Reveille 11/25/13

Good morning.

Here are several links from the past week that will make your Thanksgiving Monday a bit more bearable:

• Teams are increasingly signing their best young players to long-term contracts, writes Tyler Kepner of the New York Times, meaning that “scouting and player development [are] more important than ever.”
• Kepner, taking note of Detroit’s recent swap of Prince Fielder (and $30 million) to Texas for Ian Kinsler, asserts:

The Rangers, essentially, made a seven-year, $138 million commitment to Fielder, a reasonable investment for several reasons, but mainly Fielder’s age. He does not turn 30 until May. Age, more than any other number, is the primary consideration for teams as they evaluate the wisdom of long-term investments.

• Dave Cameron of Fangraphs wonders if Kinsler might be for the Tigers in 2014 what Shane Victorino was for the Red Sox this season.
• The deal reminds the Dallas Morning News sports desk of an ESPN Sunday Night Baseball commercial from the 2010 season:

• The Cardinals had a busy week: Chris Carpenter retired, and the front office traded David Freese and a pitching prospect to the Angels for Peter Bourjos and an outfield prospect. Then it inked Jhonny Peralta to a four-year, $53 million deal. Beyond the Boxscore’s Bryan Grosnick explains why the Bourjos acquisition makes sense for St. Louis.
• Brian McCann agreed to a five-year, $85 million contract with the Yankees. Jason Cohen of Pinstripe Alley opines on what the maneuver may mean for free agent Robinson Cano.
• Baseball Nation’s Rob Neyer rebuts the claim of Rick Morrissey of the Chicago Sun-Times that the White Sox owe Paul Konerko another season’s worth of plate appearances:

I gotta say, though . . . I’m always amused or bemused or x-mused when a writer suggests that a baseball player who’s earned $100 million over the last seven years deserves anything except the respect and gratitude we might extend to anyone else who’s done his job (usually) well and (generally) without making a fuss over himself.

• Last Monday’s Reveille included a link to a color broadcast of Jim Maloney’s no-hitter against the Cubs in 1965. Bruce Markusen of the Hardball Times watched the video and offers up some interesting observations.
• Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that top officials from the Nippon Baseball League will fly to New York this week to meet with MLB officials in the hope of reaching an agreement on a new posting system. If successful, Masahiro Tanaka stands to be the biggest beneficiary this offseason.

That’s it. Have a walk-off week!