Friday Applesauce

In Arizona:

• Daniel Murphy went 3-for-6 with a double, an RBI and three runs scored.

In Mexico:

• Matias Carrillo pitched a perfect two-thirds of an inning.
• Tim Lavigne picked up a win in relief, allowing a hit and a walk in a scoreless ninth.

Rob Neyer examines Scott Boras's claim that Oliver Perez is one of the top five lefties in baseball. Since 2006, he is, but only if we rank them in ascending order of ERA+ (subscription required).

At RotoGraphs, a fantasy spinoff of FanGraphs, Brian Joura looks at Mike Pelfrey's corner-turn and suggests that he might be a top-25 starting pitcher in upcoming fantasy drafts.

At The Hardball Times, Craig Brown looks at some of last offseason's awful signings, including, ahem, Luis Castillo.

The Yankees declined their $6 million option on reliever Damaso Marte. This move is a little suspicious, though I suspect they plan on offering him arbitration, which will allow them to bring him back for similar money or, if he signs elsewhere, net two draft picks as a result of Marte's Type A status.

Per GM Kevin Towers, Jake Peavy will almost certainly be traded this offseason, with the Cubs and Braves as his most likely suitors. The Cubs are considering tossing in Jeff Samardzija.

Do fielders with better range commit more errors? MGL says "No".

This is pretty awesome (via Baseball Musings). Basically, hold tryouts in a highly-populated country and offer a cash prize to the person who most resembles a pitcher. That's how two 19-year-old pitchers from India were discovered, in a contest determined to find the "pitcher" who could throw the most balls in the strike zone at 85 MPH or faster.

In off-topic hockey news, the Rangers are seeking draft pick compensation following the tragic death of first round pick Alexei Cherepanov in Russia last month. That's all well and good, but the explanation by assistant GM Cam Hope was a little unsettling:

"We understand that this is a sensitive issue, but with all due respect to Alexei's family and his memory, he is technically eligible to be drafted again next year.

"We are not attempting to capitalize on a tragedy, but there would be no question regarding the Rangers' right to a compensatory pick if Cherepanov had been revived and survived the incident and were on life support."

Ack!