The sprawling eastern Iowa cornfields made famous by the movie "Field of Dreams" are being sold to a company that will preserve the site's baseball legacy, the owners announced Sunday. Don and Becky Lansing said they have accepted an offer from Mike and Denise Stillman and their company, Go the Distance Baseball LLC, which will develop the site near Dyersville as a baseball and softball complex. A purchase price was not disclosed. "We worked hard to maintain its wholesome allure, and our success says a lot about our nation's love affair with its national pastime," Becky Lansing said in a statement. "It truly is a special place." http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/field-of-dreams-sold_n_1066328.html
Just as the baseball hot stove season began to heat up with questions on where big names like Albert Pujols(notes), Prince Fielder(notes) and Jose Reyes(notes) would end up, a report indicated a snag in labor talks might cool things down. The collective bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 31 and the sides have hit a stumbling block over a draft slotting issue, the New York Daily News reported. That might not bode well for Pujols, Fielder and the nearly 150 other free agents—with the New York Yankees' CC Sabathia(notes) expected to join the mix by opting out of his contract Monday. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=sportsxchange-000458917_labor-talks-could-impact-top-free-agents
In Lowe, the Indians have acquired a pitcher who in one sense seems primed to bounce back from a subpar season but in another, perhaps equally important sense, seems like a poor bet to improve. On the one hand, Lowe posted a 3.67 FIP, a quarter of a run better than the 3.92 he managed while recording an ERA over a run lower than last season’s 5.05 in 2010, and his walk and strikeout rates have remained fairly stable over the past few seasons. It would take only a small step from there to look at Lowe’s high BABIP and sizeable ERA-FIP differential and forecast a return to form. There is another hand, though, and what it holds for Lowe isn’t quite as encouraging. The righty will turn 39 next June, and his fastball has lost roughly 3.5 miles per hour since 2007, the start of the PITCHf/x era. He’ll also be moving from the NL to the AL, which won't help cushion him from the effects of age. More frightening still, he’ll go from having the best of battery mates to having some of the worst. As Mike Fast’s research revealed, Braves backstops David Ross and Brian McCann have excelled at securing extra strikes for their pitchers, but Indians catchers Lou Marson and Carlos Santana have fallen down on the framing job. While Lowe has shown some ability to expand the zone on his own by continually testing its limits, he'll suffer some from being deprived of those helping hands behind the plate. http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=15386
With the the top 20 closers for 2011 fantasy baseball, we’ve finished our recap of the 2011 fantasy baseball rankings. Some will feel like it came too soon, others will think let’s get 2012 under way already! Whichever camp you fall in, don’t eat cherimoya seeds, they are poisonous. This is our final look back. This is still a look back. It is not how I’d rank them for 2012 aka next year. As with the other rankings, the final rankings come from ESPN’s Player Rater. I did this so I could objectively critique MY preseason rankings to THEIRS. Their rankings for closers weigh wins when I’d just want saves, but whatevs. At least it’s unbiased. Anyway, here’s the top 20 closers for 2011 fantasy baseball and how they compare to where I originally ranked them: http://razzball.com/top-20-closers-2011-fantasy-baseball
Stony Brook University’s Joe Nathan came home to his alma mater and native New York State on Friday, October 28th to dedicate the team’s new baseball field. Nathan, a Pine Bush, NY native, gave the baseball program a $500,000 lead gift towards construction of the state-of-the-art facility in 2008. In recognition of his commitment, Stony Brook named the field in Nathan’s honor. The field first hosted action on May 20, 2012 with an America East league game against SUNY rival Albany. With a Field Turf playing surface and new dugouts, bullpens and scoreboard, the facility is currently one of the best in the conference. Outside of his significant financial support, the program holds Nathan as a model of what they want their student-athletes to achieve. He flourished as a shortstop while the program was still on the Division III level, and had as much success academically as he did on the diamond. “(Nathan) was a great player, a great student, and really embodies everything that we’re trying to produce,” said Stony Brook athletic director Joe Fiore to Newsday last week. http://www.collegebaseballdaily.com/2011/11/01/joe-nathan-stony-brook-field
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