Mark Prior, banished from the Cubs less than a month ago, has found a new home. He is now going to be a San Diego Padre.

Prior receives a one-year major league deal with a $1 million base salary. The contract, which doesn’t include an option, contains incentive clauses that could take the total value of the deal to over $3 million. Prior, however, is not anticipating his season debut with the Padres until mid-to-late May.

“Mark Prior is a competitor and is working hard to regain the form that made him one of the great young pitchers in the game,” general manager Kevin Towers told The Associated Press. “We are confident he is going to help us in our rotation this season. It’s exciting that Mark is coming home to San Diego to pitch for the Padres.”

Prior, 27, last pitched in the majors in 2006, and he had shoulder surgery in April of 2007. Prior believes that he still has a career ahead of him, but he’s really just kidding himself.

“For unfortunate reasons, I just haven’t been healthy since the 2005 season,” he said. Prior went on to say, “2006 was not a good year, when I had shoulder problems. I feel I’ve got things taken care of. I’m on a good rehab program. I feel I’ve got a lot of great years left.” Nothing unfortunate here; he shouldn’t be talking about luck with the way his mechanics are for pitching.

The second overall pick in the 2001 draft, Prior went 18-6 for the Cubs in 2003 before experiencing a series of physical problems.

The only upside about this news is that Prior is returning to his home, in that he was born in San Diego and currently lives in San Diego County. Prior joins a rotation that includes Jake Peavy, Chris Young, Greg Maddux, and Randy Wolf.

Prior’s lifetime record in the big leagues is 42-29, with a 3.51 ERA. Coming to San Diego, he will benefit from the expansive confines of PETCO Park. The Padres didn’t spend much money on Prior and didn’t include an option for him, so this may prove to be a win-win situation for both parties. However, Padres fans shouldn’t be holding their breath.

Jonathan Papelbon’s dog apparently has a taste for expensive rawhide. Papelbon’s dog has apparently ate the baseball that Papelbon used to strike out Colorado’s Seth Smith to close out the four-game sweep by the Red Sox in the World Series.

The lowly remains of the ball are in the living room of Papelbon’s Hattiesburg, Mississippi home.

“My dog ate it,” Papelbon said. “He plays with baseballs like they are his toys. His name is Boss. He jumped up one day on the counter and snatched it. He likes rawhide. He tore that thing to pieces. I’ll keep what’s left of it.”

For a few weeks at least, Papelbon played dumb and pretended to have no knowledge of where the ball was. But he was actually floating the story around in jest for about a month now. He even had an interview with NESN. Lucky for Papelbon, however, the Red Sox aren’t really interested in acquiring this “piece of history.”

“From the Red Sox standpoint, our only real comment is that from the ballclub’s perspective, the 2004 ball was very special because it was the first time we won in 86 years and everything,” said Red Sox spokesman John Blake. “This one, obviously, if Pap says the dog ate the ball or whatever, we have to believe him. It’s really kind of a non-issue with us.”

This news come to you on a light noter; we remember that just a week after the Mitchell Report was released. I am pretty sure the dog wasn’t on steroids.

It has been about 48 hours since the Mitchell Report has been released, and the ongoing fervor of blogging continues. Here are the latest blogs from around WordPress dealing with the Mitchell Report:

1. The Mitchell Report aftermath
2. The Mitchell Report: Misconceptions clarified
3. The Mitchell Report, How we process information in the world of Web 2.0
4. Relievers React to Mitchell Report
5. The Mitchell Report… Thought For The Day, With Malice
6. The Mitchell Blues
7. The Mitchell Report
8. More on the Mitchell Report
9. Substance Abuse in Sports
10. Roger and Barry: Poster Boys for the Steroid Era
11. How Baseball Failed America
12. Reading Jayson Stark-ly: Looking at Roger Clemens Through PED-Colored Glasses
13. Some Guys Used Steroids
14. ‘Roids, Records, and Racism…
15. Pettitte confesses: He used HGH
16. Steroids extends its vice-like grip
17. STERIODS linked to top BASEBALL Professionals…sports…baseball…drugs…
18. The Mitchell Files (The Truth is out there … somewhere)
19. Roger Clemens should still be in the Hall of Fame
20. Clemens’ Hall candidacy now in doubt
21. Not the Biggest Shocker in the Worl
22. We Talkin’ ‘Bout the Mitchell Report. . . the What
23. The Mitchell Report: Rocket Fue
24. (Not So) Juicy Reading: The Mitchell Repor
25. The Mitchell Report…
26. George Mitchell issues report on steroids in MLB
27. Does the Mitchell Report make the Yankees dynasty a sham?
28. What You Won’t Find On Baseball’s Mitchell Report
29. Say It Ain’t So
30. The Mitchell Report: Another reason to hate the Yankees
31. MLB Steroids, The Witch Hunt Part II
32. Mitchell Report Q & A with Seth Bondroff (Rainman)
33. The Dark Day
34. Mitchell, Mitchell, Mitchell
35. The Purity of Baseball: Told Through Two At Bats By Benito Santiago
36. Baseball’s Inquisition
37. You don’t see this in golf
38. Canseco “shocked” A-Rod not on report!
39. McCain Critical of Baseball Players Union
40. Mitchell Report Recap
41. I hope everyone enjoyed their Mitchell Report Day . . .
42. “Bitch”ell Report Reveals Mitches
43. Some Thoughts On the Mitchell Report
44. MLB: Give back what belongs to Maris!
45. Baseball Cheats
46. Mitchell Investigation Post-Mortem’s Post-Mortem
47. Steroids in Baseball: Symptom of a Larger Problem?
48. Vindication?
49. Sporting World Shocked: Baseball Players Willing To Cheat In Order To Earn Ridiculous Sums of Money
50. Baseball…sort it out !

The list now consists of fifty posts, just like Part I of the list. If you’ve written your thoughts and have been omitted, or would like to point out other interesting blogs that deal with the Mitchell Report, please leave a comment.

The contract between the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez has been negotiated for a few weeks now, but today the 10-Year, $275 million contract was finalized. Read why A-Rod’s multi-year contract makes sense for the Yankees here. The New York Yankees website released the following press release:

The New York Yankees announced today they have signed third baseman Alex Rodriguez, three-time American League Most Valuable Player, to a 10-year contract.

Rodriguez, 32, established career-highs with 143 runs and 156 RBI in 2007 while hitting .314 (183-for-583) with 54 home runs and 24 stolen bases in 158 games with the Yankees. He became the first player in Major League history to record at least 140R, 50HR, 150RBI and 20SB in a single season, earning his second American League Most Valuable Player Award in four seasons with the Yankees, as well as Baseball America and The Sporting News “Player of the Year” honors.

In 2007, Rodriguez led the Majors in runs, home runs and RBI, joining Babe Ruth (1920-21, 1926), Ted Williams (1942) and Mickey Mantle (1956) as the only players to finish a season with the outright Major League lead in each of those three categories in a single season since RBI became an official statistic in 1920 (credit: Elias Sports Bureau). He also paced the A.L. in slugging percentage (.645) and total bases (376), ranked second with 85 extra-base, fourth with a .422 on-base percentage and tied for seventh with 95 walks.

The 11-time All-Star has hit 518 career home runs for sole possession of 17th place on baseball’s all-time list. He has hit at least 50HR in three separate seasons (54 in 2007; 57 in 2002; 52 in 2001), becoming the fourth player in Major League history to have three or more seasons with 50 home runs (Babe Ruth, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa each did it four times). He is also one of only three players in Major League history, along with Willie Mays and Barry Bonds, to record at least 500 career home runs and 250 stolen bases.

Over his last four seasons — all with the Yankees — Rodriguez has led the club in runs (492), home runs (173), RBI (513), on-base percentage (.403), slugging percentage (.573) and games played (629). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only player to hit more home runs for the Yankees over a four-season span was Babe Ruth, whose highest four-year total was 209 from 1927-30. Over the last 10 seasons (1998-2007), no Major Leaguer has hit more home runs, recorded more RBI or scored more runs than Rodriguez (454, 1,275, 1,241). He is also the only player in Major League history to reach 35HR, 100 runs and 100 RBI in 10 consecutive seasons (1998-2007).

