Red Reposter: The grand tradition and promise of arbitration day

Arbitration figures were exchanged Friday
This is what we're left with in the lowest ebb of the baseball offseason: remedial accounting exercises. Teams and arbitration-eligible players set the goal-posts for negotiation. One thing you'll notice is that the team number is always LOWER. As of this writing, Logan Ondrusek is the only arb-eligible Red to settle up. Shin-soo Choo filed the highest ask, at $8 million. Mark Sheldon has the rest of the numbers.

Reds have a peaceful arbitration history
Mark Sheldon also reminds us that the Reds don't like going to trial. It's been since 2004, when they beat Chris Reitsma, that they've actually gone to arbitration. They haven't lost since Sean Casey in 2001.

Marty Brennaman has a benediction before the Winter Caravan Better Off Red
Marty, Brandon Phillips, Tucker Barnhart and others are one the Norther Leg of the tour. The first stops on all three legs are this Thursday.

"The Craziest Half-Inning In Television History"
Now re-blogged over at Deadspin - if not preempted by a Manti Te'o story - this was published originally in Baseball Prospectus and linked in an earlier thread. It's well worth the time.

Stan Musial passed away on Saturday
Someone I worked with, who was close to two generations older than me, recounted how he became a fan of Stan Musial (and the Cardinals). Despite the fact that he grew up in the Philly area, he needed just one brief pre-game encounter and one Cardinals-Phillies game to become a convert. That seems to sum up the dignified dominance of Musial pretty well.

I hadn't realized until I read this New York Times piece, that Musial grew up in Donora, PA - home of the Griffeys. Not only that, but he had played baseball with Buddy Griffey (father of Ken Griffey, Sr.)

Devin Mesoraco: Post-Hype Breakout Candidate (Fake Teams)
Ray Guilfoyle looks at whether Devin can he break out in 2013. As it might have been with Homer Bailey, waiting for the hype to die down - or at least get more reasonable - is a necessary step in development for some players.

Hall o' Famer Hal is hiring
This has also shown up in Deadspin: Hall o' Famer seeks driver.

SBN Baseball scooped them
But ESPN's Sweet Spot did a post on one-season wonders also. They went with Jack Armstrong.

Reds Minor Leagues: What do #1-5 starters actually look like?
This is a post I've been wanting to write (or read) for a while. What do we actually mean when we say number-____ starter.