Around the SaberSphere 12/6: Managing the Astros, Quiet Winter Meetings, The New Yankees

David Laurilla of FanGraphs sat down with Bo Porter, the new manager of the Houston Astros: Q&A: Bo Porter, Managing the Analytic Astros | FanGraphs Baseball

Jeff [Luhnow] and the entire group we have is extremely entrenched into the analytical side of the game, which is something I’m extremely interested in. There are a lot of values that can be found when you look at the analytical side and get away from just the numbers everybody looks at every day. In doing so, you’re able to understand the true value of a player. That’s going to help us from an organizational standpoint

Zachary Levine of Baseball Prospectus discusses why for some teams a quiet winter meetings was a good thing: Baseball Prospectus | Skewed Left: How the Teams That Did Nothing in Nashville Did

A three-year deal for $12 million like the White Sox gave out would have been a long commitment to the meh Jeff Keppinger, whose best asset is an uncanny ability not to strike out—6.4 percent of his 2,705 plate appearances were K’s. That doesn’t play all that well with the advantages Yankee Stadium could provide, but as a competent utility man, he’d do well to play third base regularly in A-Rod’s absence and then settle into a role where he would spell fragile players for a day and let them DH.

Grant Brisbee of Baseball Nation takes a look at how the Dodgers continue to resemble the Yankees: The Dodgers and Yankees keep their promises - Baseball Nation

As long as there's an offseason bogeyman to scare the other 29 teams, salaries will go up. That's how it's been for the last 15 years. There's a new bogeyman for the first time, though. It's not going to change anything that drastically. It wasn't exactly a surprise. But there's a decent chance that when the Dodgers go into Yankee Stadium next June, Zack Greinke will be on the mound for the Dodgers, and he'll be trying to retire Chris Stewart or Francisco Cervelli.

Dave Schoenfield of ESPN asks real Zack Greinke to please stand up:Just how good is Zack Greinke? - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN

OK, a lot of you know this already. That leaves us with this: There's a huge difference between the seventh-best starting pitcher and baseball and somebody more in the 25 to 30-ish range. We're talking an ace versus a No. 2. Certainly, at $150 million, Greinke will be paid like one of the best pitchers in baseball.