His 54HR in 2007 established the Yankees franchise record for most homers by a right-handed batter and were the most homers by any Yankees player since Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961. Rodriguez also established a Major League record with 52HR from the third-base position (two as DH), surpassing the mark of 48 shared by Mike Schmidt (1980 with Philadelphia) and Adrian Beltre (2004 with Los Angeles-NL). His 156 RBI in 2007 was the second-highest single-season total by a right-handed hitter in Yankees franchise history behind only Joe DiMaggio’s 167 in 1937 while his 143 runs scored was the highest single-season total in the A.L. since the Yankees’ Rickey Henderson scored 146 runs in 1985 and the second-highest single-season total by a Yankee in the last 70 years (since 1938).

Rodriguez was the #1 overall selection by the Seattle Mariners in the 1993 First-Year Player Draft. He was acquired by the Yankees from the Texas Rangers on February 16, 2004, in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a player to be named later (INF Joaquin Arias).

The Mitchell Report is slated to be released in less than 12 hours. There is a lot of noise in the blogosphere about this report, and what this report will do to baseball and its players. Sources indicate that there will be between 60 and 80 names in the report.

One column that is pretty interesting is by Tim Brown, for Yahoo! Sports. In his piece, he asserts that “Life, as a fan, will go on. Four years in, the game’s steroids crisis has not cost the industry a single ticket.” Basically, the game will go on. Read the story on Yahoo! or just see the full-text article presented below.

Mitchell Report Won’t Cripple the Game - by Tim Brown

Presumably, George Mitchell stood in line at Kinko’s yesterday, quietly choosing between the black or blue report cover.

Black, for the solemnity of the occasion, the release of what Mitchell learned – or will reveal – of two decades of illicit drug deals, needle marks and deceit in baseball.

Blue, for the gaily indefatigable game that steps over the bodies of its fallen, and whistles into cloudless skies and soaring revenues.

Mitchell, the former Senator, the Boston Red Sox director on leave, the guy who brought peace to Northern Ireland but had a hard time getting a single middle infielder to rat out even one bloated teammate, will release his findings in a Midtown Manhattan ballroom today.

Major League Baseball officials (though apparently not MLB Players’ Assn. officials, who weren’t particularly gracious during the process) were given a couple days to review the report, sigh deeply and run their fingers over their temples before the public received its gawking privileges. A few who’d taken a peek revealed few details, but shrugged in a way that suggested the report wouldn’t go down with “The Boys of Summer” as one of the game’s inspiring non-fiction reads, but neither would it cast baseball into WWE territory.

After the four years baseball has just endured, since BALCO, Congress and Hammerin’ Hank Waxman, grand juries and dancin’ Barry Bonds, and the likes of Ken Caminiti, Rafael Palmeiro and Jason Grimsley, the thinking went, what’s a several dozen more names to a steroid-hardened public? Just, more.

So, only a few more hours to assume your favorite player didn’t become so on a regimen of Winstrol, greenies and masking compounds.

A few more hours before we’re reminded steroids aren’t just fuel to overtake Roger Maris, Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron, but to get off the island, climb out of A-ball, someday and somehow cash a big-league check, keep pace with the fraud one locker over.

As Mitchell’s 21-month investigation – sponsored by baseball’s 30 owners, enforced by Bud Selig, fluffed by former Mets clubbie Kirk Radomski – comes to a close, maybe it is important to remind ourselves there will be no single truth. If there are 100 more names to catalog, there also will be 100 man-made decisions, reached separately. These men will be greedy, lazy, afraid, weak, corrupt and insecure.

In that, they’ll be together. It will be theirs to bear.

And if they are anywhere near the primes of their careers, they’ll also be rich, famous, cheered and pampered, for as long as they can square up a fastball, life, as a ballplayer, will go on. Life, as a fan, will go on. Four years in, the game’s steroids crisis has not cost the industry a single ticket.

So, the players will get over any moments of personal gloom. The burden on one’s reputation is only as heavy as one’s next at-bat with a man at second base, unless, it appears, one happens to be named Bonds.

Remember, too, the villains will not be the old guys in the suits. They do not ride solo here. Jason Giambi alone is responsible for what Jason Giambi injects into the fatty part of his own rear end. Sandy Alderson was no more responsible for Giambi’s ass than Selig was.

And if the game’s authorities indeed tacitly enabled the steroid army with its self-serving ignorance and gluttony in the Save-Our-Sport late 1990s, how exactly does that explain Mike Cameron popping amphetamines like they were sunflower seeds a decade later? What’s the statute of limitations on personal accountability?

Pre- or post-steroids policy, by online prescription or clubhouse connection, not a single player ordered, bought or used performance-enhancing drugs without knowing – positively knowing – he was cheating.

So, we’ll get more names to bat around. We might come to understand where steroids came from before select anti-aging clinics became semi-licensed drug dealers. Selig, if we’ve learned anything from the suspensions of Jay Gibbons and Jose Guillen, will have plenty of new stuff to sort through by opening day, the players’ union will run low on appeals forms, and poor Shyam Das, the arbitrator, will have to cancel his spring-break trip to Daytona Beach.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Dr. Don Catlin works to devise a method to trace human growth hormone through urine, most of it on baseball’s dime. Turns out, the job is quite a bit larger. On Catlin’s Anti-Doping Research Institute’s website, the home-page slogan reads, “Fighting to save the soul of sport.”

We’re pretty sure baseball still has one of those, so it’s good to have Catlin out there. The game is still good and fun and worthwhile, even as its all-time home-run leader gets photographed – right, left, front – and fingerprinted.

It is also flawed and low on character, as George Mitchell undoubtedly knew going in, and will tell us more about today. And the report that Selig hoped almost two years ago would close the book on steroids, simply gets us – weary and squeamish – to the next chapter.

Yet another busy day in baseball: Tejada was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Houston Astros for five players (the Orioles got outfielder Luke Scott, pitchers Matt Albers, Troy Patton and Dennis Sarfate, and third baseman Michael Costanzo) on Wednesday.

Miguel Tejada finally gets his wish to get traded, although that wish has occurred about two years after he made his declaration that he was unhappy with the Orioles. The Orioles, who play in the AL East, can never live up to the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.

Said Tejada, “I feel very happy with this trade, because it’s something that I’ve been really looking forward to.” Houston general manager Ed Wade said the Astros couldn’t pass up the opportunity to add Tejada, “The reality is when you are talking about a player of this magnitude, you have to go in with every expectation that the asking price is going to be very high and if you want to participate, it’s going to be tough.”

Tejada is coming off his worst season in the majors. In 2007, he had a 0.296 batting average, dinging just 18 homers and producing 81 RBIs in a span of 514 at-bats in 133 games. In June of 2007, Miguel Tejada was placed on a 15-day disabled list (when Tejada was hit by a pitch by Doug Brocail, whom, incidentally, the Astros signed as a free agent on November 27; talk about building-up trust in the clubhouse, huh?), thus ending his streak of consecutive games played at 1,152, the fifth-longest in MLB history.

For his career in 11 seasons, Tejada has hit 0.287 with 258 home runs and 1,033 RBIs. His home run total ranks him fourth all-time among shortstops.

Tejada is 31, and the Orioles were worried about his range at shortstop. He had resisted their efforts to move him over to third base. So he got traded instead. Actually, this trade shouldn’t be too surprising. According to Astros president of baseball operations, “We’ve talked to Baltimore off and on for two years about Tejada…Certainly in 2006. It’s sort of ongoing. Baltimore’s had a change in their administration with Andy MacPhail, and I think Baltimore has wanted to change the composition of their club. We had a lot of conversations [before]. I don’t know how you quantify close. Baltimore just elected at that time not to move him.”

Wade said while Tejada may not cover quite as much ground as he once did, the Astros are confident he’ll be solid at shortstop. Adam Everett, Houston’s shortstop this season, will become an unrestricted free agent by Thursday.

Tejada said he figures he’ll adjust easily to the National League, and that the cozy ballpark dimensions in Houston will benefit him. Expect Tejada to produce in hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park. Tejada himself was confident: “I was in Houston last week and I’ve played in Minute Maid Park in the All-Star game, so I think I’ll do great in that city.”

