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Health & Fitness

Hot Stove: 12/3

History of Baseball: 1889
World's Series Champions*: New York Giants (83-43, .659 WPCT).  *Not modern World Series.
More rule changes came in the 1888-1889 offseason.  The amount of balls needed for a walk was reduced to four, where it stands today.  In addition, the amount of strikes needed for an out was reduced back down to three, as it had been before 1888 and still is today.  The Detroit Wolverines, who won the 1887 World's Series, dropped out of the National League.  In their place came he Cleveland Blues, who moved from the American Association to the National League, changing their name to the Cleveland Spiders in the process.  To replace the departed Cleveland ball club in the AA, a new team sprouted in Columbus, Ohio, to be known as the Columbus Solons.  On May 9th, the National League gained a future Hall of Famer, Amos Rusie.  Rusie made his debut with the Indianapolis Hoosiers at just 17 years old.  On June 22nd, the Louisville Colonels lost their 26th straight game, a record that still stands today.  Throughout the season, two major pennant races ensued.  The New York Giants and the Boston Beaneaters battled and battled, with the season coming down to the final game.  The New York won their game, while Boston lost theirs, marking the first time in NL history that a game was decided on the final game.  New York finished 83-43, while Boston was 83-45.  In the AA, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and the St. Louis Browns fought their battle.  St. Louis had won four straight AA championships, but in the end, Brooklyn took the crown by finishing two games ahead.  Brooklyn was 93-44, while St. Louis was 90-45.  On an interesting note, the Louisville Colonels, who early in the season lost 26 straight games, finished just 27-111, marking the first triple digits were reached in the standings.  Louisville was 66.5 games behind Brooklyn.  The new Columbus Solons went 60-78, which isn't bad for a first year team.  Statistically, Dan Brouthers, now with Boston, won his third batting title with a .373 average.  Baltimore's Tommy Tucker won the AA crown with a .372 mark.  The Quakers' Sam Thompson knocked 20 home runs to lead the majors, but Cincinnati's Bug Holliday and the A's' Harry Stovey both knocked 19 to stay right behind him.  New York's Roger Conner drove in 130 runs to lead baseball.  Kansas City's Billy Hamilton was the only player to reach 100 steals, finishing with 111.  On National League mounds, it was all John Clarkson.  The Boston righty went 49-19 with a 2.73 ERA and 284 strikeouts to earn the pitchers' Triple Crown.  His 620 innings were the most by any pitcher since he himself tossed 623 in 1885.  Cincinnati's Jesse Duryea, a 19 year old rookie, led all of baseball with a 2.56 ERA to go along with a 32-19 record (he was in the AA, therefore not jeopardizing Clarkson's Triple Crown).  Just ahead would come an extremely tumultuous offseason that saw the formation of a whole new league by disgruntled players.  The fabric of professional baseball was shaken as many teams jumped between leagues or folded.

News
SO MANY FREAKING TRADES.  READ BELOW.
Many players were non tendered, meaning they will now become free agents.  Among them are players such as J.P. Arencibia (Blue Jays), Daniel Bard (Cubs) Scott Atchison (Mets) Andrew Bailey (Red Sox) Ryan Kalish (Red Sox), Tommy Hanson (Angels), Jerome Williams (Angels), Chris Getz (Royals), and Sam Fuld (Rays).
Pirates minor league prospect Evan Chambers passed away at 24 years old.The Nationals made their first big move of the offseason.

