The Angels outfielder, who waited all offseason for offers that never came before the 2009 season, agreed to a one-year, $5 million bargain deal just before spring training. After a good season (.293, 15 HR, 103 RBI, 30 SB) in Anaheim, and seeing that it likely will be no better this year, Abreu stayed with the Angels for two years and $19 million. Sure, it's a raise, but he wasn't going to re-live last offseason. He made $16 million with the Yankees in 2008.

Manny Ramirez did the same, agreeing to his one-year, $20 million option. That's a no-brainer - no player will sign a deal for a bigger one-year salary this offseason, and Ramirez did not have a great season in 2009 (.290, 19 HR, 63 RBI).

"Money is tight all over the world and certainly on the South Side," Chicago general manager Ken Williams told the AP after trading for the Royals' Mark Teahen and declining the $12 million option on outfielder Jermaine Dye. "We're going to spend whatever we have available, but it's not much."

Who else is on the market? Check out the updated free agent scorecard.

Ominous start to free agent season originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 15:25:07.

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Matsui, the Japanese star whose nickname is "Godzilla," trampled on the Phillies. He was 8 for 13 in the World Series. On Wednesday at Yankee Stadium, he hit a two-run homer into the second deck in right field in the second inning and a bases-loaded single in the third against Phillies starter Pedro Martinez, who only lasted four innings. He had a two-run double against J.A. Happ in the fifth. Matsui was named MVP of the series despite not starting in any of the three games in Philadelphia. His six RBI tied a World Series game record set in 1960 by the Yankees' Bobby Richardson.

The Yankees' Andy Pettitte pitched well on three days' rest and is 6-2 in games that the Yankees can clinch a postseason series in his career. It was the 18th win of his postseason career, extending his own record, and it was his fifth World Series win, his second in this World Series. He's also a free agent after the season, but it's very unlikely he'll end up in another uniform at age 37. He could opt to retire, however - going out on top.

Mariano Rivera came on in the eighth and finished off the game in the ninth, retiring the Phillies' Shane Victorino for the final out on a ground ball to second baseman Robinson Cano as the Yankees won a championship in their first year in the new Yankee Stadium. The Yankees also won a title in the first year of the old Yankee Stadium, way back in 1923. They also won that World Series in six games, over the New York Giants.

It was the fifth championship for Pettitte, Rivera, shortstop Derek Jeter and catcher Jorge Posada, all with the Yankees, and the first title for many of their high-priced free agents, such as Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, A.J. Burnett and Matsui. And Johnny Damon became the first player to win championships with the Red Sox and Yankees since Babe Ruth.

Also: List of World Series champions.

Go, go Godzilla: Yankees win World Series originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 01:07:00.

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Glad that's over.

As Ryan Madson recorded the last out, the Phillies congratulated each other like they just had knocked off the Nationals in May. Perhaps that's what it's like when a six-run lead almost evaporates in two innings, turning what could have been a momentum-turning event in the World Series into another white-knuckle evening at Citizens Bank Park.

There were a lot of interesting moments in Game 5. Cliff Lee was great in the middle innings, but shaky at the beginning and end this time out. (But he's still 4-0 this postseason.) The Yankees' A.J. Burnett, so good in Game 2, was positively awful on three days' rest. He was so bad that he'll be available in long relief if Andy Pettitte pulls a similar act on Wednesday in Game 6.

And the Phillies never went to Brad Lidge, opting for Madson in the ninth inning, who was every bit as shaky as Lidge was on Sunday night until he struck out Mark Teixeira with Johnny Damon on base and Alex Rodriguez looming on deck.

With Chase Utley swinging one of the hottest bats in postseason history - he tied Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in one World Series with two more long balls on Monday - the Phillies should have a lot more momentum heading back to Yankee Stadium. The Yankees might have to throw two more pitchers on three days' rest - a point that really could hurt in a day or two. But this series still feels like the Yankees are in total control, because their hitters are always pesky and aren't conceding a thing. They're putting all the pressure on the Phillies, and they came very close to cracking like the Liberty Bell again.

It will be a throwback night in the first World Series Game 6 in six years - Pettitte vs. Pedro. Think the New York fans will be on their game for this one?

Game 5 didn't turn much momentum originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 03:18:19.

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It was a riveting sequence. Tie game, two on, two out, closer vs. clean-up hitter. And it was Rodriguez who erased all the doubts.

His line-shot double off the wall in left scored Johnny Damon with the go-ahead run, and Jorge Posada's two-run single gave Mariano Rivera two more insurance runs as the Yankees stand on the doorstep of their 27th title after beating the Phillies 7-4, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven World Series.

Sunday's Game 4 was the kind of game that defines a series and a season. The Phillies needed to win more, and when Pedro Feliz hit a solo homer in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game against Joba Chamberlain, they had life. (That straight-as-an-arrow fastball is the reason Chamberlain would not be a good closer long-term. It just took three Phillies batters to time it.)

And then Lidge comes on in the ninth and blows away Hideki Matsui and Derek Jeter, the same way he did the Rockies and the Dodgers in the first two rounds, bringing Johnny Damon to the plate.

Damon strokes a clean single to left in a nine-pitch battle with Lidge, then steals second with an infield shift on. When Damon realizes that nobody is covering third, he just keeps running - Lidge's first breakdown - and an alert Damon ratchets the pressure on Lidge even higher. Lidge then hits Mark Teixeira with a pitch, and A-Rod comes through with the game on the line again, just as he didn't do in so many past postseasons that Yankees fans had lost count.

If Damon or Teixeira or Rodriguez is retired, the Phillies have the top of the order at the plate against a Yankees middle reliever in a tie game. Trailing, they have to face Mariano Rivera. Game over.

Rivera got his lead, and the two runs that Posada provided with his gap shot made it academic. Rivera threw a few cutters - everybody in the ballpark knows it's coming, but can't do a thing about it - and the Phillies succumbed to the inevitable.

The Phillies' fatal flaw against the Yankees is that their lineup is too left-handed to be consistently effective. Aside from Chase Utley, they don't hit Sabathia well. Andy Pettitte is left-handed. Lefty Damaso Marte has been effective out of the bullpen. And then there's Rivera, who is death to lefties with the cut fastball that rides in on the bat's handle. He now throws it every single pitch to lefties. Every single pitch. Jimmy Rollins, Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino, Raul Ibanez - they all bat left-handed. Feliz, Carlos Ruiz and Jayson Werth are all hitting better in the clutch than those lefties.

Game 5 is tonight, and Cliff Lee must come through again just to send the series back to New York. As Joe Girardi noted after Game 1, Lee can't pitch every day. And that's why they should be planning for a parade in New York.

Rodriguez delivers a knockout blow in the season's key moment originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 02:40:25.

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Two innings in, and the Phillies' Cole Hamels looked like he'd found his old self. He was spotting his pitches, had good life on his fastball and was mowing down the Yankees. Andy Pettitte, on the other hand, couldn't find the plate, had already walked in a run and looked lost.

But Hamels fell apart after giving up a questionable home run to Alex Rodriguez - was the camera inadvertently in the field of play? -  and Pettitte battled back as the Yankees took a 2-1 series lead with an 8-5 victory.

"It was tough," Pettitte said to the New York Times. "I'm not going to lie to you, I couldn't put the ball where I wanted to. I wasn't getting it down and away consistently like I wanted to, and I wasn't able to throw my curveball for strikes. It was an absolute grind tonight."

Should Hamels start again this season? Probably not. He's had enough chances, but his next turn would be a possible Game 7. No way he should be out there. It would certainly appear to be Cliff Lee on short rest, for sure. It's a sad fall for Hamels, who was the World Series MVP last season.

In Game 4, it's Joe Blanton of the Phillies against CC Sabathia of the Yankees (on short rest). In fact, it appears that the Yankees' starters will all be on short rest for the rest of the series. It seems a gamble to go with Sabathia with a 2-1 lead, but they want him on the mound for a Game 7. Sabathia has performed very well on short rest in his career (3-1, 1.01 ERA). A.J. Burnett has also done well on short rest (4-0, 2.33 ERA), with three of those starts coming in 2008 for Toronto. He seems likely to be the starter in Game 5 on Monday night.

A lesson for Hamels in Game 3 originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Sunday, November 1st, 2009 at 13:02:33.

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The Yankees bounced back, thanks to A.J. Burnett, and the World Series is tied 1-1 heading to Philadelphia on Saturday night.

All four pitchers who have started in this series have pitched reasonably well. Both CC Sabathia in Game 1 and Pedro Martinez in Game 2 had good enough stuff to win, but the other guy was just a touch better. And to both, left-handed hitters took them deep into the jet stream in right field at the new Yankee Stadium: the Phils' Chase Utley in Game 1 and the Yankees' Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui in Game 2.

Aside from those two pitches, Pedro Martinez turned back the clock on Thursday. He doesn't have the fastball to go with that changeup, but he's as smart as they come on the mound. He's still a vicious competitor, too, and perhaps the best moment of Game 4 came when he was pulled in the seventh inning by Charlie Manuel. He walked off the mound with the scowl he had perfected throughout the first six innings, heard the taunts from the fans and allowed himself to crack a grin.

"I saw a man in the front row with his daughter in one arm and a cup of beer in the other hand and saying all kinds of nasty stuff," Martinez said, according to Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. "I just told him, 'Your daughter is right beside you.' God, how can you be so dumb?"

Yankees fans were Yankees fans, even in the relatively quiet new Yankee Stadium, and their heroes came through, although it said volumes about the club's middle relief that manager Joe Girardi skipped them altogether in Game 2, going directly to Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning for a six-out save.

The 39-pitch outing was the most Rivera had ever thrown in a World Series game. But with an off-day on Friday, it seemed like the right move.

"You know what you have and what you can do," Rivera said, according to USA Today.  "It's always difficult to pitch in those situations, but you have to do your job."

It was Rivera's 10th career World Series save, extending his own record.

Even Pedro cracks a smile in defeat; we've got ourselves a series originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 01:52:32.

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Chase Utley hit homers in his first two at-bats against Yankees ace CC Sabathia - the first lefty to hit two homers off a lefty in a World Series since Babe Ruth, and the first homers Sabathia has given up to a lefty at Yankee Stadium all season - and Cliff Lee was absolutely dominant again in the Phillies' 6-1 victory on Wednesday night in a steady drizzle in the Bronx.

Lee is having a postseason that's approaching legendary status - he's now 3-0 with an 0.54 earned run average in four postseason starts. He threw 122 pitches, 80 for strikes. He had 10 strikeouts and no walks against the best lineup in baseball. That run in the ninth? Unearned. Only Derek Jeter (three hits) was able to do anything against Lee.

Lee's Cy Young season in 2008 came out of nowhere, and after a slow start in Cleveland in April, he looked like he was in danger of becoming a sort of one-hit wonder.

But he's a rock star now. Lee is breaking through to a whole new level in his career, entering the stratosphere among big-league pitchers with this postseason, certainly the best since Josh Beckett's fabulous run two years ago and rivaling some of the best playoff performances in history, such as Curt Schilling in 2001 and Orel Hershiser in 1988 - and even approaching the postseason icons such as Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax in the 1960s.

Gibson was ferocious; Hershiser was a bulldog. Lee? He's Mr. Cool.

"It's the same game I've been playing my whole life," Lee said after the game to the Philadelphia Daily News. "This is the stage I've wanted to be on since I was a kid. I've already put all the work in. There's no sense in being nervous."

Now it's Pedro Martinez's turn to take the ball and really put the Yankees on their heels in Game 2. Expect Yankees fans, knowing that this is a game the Yankees really need to win, to come out more boisterous on Thursday against an old buddy from the Red Sox and Mets rivalries. It's a certainty that a chant of "who's your daddy" will come raining down from the upper deck rather quickly if anything goes awry. Martinez is 11-11 with a 3.2o ERA lifetime against the Yankees, and 1-1 in the postseason.

A.J. Burnett pitches for the Yankees. The Phillies hit him well in an interleague game on May 22 (five earned runs in six innings), and the Phillies have a history of doing well against Burnett (5-8, 4.75 ERA in 17 starts vs. Phils).

Those "Frillies" darn good in Game 1 originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Thursday, October 29th, 2009 at 01:23:28.

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• "The winner of Game 1 of the World Series has won six consecutive World Series, and 11 of the last 12. The winner of Game 1 has also won every series this postseason."

You can make an argument that Game 1 is the actually the least important game - after all, a team has to win three more times, and that increases the desperation factor of the other team, becoming the cliched "must win." Game 5 always stands out as very important, because teams are often tied 2-2, making it the first game of a best-of-3 series. And any Game 7 matchups shoot to the top of the list, obviously.