Tejada is not only good on offense, but he’s a solid defender as well. If you take a look at the ESPN Zone ratings for shortstops, you will find that Tejada ranked second in the AL in 2007 (ahead of Orlanda Cabrera, a 2007 Gold Glove Award winner) and fourth in the AL in 2006. Tejada has consistently been a better defender than, for instance, Derek Jeter.

It seems like the Astros are following in the footsteps of the Detroit Tigers, who earlier this month acquired Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera from the Florida Marlins in an eight-player trade. The Astros’ focus seems to be the immediate future. The Astros ballclub has a wealth of talent in Roy Oswalt, Carlos Lee, and Lance Berkman. However, their farm system is pretty weak.

Where will Miguel Tejada bat in the lineup? Well, earlier this month, the Astros finalized their $16.5 million, three-year contract with free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui, who’s expected to bat second behind new leadoff man Michael Bourn, acquired in November as part of a trade that sent reliever Brad Lidge to Philadelphia. Batting third will be Miguel Tejada, followed by clean-up hitter Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee batting fifth, followed by rookie-phenom Hunter Pence batting sixth. Finishing the lineup would be Ty Wigginton at third base and J.R. Towles behind the plate. It’s interesting to note that Berkman and Lee are the only two players in that projected lineup who started Opening Day 2007 for the Astros.

Wade had a bit more to say about his new Astros team. Wade went on to talk about rebuilding and addressing the critics about going “backward” and “rebuilding.” Said Wade, “From the first interview I went through here it was never portrayed that I was inheriting a rebuilding structure. This isn’t a club to me that was in position to have to rebuild. You’ve got a No. 1 starter [Oswalt], a middle of the lineup with Berkman and Lee, young players like Pence and Towles…I know there’s been talk that his [Tejada's] range has gone backward. I had a chance to see Miguel play in my role as a Padres scout the last two years. His range wasn’t what it was four or five years ago. But he’s got great hands, a good arm, turns the double play well and with he and Matsui around the bag at second base, I believe we’ve got a good double-play combination.”

What of the players that the Orioles got in the trade? Scott, 29, hit 0.255 with 18 homers and 64 RBIs as Houston’s regular right fielder. Albers, a 24-year-old righty, went 4-11 with a 5.86 ERA. Patton, a 22-year-old lefty, made his major league debut this season. Sarfate, a 26-year-old righty, was 1-0 in seven relief appearances. Costanzo, 24, was acquired from Philadelphia in the deal that also brought Bourn. He hit 27 home runs in Double-A this season. The Orioles will assign him to the minors.

You can look at both positives and negatives of this trade. The Astros want to improve tomorrow, while the Orioles are playing the numbers game for the future. “That’s one of the concepts behind, in this position, obtaining five players in exchange for one,” Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said. “Nobody knows for certain how these young players are going to evolve, but if you get five you start playing the percentages, quite honestly.”

At least Wade was honest in his assessment of this trade. Said Wade, “Obviously, the price of the deal is high, a little painful. We gave up some significant pitching in this deal. If you’re going to bring in a player of this caliber, you’ve got to pay the price for it.” It remains to be seen whether the Astros will be contenders in the NL Central (or playoff contenders) in 2008.

Updating the previous story, it looks like Jake Peavy will be a Padre for a long time to come. On Wednesday, the Padres announced that the 2007 National League Cy Young Award winner will be getting a $51.9 million contract extension through the 2012 season, including a club option for the 2013 season.

The Padres and Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod, agreed to the deal a week ago in Nashville, Tennessee, where the Winter Meetings took place.

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Peavy had an MRI exam on his right shoulder Tuesday as part of the physical, which he passed.

Peavy’s contract extension, which will run through the 2012 season and will include a club option for the 2013 season, is the largest in franchise history, by far greater than the four-year, $34 million contract Phil Nevin signed in 2001.

Because Peavy won the Cy Young Award, Peavy’s 2009 club option jumped from $8 million to $11 million. He will make $15 million in 2010, $16 million in 2011, and $17 million in 2012. If the Padres decline his $22 million option for 2013, Peavy will get a $4 million buyout. Peavy is slated to make big bucks, that’s for sure. His salary of $17 million in 2012 will be one of the highest in MLB, and certainly one of the highest for a pitcher. And a $22 million option in 2013 is pretty crazy; a $4 million buyout is pretty nice, too. Not to mention that in the upcoming years, Peavy has a full no-trade clause for 2010, may block trades to 14 clubs in 2011, and 8 clubs in 2012.

Peavy is currently in a four-year, $14.5 million contract with the Padres. This is a player who made just $750,000 in 2005 and only $2.5 million in 2006. In 2008, Peavy is slated to make $6 million.

“I think it sends a great message to everybody in San Diego, and I think it’s a great indicator of Jake’s willingness to stay, of the Padres’ commitment to keeping our core players,” manager Bud Black said during the Winter Meetings.

I think this is great news for Peavy and the city of San Diego. Peavy is a phenomenal player, and he is one of the best pitchers in the game. If you’ve never had the chance to watch Peavy in person, I think it should be on your to-do list. If you’re ever in San Diego during the baseball season, certainly check out PETCO Park; I think it is one of the most gorgeous stadiums in the country.

Jeff Pasan, for Yahoo! Sports, in his latest piece explains the frenzy behind MLB teams trying to acquire Japanese players. Mentioned names include Trey Hillman (who has coached in Japan but returns to America in 2008; read a great conversation with Trey Hillman here), Hiroki Kuroda, Kosuke Fukudome, Masahide Kobayashi, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Yasuhiko Yabuta, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Okajima,  Takashi Saito, Kei Igawa, and Kazuo Fukumori. Read the article on Yahoo! Sports, or just see the full article presented below without any advertisements to distract you.

 Land of the Rising Prospects by Jeff Passan

During his five years managing in Japan, only once did Trey Hillman meander over to his opponents during their stretching exercises. He needed to chat with Hiroki Kuroda.

“I got the interpreter and said, ‘I want to meet yesterday’s starter.’ He said, ‘What’d he do?’ He’s immediately nervous,” said Hillman, the new Kansas City Royals skipper. “Gaijin manager, and they put you up on that pedestal. I wanted to tell him how good he was after he had shoved the bats up our rear ends.”

Such an impression Kuroda made, in fact, that Hillman plans on flying around the world to court him if need be. Kuroda, the right-handed pitcher, intends on choosing his major-league destination this week, and much like the rest of his Japanese brethren, he isn’t short on choices.

The frenzy for Japanese players, in previous seasons limited to one big name every few years, has gone wackier than cannabis sativa. Never mind that outfielder Kosuke Fukudome’s exposure to major-league pitching is limited to the World Baseball Classic and that he’s coming off elbow surgery. The Chicago Cubs lavished him late Tuesday with a four-year contract worth around $50 million. Forget that relief pitchers Masahide Kobayashi (Cleveland) and Yasuhiko Yabuta (Kansas City) haven’t thrown a ball outside of Japan. Each snagged $6 million for two-year deals with an option, and reliever Kazuo Fukumori could get the same.

And then there’s Kuroda, who turns 33 in February and posted a 1.85 ERA two years ago. Like Fukudome, he represents the new breed in Japanese players benefiting from baseball’s incredible growth as a business – and cashing in on the gargantuan dollars paid last season for Daisuke Matsuzaka ($103 million, including posting fee) and Kei Igawa ($46 million).

No longer are the top-end Japanese players the blue-plate specials of years past, not when the bidding on Kuroda will exceed $12 million per season and could push toward $50 million, too, if he seeks a four-year contract.

“The difference now,” agent Alan Nero said, “is the clubs realize there is value, and they’re out there chasing talent as opposed to looking for a bargain. No one really knew. There wasn’t genuine respect that a Japanese player could come in and have instantaneous impact.”

Thirteen years ago, during the major-league strike, Nero acquainted himself with the Asian market, just in case his players wanted to pursue employment there.

“And I found more than I ever dreamed of,” he said.