Trades
Tigers traded Doug Fister (14-9, 3.67 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 2014 age: 30) to the Nationals for Steve Lombardozzi (2 HR, 22 RBI, .259 AVG, 4 SB, 2014 age: 25), Ian Krol (2-1, 3.95 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 2014 age: 23), and minor leaguer Robbie Ray (11-5, 3.36 ERA, 1.25 WHIP at High Class A and AA, 2014 age: 22).
Orioles traded Jim Johnson (3-8, 2.94 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 50 SV, 2014 age: 30-31) to the A's for Jemile Weeks (0 HR, 0 RBI, .111 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 27) and a player to be named later.
Rockies traded Dexter Fowler (12 HR, 42 RBI, .263 AVG, 19 SB, 2014 age: 28) to the Astros for Jordan Lyles (7-9, 5.59 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 1 SV, 2014 age: 23) and Brandon Barnes (8 HR, 41 RBI, .240 AVG, 11 SB, 2014 age: 28).
In a three team trade, Heath Bell (5-2, 4.11 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 15 SV, 2014 age: 35) and Ryan Hanigan (2 HR, 21 RBI, .198 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 33) were sent to the Rays, minor leaguer David Holmberg (5-8, 2.75 ERA, 1.19 WHIP at AA, 2014 age: 22-23) went to the Reds, and minor leaguer Justin Choate (1-3, 2.88 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6 SV at Low Class A, 2014 age: 23) and $5.5 million were sent to the Diamondbacks.
Rangers traded Craig Gentry (2 HR, 22 RBI, .280 AVG, 24 SB, 2014 age: 30) and Josh Lindblom (1-3, 5.46 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 2014 age: 26-27) to the A's for Michael Choice (0 HR, 0 RBI, .278 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 24).
Padres traded Luke Gregerson (6-8, 2.71 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 4 SV, 2014 age: 30) to the A's for Seth Smith (8 HR, 40 RBI, .253 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 31).
Yankees traded Chris Stewart (4 HR, 25 RBI, .211 AVG, 4 SB, 2014 age: 32) to the Pirates for a player to be named later.

This move satisfies the Nationals' rotation question.  With the loss of Dan Haren to the Dodgers, the Nats were left with just three reliable starters in Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, and Jordan Zimmermann (Ross Detwiler is oft-injured).  Doug Fister gives the Nats a fourth top-tier starter, causing me to think "Best rotation in baseball?".  Maybe.  Fister, a 6'8" right hander out of Merced, California, won't be a free agent until after the 2016 season, so he's nice and controllable.  He's a sinker baller that will get a lot of ground balls.  Fister saw his breakout season in 2011, when he was traded from Seattle to Detroit.  He was 3-12 with a 3.33 ERA in 21 starts with the Mariners, getting just about zero run support.  Coming to Detroit was a whole new world for him.  In 11 games (10 starts), he was 8-1 with a 1.79 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP, even earning AL Pitcher of the Month for September.  There, he was 5-0 with a 0.53 ERA and 0.53 WHIP in five games (four starts).  For the season in total, he was 11-13 with a 2.83 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP.  In 26 starts in 2012, he was 10-10 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP.  Last year, he set career highs in games (33), starts (32), wins (14), and strikeouts (159), going 14-9 with a 3.67 ERA.  He's done well in the postseason, going 3-2 with a 2.98 ERA in eight games (seven starts).  For his regular season career, he is 44-50 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 130 games (127 starts).  As a bonus, he's a decent hitter, having gone 4-15 (.267 AVG) with two RBI and a double.  He's struck out only five times in the fifteen at bats.  Giving up Lombardozzi and Krol will be tough for the Nats.  Lombardozzi served as a utility man in 2012 and 2013, providing excellent defense and a reliable bat.  Zach Walters will likely replace Lombo as a utility man.  Krol was the Nationals' only left handed reliever at the time of the trade, meaning they MUST sign at least one, if not two, free agent lefties.
The Tigers solved their rotation problem by dealing Fister.  In return, they added possibly the final piece to a revamped infield.  They brought Jose Iglesias on midseason, then acquired Ian Kinsler over the offseason before adding Steve Lombardozzi.  He can play all over the infield and even in the outfield and may be their solution at third base.  He owns a .264 career average while striking out only 84 times in 705 at bats.  His best year was 2012, when he batted .273 with three home runs and five stolen bases in 126 games.  He had less playing time last year, but still batted .259 with a pair of home runs and four stolen bases in 118 games.  Ian Krol is a young left hander who broke in as a rookie in 2013.  The 22 year old went 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 32 appearances for Washington.  Lefties batted .220 against him.  Robbie Ray is a 22 year old AA starter who will probably start 2014 with AAA Toledo.  He was 11-5 with a 3.36 ERA in 27 starts for High Class A Potomac and AA Harrisburg in 2013.  It was a breakout year for him, as he had been 4-12 with a 6.56 ERA in 22 games (21 starts) for Potomac.