But Game 1 sets the tone. We get to see which team is more relaxed and prepared, ace pitchers on the mound, all well-rested. There is little to hold back. The better team likely wins. And, in 11 of the last 12 series, goes on to win.

And the big advantage in the game - the home field, and with it last-ups - was decided by star players from other teams way back in July in the All-Star Game, which still seems odd. Yet that's still better than the previous rule, which alternated years between leagues. When I was involved in the coverage of the Indians in 1995 and 1997, they had to start in the NL park both times, and, not so coincidentally, lost those World Series to the Braves and Marlins.

So, aside from tonight's pitching matchup between two of their best pitchers of the past two years, you see why Cleveland fans are a little on the frustrated side.

The weather forecast tonight is for rain - but probably not enough to cancel - and temperatures in the mid-40s.

Preview: Yankees vs. Phillies, with prediction and storylines.

The importance of Game 1 originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 10:48:31.

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.672: Winning percentage of the Yankees since Alex Rodriguez returned to the lineup after hip surgery. He missed the first 28 games.

0.74: Career postseason ERA for Phillies ace Cliff Lee. Of course, that's just the three games this year.

0.77: Career postseason ERA for Yankees closer Mariano Rivera. 84 games, 66 finished, 37 saves.

1: Number of times that two Cy Young Award-winning pitchers have faced off in Game 1, before Wednesday (Lee vs. CC Sabathia). Instead of two ex-Indians, it was one Indian and one Brave. Greg Maddux (Atlanta) vs. Orel Hershiser (Cleveland), 1995. Maddux won it in a 3-2 game at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. (From Rob Neyer, ESPN.com)

2: National League teams that have won back-to-back World Series (1921-22 Giants, 1975-76 Reds). The Phillies can make it three.

18: Postseason wins for the Phillies the last two years, against just five defeats.

21: The most total homers ever hit in a World Series, set in 2002 (Angels over Giants). With these lineups in hitter-friendly ballparks, that total is in jeopardy if this series is a close one. (Dave Shenin, Washington Post).

32: Number of World Series games the Phillies have played in.

40: Number of World Series the Yankees have played in.

468: Total homers hit by the Phillies and Yankees this season, a record for World Series teams. (Shenin)

$400,000: Cost of an average 30-second TV spot on Fox for the World Series. (Reuters)

$1.5 billion: The cost of building the site of Game 1, the new Yankee Stadium. That, of course, is also a record.

World Series Game 1: By the numbers originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 23:40:49.

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First game back in April: Cliff Lee vs. CC Sabathia. First game of World Series six months later: Cliff Lee vs. CC Sabathia.

Lee won that game way back on April 16 (a 10-2 victory by the Cleveland Indians, when they scored nine runs in the seventh inning). Much has changed in six months, especially for Lee. The Indians traded Lee for prospects - just as they did Sabathia in 2008, and now the lefties are the best two pitchers standing in the postseason.

(The Indians themselves made a move Sunday, hiring former Nationals manager Manny Acta as their new skipper. I smell a retread, although it certainly looks like he was also the top choice of the Houston Astros.)

Wednesday's matchup has to be the first-ever World Series game in which two pitchers who won the last two AL Cy Young Awards faced off, with neither pitching for the team for which they won the award. (Way to go, Cleveland.)

Sabathia, who was selected MVP of the ALCS, did have something to share with those long-suffering Indians fans.

"It's not our fault," he said to the Associated Press, laughing.

Sorry, Cleveland: Those pitchers will look familiar in Game 1 originally appeared on About.com Baseball on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 02:08:24.

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Ever since Wright made his debut in the bigs he has pretty much, been a star.  He's got great talent and he can be a pretty good team "Captain."  Wright hits for a high average, hits home runs, and steals a solid amount of bases.  He is a gold glover in the field, and an expert at anything that has to do with bare hands.

Last year in 2009, Wright had the most awkward season of his young career.  Things were just not working out for him.  Sure, he led the league in batting average for quite some time, but it just wasn't satisfying the fans.

Wright had a problem with hitting home runs last year.  Some say that it was because of the Mets' new stadium Citi Field.  That is not true, David had around the same amount of home runs both home and away.

Wright had a total of 10 home runs last year.  That is the least amount of home runs in his career.  In his rookie season he had 14 seasons and after that he hit no less than 25 home runs in each season other than 2009.

No one will ever know what caused David to have his home run drought this year.  I'm sure that he is still capable of hitting around 25-30 home runs and maybe even more.  He just has to go out and play the game of baseball.

He has to stop worrying and have fun.  I know, that it was probably pretty tough to concentrate with all that was going wrong with the Mets last year, but David had to concentrate. 

David Wright is still my favorite player and I believe that he is still progressing as a player and a person.  Wright is going to be the least of my worry's for the Mets next season.

I know that he is going to put up great numbers and be a great leader for the team.  I also think that the Mets should reward David with the big "C" on his chest.  We all know that the Mets have been lacking leadership and that Wright is the best decision for being team captain.  Even if he isn't officially named the captain of the team I still think that he will lead this team and forget about his awkward season. 

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Other names on the short-list to be hired for the position I mentioned included former Marlins pitching coach Rick Kranitz (whom I was adamantly against the Fish rehiring), Dave Wallace, Leo Mazzone, Bryan Price, Chuck Hernandez, Rick Peterson, and of course, Randy St. Claire.

I felt the Marlins really needed to make a good choice in this hire, as it would greatly affect how well Florida’s young starters do next year. I stated that although I preferred they hire in-house, I wouldn’t have minded had they chosen Rick Peterson, and although I didn’t elaborate on it, I also felt the same way about Dave Wallace and Randy St. Claire.

In the end, the management of the Marlins chose St. Claire, and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with the choice.

Despite some of the negative feedback that has come from the hire, as many are voicing incredulity with the Fish hiring someone who was just recently fired by the lowly Washington Nationals, I am of the opinion Florida made a sound choice.

As has been pointed out by some of the writers at the Miami Herald St. Claire’s resume with the Nats is surprisingly pretty impressive; especially when compared with the Marlins staff over that same six-plus-year period St. Claire was coaching the Expos/Nationals.

Over that time-span, while St. Claire’s pitching staffs had a slightly inferior ERA (4.50) than the Marlins (4.33), he was working with pitchers like Livan Hernandez (125 starts), Tony Armas (65), John Lannan (64), John Patterson (50), Tomo Ohka (49), Tim Redding (48), Zach Day (42), Claudio Vargas, Javier Vasquez, and Esteban Loaiza (34 each).

The Marlins’ staff?

Dontrelle Willis (162 starts), Scott Olsen (97), Ricky Nolasco (85), Josh Beckett (76), Josh Johnson (71), Carl Pavano (63), Brad Penny (53), A.J. Burnett (51), Brian Moehler (46), and Chris Volstad (43).

I think any objective observer would say the Marlins’ staffs over that time frame were far more talented than the Nationals. Yet, St. Claire was able to keep them as competitive as all those boys the Fish put out on the mound.

Considering all that, I think Randy is going to have a wonderful time dealing with the young pitchers the Marlins will be fielding next year, including Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez, and possibly Andrew Miller, Sean West, Rick VandenHurk, and others.

I’m still convinced the Marlins need to go out and spend some money on a big-name starter to bolster their rotation, and if they do I think they’ll actually be able to live up to all the hype that surrounded them this past season and have one of the best staff’s in the majors. Even if they don’t, I think Randy St. Claire should be able to get the most from those young arms, and just might have us competing with the best in baseball.

He should be helped by the fact that while the Marlins didn’t hire Reid Cornelius for the position of pitching coach, he has been promoted in the organization to be the new bullpen coach. I look forward to seeing what he does with our relievers this coming season. There are a lot of great arms in that bullpen, too, and Cornelius might just work his magic to make them one of the best in MLB as well.

Another hire by the Fish is Josue Espada, who takes over for Andy Fox as the new infield coach. Espada, who has been the Marlins’ minor league infield coordinator the past two years, joined the Fish in 2006 as the low-Class A Greensboro hitting coach, and was then promoted to the Hammerheads in 2007. He played 10 years of professional baseball, including with the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate in Calgary back in 2001, but never got to “The Show.”

Notes: Former coaches Bo Porter and Steve Foster have landed on their feet in Arizona and Kansas City . Foster signed on as the bullpen coach for the Royals and Porter was hired as the third-base coach for the Diamondbacks.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Warren hasn't just received accolades since being drafted, he had a ton of accomplishments at UNC. As you'll see in the interview, he's a smart guy; he was named to the all-ACC academic team as a junior in 2008. He was nominated for the Lowe's senior class award, a real honor. The award is based on how the student performs in the classroom, the community, how he competes, and what his character is. Warren didn't win, but being considered is pretty sweet itself for a young college athlete. I was very impressed with his answers to my questions. Read on:

Greg Fertel: What has the transition from powerhouse UNC to short season professional baseball been like? How different is the level of competition?

Adam Warren: It's been an easy transition for me once I got over the excitement and jitters that come with playing professional baseball. I feel that a school like UNC really helped me to mature as a baseball player and a conference like the ACC helped to prepare me for the next level. I would say that the competition was definitely a step up from college because it’s basically taking the best college guys and putting them on these teams. One thing I did notice about pro ball was that everybody had talent, but some guys weren’t quite yet polished or they had not reached their full potential.

GF: You had a really high ground ball rate in Staten Island. Do most of your ground balls come off of your 2-seam fastball? If not, what's your key to keeping the ball on the ground?

AW: I would have to attribute my ground ball rate mainly to my two seamer and changeup. I worked hard to throw my two seamer to both sides of the plate, especially when I was behind in the count. My pitching coach this summer, Pat Daneker, really helped me to solidify my mechanics which helped to get more movement on that pitch. I have always tried and for the most part been successful at being a low ball pitcher and I think that may have played a role in getting a lot of groundballs.

GF: I’ve heard you’ve been sitting around 93-94 this season. When you were drafted, scouting reports had your velocity a notch below that. Can you tell me what has resulted in this added velocity?

AW: It has been a weird but fun season for me as far as velocity goes. For most of my college career I was always 89-91 and that was my velocity for the first half of my senior season in college. Then all of a sudden my velocity started to jump up to 93-94 the second half of the season and when I got to pro ball I started mixing in some 95s. The only thing that I can attribute to this increase would be that my mechanics are the best they have been and I feel like my arm kept getting stronger. The added velocity has really helped not only from a physical standpoint, but mentally it has allowed me to gain confidence and not have to be as fine.

GF: Can you give me a quick rundown on your repertoire? If you had to give a scouting report on yourself what would you say?

AW: I have a four seam fastball, two seam fastball, changeup, curveball, and slider/cutter (depending on the day). I like to attack with my fastball and use my offspeed pitches to keep hitters off balance and put them away. I pitch to both sides of the plate with pretty good fastball location and I like to keep the ball low. I’m not a guy that’s going to overwhelm you with nasty stuff every pitch, but I have a good feel for pitching and the mental side of the game.

GF: What are you up to this offseason? Do the Yankees have you doing anything specific or are you just getting some rest?

AW: This offseason I plan to take a few weeks off from baseball and then hit the weights hard. I take strength and conditioning very seriously and I want to be in better shape than I was last year. The Yankees have given us a big packet on different stretching, lifting and running exercises that they want us to do. I probably won’t even pick up a ball until late December or January, and then I will follow the throwing program the Yankees gave us that leads up until spring training.

GF: Have the Yankees given you any indication about where you’ll be next season? Where would you like to start the season?

AW: No, I really haven’t heard anything about where I will start next season just because I’m not sure if anyone knows right now. I think a realistic goal for me would be to start in Tampa and go from there.

GF: You were able to cut your walk rate in half between North Carolina and Staten Island this year. Was this a change in approach or were you just more effectively commanding your pitches?

AW: It was definitely a change in approach. Last year, I would describe myself as tentative and therefore it led to a lot more walks because I was trying to be so fine with my pitches. I came into this year with this mindset that I was going to make hitters beat me instead of giving them free passes. I believe this change in approach really allowed me to get ahead of hitters and use all of my pitches effectively.

GF: Tell me about some of your goals for the 2010 season.

AW: My number one goal next season would be to continue to improve each outing. I feel there are areas of pitching that I still need to work on and I want to continue to work towards becoming the best pitcher I can be. Some of the main areas I want to improve are offspeed consistency and continue to learn what pitches to throw in certain counts. There are some more obvious goals that I have for next season such as advancing through the system, making the All-Star team, and having a good season statistically.

GF: Are there any players in particular who you developed your game after?