Since then, Nero has been among the trailblazers in opening up the Asian market. He brokered a deal to allow American players in the Korean league. He brought Chien-Ming Wang from Taiwan to the New York Yankees. And he watched as the Japanese market evolved, from Hideo Nomo’s signing in 1995 to Ichiro Suzuki’s in 2001 to Matsuzaka’s last year

“Every single player that comes over is breaking new ground in a sense,” Nero said. “When Nomo came over, it was evident that pitchers might be good enough but hitters weren’t. Then when Ichiro came over, all of a sudden the hitters could make it.

“This last year, with (Hideki) Okajima and (Takashi) Saito’s success, there’s this realization that the relievers may have value in a very thin market where American relievers are in great demand. Not to mention when Ichiro Suzuki came over, no one thought a Japanese catcher could succeed, and now he’s one of the best in the game.”

And on and on and on. Japan has become a boutique feeder league for MLB, and a presence there is integral for the Boston Red Sox, with their giant international budget, as well as the Arizona Diamondbacks, who hired Mack Hayashi, a former colleague of Nero’s, to run their Pacific Rim operations.

“I used to be alone at games,” said one scout who travels to Asia every year. “Now I’ve got drinking buddies.”

Scouting the Japanese leagues is different than traditional assessments, as the transatlantic translation of a player’s game varies. In Japan, Okajima and Saito were middling relief pitchers. Major-league hitters still can’t figure either out. On the other hand, Hideki Irabu and Igawa, both so successful in Japan, flamed out in New York, the former nicknamed by George Steinbrenner “the Fat Toad,” the other deserving a sobriquet like “the Worthless Load.”

Matsuzaka acquitted himself well enough during his rookie season, though not $100 million-plus well. With the salaries climbing like Edmund Hillary, that could be of some concern to the next generation of Japanese players.

The success must match the money. Matsuzaka needs to be a No. 1-quality starter, not a No. 3 or 4. Fukudome must get on base at a 40-percent clip, play solid right field and do nothing that might cause the Bleacher Bums to have a little too much Old Style-addled fun with his surname. Kuroda must justify the long-term deal for someone who will be closer to 40 than 30 by its conclusion.

Because just as quickly as baseball has leapt on Japan as its duct tape, disappointments will lead it to look elsewhere.

“It’s going to go in stages,” Hillman said. “No. 1, in a want stage. No. 2, in a need stage. And No. 3, in an available-money stage.”

Right now, there happens to be a surfeit of each. And so the offers for Kuroda will pour in, from the Dodgers and the Mariners and the Diamondbacks and, yes, even the Royals, millions upon millions for a pitcher who may love the major leagues or may hate the food here and struggle with homesickness. He may be Nomo, a marvel in his first season, and he may be Igawa, an embarrassment in his.

The important part is that he’s from Japan. And that, more than anything, is worth a lot these days.

The Cubs have acquired outfielder Kosuke Fukudome in a four-year deal worth $48 million. The highly-sought outfielder who had earlier announced his intention to play in America now has a home. Say hello to the Friendly Confines.

Cue the chant “Cubs Win! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!” Well, no World Series titles yet, but maybe this is a player who will help steer the Cubs into the playoffs (only to promptly be eliminated in the first round, like they did in 2007?). Let’s wait and find out, but I am not holding my breath.

Fukudome, 30, had considered multi-year deals from the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Giants and his former team, the Chunichi Dragons.

Fukudome was pursued by the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco Giants, and the Texas Rangers. In the end, it’s the Cubs that take home the prize, who happens to be a mix between Hideki Matsui and Ichiro Suzuki (Hichiro? Mazuki? Hisuzu?), according to some scouts.

The Yankees reached a preliminary agreement with LaTroy Hawkins on a one-year, $3.75 million contract.

In 2007, the-soon-to-be 35-year old Hawkins posted a 3.42 ERA and a 2-5 record in 55 1/3 innings with the NL champion Colorado Rockies. The primary use of Hawkins would be to fill the role of right-hander Luis Vizcaino, who declined the Yankees’ offer of salary arbitration last week. Vizcaino, who is seeking a multiyear contract, is expected to sign elsewhere.

There is nothing terribly exciting about this move. Hawkins is now joining his fifth MLB team, having played for the Twins (having spent the majority of his career in Minnesota, from 1995 to 2003), the Cubs, the Giants, the Orioles, and most recently, the Colorado Rockies. While 2007 was a decent year for Hawkins, he has previously struggled in the Majors. Most notably, he lost his role as closer with the Chicago Cubs in the 2004-2005 season.

The Yankees have reiterated that it is their goal to bolster their bullpen. Yankees GM Brian Cashman has said he is not intrigued by repeated offers from other clubs to obtain setup man Kyle Farnsworth, who could slot back into his eighth-inning role that was filled in the season’s final two months by rookie Joba Chamberlain.

Personally, I don’t see Latroy Hawkins “bolstering” the Yankees. If anything, he will continue being mediocre. When I think of Hawkins, I think of a used-to-be closer who blew too many saves and a recent middle reliever who hasn’t turned too many heads. Hawkins might become the set-up man for Mariano Rivera (now that Hank Steinbrenner announced that Joba Chamberlain will begin the 2008 season as a starter), but the Yankees will probably have open auditions for bullpen roles in Spring Training to finalize the bullpen priorities.

This news is a bit dated, but the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed free-agent center fielder Andruw Jones in a two-year guaranteed contract worth $36.2 million. Jones’ average annual salary of $18.1 million is the highest ever awarded by the Dodgers and is fifth-highest in major league history. Only Roger Clemens (a 2007 pro-rated one year deal worth $28,000,022), Alex Rodriguez ($25.2 million), Manny Ramirez ($20 million), and Derek Jeter ($18.9 million) have been paid more per season.

The 30-year old Jones is coming off his worst season in the majors, during which he batted 0.222 (41 points below his career average). The two year deal gives Jones to re-establish his value and re-enter the free agent market at age 32.

Jones’ contract is a win for the Dodgers (it’s not really a win for Andruw Jones). Before the start of the season, Andruw Jones’ agent, Scott Boras, was seeking a contract on the order of $100 million for five years. But no team was even going to entertain such an offer after his terrible season in 2007. The Dodgers bit the bullet and signed him for just two years. If Jones does well, they can possibly offer him a contract extension. If he continues in his decline, then the Dodgers avoid a long-term loss as they have him signed for just two years.

As a result of signing Andruw, the Dodgers are expected to move weak-armed Juan Pierre to left field, leaving Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for right field.  Jones is believed to like the idea of hitting behind the speedy Rafael Furcal and Juan Pierre, which could allow Jones to drive in more runs.

The surplus of outfielders could make either Kemp or Ethier expendable and the Dodgers are believed to have been asked for Kemp in trade discussions for several available pitchers.

Andruw Jones is a great player, especially on defense. He won his tenth consecutive Gold Glove Award in 2007. When he does well - such as hitting 25 or more home runs in 10 consecutive seasons - the team he plays for will benefit immensely. The only worry that remains is his batting average and strikeouts. But by coming to a competitive market like Los Angeles, where attendance is only second to the New York Yankees, he has an incredible opportunity to redeem himself in 2008 (and/or 2009). It will be interesting to see if and how Joe Torre will be able to get along.

His name isn’t Eddie Murphy, but he is coming to America. Kosuke Fukudome, the unrestricted free-agent outfielder from Japan, has made his decision to come to the Major Leagues.

The 30-year old left hander now has to decide where he will go. Major interest is coming from the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Cubs, who will be playing this out like the Yankees and the Red Sox were battling for Johan Santana. The San Diego Padres are also interested; there’s even a report that they have already made him an offer to make him the club’s highest-priced free-agent import ever.

Fukudome is supposedly favouring a west coast team so that he may take direct flights to Japan in a more convenient fashion. So going to San Diego is a viable option for Fukudome. He is, however, still weighing his options. One thing seems clear: the offer to attract Fukudome will be greater than the one Fukudome has already rejected by the Yomiuri Giants - a four year, $30 million deal.

The Chicago Cubs, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, “are prepared to offer a mega-package similar to the eye-popping deal they presented last offseason to free-agent left fielder Alfonso Soriano, who bagged an eight-year, $136 million contract.”

Fukudome has a career on-base percentage of nearly 0.400. The Padres are especially interested in him because he could potentially replace Mike Cameron in center, even if Fukudome is natural in right field.

