Twins Moves

I like the Twins’ decision to lock up Denard Span better than the move to lock up Nick Blackburn.  Span was the 20th pick of the 2002 Draft, while Blackburn was a 29th Round pick (857th overall) in 2001.  Also, Span is two years younger than Blackburn.
Also, Span has a career .305 batting average, .390 [...]

Blame It on Chicago

What do you know?  It turns out that Milton Bradley’s problems with the Cubs were someone else’s fault.  At least according to Milton:
“Two years ago, I played, and I was good,” Bradley said. “I go to Chicago, not good. I’ve been good my whole career. So, obviously, it was something with Chicago, not me.”
He added: [...]

Marlon Byrd and Milton Bradley

I know I’ve already written enough about Milton Bradley, but sometimes I just can’t help myself.
I read this article today about Marlon Byrd arriving at Spring Training with the Cubs this week.  Apparently, he and Milton Bradley are old friends who went to school together.
Byrd’s quotes are pretty much what you’d expect, given his and [...]

Minor Happenings

Russell Branyan finally found a taker, signing with the Indians for around $2 million guaranteed and an additional $1 million in performance incentives.  He was another guy who really overplayed his hand this off-season.  His final 2009 numbers were terrific, but he didn’t play after later August due to a back injury, he’s 34 in [...]

Some Opinions on the After-Effects of the Lincecum Signing

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle thinks the Giants’ tw0-year $23 million is a contract that will keeping on giving to the Giants even after the two years is up, because the Giants have kept his 2010 and 2011 salaries down, which will be the starting point for what Lincecum can get in 2012 [...]

They’re Paying for His Success And Other Notes

The Giants have reportedly offered Tim Lincecum a three-year deal for $37 million broken down as follows: $9.5 million first year, $12.5 second, and $15 million the third.  Lincecum’s agent apparently came back with a number above $40 million, which likely means a deal could be reached right at $40 million if the Giants are [...]

Ball Players Are Out There

One of the things that makes bad teams bad teams is that they don’t keep a proper eye on the waiver wire.  Today, the Red Sox claimed 24 year old (in 2010) right-handed pitcher Gaby Hernandez off waivers, who was designated for assignment (in this case, dropped from the 40-man roster) when the Mariners signed [...]

Some Guys Get No Respect

I read on mlbtraderumors.com today that the Mariners just re-signed 33 year old veteran right-hander Mike Koplove to a minor league deal.  Koplove spent 2009 pitching for three different organizations’ AAA teams.  He finished the season with a 1.87 ERA, and he didn’t even get a September call-up.  That stinks!
In fairness, Koplove’s run average was [...]

A Few More Thoughts

The Twins dodged a .22 caliber bullet when Jarrod Washburn refused their $5 million offer a few weeks back.  Washburn has been a pretty consistent fourth starter the last few seasons, but at age 35 in 2010, he’s definitely a risk, even at $5 million.
That being said, Washburn is still on the market, and the  [...]

Old Dogs And New Tricks

Here’s a post from mlbtraderumors.com which takes agent Scott Boras to task for misreading the current market and apparently costing his players a lot of money based on offers rejected earlier this off-season.  The post makes a good point, and what strikes me about it is that Boras’ mistake is, in a way, the same [...]