More Notes

Dave Cameron at FanGraphs discusses the three-CF outfield: "Last year, the Tampa Bay Rays were the new success story, one of the foundations of that success was their outfield defense. Carl Crawford is, for all intents and purposes, a center fielder. He’s just been assigned to left field for the Rays. B.J. Upton is the prototypical center fielder with long strides and blazing speed. And, while Gabe Gross might not look like a center fielder, he’s performed like one during his major league career. These three spent the majority of the time in the outfield for the Rays last year, and were the reason why Tampa racked up a +45 UZR from their outfield in 2008. Based on what we’re seeing in Baltimore and Seattle, it appears that the Three CF model of outfields that Tampa made en vogue is catching on in other cities as well."
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"It will be interesting to see how these Three CF outfields turn out. All of them lack the traditional slugging corner outfielder, but if you see the Orioles, Mariners, and Rays once again exceeding national expectations, don’t be surprised if even more teams start copying the Three CF model." I'm not sure what the 'once again exceeding national expectations' has to do with the Orioles and Mariners. Am I missing something?

Back to the earlier jobs theme, here are two more for writers at RotoWorld: "Rotoworld is looking for writers to join the staff as paid, part-time contributors for the upcoming baseball season. Previous writing experience is an absolute must, as is significant knowledge of and passion for both baseball and fantasy baseball. Qualified applicants would work under baseball editors Aaron Gleeman and Matthew Pouliot, providing coverage for Rotoworld's player news page that requires the ability to report news with instant analysis and recap games in a clear, concise style. Rotoworld is also looking for someone to specifically focus on our baseball rankings and projections. This person could also be involved in a writing capacity, but would work specifically on weekly rankings and projections in conjunction with our baseball staff. A great feel for fantasy baseball player values and statistics is a necessity." See the link for Aaron's email address.

From the chat with Scouts Inc.'s Keith Law: "Tommy(draysbay): IF he says healthy, do you think the Rays could slide Desmond Jennings into Carl Crawford's spot after 2010?
Keith Law: Yes.
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Tim (Chicago): Do GM's have significant influence on the draft or is it mostly done by farm directors and scouts?
Keith Law: Scouting directors run the draft for just about every team. Farm directors might be in the room but rarely have input until it becomes time to pick org players to fill out short-season rosters. GMs are usually involved in the first pick or first few picks, because the money is higher.
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Jimmy (Chicago): Does Even Longoria come back to earth this year, or is he really that good?
Keith Law: He's Even better."