As with the rest of hot stove reports, we’ll just have to wait and see where Fukudome winds up.

This is a special post because it is the 100th entry on this blog. Originally, my intention was to profile the 2007 MLB playoffs, but as you might have noticed, I have been blogging about the 2007-2008 MLB offseason as well.

In order to commemorate this special event, I am going to list my top ten (both my favourite and the visiters’ favourite) posts, in the order in which they have appeared on this blog:

1. The Invasion - the New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians game in which Joba Chamberlain of the Yankees was infiltrated by hundreds of insects.
2. Live Blogging of ALCS Game 3 - this was one of the two live blogs that I did. It is very long, but it pretty much follows ALCS Game 3 on a play-by-play basis. Read the post for some ridiculous things that FOX announcers said during the game.
3. Manny Being Manny - a short post on why Manny continues being Manny.
4. Live Blogging of ALCS Game 7 - the second game which I live-blogged. It’s long, but there are a few quotable gems in there.
5. Vegas Odds for World Series - this is, to date, my most popular entry. Right before and around the World Series this entry received the most hits, and continued to get daily hits well into November. The post’s popularity has since waned, but during one day in October, it received about 150 hits in a single day. If you do a google search relevant to this post, you’ll see this blog entry come up on the front page.
6. Buy Rockies World Series Tickets If You Can - another interesting post about the fiasco that the Colorado Rockies were having with regard to their ticket sales on their website. Read the short post, and you’ll even find a joke at the end of it.
7. A-Rod, A-Hole - my sardonic entry about Alex Rodriguez and his agent, Scott Boras, stealing the limelight away from World Series Game 4 with their announcement that A-Rod is opting out of his contract.
8. Photoshopping the Red Sox! - celebrating the Red Sox World Series Championship through the use of Photoshop.
9. Bonds Indicted, or How Flax Seed Oil Doesn’t Fly - do I think Barry Bonds is guilty of knowingly taking steroids and lying to federal prosecutors? Certainly so. But if you still have doubts, read the entry.
10. The Mike Hampton Hangover - my less than optimistic analysis of Mike Hampton’s latest injury and his ability to pitch for the Braves in the 2008 season.

To date, this blog has received well over 2,000 unique page views. If I am understanding wordpress stats, these are individual page views (i.e. the total views when the user lands on a particular page, such as this one or this one or this one). In other words, the homepage views of http://mlb2007playoffs.wordpress.com are much greater than 2,000.

I am still going to blog about offseason transactions occurring in baseball, although I think the frequency of my posts will decrease. Thanks to everyone who has come back to my blog to check out the new material.

Today, the Detroit Tigers and the Florida Marlins finalized their mega-blockbuster trade. The Tigers receive Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins, while the Marlins receive six prospects in Burke Badenhop (RHP), Eulugio de la Cruz (RHP), Dallas Trahern (RHP), Andrew Miller (LHP), Mike Rabelo (C), and Cameron Maybin (OF) from the Tigers. Clearly, the Tigers are now major contenders not only in the AL Central but in all of MLB. But what about the Marlins? Who are these prospects that they acquired? Jonathan Mayo for MLB.com offers a good description of the six players, which is reprinted below.

Burke Badenhop, RHP
Taken in the 19th round of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft out of Bowling Green, Badenhop had a strong first full season in 2006, throwing 171 innings for Class A West Michigan in the Midwest League. He continued to be a workhorse this past season, throwing 154 innings before pitching well in the Arizona Fall League. In his career, Badenhop has a 2.89 ERA. Pitching for advanced Class A Lakeland, he finished fifth in the Florida State League this past season with a 3.13 ERA, a year after placing ninth in the Midwest League with a 2.84 mark. MiLB.com’s Tigers Organizational Pitcher of the Year, Badenhop got a promotion to Double-A Erie when the since-traded Jair Jurrjens got called up to the big leagues. At 6-foot-5, 220 pounds, he features a heavy sinking fastball that induces a ton of ground balls. He also throws a slider and a changeup. He’s got excellent command, yielding just 94 walks in 402 innings.

Eulugio de la Cruz, RHP
De la Cruz signed with the Tigers out of the Dominican Republic in 2001. He’s always thrown hard, but he hasn’t always known where it was going. Cranking a fastball that has hit triple digits in the past, he’s struck out 397 in 429 2/3 career Minor League innings, with a 3.62 ERA. He’s also walked 198. Throughout his career, he has both started and relieved. De la Cruz performed both roles in 2007, starting for Double-A Erie then moving into Triple-A Toledo’s bullpen. He got six games of big league relief work when he was called up to Detroit in the middle of June. The stocky right-hander has two secondary pitches — an outstanding curve and a changeup — that could mean he could start, but many look at his power arsenal and his command issues and see short reliever in the future.

Cameron Maybin, OF
One of the elite prospects in the game, Maybin ranked No. 3 overall on MLB.com’s Top 50 prospects rankings that were released recently. The center fielder truly is a five-tool talent who is just beginning to scratch the surface in reaching his potential. The No. 10 overall pick in the 2005 Draft, Maybin made it to the big leagues at age 20 this past season after just 192 Minor League games. Beginning with his 2006 season in the Midwest League and continuing at every stop he’s made, Maybin has stood out as one of the best players on the field. He can flat out get the ball in center field, has plus speed that helps him defensively and on the bases. If there is one knock on Maybin, and it’s not a big one, it’s that he’s had some trouble staying healthy. He played in 101 games in that debut season of 2006, then just a combined 115 this past season. His time in the Arizona Fall League was cut short by a shoulder issue that bothered him for most of the season. That being said, Maybin is one of the most exciting all-around talents to knock on the big league door in a long time, and he has almost limitless potential to become one of the game’s true superstars.

Andrew Miller, LHP
Miller has pitched a total of 16 games in the Minors, and it’s doubtful he’ll spend any more time there now. The 6-foot-6 southpaw was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2006 Draft, sliding a few spots when the consensus top arm in that class had high bonus demands. He made just three appearances in Lakeland before getting rushed to the big leagues as a lefty reliever to help the Tigers in their playoff push. He returned to a Minor League rotation in 2007, beginning with seven starts in Lakeland. He made four absolutely dominant starts for Double-A Erie (0.59 ERA). Miller made his first big league start in the middle of May, firing six shutout innings. He had other moments like that in his 13 big league starts, though his performance was understandably uneven. When he’s on, Miller features a fastball that he can get up into the mid- to upper-90s and a plus, plus slider that made him a bullpen option in the big leagues so quickly after being drafted. Throw in an improving changeup, and Miller’s future definitely lies in a big league rotation.

Mike Rabelo, C
Rabelo was taken by the Tigers in the fourth round of the 2001 Draft out of Division II power University of Tampa. He’s never been much of a hitter, with a .263 career average and .673 OPS throughout his Minor League career. It’s been the switch-hitter’s work behind the plate, not at it, that’s enabled him to work his way up through the Tigers system and into the big leagues in 2007. He threw out 39 percent of would-be base stealers in 2006. He played in just 51 games, supporting the durable Ivan Rodriguez, this past year, but it’s clear Rabelo’s future role will be as a defensive-minded backup.

Dallas Trahern, RHP
During this fall, Trahern worked closely with Team USA pitching coach Marcel Lachemann on his tempo on the mound and maintaining consistent mechanics on his delivery. That could help him improve on a career that already has seen him post a 3.40 ERA in just over 500 innings. He was a 34th-round pick in the 2004 Draft, as he appeared headed to the University of Oklahoma. The Tigers were able to get him signed, and he’s made steady progress up the system’s ladder, reaching Triple-A this past season at age 21. Trahern is an extreme ground-ball pitcher, with a 3.58 GO/AO ratio in 2006 and 2.64 mark this past year. He gets hitters to beat a hard, heavy sinking fastball into the dirt, mixing in a slider and changeup along the way. He’s been extremely durable, throwing at least 145 innings in each of his three full seasons.

Santana is now a triple threat on the market.The latest news from the Winter Meetings is that the Los Angels Angels, according to multiple sources, have decided to jump the Johan Santana bandwagon. The Angels have scheduled a meeting with the Twins on Tuesday, thereby making the Red Sox and the Yankees not the only potential suitors for Santana’s services.

