Dan Haren Among New Wave In Front Offices

Back when he was still playing, Burke Badenhop didn’t think his interest in pitch data was anything unusual. To him, it was information any pitcher would find useful. Why wouldn’t you want to know exactly how much your fastball moves?

AZ Central

Jeremy Sorrows: From Flawed Southpaw To MBA Rays

Jeremy Sowers doesn’t turn 33 until later this month. He’s young enough that he could still be pitching. Having succumbed to shoulder woes and ineffectiveness, he’s instead embarking on a new career with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Fangraphs

As Indians & Cardinals Have Demonstrated, Drafting & Developing Are Critical

The 11 World Series and 19 National League pennants speak for themselves.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

Inside The Rules: The NCAA "No Agent" Rule

This article will step away from the field of play, and away from Major League Baseball's rulebook. It will still try to examine a few rules, just not rules dealing with balks, base paths or balls and strikes. In fact, one of the rules is not even set by MLB, but instead by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

The Hardball Times

A Look Back At The 2001 Draft

Ten years ago was a draft that had a ton of talent in it. I wasn't doing draft coverage in 2001 so I will look back at how the great minds at Baseball America saw the draft in their Early Draft Preview.

MLB Bonus Baby

Top 50 Pitching Prospects From 2006: In Review

Yesterday we looked at the Top 50 Hitting Prospects from 2006, to see how they looked five years later. Today we'll take a look at the Top 50 pitchers. You can find the review of the 2005 list that I did in January 2010 here.

Minor League Ball

Indians Not Interested In Overpaying For Pedro Feliz

If the alternative is overpaying for a "bridge" guy like Pedro Feliz or Jorge Cantu, the Indians would rather open the season with Jayson Nix or Jason Donald until Chisenhall is ready to make the jump from Triple-A Columbus.

ESPN

Jeff Peeples Heads To Vanderbilt Hall Of Fame

Jeff Peeples ruled like no other during his pitching days at Vanderbilt from 1970-73 and still stands atop many Commodores categories. Peeples, who suffered a stroke in 1996 and died at age 46, was one of 10 former Commodores inducted into the Vanderbilt Athletics Hall of Fame on Friday night.

The Tennessean

The Fate Of Draftees Who Don't Sign

Baseball America

Indians Opt For Draft Signings Over Free Agents

August is the new December, where the Indians and several other small-market teams are concerned.

Indians Official Site

Mark Grudzielanek Makes Indians Roster

Non-roster invitee Mark Grudzielanek landed the middle infield utility spot, while Andy Marte grabbed the corner infield utility spot.

Indians Official Site

Indians Place Jeremy Sowers On Waivers Possibly To Make Room For Mark Grudzielanek

Ken Rosenthal Twitter

Mark Grudzielanek Scratched Due To Right Hamstring Tightness

Grudzielanek was a late scratch from today's lineup because of tightness in his right hamstring. It's not considered serious, and Acta said it shouldn't affect Grudzielanek's standing in the battle for a roster spot. It was Acta who had to talk Grudzielanek out of playing, as a precaution. I listed Grudzielanek above, but Acta also speaks highly of Hernandez. Hard to say which one of those guys gets carried.

Castro Turf

Chris Perez Not Getting Overly Excited About Closer Role

Perez isn't letting himself get overly excited about taking over the closing duties. "There's so much emphasis put on the ninth inning compared to any other inning in the game," he said. "But you can lose a game in the eighth just as much as you can in the ninth. And there are times when it's easier to work the ninth than the eighth, depending on where you are in the lineup." Perez briefly closed for the Cardinals at the end of the '08 season and blew a couple saves along the way. But he said nothing he experienced in that regard sticks with him the way his disastrous first outing with the Indians last summer does.

Castro Turf

With Kerry Wood Out, Chris Perez Gets Chance

It's all the same to him. The eighth and ninth innings, that is. Chris Perez will find out for sure when he closes his first game for the Indians.

Akron Beacon Journal

Rehab Has Russell Branyan Ready To Go

Russell Branyan has been difficult to find lately. He has not played in a game, nor has he been seen on the practice fields.

Beacon Journal

Chris Perez, Anthony Reyes, & Jess Todd Sign 2010 Contracts With Indians

The Indians reached contractual terms with the 32 non-arbitration-eligible members of their 40-man roster. They are: Hector Ambriz, Brian Bixler, Michael Brantley, Brown, Asdrubal Cabrera, Carlos Carrasco, Shin-Soo Choo, Trevor Crowe, Kelvin De La Cruz, Jason Donald, Wes Hodges, David Huff, Matt LaPorta, Aaron Laffey, Jensen Lewis, Lou Marson, Andy Marte, Justin Masterson, Chris Perez, Rafael Perez, Anthony Reyes, Carlos Rivero, Hector Rondon, Carlos Santana, Tony Sipp, Joe Smith, Jeremy Sowers, Mitch Talbot, Jess Todd, Wyatt Toregas, Luis Valbuena and Nick Weglarz.

Castro Turf

Ahead Of The Count: DIPS, BABIP, & Common Sense

When Eric Seidman and I unveiled SIERA, a little Googling showed that there were three big debates that broke out on the internet. Firstly, sabermetricians debated its validity and value. Secondly, readers debated whether they wanted to see how the sausage was made or the just see the end result, which was how the statistic would be used. Thirdly, baseball fans with a sabermetric bent once again debated the validity of Defense Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS) Theory.

Baseball Prospectus

Anthony Reyes Throwing Long Toss

Anthony Reyes, who had Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery and an ulnar nerve transposition surgery last June, said his arm feels stable and strong. He's throwing long toss right now. He's not sure when he'll start throwing off a mound. Reyes probably won't be a big league option until July, at the absolute earliest.

Castro Turf

Mike Lowell Braces Himself For An Uncertain Spring

Mike Lowell isn’t blind to what awaits.

He knows that his current lot in life promises to be one of spring training’s most talked-about issues. The third baseman also realizes why such interest might run rampant the minute he steps into the Red Sox’ minor league training facility Monday.

WEEI