Yahoo baseball columnist Jeff Passan’s new book, “The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports,” was excerpted at his home site today, and among other things it offers a rare peek into the kinds of steps the Dodgers have taken to grow and target their research and development department in baseball operations. Start reading, and take special note when Dr. James Buffi first appears.

— Jon Weisman