AW: I really admire pitchers that are bulldogs on the mound. By that I mean guys who attack and they don’t back down from any situation. One pitcher that comes to mind is Mike Mussina just because he had that type mentality and he just went about his business unphased by the situation. I feel that is one of my strong qualities is that I try to show no emotion on the mound so the opposition never knows what I’m thinking.

GF: What stats do you generally look at to measure your success?

AW: One of my favorite stats is probably walk to strikeout ratio, just because I have realized from first hand experience how devastating walks can be. Another stat I like is one you mentioned earlier, groundball to flyball ratio. I feel like most hard hit balls are in the air, so if I can keep the ball on the ground I feel like I have a better chance at succeeding. And of course I can’t leave out everybody’s favorite statistic, ERA. Even though ERA can be misleading at times, it is a number most people use to measure how well a pitcher is doing so I feel like you can’t completely ignore it

GF: Who did you play with in Staten Island that really impressed you?

AW: We had a very talented team this summer, but two guys that I enjoyed watching play were Jimmy Paredes and Neil Medchill. Jimmy is a guy that has all the tools a baseball player could want. It seemed like he would have a multi-hit game just about every night. Neil wowed everyone in Staten Island with his power. He not only led the New York Penn league in homers, but no one was even close.

GF: I was a student at the University of Maryland the past few years. UNC destroyed us year after year. Would you say that Maryland was the easiest team to beat in the ACC?

AW: There always seem to be one game during the weekend series where Maryland would give us trouble. Maryland always seemed to put a bunch of tough-nosed guys out on the field so no I wouldn’t say they were the easiest team to beat in the ACC.

Thanks to Adam for taking the time to answer my questions. It appears the Yankees got a steal in the 4th round of the 2009 draft.

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Bell is expected to compete for the Orioles' starting third base job in spring training and is a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2010.

“Here is my suggestion for Bud Selig in order to give the draft some juice. Unless you are a real die-hard baseball fan, other than Stephen Strasburg, you don’t know 99 percent of the players drafted in the first round.

“The MLB Network should show a high school or college “Showcase Game of the Week.” Once a week broadcast a game that features a projected first-round pick.

"This will allow fans to get to know some of the players their team is interested in. I think this will really help the draft.”

Major League Baseball and the MLB Network has followed my suggestion...to an extent. Since we are there is no high school or college baseball to showcase right now, the MLB Network has decided to do the next best thing.

Tonight at 8:15 ET, the MLB Network will televise the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars game. This is exactly what I was talking about when I suggested the MLB Network show a rising stars game for high school and college players.

This is really great for the game of baseball.

This will allow fans a chance to see some of the future stars of the game. How often do casual fans get to see their teams top prospects play before they reach the major leagues?

Now that the MLB Network is televising this game, who should you be looking for? Here are 10 players in tonight’s game that you should keep an eye on.

 

East

1. Buster Posey, C

Organization – San Francisco Giants

Arizona Fall League Stats – .218/.317/.364 in 14 games

Posey was called up by the Giants in September, but for reasons only known to the Giants organization he didn’t play much. In seven games, Posey only hit .118 with the big club.

Don’t be fooled, this guy can hit. All signs point to Posey being the Giants’ starting catcher in 2010.

 

2. Josh Vitters, 3B

Organization – Chicago Cubs

Arizona Fall League Stats – .360/.385/.460 in 12 games

The former No. 3 pick in the 2007 draft has been tearing up the Arizona Fall League. Vitters should be ready to take over the starting third base job in Chicago once Aramis Ramirez is done with his contract after the 2011 season.

 

3. Grant Desme, OF

Organization – Oakland A’s

Arizona Fall League Stats – .373/.453/.827 in 18 games

That sound you just heard was Desme just breaking another window. In just 18 games, Desme has 10 home runs in the Arizona Fall League. Desme has “light tower power” and for those of you think he is a typical A’s Moneyball player...he is not.

In the minor leagues in 2009, Desme had 42 SB’s.

 

4. Starlin Castro, SS

Organization – Chicago Cubs

Arizona Fall League Stats – .433/.462/.550 in 17 games.

The Cubs might have a star on their hands with Castro. The 19-year-old non-drafted free agent out of the Dominican Republic is currently leading the Arizona Fall League in hitting. He is also tied for third in SB’s with five.

Watch for Castro tonight. He might be the most exciting player on the field.

Castro also played in the Future’s Game in July.

 

5. Drew Storen, P

Organization – Washington Nationals

Arizona Fall League Stats – 0.93 ERA, nine K’s, and two saves in 9.2 IP

Not only does Storen do a good job of updating his Twitter page , but he also might be the future closer for the Nationals. If the East is leading in the ninth inning, look for Storen to close out the game.

 

West

1. Jason Castro, C

Organization – Houston Astros

Arizona Fall League Stats  - .143/.260/.214 in 11 games

Ready or not, here Castro comes to the Astros. Because the Astros have no established catcher in their organization, Castro might be rushed to the majors in 2010.

Castro hit .300 with a .826 OPS in the minor leagues in 2009.

 

2. Yonder Alonso, 1B

Organization – Cincinnati Reds

Arizona Fall League Stats – .275/.298/.375 in 13 games

Alonso was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2008 draft and if he is going to play in Cincinnati, he is going to have to learn to play another position. I don’t think Joey Votto is going anywhere for a while.

Alonso had a .838 OPS between Rookie and Single-A in 2009.

 

3. Dustin Ackley, OF

Organization – Seattle Mariners

Arizona Fall League Stats – .300/.378/.375 in 11 games

The No. 2 pick in the 2009 draft is someone to watch tonight. The former Tar Heel star has all the tools to be a star in the majors.

I have gone on record in saying that Ackley would be the best player to come out of the 2009 draft.

 

4. Jordan Danks, OF

Organization – Chicago White Sox

Arizona Fall League Stats – .333/.378/.485 in 18 games.

The White Sox have done well with one Danks at the major league level, so why not give another Danks a try. Jordan is the younger brother of White Sox LHP John Danks.

Danks made the jump to Double-A in 2009 and while he didn’t tear up Double-A pitching (.243 avg.), he could get his shot with the big club in 2011.

 

5. Tanner Scheppers, P

Organization – Texas Rangers

Arizona Fall League Stats – 3.00 ERA and nine K’s in nine IP.

Scheppers was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2008, but decided to go back to college. While in college, Scheppers tore his rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder.

With doubts about his health, Scheppers slipped to the 44th pick in the 2009 draft. Now healthy, Scheppers is showing everyone why he was on the highest regarded pitchers in the draft.

Conspicuous by his absence on this list is Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg was supposed to start this game for the East squad but was scratched because of a strained neck muscle.

The Reds and the Cubs have the most players in this game with four.

You can view the complete rosters for both teams here .

  

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He has struggled since being promoted to Double-A in 2007 (with the Cubs) to the point that the Pirates tried him out of the bullpen last season (with awful results).

In the Arizona Fall League, he appears to have rediscovered himself:

3 Wins
16.2 Innings
0.54 ERA
0.74 WHIP
17 Strikeouts (9.44 K/9)
2 Walks (1.11 BB/9)
.259 BABIP

It is obviously an extremely small sample size, so I wouldn’t be hanging your hat on this as a reason to consider him a tremendous sleeper for 2010.  For a player who has been considered one of the Cubs' Top 10 prospects in the past, however, there is reason for optimism in the lefty.

Back in 2008, Baseball America had him as the team’s No. 2 prospect, saying:

“Hitters can’t square up the ball well against Veal because he has quality stuff and hides it with an unorthodox delivery. He has a 92-93 mph fastball that tops out at 95, and he likes to bust hitters inside with a four-seamer and then paint the outside corner with a two-seamer. His 74-79 mph curveball has tight rotation and is a strikeout pitch when it’s on. His changeup is a solid third pitch. He has long arms and operates with a big leg kick and a high three-quarters slot, and his pitches get on top of hitters before they’re ready.”

Of course, there were questions about his control, something he has never fully gotten on track with (career minor league BB/9 of 5.1).  Despite what he’s shown in the AFL, if he cannot avoid walking batters, he’s never going to be successful.

That’s really the bottom line with him, as there is no doubting his raw ability and his ability to get swings and misses (his career minor league K/9 is 9.2).

With the Pirates, he should get the opportunity to challenge for a rotation spot, at least one would think.  That makes him a pitcher that should be eyed by fantasy owners during Spring Training, though he really should only be considered by owners in the deepest of formats.

Considering his struggles with control in the past, it’s just as likely he finds himself in the minor leagues or in the bullpen, as it is he has turned the corner and will become a viable fantasy option.  It’s going to take time and results before we fully buy into him, but what his performance thus far has done is put him on the radar.

What are your thoughts on Veal?  Could he become a viable fantasy option in 2010?

THIS ARTICLE IS ALSO FEATURED ON WWW.ROTOPROFESSOR.COM

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Every year the argument is renewed, and with five of the eight teams that made the playoffs this year having payrolls over $100 million and of course with the much maligned New York Yankees money machine taking home the Commisioner's Trophy the cries of foul play seem as loud as ever.

But would a salary cap actually help baseball to become more competitive?  The chances of one ever really becoming reality is remote at best but even if one was set in place what would the real consequences be?

Never Gonna Happen

Many owners claim that a salary cap is needed in baseball to get small market teams back in the hunt for October.  But when you consider the logistics of a salary cap and how it would effect salaries, it is more likely to effect owner's wallet sizes more than anything else.  

But all of that is really moot when you look at what entity is really holding all the cards in the debate over a cap: The Players' Union .

For years, owners squeezed players for all they could.  In fact, the Yankees of the 40's and 50's were probably the most underpaid team in baseball for the level of success they achieved.

Then, in the early 60s, things started to change.  Gradually the power shifted over to the players and they never looked back.

Many from the era were not thrilled over the inflated salaries but were convinced that owners had nothing to blame but their own greed.

The last thing players would want today is to give all of that power back to the league and take massive pay cuts just so owners can get richer.

It is true that the minimum salary would increase, but the players would also lose out on the chance to have the five mansions and 15 cars that they've always dreamed of owning.

It may only be a shoving match between the super rich to see who can sit on the higher mountain of gold, but The Players' Union is the much bigger kid in this fight.

It's Not The NFL

Let's get something straight: What works for football, isn't necessarily going to work for baseball.  To make an easy analogy; Baseball is Reagan's U.S.A., Football is Lenin's U.S.S.R.

In the NFL, the league has all the power.  Every team has regulated salaries and T.V. deals (Television deals are how other big sports clubs make most of their money).  In fact, teams legally are identified as one large company rather than 32 separate entities.

The players are almost completely at the mercy of the league.  If a team doesn't want to pay someone, they can just cut them.  The union has to fight tooth and nail to get anything out of the league.  The only real leverage a player has is to not play at all.

In the MLB, it is every team for themselves.  This really gives teams the opportunity to make as much money as they can and spend it however they want.  

Of course, it also doesn't do anything to save clubs from bad owners who run the team into the ground competitively and financially.  It also cripples teams with weak fan bases.  

If owners like the Steinbrenners want to put $200 million plus into their line up no one is going to stop them, but the same goes for the team with the owner who'd rather put that 200 million into buying his next mansion.

It is a much more competitive business model, but it also allows players to control their own destiny to a much greater extent than in the NFL.  

Neither is really good or bad but they are undeniably different.

Let's Make Believe

Okay, so even though it is more likely that Ghandi is playing centerfield for the Reds next season than it is that we'll see a salary cap in baseball, let's just suppose.  What would be the result?

First, we'd need to decide which type of cap baseball will use.  There are two kinds, hard caps and soft caps .  Hard caps strictly enforce the limit and under almost no circumstances can a team breach them.

Soft caps set a spending limit but allow for teams to pass it on special circumstances. In fact, in the soft cap NBA, nearly every team comes in over the salary cap every year.

Well, right off, we probably wouldn't be looking at the hard salary cap that we see in the NFL.  Why?  Besides the differing pay scales from the MLB to the NFL (compare the best kicker's salary with the best quarterback's, then compare the best right fielders salary with the best second baseman's), while I did say we would make believe, if we are about to sit here and say that the player's union is going to agree to a hard salary cap, I'm going to just get up right now and take my flying carpet to my date with Marilyn Monroe circa 1950...on the Moon.

So a soft cap it is, then.  Let's put it at $120 million and cut current payrolls by about 20 percent to account for adjusted salaries.  This leaves the Yankees as the only team in breach of the cap by roughly $30 million.  It seems like the baseball giants will finally need to say goodbye to their exorbitant salaries, or will they?