Jim Johnson 
is the king of saves as of late, and the A's got him for a very cheap price.  He replaces the departed Grant Balfour, bringing 101 saves from the past two seasons.  The 6'6" righty has led the American League in saves in back to back seasons with 51 and 50 respectively, also posting ERA's of 2.49 and 2.94.  For his career, he is 18-26 with a 3.11 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and 122 saves.  He's been in the Orioles' organization since 2001, when he was just 18 and fresh out of upstate New York.  Great deal for Oakland.
Baltimore got the inconsistent but high upside Jemile Weeks in return for their star closer.  Weeks, the younger brother of star second baseman Rickie Weeks, is remembered for his strong 2011 rookie campaign when he batted .303 with two home runs and 22 stolen bases in just 97 games.  However, he backtracked in 2012, when he batted just .221 with two home runs and 16 stolen bases in 118 games.  Spending the first five months of the 2013 season at AAA Sacramento, he batted .271 with four home runs and 17 stolen bases in 130 games.  He came back up in September, but garnered just one hit in nine at bats.  Weeks will battle with Ryan Flaherty and Jonathan Schoop for the starting spot at second base.

The Rockies had a crowded outfield with Dexter Fowler, Carlos Gonzalez, Michael Cuddyer, Charlie Blackmon, Corey Dickerson, and Charlie Culberson, so they sent Fowler over to Houston. He will hope to rejuvenate the team that has finished at the bottom of baseball for three straight years as the club tries to rebuild.  The toolsy outfielder had a breakout year in 2012, when he batted .300 with 13 home runs and 12 stolen bases.  Last year, he missed some time to injury, but still batted .263 with 12 home runs and 19 stolen bases, keeping him starting in that outfield.  He has 40 career home runs with a .270 average and 83 stolen bases to go along with 53 triples and 376 runs scored.  He led the NL with 14 triples in 2010.
The Rockies got an interesting pitcher in Jordan Lyles.  The 23 year old South Carolinian has always been a top prospect, earning a trip to the All Star Futures Game in 2010 at just 18 years old.  For his minor league career, he is 27-31 with a 3.63 ERA in 93 games (89 starts), but his major league career has been a different story.  In 72 games (65 starts), he is 14-29 with a 5.35 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP.  Maybe a change of scenery will be just what Lyles needs, even though this new scenery will be Coors Field.  Brandon Barnes is a late bloomer who made his major league debut in 2012 at the age of 26.  In his rookie 2013, he batted .240 with eight home runs and eleven stolen bases, though he was also caught stealing eleven times.  He is known for his incredible game on July 19th that saw him go 5-5 with two singles, a double, a triple, and a home run to go along with three runs scored.

Free Agent Signings
Marlins agreed to terms with Jarrod Saltalamacchia (14 HR, 65 RBI, .273 AVG, 4 SB, 2014 age: 29) on a three year, $21 million deal ($7 million per season).
Blue Jays signed Dioner Navarro (13 HR, 34 RBI, .300 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 30) to a two year, $8 million deal ($4 million per season).
Yankees signed Brendan Ryan (4 HR, 22 RBI, .197 AVG, 4 SB, 2014 age: 32) to a two year, $5 million ($2.5 million per season).
Rays resigned Jose Molina (2 HR, 18 RBI, .233 AVG, 2 SB, 2014 age: 39) to a two year, $4.5 million deal ($2.25 million per season).

This is a good move for the Marlins.  If they want to compete, they will need to match players to their spacious park (like Giancarlo Stanton), so addingJarrod Saltalamacchia, who hits home runs almost as long as his major league record setting name, is a good move.  Saltapoochachia will assume starting catching duties and will provide protection for Giancarlo Stanton, something Stanton has not seen in a while.  Salabomoquodachia has seen his home run totals jump in recent years, as he set a career high in 2012 by knocking 25 out of the park.  However, Saltochocrabia batted just .222 that year, so he turned it up in 2013.  Though his home run total fell to 14, he jacked his average back up to .273, a new career high.  For his career, Shagramomamia has hit 78 home runs, driven in 275, and batted .246 in 595 games.

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman

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