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02/03/10
Maybe it's just my false perception, but I'm really liking these bargain deals teams are making for average talent. First it's $2 million for Randy Winn, then it's a mere $800,000 for Reed Johnson to be the fourth outfielder on the Dodgers. While you know you're never going to get 25 HR or 100 RBI out of a guy like Johnson, you can be sure of what you WILL get - average offense and solid multi-position defense. For $800,000, that's a great value. Rookies and other young players may have more upside for that price, but the unknown is a risk not necessary in taking for a fourth outfielder on a good team.
The White Sox did something similar in signing Mark Kotsay. The only problem with Chicago is that they also exercised the same strategy in signing Andruw Jones and Omar Vizquel. Now they have three players with marginal upside but a good chance for average to below average production. That's great for a backup, but when you have THREE of those guys on your roster, someone is going to be playing more than necessary and suddenly than dependable average production becomes a hindrance, not an asset.
01/28/10
As much as I love to rip on the Yankees and their free spending ways, sometimes they do something that makes you say "yup, those are the little moves that help them win titles." This time around, it's the small signing of 35-year-old Randy Winn for 1-year at $2 million.
Don't get me wrong - Winn isn't going to be starting any All-Star Games and he won't make fans forget Bernie Williams, but at $2 million, he's a no-risk outfielder with remarkable consistency who should benefit from hitting in a lineup surrounded with stars (and men always on base). His tiny contract will help offset the sting of all those $150 million deals. Ok, well maybe it won't, but at least it helps the budget more so than promising tens of millions and several years to Johnny Damon or someone similar.
While the Braves, Cubs, Mets, and a dozen other teams fight and sign guys like Nady, Mathews, Dye, Damon, and others, the Yankees have taken a practical approach (not a statement you read very often) and signed a player who, while not as talented as some, is a great value per contract dollar and gives them pretty much all they need at the position.
01/12/10
It's January, and the Cubs Convention is just around the corner. During that weekend, scores of crazy Cubs fans will commiserate about how unlucky and unfortunate "their" team has been, desperately wishing for some success to head the way of the "lovable losers." Has it really been that bad for the North Siders? Is it really necessary to blame a goat or a Bartman for the lack of recent World Series appearances? The Commish takes a look at the entire history of the World Series and explains why the idea of a curse is absurd. In fact, he points out a team who's had it much worse since the 20th century began, and they play right in the Cubs' backyard. Read the latest Hot Corner now and find out why young Cubs fans shouldn't be crying in their beer - or at least not as much as Pirates fans.
01/11/10
It's official: Mark McGwire used steroids. Oh, and the Pope is Catholic.
01/06/10
Congratulations to Andre Dawson, who finally became a Hall of Famer today, earning votes on 77.9% of the ballots. Bert Blyleven was just short but figures to get the needed votes in the next year or two. Then there's Roberto Alomar. For some insane reason, some smug voters think there needs to be a paying of dues or something before enshrinement can take place. If you think a player is deserving, vote in him. If not, don't. Sure you can change your mind, but only if history suggests a reason.
In the case of Alomar, he was simply the best second baseman of his era, with Ryne Sandberg right next to him. He could hit (.300 career BA), he could run (474 SB), he could hit the long ball (210 HR), and he could certainly field (10 Gold Gloves). If you think a second baseman with those credentials in that era is not worthy of the Hall of Fame, then you're not thinking straight. If you think he is worthy, but not on his first ballot, then you're not even thinking logically.
Alomar will certainly make the Hall of Fame in a year or two, but every day that he is not in the Hall of Fame is an embarrassing one for sportswriters with the power to check a box.
12/30/09
The free agents are finally coming off the market, with Jason Bay being the most recent big signing by the Mets. Bay's deal is for four years and about $66 million, with a fifth year that would kick in if some attainable statistical goals are met, pushing the deal to about $80, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. I'm a little surprised that Boston didn't try harder to keep Bay since he filled in for Manny with ease and was well liked in the clubhouse.
I'm sure he will earn his money in New York, but don't expect the same power out of Bay that he has shown in the past thanks to Citi Field. Judge the 2010 Mets based on wins and losses rather than their stats relative to their career averages. Pitching is still a need in New York, but at least the lineup is coming together nicely.
Elsewhere, Mark DeRosa signed a two-year deal with the Giants, and if they can land one more power hitter (not sure if there's even one out there), they will be a major threat in the National League. Even without another hitter, Lincecum, Cain, and the rest of the young arms will make San Francisco competitive all season long.
Troy Glaus latched on with the Atlanta Braves, and while Glaus possesses huge power potential, he also possesses a similar injury risk and Atlanta's other corner infielder in Chipper Jones. If Atlanta wants to get over the hump offensively, they will need another bat before spring.
12/22/09
The Atlanta Braves traded Javier Vazquez to the New York Yankees for Melky Cabrera and a couple other prospects today with the idea that Atlanta had "too much" starting pitching. That sentence is NEVER true regardless of the team in question. The truth is that Atlanta needs to trim some payroll, and while they would have preferred to get rid of Derek Lowe's deal, Vazquez was the easier trade with just one year left on his contract.
As a Braves fan, it's disheartening to see Atlanta eliminate 200 innings and 200 strikeouts and hope that an inexperienced arm can replace that, but the deal figures to add depth to the organization and possibly sets them up for a trade deadline deal with some available cash if the playoffs are in sight. As for the Yankees, they believe the trouble Javy had in New York the first time around was mechanical, not mental. Plus, they can easily eat their mistakes.
12/18/09
UPDATE: ok, it sounds like the Cubs will be receiving $9 million in the Silva - Bradley deal, which makes a LOT more sense. Of course, Silva is hardly a clubhouse cheerleader either and, oh by the way, can't really pitch consistently at the major league level, but that's a problem for another day.
12/18/09
Seriously, what are the Cubs doing? They didn't want to pay the full $21 million remaining on Milton Bradley's salary, but they didn't feel they could bring him back. They refused to outright release him in the hopes they could save even a million or two in a trade where they would pay almost all of the freight. That never materialized, so now Chicago is set to announce a trade for Carlos Silva from the Mariners. Get this: Silva is a worse talent than Bradley and is owed $3 million MORE over the next two years.
Bottom line: the Cubs traded away a $21 million headache for a $24 million paper weight when they could have gotten rid of that headache for $3 million less. Management has changed, but the decisions on the North Side continue to baffle sound logic.
12/10/09
You may have already heard, but Peter Gammons is making the move from ESPN to the MLB Network. That's a huge coup for the newish MLB Network, and that means not having to listen to Joe Magrane and Mitch Williams seven days a week. I first read about it in The Baseball Early Bird, a daily email partially conceived by the company behind baseball-reference.com, the best baseball site on the net. You can subscribe there or go directly to www.baseballearlybird.com. If you are someone who joneses for a little baseball knowledge every day, it's the perfect way to start off a morning.
12/09/09
The offseason is still pretty quiet, but it appears that Curtis Granderson will soon be a Yankee in a 3-team deal involving the Tigers and Diamondbacks. Doesn't it always seem that in those kind of deals it's New York as the only one who ends up with MLB talent while the worst team in the deal usually gets worse? This time around, plenty of young unproven talent (Coke, Ian Kennedy, etc.) landed in Arizona and Detroit, but it's the Bronx Bombers who will be starting 2010 with the proven major leaguer.
12/04/09
This winter's free agent market is hardly abuzz, but there are some deals to be had for teams just looking for something to get over the hump. ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick lists his "Starting 9," which is actually about 14 players who may be a bargain by the time spring training rolls around.