One of the biggest stipulations of the soft cap is the exception for veteran players.  This policy exists in the NBA in order to allow players that have played over a certain number of years with one team to stay with that team.

Suddenly, players like A-Rod, Jeter, Posada, Rivera don't even need to worry about the salary cap.  Yes, the Yankees may be able to spend the huge bucks on a free agent as frequently as they would in the past, but not much would be likely to change in the landscape of baseball.

Not only would the Yankees and other big spenders not be hit too hard by the cap after all, it could end up hurting teams near the bottom even more.  With no more luxury tax coming in the only pick-me-up small market teams ever got will be gone (There would still be a luxury tax but unless teams breached the new cap by a large amount they'd be unlikely to qualify).  

And just because the big teams can't spend as much doesn't mean they are going to magically start spending more.

It doesn't much matter what sport you're playing.  You can't spend less than $50 million a year on payroll and expect to compete.

What Would Make A Difference?

So if a salary cap isn't the answer to the competition gap in baseball, what is?

First, what actually makes the NFL and NBA more competitive?  

The playoff system and scheduling.

Scheduling really is the great equalizer of the NFL.  In case you don't know, the league purposefully gives weak teams one year easier schedules the next in order to increase competition.  

The salary cap didn't get the Miami Dolphins from 1-15 in 2007 to 11-5 in 2008, the schedule did (that and Tom Brady's knee).

The playoff systems in both the NBA and NFL help immensely in keeping things interesting.  Four more teams make the playoffs in the NFL than in baseball, and eight more in basketball.  This means a team can barely play above .500 on the season and still cruise into the playoffs.

Neither of these options are really viable for baseball.  

The scheduling would be impossible given the length of the season and that the teams play almost every day.  

The playoff system is logistically possible but an equally unlikely choice given the unpredictable nature of baseball games and how long it would take, unless of course you want to watch the World Series on Thanksgiving between the fourth and fifth best teams in the league.

So what could work?  One idea that has been floating around this year that I personally think is great is to have a second Wild Card team.  There would be a one-game-playoff after the season ends between the two teams to see who will advance to the first round against the #1 team.

This would work in not only adding another team to the playoff hunt but It would also motivate teams to try and win their divisions, keeping division races more competitive.

As recently as 1998, the Yankees weren't the highest payroll in baseball (the Orioles were No. 1 by a small margin).  The Yankees didn't begin to outspend other teams by a significant margin until 2003 and they only just won their first World Series since then.

The Yankees definitely have an advantage by being the richest team in baseball.  But people often get too caught up in the Yankee spending to actually notice how competitive the MLB really is.  

In the last 20 years, 14 different teams have won the World Series, compare that to only 12 different teams winning the Super Bowl and only seven different teams winning the NBA championship.

For all the cries for a salary cap, outside of the Yankees, no team in baseball has won more than two World Series since 1975!  Hardly what you could call a non-competitive landscape.

The Yankees are going to keep right on spending their money and as long as they do fans of teams with owners who won't or can't are going to cry foul.

But before they cry for a salary cap they should take a minute to look at other sports leagues and look at what a salary cap gets you.  

Sports are dominated by teams with big fan bases and smart owners regardless of the type of ball in play .  That is exactly what the Yankees have, and salary cap or no, none of that is going to change.

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First, the Twins need to accurately deduce what things actually hurt them this year and address them. Second, that thing they needed to address was infield defense.

Congratulations to Bill Smith for absolutely nailing this one.

J.J. Hardy was the player I most wanted the Twins to add. He's a plus defender, historically a decent hitter, and being traded at the absolute bottom of his value. Seriously, at no point could the Twins have gotten him for less than they did now.

It shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that the Twins made an attempt to get Hardy, what surprises me is a) that they were able to do it before the Red Sox outbid them and b) they were able to acquire him without giving up pitching.

Speculation had Hardy's price set somewhere around the Kevin Slowey range, which turned out to be much more than the Brewers would receive.

My first inclination is that this was an outstanding deal. Upon reflection, I've tempered my opinion a little, but am still quite pleased with this move if only for this reason: Smith accurately gauged what the Twins needed and got the best player available who fits that need.

I see the deal pretty much in the Twins favor, but perhaps a little fairer than previously thought.

Received: J.J. Hardy

The 27-year old righty is one of the best defensive shortstops in major league baseball. Over the last three years he has posted the highest combined UZR at the position with a combination of excellent range and good decision-making leading to few errors.

That fact alone made this a smart addition for the Twins, but Hardy is no Adam Everett, he can swing the stick a little as well.

Hardy was an All-Star in 2007 when he hit .277/.323/.463 with 26 HR and 30 2B, but he was even better in 2008 when he hit .283/.343/.478 with 24 HR and 31 2B. If he had continued that production (3.1 and 5.9 wins, respectively), I promise you that no matter how good Alcides Escobar seemed to be, Hardy wouldn't have been moved for someone as enigmatic as Carlos Gomez, if he was moved at all. But 2009 was a down year, and by down I mean "demoted to AAA midseason" down.

Hardy will readily admit that 2009 was bad, and it was: .229/.302/.357 with 11 HR and 16 2B, a 3% increase in K-rate, and a decrease in Line Drive rate all contributed to a year that was extremely disappointing both for Hardy and for the Brewers.

Aside from the ups-and-downs that every player experiences, there is reason to believe that Hardy will rebound.

First, his BABIP (a good indicator of how lucky a hitter was) fell 42 points from an above average .306 to a well-below average .264. It should rise to or near his career rate of .280, which is about league average.

Second, his walk rate rose to a near career high meaning that while Hardy was hitting a lot less, he was still getting on base at a passable rate. If his BA recovers at all and he maintains this walk rate, his OBP will rise fairly quickly.

One thing that has remained constant is his power, his career ISO of .166 is well above what would get from any of the players currently on the roster at his position and isn't likely to be a mirage created by Miller Park.

Hardy hit a little better with home cooking, but not in such a way as to indicate that he'll suffer greatly from the switch. Add in that Miller Park was the fourth friendliest pitchers park and any worries there should be allayed.

If Hardy gets close to his 2007/2008 levels, the Twins will have stolen this deal. If he hits, as I suspect he will, something like .270/.320/.400 with around 20 HR and 20+ 2B while playing Gold Glove defense, that will still be a considerable upgrade over anything the Twins have had at that position in a long time.

Hardy may well be a long term answer, if the Twins are pleased with his 2010 contribution, a two or three year deal wouldn't surprise me one bit.

It's worth noting that he is due a raise during arbitration, but as John noted in the video, he isn't going to trot out his '09 numbers and expect to rake it in. You can't get something for nothing these days, so let's see what the Twins gave up.

Sent: Carlos Gomez

Well, Carlos Gomez's future potential, because the Brewers weren't buying his past or present. Gomez is an elite defender, that is an unassailable fact. He was more than a two win player this year based solely on his defense (literally, solely on his D, he was an offensive black hole), but for every moment he looked like he might have it together at the plate, there were three spent with head in hands.

He's the fastest player in the league but he got five bunt hits this year because defenses figured out that that was the only way he'd gotten on base in 2008.

He had nearly three times as many strikeouts as walks, and a net of seven steals (14 SB with 7 CS). For a player of his speed, that's downright awful.

What the Twins gave up and what the Brewers get may be two different things. Gomez did not look like he was getting better in the Twins organization and was well on the way toward getting the same reputation Delmon Young had for being difficult to coach, something that might change with a new coaching staff.

Gomez's OBP ought to rise if the Brewers bat him eighth, if for no other reason than he'll be batting ahead of some of the few hitters worse than he.

His opponents in the NL will almost certainly help to raise his OBP as well, though the pitchers he will face in the NL Central will be better than those he saw in the AL Central, so those factors may even out.

Gomez is an exciting player to watch, and from a fan's standpoint, I'm not thrilled that he won't be on the team any more. However, any type of logical analysis shows him to be a piece that needed to improve to be valuable.

The Twins traded him before another bad season depressed his value, and that appears to be a smart decision. He may well improve with the Brewers, but it's important to see that the Twins may not have ever had that player available to them.

Verdict: Fortuna Fortibus Favet* and Bill Smith certainly is bold.

*Fortune Favors the Bold

Smith went out and got exactly what the Twins needed while giving up a player who is one or two seasons at his current production from being a major disappointment.

This isn't cut and dried for the Twins, there's a chance that Hardy had another down year, in which case this because a swap of defense and decent power for defense and underutilized speed, which is probably a coin flip.

Nevertheless, Hardy was probably the best player available at the position and Smith didn't give up a King's ransom to get him, so there's a lot to be said for that.

Aftermath:

Point Four of my offseason plan now fulfilled, the Twins have a chance to really focus on how they want to construct their team next season. In all likelihood, Hardy will bat second based on his preferences and Gardy's tendencies, meaning that the Twins lineup currently has its top two-thirds set.

Denard Span - CF
J.J. Hardy - SS
Joe Mauer - C
Justin Morneau - 1B
Michael Cuddyer - RF
Jason Kubel - DH
------------------
Delmon Young or LF Du Jour (Martin? Tosoni?)
Nick Punto, Joe Crede, Danny Valencia, or other 3B
Alexi Casilla, Nick Punto, or other 2B

This leaves a fair amount of questions, but ones to which the answers seem to be internal. If the Twins go out and get someone like a Felipe Lopez or Mark DeRosa (both are type-B free agents), that improves the team, but isn't as critical as it was this time last year.

I think adding one more position player wouldn't be a bad idea, but adding a filler player is permissible at this point as long as they can get on base at a decent clip. Hardy may well provide some power, but if his numbers stay down, he'll look like a healthier Joe Crede.

Any players added now should be bottom of the order hitters who can get the lineup flipped around to Span, Hardy, Mauer, the way Pedro Feliz and Carlos Ruiz did for the Phillies in the NLCS.

What this should do is free up the brass to work on the pitching staff. There are choices to be made there not only in terms of who they can add, but in terms of who they want to keep.

With Boof Bonser and Pat Neshek coming back from injury, the Twins have a very full staff, some of whom are probably more valuable as trade fodder than as pitchable arms.

SP - Scott Baker
SP - Kevin Slowey
SP - Nick Blackburn
SP - Brian Duensing
SP - Francisco Liriano

RP - Glen Perkins
RP - Jon Rauch
RP - Joe Nathan
RP - Matt Guerrier
RP - Jose Mijares
RP - Jesse Crain
RP - Pat Neshek
RP - Boof Bonser

It's a decent staff, largely because the Twins have jettisoned the less desirable pieces—Bobby Keppel, Sean Henn, R.A. Dickey—that made the bully so suspect for part of the year.

There are other arms to make decisions about, including Jeff Manship, Jason Jones, and Juan Morillo, but none of them present a huge upgrade over the guys already penciled in. All this is to say that this is where the Twins' focus should be going forward.

As I've noted previous, I'd really like to see Rich Harden brought in for reasons I'll defend soon enough, but Carl Pavano could likely be had for much less and would improve the staff by giving them five starters about which there aren't serious outstanding issues.

Liriano may not be so far gone as to be unretrieveable, and I think he could be valuable in the long run, but I'm not thrilled with the idea of having to count on on him to deliver a fifth of the Twins' starts for the year.

Whatever the Twins decide to do in terms of non-tendering, outright releasing, trading and signing, it seems like most of it will happen on the run prevention side of things.

Aside from the talent added, that's the biggest upside to this move—the Twins added Hardy early enough in the offseason that Smith can go into the winter meetings and beyond knowing exactly what holes he needs to fill and with a good idea of how much money he has to play with.

Ultimately, I like this deal a lot and I think it makes the Twins a substantially better team going into next season. Exactly how much better they'll be depends on what else the Twins' FO does and how well Hardy produces, but they are certainly off to a great start.

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If not for an injury to Fernando Perez that killed a three-way deal involving the Rays, JJ Putz may have been hamstringing Detroit in 2009 and not the Mets, and Edwin Jackson may have formed a dominant pitching tandem with Felix Hernandez instead of Justin Verlander.

Putz became a free agent today when New York declined his nine million dollar option. This time around, the Tigers have much less to lose in taking a shot on the Trenton native and former Michigan wolverine.

Putz's story this year was one of injury and inconsistency. As recently as Spring Training 2008 however, he was being mentioned in the same sentence with Jonathan Papelbon, Francisco Rodriguez, and Mariano Rivera (that was the pecking order at the time; sickening I know) as one of the game's elite closers.

He lost his closer's job to the aforementioned Rodriguez when the Mets traded for him last year. At the time, he accepted the role but word on the street is that Putz wants to pitch the ninth again. That's where the money is after all.