Again, Santana is seeking a deal for as many as six years and upwards of $100 million on the open market after the 2008 season.

The Angels, after having signed Torii Hunter to a five-year, $90 million free-agent contract, are currently sitting at a $123 million payroll.

The Angels’ interest in Santana could be an indication that the Angels are no longer interested (or as interested) in acquiring Miguel Cabrera of the Florida Marlins. The Angels and Marlins have had ongoing discussions about the 24-year-old slugger, with Florida apparently asking for way more than the Angels are prepared to give up in young talent.

From the Angles, the Twins are likely to demand a package of players featuring starter Jered Weaver and shortstop/third baseman Brandon Wood. Additionally, the Twins would probably also want either Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders included in the deal for Santana.

The Angels have a lot of pitchers, so they are way more than capable of disposing of one pitcher. With Garland, they now have six starters, so the Angels could give up two starters and another prospect for Santana.

Whoa, how about this for news: Andy Pettitte will remain in pinstripes, at least for one more year. The 35-year-old left-hander has decided to put off retirement and return to pitch for the Yankees, according to a report in the Houston Chronicle.

This news is really surprising, as most indications were that Pettitte was going to retire. Pettitte had declined a $16 million option last month, saying he needed more time to think about whether to come back and pitch in 2008. Catcher Jorge Posada said last week that Pettitte was leaning toward retirement, but apparently he was wrong.

The Houston Chronicle reported that Pettitte began telling current teammates over the weekend that he was going to return. Pettitte’s agent, Randy Hendricks, then explained to GM Brian Cashman of Pettitte’s desire to come back.

“Players such as [Derek] Jeter and [Jorge] Posada told him how much they needed him back, as did Brian Cashman and Joe Girardi,” Hendricks told The Associated Press. “Andy decided this weekend that he didn’t want to keep the Yankees on hold as they sought to determine their team for next year.”

It looks like the Yankees will honour the $16 million contract despite the fact that Pettitte walked away from it about a month ago.

Pettitte, who went 15-9 with 4.05 ERA in the 2007 season, has a 201-113 career record with 3.83 lifetime ERA. The Yankees are more than optimistic in getting him back.

Anyway, this is interesting news because the Yankees are in the middle of a seesaw battle to acquire Johan Santana. You have to wonder whether their initial interest was due to uncertainty in knowing whether Pettitte would be back.

To make the press happy, there was statement from the front office regarding the battle with the Red Sox. Said Hank Steinbrenner, “I’m not going to be played against the Red Sox. That’s not something I’ll do. That’s not something the Yankees should ever do, and that’s what I think what they’re trying to do now. So if they want the best offer that has been offered to them, then they need to make up their minds.” Sure, maybe it’s not something the “Yankees should ever do,” but it’s something that appears to be happening right now. It’s unavoidable, and frankly, it’s just business.

However, with Pettitte’s expected return and a Santana decision looming, the Yankees would have otherwise had a staff of all right-handed starters for 2008: 19-game winner Chien-Ming Wang is set to return, rookie standout Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes (if he isn’t involved in the Santana trade), and Mike Mussina in the rotation. The Santana decision could put Ian Kennedy out of the rotation, so he might play for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre come 2008.

Hank Steinbrenner has indicated that he is interested in Johan Santana but that the Twins have until the end of today to bite the bullet. Said Steinbrenner, “We’ll see how it goes, but this is not an act. It’s not a bluff. It’s just reality. Because as much as I want Santana, and you can make that clear — for his sake, to know that I do want him — but the fact is that I’m not going to play the game. We’ve made them the best offer. And at this point, it’s not going to get any better. So they can decide. At this point, it’s up to them. I don’t think they want to lose us in this thing, obviously. Nobody wants to lose the Yankees in a negotiation.”

Jake Peavy, the (unanimous) National League Cy Young Award winner for 2007, is close to signing a three-year extension with the San Diego Padres. The deal would be worth approximately $17 million dollars, with an option for the fourth year.

Last month, while at PETCO Park, Jake Peavy told anyone who would listen that he “wants to be a Padre for my [entire] career.”

And it will be awesome if he finishes his career there.

“I would say we’re making progress,” said Peavy’s agent, Barry Axelrod. “It’s pretty encouraging.”

If the contract is signed, it would be the largest in Padres history, even more so than the four-year $34 million contract Phil Nevin signed in 2001.

As of right now, Peavy will earn $6.5 million during the 2008 season with the Padres holding an $11 million option on him for 2009.

“I know what I can get on the open market, but if I get to the open market, it won’t be about the money,” Peavy said last month. “This team has given me financial security for this Alabama boy’s life. I’m very comfortable to be where I’m at.”

And who can blame him? PETCO Park is beautiful and spacious. The fans in San Diego are passionate and encouraging. Who wouldn’t want to play in San Diego?

PETCO Park is a pitcher’s paradise. Picture from my photoblog, found here.

The battle to acquire Johan Santana is becoming more and more like a seesaw ride. A day after the Yankees have announced that they are willing to part with Phil Hughes to acquire the pitcher, the Red Sox might now be willing to include top center-field prospect Jacoby Ellsbury in their offer to Minnesota.

Citing certain sources, ESPN.com reported Sunday that Boston had backed off its (original) refusal to include Ellsbury. But if Ellsbury is to be in the deal, the Red Sox will pull back left-handed starter Jon Lester.

The Winter Meetings begin tomorrow, and the Santana sweepstakes will likely steal the show.

The Minnesota Twins will have evaluate what they want: Phil Hughes, center fielder Melky Cabrera, and an additional prospect from the Yankees or Boston’s offer, which could include Ellsbury, Minor League shortstop Jed Lowrie, and a pitching prospect such as Justin Masterson or Michael Bowden.

And don’t forget other possible contenders, including the Los Angeles Angels, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Mets. However, it’s looking more and more like the Yankees and the Red Sox are the top contenders, or rivals, in this possible deal.

And no one should forget that Santana, who will turn 29 on March 13, 2008, has a no-trade clause and is all but certain to seek a contract extension from the Twins before agreeing to be moved. There are several reports circulating that Santana is seeking a monster contract - something on the order of $150 million over six years.

Yorvit Torrealba is staying put in Denver. On Thursday, he agreed to a two-year deal with the Colorado Rockies, a deal worth approximately $7 million. He has a mutual option for the 2010 season.

Torrealba, who filed for free agency after helping the Rockies reach the World Series, was set to sign a three-year contract for about twice the money with the New York Mets this month. The Rockies got back into the mix when that deal fell apart and the Mets traded for Johnny Estrada instead. In 2007, Torrealba had a 0.255 batting average, and had eight home runs with 47 RBIs in 113 games; all of these statistics were his career high.

“I sure thought he was gone to the Mets and now I’m very, very excited to have him back,” Colorado GM Dan O’Dowd said. O’Dowd went on to say, “Yorvit brings an edge to this team, an emotional edge. I thought he took a big step over the second half of the season and the final month and in the playoffs. He’s 29 years old. We hope he can continue to make those strides.”

The Rockies were happy with how Torrealba mentored young pitchers Ubaldo Jimenez and Franklin Morales.

“We wouldn’t have been able to pitch Ubaldo and Franklin in the playoffs had it not been for Yorvit’s handling on these two young pitchers,” pitching coach Bob Apodaca said during the World Series. “Yorvit is a big reason we’ve been able to withstand so many injuries to our staff.”

This is the first multi-year contract for Torrealba, who became the Rockies’ regular catcher after rookie Chris Iannetta proved to be ineffective at the plate during the spring.

Next on the agenda for the Rockies is to re-sign reliever Matt Herges. The Rockies have condeded that Kaz Matsui is not going to be back next year; the Cubs and the Astros are currently pursuing Matsui. With Matsui expected to sign elsewhere, the Rockies will look for a veteran second baseman at the winter meetings that begin December 3 in Nashville, Tennessee. However, the Rockies have several in-house candidates to replace Matsui, including Jamey Carroll, Clint Barmes, Omar Quintanilla, Jeff Baker, and Ian Stewart.

