2012 Hall of Fame Votes Revealed Today and Other Bullets

My brother is a huge Denver Broncos fan, so last night’s ridiculousness undoubtedly made his week. Must be nice to have your team win a playoff game. I can’t remember what that feels like.

  • Hall of Fame voting results will be unveiled today at 2pm ET on the MLB Network, and the prevailing wisdom has Barry Larkin joining the late Ron Santo on the dais, so to speak, next year. MLB.com’s writers with votes reveal their ballots, including Carrie Muskat, who votes only for Barry Larkin. If you consider yourself a high-wall Hall of Fame standards person, that’s a defensible decision. Not defensible? Voting for nine people, including Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire, but *not* voting for Jeff Bagwell, as Barry Bloom does. If you’re clearly not bothered by the specter of “character” problems, how on Earth can you justify voting for Palmeiro and McGwire but not Bagwell?
  • Your sporadic non-update on Theo Epstein compensation: Red Sox President Larry Lucchino still insists that the Red Sox are getting a quality player. “We fully believe we are entitled to such compensation,’’ he said, adding that he expects it to happen “this offseason.’’
  • That same Cafardo article makes an interesting, random point, attributed to Bill Chuck, about third basemen Aramis Ramirez and Adrian Beltre: “After 14 big league seasons, third baseman Aramis Ramirez has a .284 lifetime average with 315 homers and 1,122 RBIs, and third baseman Adrian Beltre has a .276 lifetime average with 310 homers and 1,113 RBIs.” Why is it interesting? Beltre is routinely discussed as a possible future Hall of Famer, while no one has plausibly suggested Ramirez as one. Is Beltre’s defense really that much better than Ramirez’s that, with slightly worse offensive numbers, it takes him from good third baseman to Hall of Famer? Maybe so.
  • Paul Sullivan offers his thoughts on some of the panels at the upcoming Cubs Convention, and a general take on what the new front office can expect out of the event.
  • The Cubs have released minor leaguers RHP Gian Guzman, OF Manuel Barrios, and OF Jesus Morelli. Morelli is just 21, and made his way to A-ball last year, but couldn’t put it together offensively. Barrios is an 18-year-old kid who didn’t make it out of Dominican ball last year, and Guzman, 22, hadn’t pitched since 2009.
  • Cardinals’ bullpen coach Derek Lilliquist will step in as the Cardinals’ pitching coach during Dave Duncan’s absence from the team, which could ultimately be permanent.
  • written by

    Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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