So long as the Tigers don't go into 2010 counting on him to close games for them, they should be more than willing to give Putz that chance.

And if Detroit is interested in Putz, you'd have to think the interest would be mutual though no one knows this for sure but Putz himself. However, as his hometown team was being connected to him in trade rumors last December, the word was that Putz was at least a little excited about the prospect of coming home. At the least, he said he thought he was going to be a Tiger before the Mets swooped in. 

Like I said, if Detroit signs him, they can't count on him to close games for them in 2010. The success of their pen can't hinge on Putz bouncing back. That means first resigning either Fernando Rodney or Brandon Lyon, preferably the latter. If neither resigns, they need to focus on signing a more dependable, sure-thing reliever. The Tigers have no choice given where they're at financially right now.

There is never a sure-thing on the hot stove. There are two very unlikely but not impossible deal-breakers I could envision blocking Putz's path back home.

The first scenario is if a team tells Putz he'd be their closer. Any team who does this is pretty desperate in my estimation. Jose Valverde, Rafael Soriano, Rodney, and Billy Wagner are all more appealing options on the free agent market.

Even a few dominating closers like Joe Nathan and Bobby Jenks have been mentioned as possible trade candidates. Putz should have to prove he's healthy and able before any team starts promising him the ball in the ninth, the key word there being "should."

The second case would be if a team extended Putz an overwhelming offer, one he can't refuse. Putz isn't poised to receive any offers like this either; any team that throws that kind of cash his way has quite the steady revenue stream. Wherever Putz signs, I don't think it will be for more than one year and five million dollars guaranteed.

Ultimately, I think the list of suitors for Putz is going to be relatively short. I could see the Braves getting involved, and possibly the Phillies if they want more insurance in the event of another year-long Brad Lidge meltdown.

And if Putz isn't going to receive one offer that blows the rest away, it's at least feasible to think Detroit would have the inside track as his hometown team.

Is this speculation? Sure, but that's what the hot stove is all about.

There are no sure things in the off season, but some matches just seem too good not to happen. Take the recent Jeremy Hermida and JJ Hardy trades; both were about as predictable as trades come.

This looks like one of those matches to me. There are too many sparks here for fire not to ensue.

It's no secret Dave Dombrowski is a power arm guy. A bullpen of a healthy Putz in the ninth, preceded by potentially Lyon, the young flamethrower Ryan Perry, and the overpowering yet injury prone Joel Zumaya, has to tempt him. 

A year after missing out on him last winter, JJ Putz again is an option for Dombrowski and the Tigers. He was too risky for them then. Now that he won't cost precious prospects, and with his value at an all-time low, they can and should make this gamble.

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With clean-up hitter Bernie Williams beginning to show serious signs of slowing down, the talented Alfonso Soriano showing no signs of maturing at the plate, and superstar Jason Giambi displaying a knack for withering under pressure, what was New York going to do about its lack of power?

Since the majority of the starting rotation was set to return for the 2003 season, New York had the luxury during the offseason of setting its sights on a big bat to bolster a flat Yankee lineup.

However, the organization decided to set its sights a bit farther than usual.

After seeing the success displayed by Seattle's right fielder Ichiro Suzuki, who was enticed by the Mariners to make the move to the U.S. in 2001, the Yankees decided shortly after their early departure from the playoffs that they were going to travel overseas for the answer.

However, this player was a much different breed than the fleet-footed Ichiro. This player was considered the "Babe Ruth of Japan."

In ten seasons with the Yomiuri Giants, Hideki Matsui hit 332 home runs with a .582 slugging percentage and a .304 batting average for his Japanese career.

It was those numbers that earned him the nickname "Godzilla," which was given to him by the Yomiuri faithful.

To the Yankees, "Godzilla" sounded like a perfect source of power. The Yankees would have their man before Christmas 2002. 

Matsui was inserted into the number five spot of the batting order on Opening Day 2003 at Yankee Stadium. It was in that game in which he became the first Yankee ever to hit a grand slam during his first game at Yankee Stadium.

By the end of the season, Godzilla had proved that he would have no problem living up to his given name in the United States just as he had while playing in Japan.

While his 16 home runs were nothing special, he managed to drive in 106 and batted .287 while protecting Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams in the New York lineup.

Angel Berroa went on to beat Matsui in the Rookie of the Year voting (it is believed that many voters felt that a 29-year-old who had been playing professional baseball for 10 years should not have been considered a "rookie"), however, Hideki went on to bigger and better things during his first year with the Yankees: the playoffs.

It was during the eighth inning of Game Seven in the 2003 ALCS against the Red Sox that Matsui ripped a Pedro Martinez fastball down the right field line and into the stands for a ground rule double.

That would set up the game-tying bloop double by Jorge Posada.

Hideki was the tying run.

Three innings later, that game would remembered better for the Aaron Boone home run, which sent New York to the World Series for the sixth time in eight years.

But the fact would remain that Matsui's eighth inning double was the biggest hit of his Yankee career—that was, until Wednesday night.

Hideki Matsui's performance in the clinching Game Six of the 2009 World Series should be remembered for many different reasons. For one, six runs batted in during a World Series game is something that has happened very few times previously.

Yankee fans should realize that this was probably the single greatest World Series game performance since Reggie Jackson's three home runs in Game Six of 1977.

But stepping away from baseball history for a second, it may have simply been one of the greatest good-byes a player has ever given his fans.

Nothing is for certain, but the general consensus is that Matsui will not return to the Yankees in 2010; a decision that neither side, Hideki nor the Yankees, will arrive at lightly.

The best way to justify it is that it simply makes sense.

Matsui is 35 years of age now, and while that certainly does not mean the end for his professional career, multiple surgeries and an inability to play the outfield may lead to his departure from New York.

The Yankees have made it no secret that one of their greatest desires is gradually make the overall roster younger over the upcoming seasons. Step one may be to get rid of an immobile designated hitter.

Matsui put up excellent offensive numbers this year. They surpassed anything that anyone could have expected from him after a surgery-filled winter (.274 BA, 28 HR, 90 RBI). But the emergence of young Yankees such as Melky Cabrera, Brett Gardner, and the dwindling defense of Jorge Posada may just leave no room for our old friend Godzilla.

If this is the end for Hideki Matsui in pinstripes, then I believe it is imperative that Yankee fans pay homage to a great player, and more importantly a great gentleman.

During his seven years in the Bronx, Matsui gave so much to the team and took so much less.

You would be hard-pressed to find a fan who would say Hideki Matsui was their favorite Yankee. Not when options like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, and CC Sabathia are out there.

But the fact is that this guy delivered day in, day out. For every year, he could be penciled in for a .290 average, 20 home runs, 100 runs batted in and, up until he broke his wrist in 2006 sliding to catch a fly ball, 162 games.

Up until now, his career line reads .292 with 140 home runs.

Hall of Fame numbers? Not even close. But certainly noteworthy. 

While other players strut up to the batter's box along to the likes of Jay-Z, 50 Cent, or P. Diddy, give me Matsui, who calmly strolls up to the box listening to his Billy Joel, turns to the pitcher, his bat at a perfect 90 degree angle with knees slightly bent, as if to say "I'm ready for what you've got." 

Matsui will continue to play somewhere if he seriously wants to do it. There are plenty of American League teams with the space open in the designated hitter spot that would welcome a player of this caliber with open arms.

It would certainly be hard to watch him in another uniform though.

If this is truly the end, then thank you Godzilla. Thanks for the effort, thanks for the professionalism, and THANK YOU for the World Series.

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After watching the continued success of the New York Yankees as the most financially driven team in MLB, it begs the question—are the New York Yankees as World Series Champions bad for baseball?

In a word...yes.

It's not just because I'm a bitter Blue Jays fan that hasn't tasted the victory of playoff baseball for sixteen years either. There are 29 teams in baseball I would rather see hoist the Commissioner's Trophy above their heads other than the New York Yankees.

So here are a few of my reasons in no particular order why I think the Yankees as World Champions are sending the wrong message:

1. Team payrolls across the MLB are bound to go up

Whether it's predetermined or not, it seems like teams subconsciously emulate the formula of the previous World Series Champions. In the case of the New York Yankees, most clubs will probably take after their model which is "sign the best free agents at any price, so long as it means winning."

This means guys like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, and John Lackey are going to rake in especially fat contracts this off-season. It also sends the message that money equals success, almost the exact polar opposite from the Tampa Bay Rays model which was build a team from the minor league system upwards.

2. It makes even more free agents want to flock to NY

I'm sure a large part of the reason why Pedro Martinez and Raul Ibanez signed with the Philadelphia Phillies was because they had a fairly good shot at winning another championship in Philly. For free agents that are getting close to the end of their careers and want an almost-guaranteed shot at the post-season, they will likely be seeking to sign with the New York Yankees.

3. It doesn't promote home-grown talent

There was a lot of hype surrounding the "core four" of Jeter, Rivera, Posada and Pettite that have stuck with this organization since (almost) day one. Aside from those four guys, most of their roster spots are occupied by players acquired via trades or free agent signings (only ten in total came up through the Yankees organization).

The Yankees aren't notorious for drafting and developing great players, they are known for signing other team's great players. I realize it's all fair in love and baseball, but it feels like the Yankees would rather build a winning team with their pocketbook rather than their minor league system.

Again, let me reiterate that I'm not bitter and jaded (okay...maybe a little) that the team I cheer for wasn't number one this year.

However, I would have been happy to see the Phillies win the World Series. I would have been thrilled to see the Dodgers or the Angels win the World Series. Hell, it would even be fun (more so hilarious) to see the Nationals win the World Series. But there's something about watching the Yankees get their World Series rings that doesn't sit right.

It's almost like if the tallest, strongest, and fastest kid in grade seven won every single event at the track meet. Sure, it's great for that one kid—but for everyone else, it just creates an environment of resentment.

It's about as exciting as when the team with the highest payroll wins the World Series.

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The Twins cleared up a logjam in the Outfield by moving Carlos “Go Go” Gomez to Milwaukee for Shortstop J.J. Hardy.

I think it’s a great deal for the Twins. They have too many Outfielders with Denard Span, Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, and DH Jason Kubel. As for the Twins they got some pop at Shortstop, which they haven’t had in years.

Hardy had a down year, but is a goo candidate to bounce back. If Alexi Casilla can bounce back as well, and they solve their 3rd base issue, the Twins could have one of the better infields in the league with the M & M boys.

Gomez gets a much needed change of scenery. He strikes out too frequently and has mental lapses. Those are two no-nos in Ron Gardenhire’s book. In Milwaukee he won’t have to carry the pressure of being the key component in the Johan Santana trade with him.

Frankly, I thought they rushed him into the lineup in his first year with the Twins because they had to have someone from the Johan deal on the Opening Day roster.

Span outplayed him that spring, and should have got the nod. The Twins had to save face though. I think that stunted his growth and messed with his confidence.

He did better last year when Orlando Cabrera took him under his wing. He’ll need someone to do the same in his new home. He has the tools to be a quality leadoff hitter. It’s just a matter of whether or not he can make the proper adjustments and continue to grow.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com .

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The, "You're a bum, A-Rod, you strike out in the biggest spots," or the "you're never going to be as good as Jeter is," o ther "we won't win a championship with you because you suck."

On and on. 2004. 2005. 2006. 2007. Failed Octobers with the Yankees.

In 2008, the Yankees didn't even make the playoffs, though A-Rod signed a new 10-year, $275 million dollar deal the winter before the season.

In 2009, the Yankees finished with 103 wins, were the American League East Champions and had home-field advantage throughout the postseason.

A-Rod finished with 30 home runs and 100 RBI for the 13th straight time in his career. But when October came, all eyes were on every single one of his postseason at-bats, because they needed Alex to produce—for once.

In Game One of the ALDS against the Twins, A-Rod went 2-for-4 with two huge RBI singles that helped the Yankees to a 7-2 victory. So far, off to a good start.

In Game Two of the ALDS, the Twins were up 3-1 and Joe Nathan was trying to close out the game, but A-Rod smashed a two-run home run over the wall for a game-tying home run. The Yankees went on to win that game, 4-3. Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with three RBI.

In Game Three of the ALDS, the Twins were up 1-0 in the seventh inning and Carl Pavano was pitching strong against the Yankees. A-Rod blasted a shot off Pavano to the right field seats for a game-tying home run. The Yankees went on to win the game 4-1 and swept the Twins out of the playoffs. A-Rod finished the game 1-for-3 with an RBI.

In the ALDS, A-Rod finished 5-for-11, hitting .455 with two home runs and six RBI.

