano - $21M / 2 yrs ...RISP-hobia

1 votes

35%

None of the above - Keep the family together

81 votes

227 votes | Poll has closed

It has been years since I partook in one so I don't remember much about them.  I think ESPN and Yahoo offer free hosting sites. Perhaps you can suggest a better one.

We'll need a league commissioner and someone to decide a league format to play in. More importantly, we'll need dedicated participants that'll stick it out to the end. Dead teams lead to a quick surmise of the league. And that's why I quit playing with my lame friends (even though there was money involved).

I'm throwing this out early so that there is enough time to decide on live draft date. Just one thing... if this gets started up, we'll need to refrain from posting league-related comments in the common threads.

It should be fun...

*******************************************************************************************************************************

1/12: Yahoo fantasy league registration begins in early February. I'll assume ESPN begins around the same time. We should decide soon which site to use. Right now, more of us are favoring Yahoo.

We'll also need at least two separate leagues due to the amount of people interested. So let's get league commissioners nominations underway.

For those not very familiar with fantasy baseball, here's a FAQ section.

Poll

So who's down?

82%

Yay

23 votes

7%

Nay

2 votes

10%

Who cares?!

3 votes

28 votes | Poll has closed