The Boston Red Sox have been in internal discussion about utilizing a six-man rotation in the 2008 season. The rotation would consist of Curt Schilling, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Jon Lester and/or Clay Buchholz (if the Red Sox acquire Santana, it will be an “or”; if not, it will be an “and”), and Josh Beckett.

But the Boston Globe has reported today that this potential six-man rotation will hurt Josh Beckett.

The front runner in making this declaration was pitching coach John Farrell, who brought up Josh Beckett.

Said Farell, “I think you can look at it with the benefit obviously being the added rest…Where the concerns start to come in [are] when you’ve got a young, healthy pitcher that has been accustomed to a five-day rotation where he feels most sharp. I think where you get past the five days of rest, you begin to take away some of the command and the sharpness that a pitcher can have. For instance, last year there were times throwing in the outfield with Josh Beckett his body was responding and telling him, ‘I feel like I’m ready to go.’ When you get into that sixth and seventh day, it can take away from the touch and the feel, particularly with the secondary pitches.”

By now, we know that the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are interested in Johan Santana, but it turns out that the New York Mets are also interested in Santana. Just not interested enough to trade their star shortstop, Jose Reyes.

General Manager of the Mets, Omar Minaya, said, “Jose Reyes is one of our core players…I don’t see us trading Jose Reyes for one of those guys being mentioned. It just doesn’t make sense for us.”

The Mets think they might have a package of prospects that could bring back a top starting pitcher (the Mets are desperately seeking starting pitching help), but Minnesota may want the 24-year-old Reyes included in any potential deal for Santana.

“All those guys that are being mentioned in the market, as far as trade market, we’ve been in contact with these guys, on a regular basis,” Minaya said. “No club has told us, hey, forget it, you’re not in. Now maybe they have told us, hey, for you to be in, you have to have this player. And we can say, hey, well thank you very much, but we’re not going to be in with this player’s name in it.”

A two-time All-Star, Reyes batted 0.280 with 12 homers, 57 RBIs, and 119 runs in the 2007 MLB season. He also led the majors with 78 stolen bases.

Just for clarification: Minaya has declared that RHP Orlando Hernandez will be a starter next season for the Mets. Also, the RHP Jorge Sosa is slated to start work out of the bullpen. Finally, Minaya also mentioned that reliever Duaner Sanchez, recovering from a right shoulder injury, is throwing well in Florida and his velocity is up to 88-90 mph.

Looks like the Johan Santana talks have heated up. Initially, the Yankees were interested in acquiring the pitcher (there were talks of the Yanks giving up Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy plus OF Melky Cabrera and another prospect), but it looks like Boston has taken the lead in  interest for the dominant pitcher. Briefly, the Red Sox and Twins have discussed a potential deal in which center fielder Coco Crisp (the Twins seriously need CF help), left-hander Jon Lester and promising Minor League shortstop Jed Lowrie would head to Minnesota along with one other prospect in exchange for Santana.

If the Red Sox do acquire the 28-year old Santana, it would be absolutely insane for anyone to compete with Boston. Boston’s rotation will be absolutely stacked. Provided Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Tim Wakefield, and Johan Santana stay healthy, the Red Sox would most likely go to the 2008 World Series, win it, and then do so again in 2009…However, it’s still too early to tell what Santana will do because he has a no-trade clause and will likely seek a contract extension with the Twins before waiving the clause.

Read below for the full article posted on MLB.com by Ian Browne.
The Red Sox just won the World Series and they already have one of the top aces in the game in right-hander Josh Beckett. However, it appears that isn’t stopping Boston general manager Theo Epstein from making a strong push for two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana, who is being dangled in trade talks by the Minnesota Twins.

ESPN.com reported on Thursday that the Red Sox and Twins have discussed a potential deal in which center fielder Coco Crisp, left-hander Jon Lester and promising Minor League shortstop Jed Lowrie would head to Minnesota along with one other prospect in exchange for Santana.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press — citing a “little birdie” — had a similar report. In fact, that report stated that the Red Sox have become the favorites while adding that right-handed pitching prospect Justin Masterson would also be going to Minnesota.

Epstein has made a consistent habit of never commenting on trade rumors.

Recently, Epstein predicted it could be a quiet winter for his team. But he also added that things could always change.

“At the same time, we do want to be aggressive in looking for any opportunity to make the club better,” Epstein said. “We know our 29 competitors are doing the same. We’re never afraid of change. I think change in baseball is often necessary and oftentimes a good thing. But we’re also not going to go out and seek change just for the sake of change.”

If the Red Sox were to add Santana, they could send a jolt throughout Major League Baseball.

A Beckett-Santana 1-2 punch — backed by Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling and Tim Wakefield — could be a dominant rotation.

Even if the Red Sox and Twins can agree to the framework of a trade, it would by no means make Santana Boston-bound. Santana has a no-trade clause and will likely seek a contract extension before waiving the clause. If the Red Sox and Twins did agree in principle to a trade, Boston would have 72 hours to negotiate an extension with Santana. That was the formula the Sox used to land Schilling in a Thanksgiving trade with the Diamondbacks following the 2003 season.

Several reports have suggested that Santana could be seeking a contract worth roughly $150 million over six years.

Adding more intrigue to the story is the fact that the Yankees — the Red Sox’s chief rivals — are also in hot pursuit of Santana. The Angels are another team to have expressed interest.

The Yankees might give the Twins a choice of either Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy — two of their best pitching prospects — as well as outfielder Melky Cabrera and another prospect.

After losing Torii Hunter as a free agent, the Twins desperately need a center fielder. The Red Sox aren’t willing to part with Jacoby Ellsbury, their top position prospect. But they would deal Crisp, who has speed and a terrific glove.

Aside from Ellsbury, the other prospect the Red Sox appear steadfast in not giving up is Clay Buchholz, the author of a Sept. 1 no-hitter against the Orioles. Lester, who won the clinching Game 4 of the World Series for the Red Sox, might be a suitable alternative for the Twins.

Lester will be 24 at the start of the 2008 season. The lefty is used to being in trade rumors. In fact, four winters ago, he was supposedly going to the White Sox along with Nomar Garciaparra in a trade that was going to bring Magglio Ordonez to Boston. But that trade fell through, teaching Lester a lesson.

“That kind of got me used to it and made me realize that until Theo calls, it’s just all hearsay — it’s all talk, it’s something that’s not final,” Lester said on Wednesday. “Until that day comes, we’ll approach it then.”

Lester also viewed it as a compliment to be rumored as a key piece for an established pitcher.

“Dan Haren and Johan Santana, that’s not bad,” said Lester. “Those are two great pitchers to be associated with in a trade. Like I said, I want to be a Red Sox. I want to be here and pitch here for a long time and win more World Series.”

Masterson and Lowrie don’t yet have the recognition of Buchholz and Ellsbury, but they are two prospects the Red Sox are high on.

The 6-foot-6 Masterson split the 2007 season between Class A Lancaster and Double-A Portland, going 12-8 with a 4.33 ERA. Lowrie hit .300 with five homers and 21 RBIs at Triple-A Pawtucket in the 40 games after his promotion in ‘07. He spent the rest of his season at Double-A, hitting .297 with eight homers and 49 RBIs.

Boston seemingly became a more appealing trading partner with Minnesota on the heels of the deal the Twins made with the Rays on Wednesday to land outfielder Delmon Young. In that trade, Minnesota parted with starting shortstop Jason Bartlett and starting pitcher Matt Garza, which made Lowrie and Boston’s young pitchers more enticing to the Twins.

Schilling was asked earlier this week for his reaction to the Red Sox being mentioned in the Santana sweepstakes.

“Cool,” said Schilling. “The thought of Beckett-Santana coming out to match up with somebody is exciting. I know that the Hot Stove is where that stuff happens. I know that if he’s on the market like people say he is, I’m sure Theo has talked to [the Twins]. He’s going to measure the price tag. We’re not in a win-it-now mode. That’s our mode every year. We’re not operating out of our element when Theo gets in discussions like that. He’s not going to sacrifice the future.”

The 28-year-old Santana beat out Schilling for the AL Cy Young Award in 2004 and took home the trophy again in ‘06.