In Game One of the ALCS against the Angels, A-Rod went 1-for-2 with an RBI and a walk in the Yankees 4-1 win. So far, A-Rod again was off to another good start in another playoff series.

In Game Two of the ALCS, the Angels were up 3-2 in the 11th inning and trying to tie the series. However, A-Rod got a high fastball from Brian Fuentes and drilled it over the right field wall to tie the game at 3-3. The Yankees ended up winning the game 4-3 in the 13th inning. A-Rod only went 1-for-6 with an RBI, but hit another big home run in the playoffs.

In Game Three of the ALCS, the Yankees lost 5-4 in 11 innings, but in the fourth inning A-Rod drilled another home run to deep left field off Jered Weaver that at the time put the Yankees up 2-0. A-Rod finished 1-for-4 with the home run and RBI.

In Game Four of the ALCS, A-Rod had a monsterous game, going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI, including a two-run home run off Jason Bulger in a 10-1 Yankees victory.

In Game Five of the ALCS, A-Rod only went 1-for-3 with two walks in the Yankees' 7-6 loss to the Angels.

In Game Six of the ALCS, A-Rod went 2-for-2 with three walks and an RBI after being walked with the bases loaded by Joe Saunders. The Yankees ended up beating the Angels 5-2, and won the ALCS four games to two over the Angels.

In the ALCS, A-Rod finished going 9-for-21, hitting .429 with three home runs and six RBI.

Through the first two rounds of the postseason, Rodriguez is 14-for-32, hitting .437 with five home runs and 12 RBI. So far, A-Rod was having an outstanding postseason.

In Game One of the World Series, A-Rod had his first bad game of the playoffs, going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts against Cliff Lee. Everyone was bad against Lee, as evidenced by the Phillies winning 6-1.

In Game Two of the World Series, A-Rod again had another bad performance, going 0-for-4 with three more strikeouts. This time it was Pedro Martinez who had A-Rod fooled. However, with clutch hits and better pitching from A.J. Burnett, the Yankees won 3-1.

In Game Three of the World Series, A-Rod finally got going with an home run to right field, a two-run shot off Cole Hamels that hit off a camera and had to be reviewed by the umpires to get reversed from a double to a home run. The Yankees won the game 8-5, and A-Rod finished 1-for-2 with the home run and two RBI.

In Game Four of the World Series, A-Rod stepped up to the plate against Brad Lidge with runners on first and third and the game tied 4-4 in the ninth inning. Lidge hung Rodriguez a fastball he drilled into left field to score Johnny Damon and take a 5-4 lead. The Yankees ended up winning 7-4, and A-Rod finished 1-for-4 with the double and RBI.

In Game Five of the World Series, A-Rod lined a double down the right field line off Lee to give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. The Phillies pounded on Burnett and Phil Coke, going up 8-2. With runners on second and third, A-Rod drilled a pitch off Lee into the left-center field gap that brought in Jeter and Damon, and the lead was cut to 8-4. The Yankees ended up losing 8-6, but A-Rod finished 2-for-4 with 3 RBI.

In Game Six of the World Series, A-Rod finished 1-for-2 with two walks, but this game was more the Hideki Matsui show and the Yankees won the game 7-3—and the World Series.

In the World Series, A-Rod finished 5-for-20, hitting .250 with one home run and six RBI.

For the entire 2009 postseason, A-Rod finished 19-for-52, hitting .365 with six home runs and 18 RBI.

For the first time in his tenure as a Yankee, Rodriguez had a great postseason from start to finish, came up with clutch hits, huge home runs and erased the memories of past failed Octobers.

When the Yankees needed A-Rod to get a big hit, he got the big hit. His biggest hit may have been the one in Game Four off Lidge that propelled the Yankees to a 3-1 lead in the World Series. A ninth-inning hit to give your team a lead in the World Series is something many will remember for years to come.

But the best of all, Alex Rodriguez has finally won a World Series. After three MVP awards, many home run titles and mega-contracts, A-Rod finally won a championship.

Nobody can ever say that A-Rod is a failure again. Nobody can call him a disappointment. Without A-Rod's bat, the Yankees don't make the run in October. Without A-Rod, 2009 doesn't happen.

The loser, failure and choke labels are over for A-Rod. A-Rod can now be classified with Scott Brosuis, Tino Martinez, Bernie Williams, Mariano Rivera, and Derek Jeter as postseason heroes for the Yankees.

Alex Rodriguez forever will now be part of Yankees history as a hero. One October full of great playoff magic wiped away the miserable past and brought a great new chapter in the storybook.

A-Rod can breathe that sigh of relief, as can the rest of Yankees Universe. Because that $275 million dollar contract the Yankees gave A-Rod in December of 2007 has paid off with a 27th World Series Championship.

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They have instead opted to buy his contract out for $1 million, making him a free agent.

It was just one season ago that Putz was considered a top closer in the American League. He was also the centerpiece of the trade that netted the Seattle Mariners CF Franklin Gutierrez, 1B Mike Carp, OF Endy Chavez, P Garrett Olson, and INF Ronny Cedeno (later used in a trade for SS Jack Wilson, and SP Ian Snell), among others.

He quickly fell off the radar in the National League, while the Mariners found a diamond in the rough from a trade with Boston in top AL closer David Aardsma, who posted 38 saves in his career year.

With the Mets JJ Putz posted a 1-4 record, 5.22 ERA, and two saves in only 29.1 innings of work last year in the Set Up role.

Keep in mind though, Aardsma posted a 5.72 career ERA before he came to Seattle. He turned things around, and so could Putz. 

It's not the only pitcher that we have seen traded by the Mariners that has fallen off track after leaving. Jarrod Washburn posted a 1-3 record and a 7.33 ERA after being traded to the Detroit Tigers.

Mark Lowe is currently the set up man, but why not bring in a proven all star like Putz to push him? Lowe's numbers were ok, not fantastic. A 2-7 record (variable for a relief pitcher) and 3.27 ERA are nothing more then mediocre.

I would definitely advocate the idea of signing JJ Putz and Jarrod Washburn. For those against signing high-priced free agents this would be a way to get two former veteran Mariners at a cheap price. Washburn saw a career resurgence with John Wetteland as the pitching coach, posting an 8-6 record with a 2.64 ERA, and his name was being tossed around as a late all-star addition.

Unless you want to break the bank on John Lackey or Rich Harden, all you are likely going to find are veteran pitchers, injury-prone players, or in most cases, a combination of the two.

Both Washburn and Putz have pitched well for the Mariners. Washburn only had one good season, which can partly be forgiven due to the fact he recieved the lowest run support of any AL Pitcher dating back to 2005. 

These two would fall right into how Zdurencik built this team last offseason: low risk, high potential signings and trades. 

What harm would a one year incentive laced deal be? It wouldn't, and thats why we should re-sign JJ Putz and Jarrod Washburn. 

Sports Illustrated reported rumor interest in Washburn.

The Seattle PI also likes the idea of Washburn making a return

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On top of that, the San Francisco Giants ace and Renton, Wash., native wasn’t even under the influence when he was caught.

He just committed a slight faux pas. Had his pipe sitting out during a routine traffic stop. Whoops. We’ve all been there. Not necessarily with marijuana. But other stuff.

Maybe your porn collection was discovered.

Maybe you told a fib to get out of going to the opera, then got found out.

Maybe you cheated your diet, got caught with your pants down, or let slip a four-letter word in front of your mom. We all make mistakes. We’re human.

Fact is, I’m cool with Lincecum smoking a doobie every once in a while. I don’t smoke myself, but I absolutely condone the use of marijuana by others. It doesn’t bother me.

Smoking pot then getting behind the wheel bugs me a little bit. But smoking in and of itself is no big deal. Falls right in line with alcohol consumption and frivolous sex. It fails to register on my moral code.

Think about it. How many potheads do you know that have caused serious problems in our world? You never hear about a pothead committing a heinous act against society.

You don’t see potheads holding up banks, kidnapping children, or murdering anyone. Crackheads, maybe. Needle junkies, maybe. Potheads, no.

Potheads are among the most passive individuals on the face of the earth. All they want to do is eat, sleep, and play XBox. What’s wrong with that?

They aren’t hurting anybody, and if you talk to them you’ll probably have a nice conversation that tunes you into life. Potheads love life. You have to appreciate that.

And who knows. Maybe Lincecum is one of those dudes that becomes a savant when he’s on the hash. Maybe weed is what gives him his remarkable flexibility, his ability to throw a fastball 100 miles per hour, his gift to bedazzle the masses with his wicked curveball.

Hell, we enjoy watching that go down. We love witnessing the marvel of Tim Lincecum’s athletic feats. Why would we want to sideline that gift, if that gift just so happens to be brought on by the use of marijuana?

I say let that gift thrive. Let it be free. Let’s just go ahead and legalize the darn plant— because that’s what it is, a plant, like a freakin' rose or daisy—and get this bad boy over with.

Legalize pot and you cut the arms and legs off of violent, malicious drug cartels that capitalize on the sale of a controlled substance.

Legalize pot and you free up space in our prisons.

Legalize pot and Tim Lincecum is just another guy with a pipe, a dimebag, and a gift that brings smiles to the faces of children and adults alike.

If Tim Lincecum has a need for weed, then I say let that need be freed.

Let’s all say it together now: Let that need be freed.

Legalize!

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This trade from a Twins perspective is good. While Gomez is one of the best defensive outfielders in the league, he yielded playing time in center field to Denard Span and when Delmon Young started hitting late in the season, Gomez saw seldom playing time.

The Twins clearly didn't value Gomez's defense enough to make up for his putrid offense. Which obviously made him expendable.

The Twins being able to pry Hardy from the Brewers without having to give up more than Gomez looks to be an initial 'win' for Minnesota.

Hardy was once viewed as 'untouchable' with the likes of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder, but poor play and the emergence of Alcides Escobar ultimately forced the Brewers hand.

The Twins having gaping holes everywhere except for first base in the infield. Hardy fufills a hole at shortstop while Nick Punto likely fills another hole at either second or third base.

To add: Peter brought up a good point in the comment sections. Baseball has a lot to do with marketing and while Gomez was a fan-favorite in the Twin Cities, Hardy has been known to be a fan-favorite in Wisconsin and I'm sure (from a marketing perspective) the Twins aren't losing a ton while potentially gaining a lot of marketability in Hardy.

Brewers

The Brewers, as mentioned, felt the need to trade Hardy now while he still has some value left. But had they traded him prior to the July trade deadline, the Brewers probably would have gotten quite a bit more in return.

With Mat Gamel making his way to the Majors and Casey McGehee emerging as an option the Brewers thoughts of moving Hardy to third base didn't seem like a viable option anymore.

With no room left for Hardy in the infield, the Brewers knew heading into the off-season that they'd have to move one of them to fill in another position of need.

Pitching seemed to be the likely position they'd target in a trade. Mike Cameron is a free agent and seemed likely to test the free agent waters, so the Brewers decided to not waste any time in finding his replacement.

They go from an older good defensive outfielder to a younger, better defensive outfielder. Unfortunately they'll miss Cameron's bat, but if Gomez can reach his potential, they'll be plenty pleased with what Gomez can bring to the table. A fine move on the Brewers behalf.

Now what?

Despite what I mentioned earlier, Bill Smith mentioned that this will mean the end of Orlando Cabrera's time in Minnesota. Smith also mentioned that Nick Punto will likely play either second base or third base which means the club could look to add one of the two.

Punto can play either position adequately so the Twins have plenty of options. Right now, the lineup would likely be:

That lineup (to many) would be great, but it unfortunately makes me cringe. Why? Because the thought of Hardy batting second makes me want to puke. He has a career .323 on-base percentage and last season, he got on base 30.2% of the time, which is not good enough for the two-hole.

The Twins are notorious for wasting the number two spot in the lineup and when you have guys at number one and three in the lineup that get on-base at a high clip, the two-hole shouldn't be any different.

In order to optimize the lineup we have, I think it's pretty clear that the Twins need to add a player that is a better fit in the two-hole than what Hardy is. In turn, the Twins will be able to stretch their lineup out, allowing Hardy to slide down to number seven in the lineup.

Even after this latest trade, the Twins still have several trading chips that could interest other teams. They also have a few options they can pursue via free agency.

One player that would fit the role perfectly would be Chone Figgins, but acquiring him is probably not realistic. To me, the best fit would be Felipe Lopez.

After struggling to crack the lineup as a regular in Toronto, the Blue Jays traded Lopez to Cincinnati prior to the 2003 season. The Reds got similar production from Lopez in both 2003 and 2004 as he backed-up Barry Larkin. Larkin retired prior to the 2005 season and the Reds gave Lopez an opportunity to start. He finished the season hitting .291/.352/.486 with 62 extra-base hits including 23 home runs.

