Fanshots

Sources: #Indians awarded claim on Thome, #WhiteSox awarded claim on Kubel.

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Per Rosenthal.

Fan Scouting Report is back for 2011!

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Y'all know what to do. And as Tango says, "Try to judge 'average' not as an average player at that position, but an average player at any position. If you think that Ben Zobrist has an average arm, then mark him as average, regardless if you've seen him play 2B, SS, 3B, or RF. DO NOT CONSIDER THE POSITION THE PLAYER PLAYS! DO NOT CONSIDER THE POSITION THE PLAYER PLAYS! DO NOT CONSIDER THE POSITION THE PLAYER PLAYS!"

Malcolm Gladwell on BBall, Baseball, Owners, and $$

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The Financial Times recently interviewed Diego Della Valle, the chief executive of the Italian luxury goods manufacturer Tod's. Della Valle owns the celebrated Italian football club Fiorentina. "I ask if the decision to buy the club was made from the heart, or for business reasons," the Financial Times interviewer writes. Della Valle replies: "With football, business reasons don't exist." Exactly. Yawkey did not have "business reasons" with the Red Sox either. Why did he care that keeping the club lily white cost him millions of dollars? He inherited $40 million from his grandfather when he turned 30 in 1933 (which is roughly $700 million in today's money). He fell in love with baseball growing up in Detroit. Ty Cobb was one of his best friends. The Red Sox were his heart's desire, and in his case his heart's desire — so the story goes — included things like running out on the field during Jackie Robinson's tryout and yelling "Get those [expletive] off the field." In case you were wondering how this kind of thing goes over with the baseball establishment, Yawkey was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Baseball According to Babelfish

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Jon Bois, you have never ever disappointed me.

douchebag idea of the day

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$200 million in tax-payer funds for improvements to Wrigley? Really?

Humber to DL; RHP Josh Kinney Promoted

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Interesting that they didn't use the 7 day concussion DL. I guess it is just a facial contusion.

So what's Jose Valentin been up to?

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The alarm clock goes off every weekday morning at 4:30 in Manati, Puerto Rico. That's when former big league infielder Jose Valentin rolls out of bed, starts up the bus, scoops up nine local kids and heads east. By 7 a.m., he arrives at the far-away Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School in Gurabo, where he makes a modest living as a instructor. Valentin, who earned millions through 16 seasons in the Majors and is beloved in his native island, doesn't have to make sacrifices like these as a 41-year-old retiree. But he does it because he's obsessed with the game, he loves working with kids, he badly wants to improve the state of baseball in Puerto Rico -- and one of those nine kids he takes to school every morning is his talented son. Jesmuel Valentin Diaz, a switch-hitting middle infielder who just began his senior year, has already verbally committed to Louisiana State University and -- if all goes well -- projects to be selected somewhere within the first five rounds of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

Cubs Fire Hendry

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Rick Hahn-watch 2011 starts today I guess.

FIRST! Mike Jacobs Tests Positive For HGH

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"A few weeks ago, in an attempt to overcome knee and back problems, I made the terrible decision to take H.G.H.," Jacobs said in the statement. "I immediately stopped a couple of days later after being tested. Taking it was one of the worst decisions I could have ever made, one for which I take full responsibility."