Santana has a career record of 93-44 with an ERA of 3.22, and he went 15-13 in 2007 with a 3.33 ERA. In 219 innings, Santana posted 235 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .219 batting average.

Mike Hampton is like the hangover that won’t go away. In the latest news relating to the Atlanta pitcher, Hampton has strained his right hamstring in the first inning of his first (and now set to be his last) stint in the Mexican League.

So another year, another injury. The critics and doubters (myself included) that have been hounding against Hampton for the last two years can bicker some more. About the only good news with regard to the latest injury is that it has nothing to do with his stupid left elbow which has sidelined him the last two seasons.

The Braves had hoped that by sending Hampton to play seven games in the Mexican league, he would regain some of his strength and be ready to go full-time come Spring Training. But this latest injury just gives more and more reason to believe that Hampton’s insane contract (he is owed $15 million in 2008; when Hampton was acquired before the 2003 season, the Braves became responsible to pay him $48.5 million over six seasons) is one of the most ridiculous in the league.

There is some optimism, and it is that his hamstring will be healthy in a month or two, so the Braves still believe that he will be ready to pitch when Spring Training comes.

The Braves are cautiously optimistic, but I think the sentiment is shifting toward cautious pessimism. Braves GM Frank Wren said, “Now we just have less of an indication of where Mike is in his comeback.”

Hampton would like to pitch again before Spring Training begins. But with just four months left in the Mexican League, it seems like that the next time Hampton faces live hitters will be in a Grapefruit League game.

“He would love to pitch again [in the Mexican League],” Wren said. “It’s just a matter of if he has enough time to come back.”

Hampton is entering the final year of the insane, eight-year, $121 million deal that he signed with the Rockies before the 2001 season. His first two years with Colorado created a belief that it was a monstrosity of a contract. The last three seasons haven’t helped shape Hampton’s reputation.

This is a 35-year old man who has missed the entire 2006 and 2007 seasons and started only 12 times in 2005 before undergoing Tommy John elbow surgery.

I remain pessimistic that Hampton will be healthy in 2008. Even if he is healthy come Spring Training, I envision him being injured again early in the 2008 season. It is rather depressing that the Braves are still “optimistic enough” to not try to sign an additional starter to bolster the current rotation which consists of John Smoltz, Tim Hudson, and Tom Glavine. Currently the Braves are thinking that if Hampton’s injury woes continue, Jair Jurrjens, Jeff Bennett, Jo-Jo Reyes, and Chuck James will be the top candidates to compete for the final two rotation spots.

Los Angeles Dodgers fans have another thing to cheer for this offseason. The Dodgers have announced that they will play an exhibition game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on March 29, 2008 against the Boston Red Sox.

When the Dodgers moved out of the Coliseum in 1962, most thought that there will never be another game hosted at the facility.
But the Dodgers are coming back there forty-six years later. The move comes as the Dodgers are celebrating the club’s 50th anniversary since moving to Los Angeles from New York.

The announcement was made by executives from the Dodgers and Red Sox, who were joined by politicians and former players at a news conference. The news conference was hosted by legendary broadcaster Vin Scully at the Coliseum on Monday to announce the event.

“It’s going to be so much fun next March 29,” said Dodgers chairman Frank McCourt. “There’s already a great buzz about it. It’s just a pleasure. I think Senator Mark Ridley Thomas had a great idea and we just jumped on the opportunity. It’s going to be a special, special night here in LA, not only to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the team’s arrival in LA, but the proceeds are going to go to ThinkCure, our new official charity.”

This is great news for the Dodgers and baseball. The proceeds are going to ThinkCure (a charity that is dedicated to raising funds for  cancer research and ultimately finding a cure for cancer), so that is always great. The Dodgers will spend around $250,000 to build temporary dugouts for the game as well as to erect a longer and larger metal curtain in left field, dubbed the “Chinese curtain” from 1958 through 1961 when the Dodgers played in the Coliseum. This curtain was created to prevent pop flies from becoming home runs because the dimensions of the Coliseum made left field just 251 feet away from home plate.

Joe Torre was excited about the announcement. Said Torre, “This will be dynamite, it really will. Just to know the history of the Dodgers coming out here, their being in Brooklyn for so many years and to have the good fortune of playing the Red Sox. I’m sort of used to playing the Red Sox for the last 12 years and to have the world champs come out here to commemorate that great date and that great event, I think is very special and I expect to see a few people in this ballpark.”

Another day, and another big free agent is off the market. Today, Aaron Rowand agreed to a $60 million, five-year contract with the San Francisco Giants. And the Giants didn’t even have to trade either of its pitching prospects (Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum).

The 30-year-old Rowand is expected to bat fifth in the lineup for San Francisco. Rowand spent spent the past two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. Prior to the Phillies, Rowand was with the Chicago White Sox who won the 2005 World Series. The Phillies, Rangers, White Sox, and the Dodgers (before signing Andruw Jones) all were looking into signing Rowand.

“Bottom line, I wanted to get in a spot where I would be long term,” said Rowand, who noted he considered four or five similar multi-year offers. “In this day of free agency, that’s not common-place. That’s really the thing I was looking forward to most.”

Rowand is coming off his best season yet, earning his first Gold Glove award and All-Star selection while helping the Phillies to the NL East title. Rowand batted 0.309 with 27 home runs and career bests of 89 RBIs, 105 runs, 189 hits, and 45 doubles in 161 games.

“With this move, we will no longer listen to any offers for Cain and Lincecum,” General Manager of the San Francisco Giants, Brian Sabean said. “We know the value of both individuals, believe me, maybe more so now that we’ve gone through this exercise. They might be the hottest two names in baseball.” I am not sure about hottest names in baseball (can you say Santana?), but I do give Sabean due credit.

While manager Bruce Bochy had said Rajai Davis would get a chance to earn the center-field job in spring training, Rowand was brought in to provide consistency at center field. That means Dave Roberts likely will shift from center to left, replacing the cheater, err, Barry Bonds. Winn will probably stay in right field while Davis and some of the other young outfielders share time in a reserve role. Of course, they may still be dealt, a move which Sabean is contemplating.

“I said I wanted to change the culture of the clubhouse and get back to the warrior mentality and play the game hard for nine innings,” Bochy said. “Aaron’s the type of player who can do that. He’s the type of player who can hold everyone accountable.”

The Giants have been coasting through a pathetic existence in the last few years. They haven’t made the playoffs since 2003. In 2007, the Giants had twenty more losses (91) than wins (71). The Giants haven’t reached the playoffs since 2003. The Giants are still working on completing their team, as they still have holes to fill at third base and also at first. Sabean also mentioned that he’s seeking help in the bullpen.

“We still have to address what to do at third base,” Sabean said. “We’ll wade through what the possibilities are. We’re not shutting it off.”

Rowand said he believes the Giants will contend in the much-improved division. “Boch’s goals, as far as the way he wants to play the game, the kind of persona he wants this team to have, really lends itself to the way I’ve gone about doing my business throughout my career. For me, it’s about bringing everything I have to the table every day and laying it all out there.” Rowand is a good player, playing hard. We all remember that fateful play in 2006 when he made a daring catch and hit the center-field fence at Philadelphia’s Citizens Bank Park, which fractured his nose and bones around his left eye. With that play, he has cemented himself as a passionate, determined, gritty, and respectable baseball player.

“For me, it’s probably the greatest compliment that I could get, not only from people who watch me play, but [also] from my peers,” Rowand said. “It’s one thing if you say, ‘That guy’s a great hitter’ or, ‘That guy’s a great outfielder,’ but it’s another thing to say, ‘That guy … would do whatever it takes to win every day.’ … If that’s the only thing I’m remembered for, I’d be completely content with that the rest of my days.”

Rowand, you have my respect for playing hard. But when you said that “I really, deep down, feel [that I am joining a team that] is going to be contending and reach the ultimate goal, and that’s winning a World Series,” you have lost a few points in my book. First of all, have you seen what the Padres did in the NL West? Second, the Dodgers are going to come back to solid form with Joe Torre as manager and Andruw Jones in center field. I forgive Rowand, however, as I think Rowand made the mistake that contention in the land of the Giants means not finishing last in the NL West.