But Lopez was traded to the Washington Nationals in the middle of the 2006 season and he fell off the face of the earth during his two years spent in the nation's capital and the Nationals decided to trade him during the 2008 season to the St. Louis Cardinals.

Something started clicking for Lopez in St. Louis and he carried it with him as a free agent in 2009 to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks were out of contention at the trade deadline and dealt him to the Milwaukee Brewers where he continued to rip the cover off of the ball.

Lopez isn't an All-Star by any means, but he's a solid defensive second baseman and can fill in at third base if needed.

He also has a .392 OBP since the middle of the 2008 season which can't be ignored. Lopez signed a one-year $3.5 million deal with the Diamondbacks last off-season and is likely to receive a substantial pay raise this time around.

Lopez is still on the good side of 30, which means he'll likely be getting a multi-year contract. The Twins don't look to have anyone close to the Majors who would be threatening to take over second base anytime soon so if they wanted to explore a two or three-year deal with Lopez, it'd be a good decision. Signing Lopez to a two-years and $12 million with a third year option of $8 million would be a great move for the Twins.

It'd also give us a lineup like this:


And the best part? The Twins can do this without having to break the bank for someone like Figgins. In fact, according to the TwinsCentric GM Handbook , this would give the Twins a payroll around $87 million.

Even if the Twins added $7-8 million onto Mauer's contract extension (if they do sign him to an extension), the Twins would still be within what their self-imposed salary cap would be, which is believed to be between $90-$100.

And the Twins could still have a few million to work with in signing a starting pitcher. A good risk for the Twins would be to look into Ben Sheets as a free agent. He likely could be signed for under $2 million (without incentives) and could be a huge boost to this rotation.

The point I'm trying to get across is that the Twins still have a lot of options on how they want to finish off this roster and while re-signing Mauer remains the top priority, it's great to see the Twins not waste any time acquiring new players.

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The Blue Jays have had good players come through the franchise in this time and have had some solid ballclubs in that time, but they have just not been able to get over the hump and make that step into October baseball.

There are a laundry list of problems in Toronto, but there seems to be one solution that will solve the majority of them.

Rogers Communications needs to sell the team.

The Rogers ownership era has been disappointing to say the least and has been filled with bad decisions, whether it was the obvious conflicts in interest by giving their company an absolute monopoly on everything Toronto Blue Jays, to their horrible front office decisions and the ridiculous J.P. Ricciardi era.

First off Rogers basically bought the Blue Jays to put them on their sports network Rogers Sportsnet and they have basically ruined watching Blue Jays baseball. Their presentation is subpar and Jamie Campbell may be one of the worst announcers in baseball.

They also renamed the SkyDome to Rogers Centre, likely at no cost at all. I am not saying that ownership groups shouldn't be able to take advantage of their team, but Rogers Communications has absolutely no desire to make the Blue Jays a winning team, and fans have been showing up steadily every year.

But the problem is that this year the Jays set a record for lowest attendance at the SkyDome and it is obviously apparent that Toronto sports fans are drawing the line in the sand and are refusing to pay to go see a losing team.

Also the front office situation could not get any worse. They have hired two moneyball guys as GM when it is obvious that moneyball is dead and does not work. The fact that Oakland has been struggling since they let their three highly paid pitchers go is no coincidence.

They have overpaid the wrong guys and have let go of the right ones, they brought in random middle of the road veterans who were going to be the “key’ addition every year. None of those lasted.

They had to let Alex Rios go for nothing, Vernon Wells is overpaid and on his way out. And arguably the best Blue Jays of all time, Roy Halladay is likely forcing his way out of town, and considering The Doc’s loyalty the Jays must be really bad.

The Jays do have good young arms, but they are often injured. If they can stay healthy they can maybe build on that hot start they had last year, but you can’t coach durability.

And they haven’t hired a good manager in forever. Besides bringing Cito Gaston back, they haven’t made a smart decision yet, and they have even found a way to screw that up.

The Jays organization is one of the worst in baseball and the ownerships hirings are a big part of the problem

This situation could get ugly quick and most Jays fans are not very optimistic about the future. I think that it is time for Rogers and the Jays to go their separate ways for the best interest of the team and for Canada as we don’t want to have another Expos situation.

So please for the good of the loyal and long suffering Blue Jays fans, sell the team and end the monopoly and mediocrity that your ownership regime has created.

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I have clearer memories of stuff that happened when I was five than what occurred on that afternoon in October.

Go figure.

Instead of braving the elements for an event I'd ultimately forget about, I opted to watch this year's parade telecast on NY1.

I only chose NY1's coverage because my Time Warner cable box annoyingly resets to this NYC-centric station each time I turn on the TV. Had I thought it out, I would've watched the proceedings on YES. I'm on a big Kim Jones kick right now, which I think has a lot to do with seeing her get doused with champagne on a regular basis for a month.

Creepy but honest. That's my motto in life.

ANYWAY, River & Sunset is here to answer all of your parade-related questions. In fact, I've pulled several of those queries out of my imaginary inbox. If you have any other questions, feel free to post them in the comment section.

By the way, the Yankees won the World Series. How sweet is that?

Okay, onto the questions...

Which float was the best?

I'd probably have to give it to the Derk Jeter/Jorge Posada rig. Jeter was looking cool as always, rocking his trademark fade haircut from 1996. His sunglasses seemed to be an artifact of the Clinton Administration as well. He may have been listening to The Presidents Of The United States of America on his Discman.

It's possible.

Meanwhile, Charles Jeter, giving Billy Dee Williams a run for his money for the title of America's most debonair black man, was on the float with his better half, Dorothy. Girlfriend Minka Kelly was also on board, unknowingly risking her life with all those crazy-in-love Staten Island and Bronx chicks staring her down the whole time. All I could think was JFK in Dallas.

Which float had the highest net worth?

Had to be the CC Sabathia/Mark Teixeira float. $341 million buys a lot of toilet paper. And judging by Tex's wife, a Maryland dime piece.

Where was the best place to watch the parade?

On your couch.

What is ticker-tape?

So easy. It's, like, tape...that's...tickered. You didn't know that?

Who was the biggest dork?

Alex Rodriguez, obviously. This was as surprising as the failure of an Eddie Murphy vehicle.

A-Rod, fresh off his Biggest Dork Award from Wednesday's World Series trophy presentation ("Now we're gonna party!!!!" ), again came strong with the dork vibe on Friday.

Traveling down the Canyon of Heroes with Jay-Z (nobody has a better life than Jay-Z), A-Rod repeatedly flashed the rapper's signature diamond hand sign. At one point, Jay-Z looked over at A-Rod gesturing to the crowd and chuckled.

I knew exactly what he was thinking.

Which float was most in need of Visine and Doritos?

The ride containing Johnny Damon and Nick Swisher, of course. I could have sworn I saw Matthew McConaghey at one point. Jerry Hairston, Jr. was there, too, presumably to serve as the designated driver.

Which float was the weakest?

Hmmmmm...well World Series MVP Hideki Matsui got the Montreal Screw Job, partnered up with pinstripe legends Eric Hinske and Ramiro Pena.

Hey organizers, was Lee Gutterman not available?

That said, the Yankees grounds crew also got their own float, which just pisses me off. Although it would be a fun drinking game to keep a camera on the crew to see how many times they tried and failed to get a 'YMCA' chant going.

Hacks.

Did Michael Kay really get his own Cadillac to ride down the Canyon of Heroes?

Yes! And he got a key to the city during the City Hall proceedings, too!

Michael Kay has a Hank Steinbrenner sex tape, I'm convinced of it.

I didn't see Don Mattingly's float. Where was he?

I wish upon you swine flu crossed with SARS crossed with full-blown AIDS.

Which Yankees broadcaster most resembled a dominatrix?

I know, you're probably guessing John Sterling. But it was actually his radio partner, Suzyn Waldman.

Black, leather and hugging tight in all the wrong places. Let's just move on.

Who looked the most depressed on a float?

That would be Chien-Ming Wang, who tore every tendon in his body while waving to the crowd.

Who looked the most uncomfortable during Jay-Z's performance of 'Empire State of Mind' at City Hall?

That would be Hal Steinbrenner, whose perfectly-coiffed head appeared to be filled with racist thoughts.

Who was the best dressed?

That would be the Cisco Kid, Francisco Cervelli. A suave cream-colored suit straight out of Scarface . Melky Cabrera was rocking a pretty cool fedora, but it just made him look like a teddy bear wearing a funny hat.

Who had the most clearly made-up nicknames for Mariano Rivera?

That would be NY1's sports anchor Tom McDonald, who called Rivera both the "Ice Man" and "King of Close". This is why you're on NY1, Tom.

Dan Hanzus writes the Yankees blog River & Sunset and can be reached via e-mail at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter at danhanzus .

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Tom's Take: I can't say that I disagree because the Phils could use another reliable starter since Cole Hamels is a wild card, and you can't count on J.A. Happ to repeat his rookie season. Could you imagine a rotation of Cliff Lee, Halladay, Hamels, Joe Blanton, and Happ?

Jim Salisbury broke the news that Brett Myers will not return to the Phillies in the 2010 season . Myers was told by general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. that they will not renegotiate a contract with the 29-year-old right-hander. Myers said he'll be open to starting or relieving for his new team.

Tom's Take: Brett Myers is best suited to be a closer. He has the stuff to do so, and did it well in 2007. He has the stuff to be a decent starter, but he's not an ace or even a No. 2 that people have made him out to be. He can be at times, but he's too inconsistent to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. A team looking for a closer may be where Myers ends up.

The Phillies exercised the option on Cliff Lee , which will pay the southpaw $9 million this upcoming season. Lee posted a 4-0 record with a 1.56 ERA in 40 1/3 innings in the playoffs for the Phils.  His contract expires after this upcoming season, and the Phillies will want to offer him an extension. Also, the Phils have until Monday to decide whether to pickup Pedro Feliz's option.

Tom' Take: Sweet relief even though everyone knew it was going to happen. Lee is the best pitcher on the Phillies roster, and his deal ends following this upcoming season. Look for the Phils to talk extension with him this offseason or during next year because he's a guy who they pretty much have to sign. I don't expect to see Feliz back because of the $5.5 million he'll be on the books for next year.

David Brown of Yahoo Sports suggested yesterday that the Phillies sign Mark DeRosa and John Lackey . In his scenario that DeRosa would replace Feliz at third base, and Lackey will add some postseason experience and stability to a rotation that needs it.

Tom's Take: Phillies will need another starting pitcher, and Lackey is a work-horse when he's healthy. Putting Lackey with Lee and Hamels would give the Phillies a solid three-man rotation. Of course, that is counting on Hamels to right the ship. DeRosa is a good guy to have since he's versatile and is a decent hitter. As Brown points out, six of his 10 seasons in the MLB, he has made the playoffs. Chone Figgins, Garrett Atkins, and Adrian Beltre are other options.

For more Phillies' coverage, please go to my blog: Phillies Phandom

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Amaro did not give a reason as to why he will not renew Myers' contract, though the $12 million in cap space may be a factor.

Myers said that he felt it coming and is not as disappointed as he expected.

Myers is willing to negotiate to be a starter or reliever with a new team.

Myers, a top choice in the 1999 draft, has been disappointing in his big league career, posting a 4.40 ERA and a 73-63 record in his career. However, he has had notable moments as a Phillie, posting three RBI and getting the win in Game Two of the 2008 NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Myers is also infamous for some of his wild behavior, including beating his wife and acting recklessly when intoxicated.

Myers jokingly said that if or when he returns to play against the Phillies, he wants to be treated as harshly as possible.

This move leaves the Phillies with plenty of money to sign a new starting pitcher, some new relief pitchers, a few bench tools, or possibly a new third baseman if they do not exercise their option on Pedro Feliz.

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Milton Bradley, however, remains a Cub.

This is not yet a critical failing on the part of Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry. The key word, however, is "yet."

Cubs fans have seen this movie before. In the winter of 2004-05, Hendry dragged his feet and over-thought the necessary dumping of disgraced slugger and clubhouse pariah Sammy Sosa, hemming and hawing into early February before unloading Sosa on the Baltimore Orioles, getting far below market value even for the controversial and aging right fielder, and derailing the Cubs' off-season by putting a number of other needs on hold until it was too late fill them. The 2005 Cubs went 79-83.

Bradley, according to reports by everyone from FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal to the Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan, has generated much higher levels of interest than the average fan might expect. If that's true, Hendry can afford to wait until next week's GM meetings, here in Chicago, before pulling the trigger on the Bradley deal.

But if the saga stretches any further into the winter, Bradley will only get harder to move, and uncertainty over how much of his 2010 salary Hendry's Cubs will have to eat will tie the general manager's hands in an active market.

Given the number of needs the Cubs still need to fill (another arm for the bullpen, a center fielder, a second baseman, and new hitters for the first and fifth spots in the order, plus a right-handed complement to Kosuke Fukudome in right field), the organization cannot afford hesitation.

Good fits like Mark Teahen, J.J. Hardy, and Akinori Iwamura are already off the table. Settling the question of whether he would exercise his 2010 player option, Jon Garland filed for free agency Thursday. Dan Uggla may be the next big name to move at the GM's meetings, and if Hendry has moved Bradley by then, he will know if he has the flexibility to add the slugger and his $7-8 million 2010 salary.

The specific names he can or cannot acquire, however, is less important than the principle: the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. Hendry must be careful to get to know the devil of his 2010 contract obligations to Bradley as soon as possible. if he doesn't, 79-83 is just waiting to victimize the Cubs again in 2010.

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The payroll for the New York Yankees in 2009 was approximately $200 million. They spent $50 million more than the next largest spender, the New York Mets and about $88 million more than NL Champion Philadelphia Phillies.

Since the Yankees are able to outspend every other team in baseball by wide margins and because it is considered a given that small market teams cannot compete, there have been calls for a salary cap to be put into place. The idea is that if we limit the ability for big market clubs to spend on top talent, there would be more parity and more competitiveness in baseball.

I believe that this theory is incorrect. If MLB instituted a salary cap, there would still be many ways around it that will favor big teams, such as large signing bonuses. A salary cap would not accomplish the competitiveness that most baseball fans seek. This is why I propose a radical solution: a talent cap.

The details of such a plan still need to be hammered out, but the basic premise is to assign every player in baseball a value grade based upon player statistics. This is similar to what the Elias Sports Bureau does to determine draft pick compensation. In this situation, each team would be given a certain amount of slots for type A players, type B players and so on. Teams would then be unable to put a type A player at every position and must choose which players to sign according to the overall makeup of their team.

Teams would be able to compensate the players they sign to whatever amount they want. So for instance if the Yankees decide that they want Alex Rodriguez to be one of their Type A players, they can still give him a large contract, but that means that one of their Type A slots is used up.

Two questions that may arise are: What about rookies that emerge as high value players? What about teams that are unable to afford paying for a Type A player, even under the new system?

To the first question, teams that are at their talent cap limit, but have a young player who emerges as an all-star such as a Dustin Pedroia, are given a short grace period by which to adjust their roster. Maybe its one season, maybe two, but soon the team would have to make a decision on whether to sign their young player to one of their talent slots and drop another player or to trade that player away.

To the second question, teams would be under a talent cap, meaning teams would be able trade their talent slots to other teams for cash or other slots. Lets say that the Pirates have their Type A talent slots, but either can't afford to fill them all up or don't want to. Now lets say the Yankees have a new Type A player that they really want to keep.

The Yankees can then offer $50 million to the Pirates to rent the slot. The Pirates own it, but the Yankees rent it. Or perhaps the Yankees trade two Type B slots for a Type A. This allows the Yankees to use their money to get better, but it still compensates the Pirates.

There are a few kinks that still need to be worked out and this is a very radical proposal, but capping payrolls will not bring competitiveness back to baseball. The big market teams will always have the advantages. The only way to truly restore parity and the ability of every team to win a championship, is to cap the amount of talent that can go to every team.

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Myers, once the top of the Philadelphia rotation, fell out of favor over the last couple years because of injuries and off-the-field issues. He spent some time as the Phillies closer before Brad Lidge was acquired as well.

Myers, 29, appeared in 18 games for the Phillies in 2009, starting 10 games and throwing 70.2 innings. He posted a 4-3 record with a 4.84 ERA and .272 batting average allowed. He struck out 50 batters, while 23 received a free pass.

The Chicago Cubs are looking for someone that won't command a huge salary to potentially give the team a few early season starts in Ted Lilly's absence, and some bullpen depth. Myers could potentially fill both of those roles.

The tricky part will be determining a market for Myers, and whether that market is as a starter or reliever. He made over $12 million last year, but stands to take a fairly substantial pay cut based on his performances over the last few seasons.

Should the Cubs pursue Myers? My vote is yes.

Myers would probably have interest in a multi-year deal with lots of incentives. If the Cubs gave him the opportunity to at least begin the year in the rotation, something Myers has wanted since leaving the rotation in Philly, it might entice him to take the deal.

Considering Myers won't turn 30 until the middle of August, a multi-year deal isn't out of the question, either. Cubs GM Jim Hendry has a long history of taking chances on burned out pitchers, and some (Ryan Dempster) have turned out to work out extremely well.

Myers has shown more in the last couple years in Philadelphia than Dempster had shown in Cincinnati before coming to Chicago, and could be a quality, relatively inexpensive gamble.

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Now, for full disclosure, that percentage is actually third in North American professional sports, behind the NHL's Montreal Canadiens (who have won 22 out of 82 modern Stanley Cups for 26.83 percent) and the NBA's Boston Celtics (who have won 17 of 63 BBA/NBA Championships for 26.98 percent).

However, the Canadiens have only won eight championships since 1970 (the NHL was only a six-team league from 1942-67), and two since 1980 (which is when the first of the NHL's two major expansions ended). And apart from that unprecedented 11-of-13 NBA Championships run for the Celtics from 1957-69, they've been mostly quiet, winning only one NBA Championship in the past two decades. The Yankees, by contrast, have won five World Series since 1996.

Now, many people hate the Yankees, and with good reason. To many people, sports should be about a love of the game, whatever game that may be. It should be a place where success is determined by teamwork, hard work, and God-given talent, not by who has the most money (which is a large determining factor in much of life outside of sports, a fact we turn to sports to escape from). Every time the Yankees win, baseball changes from America's pastime into something sinister.

I'll admit, I used to hate the Yankees with a passion for these very reasons. But as I've learned more about the business of sports, I've learned that they are completely within the rules of baseball for them to do what they do, i.e., try to "buy championships" by paying exorbitant amounts for the top free agent talent, and that the only thing preventing other ball clubs from doing the same is their owners' unwillingness or inability to cough up the dough.

However, the idea of championships based on ability to pay is still unsavory to me. Thus, I have searched for a way to have Major League Baseball impose upon itself a more equitable system, whether it be tougher penalties for overspending, more revenue sharing, or even the implementation of a salary cap. After a great deal of thinking, I came up with a solution.

I will root for the Yankees.

I want the Yankees to win every game they play every year, and crush whoever they play in the World Series in four games by a minimum of 10 runs a game. I want every team playing the Yankees to look so bad, and the games to be so uncompetitive, that people stop buying tickets.

It may take a while (maybe seven or eight championships in the next decade) for Major League Baseball to start feeling it in the wallet, but when they do, then something will be done to give fans of bad teams like the Pirates, Royals, and Nationals, and middling teams like my Brewers reason to hope. Until then, I have only four syllables for you: "Let's go Yankees!"

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The question is: Why did the Marlins trade Jeremy Hermida? Many will say that Florida dumps every player whet they get too expensive. Money is one of the reasons since Florida expects to have a payroll around $36 million for 2010.

Keeping the current roster after arbitration raises may cost around $45 million. The Marlins could have traded Cody Ross instead. Cody is older and was not a top prospect. Perhaps they end up trading him as well, but I consider Uggla to be the next player to leave Florida.

Jeremy Hermida was a first-round draft pick in the 2002 draft. Scouts raved about his swing and loved his patience. Baseball America ranked him as one of the top prospects in baseball, and was the Marlins best prospect from 2004 to 2006. I remember Aug. 31, 2005 when the Marlins were facing the Cardinals.

It was the bottom of the seventh inning and the Marlins were being shutout and down by ten runs. I wasn't to much into the game but turned my attention to the pinch hit at-bat by our top prospect at the time. Jeremy ended up being the second player ever to hit a grand slam in his first at bat.

The Marlins were eventually eliminated from the playoffs and gave some playing time to their young players. Hermida looked good and had the makings of a star. In the last game of the season against the Braves, the Marlins were down by two runs in the ninth inning with two outs, a man on first, and Jeremy Hermida batting.

He came through by hitting a two-run shot and taking the game to extra innings. The Marlins won it in the 10 inning.

After 41 at-bats in 2005, everyone was calling him the 2006 rookie of the year. Little did anyone know that the rookie of the year would be won by a Marlin named Hanley Ramirez instead. Another two Marlins in the top five were Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson, with another three receiving votes.

Hermida was troubled by injuries and had a disappointing 2006. He was injured again at the beginning of 2007 but turned it around in the second half, having his best season to date. All the fans and writers were predicting a breakout in 2008.

He would disappoint once again with low production but manged to play in 142 games. At the beginning of 2009 most fans had lost faith in him but some writers were still expecting him to break out. Count 2009 as another disappointment for Hermida. He remained healthy until the last month of the season but ended the season in the bench due to a back issue.

Hermida is a patient hitter but is often criticized for taking too many pitches and striking out too much. Jeremy also showed some speed in the minors but hasn't been able to steal much in the majors. He has also played below average defense in the outfield and seems to lack emotions.

While I don't consider his time in Florida productive and agree with the trade, I am not ready to call him a bust yet. Also, I don't buy the whole change of scenery would cause a breakout season. If he ends up staying in Boston he is probably a fourth outfielder. He will benefit from the dimensions of Fenway and perhaps a wake up call might cause to work harder at put his tools to a better use.

The bottom line is that the Marlins have some young outfielders waiting in the minors and cannot afford to use their low budget waiting for Jeremy Hermida to breakout.

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Gomez, who was acquired in the 2007 Johan Santana trade, had 900 AB for the Twins during his two years in Minnesota. Although he was heralded for his speed, he only hit .248 as a Twin, and .229 during the 2009 season.

Gomez started the season in center field for the Twins in '09, but was benched due to his slumping bat. He was used mainly as a pinch runner and defensive replacement for the second half of the season.

Gomez hit for the cycle in May of 2008. He led the league with 30 bunt hits, but also led all center fielders with eight errors.

The fielder was strongly criticized for being a free-swinging hitter and for his slow development.

In exchange for Gomez, the Twins get an experienced shortstop in JJ Hardy. Hardy, who was an All-Star in 2007, has a reputation as a potential power shortstop, hitting 50 home runs for the Brewers in the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

Hardy got off to a rough start in 2009, and was demoted to AAA-Nashville in July. He was called up the following September, and finished the season hitting .229 with 11 home runs and 47 RBI.

By trading Gomez for Hardy, the Twins have filled their shortstop void, and should not be in the running to re-sign SS Orlando Cabrera.

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It could be that V-Mart is at the crossroads of his career as the injury bug hit him during 2008. If he can remain relatively healthy, then Martinez should put up decent numbers in '09. He's 30; given his track record, I expect Martinez to steal playing time from Kelly Shoppach. He is 1B-eligible, as well.

He managed to flourish even without Barry Bonds in the lineup and put up career-best numbers (33 doubles, 95 RBIs) and hit .292. The question remains whether he can duplicate that success or not. I think not as the Giants went free-agent shopping so he may get some protection in that respect. His numbers should be pretty good but don't expect '08 numbers from Molina.

If he can remain healthy during the '09 campaign, then he can jump into the elite pack of catchers; as it were, he had decent stats for a perennially underachieving Pirates squad (.318, 15 HRs, 69 RBIs). Again, he needs to stay healthy.

8. Mike Napoli, Los Angeles Angels

Good power obviously (20 HRs, 49 HRs), but can he stay healthy? He should play more than 78 games this coming season and you can expect at least 25 HRs from Napoli. If he can hang on to the starting catching gig from Jeff Mathis, he will flourish.

An intriguing player. It helped that he played in the thin air of Colorado, but he hit just as well as he did in Denver (.897 OPS on road, .893 OPS at home). He hit 18 HRs in only 333 at-bats, so that should give you an idea of what his potential is. If the elites are gone when your turn comes up, grab Ianetta.

He is the benefactor of having a decent Rays lineup batting ahead of him, so the pressure wasn't as pronounced. Don't look for true power from him as he is more a contact hitter (.295 BA in '08). But he is only 25 years old, so his numbers can only get better. A good catcher to have on your squad if you're not looking to be overly dependent on catcher production.

Sleepers: Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants (1B and 3B-eligible); John Baker, Florida Marlins; Taylor Teagarden, Texas Rangers; A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox

Tomorrow: First Base