Archive for November, 2008
Heilman Still Wants to Start
For the fourth straight offseason, Aaron Heilman has expressed his desire to be a starting pitcher. This annual proclamation gives every Heilman hater out there another reason to despise Aaron — citing his “selfishness” and suggesting that “he should just be happy to be in the big leagues”, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever … there’s no [...]
What About Kerry Wood?
Here’s a fine idea for the Mets’ 2009 closer: Kerry Wood. After trading for Kevin Gregg for the purpose of pushing Carlos Marmol into the closer role, the Cubs more or less have decided that Kerry Wood does not fit into their 2009 plans. Per Cubs GM Jim Hendry: “Because of our relationship, you never [...]
Buzz Around Burnett
The Yankees, Red Sox, Braves, Phillies, Orioles, and Blue Jays are all in pursuit of A.J. Burnett, according to various sources. Supposedly, the Yankees are going after Burnett fairly hard, and would like to sign both him and C.C. Sabathia this winter — and may also extend an offer to Derek Lowe. I for one [...]
Coco Crisp Traded to Royals
The Red Sox have dealt centerfielder Coco Crisp to the Royals for reliever Ramon Ramirez. Who knew the Royals had such a surplus of quality bullpen arms? The trade is the second made by Kansas City this offseason. A few weeks ago they traded reliever Leo Nunez for first baseman Mike Jacobs. A few things [...]
Ryan Dempster Re-Signs with Cubs
Ryan Dempster has re-signed with the Chicago Cubs, accepting a 4-year, $52M contract. The righthanded starter-turned-closer-turned-starter enjoyed the best season of his career (huh, in a walk year, no less), going 17-6 with a 2.96 ERA in helping the Cubs get to the postseason. Despite those excellent numbers, Dempster’s availability didn’t draw nearly the excitement [...]
Pedro to Pitch in 2009
Word is that Pedro Martinez plans to pitch in 2009. He may as well, since he’s finally healthy. Now the question: should the Mets bring him back? I think they’d be crazy not to — on a one year contract with heavy incentives. Currently the Mets have exactly two healthy starters returning to their rotation [...]
Most Valuable What?
One of the latest headlines was the news that St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols was the recipient of the National League Most Valuable Player Award, as voted by the Baseball Writers Association. Was Pujols really the “most valuable”, however? Is it even arguable that he was the “best player” in the NL during [...]
Affeldt Signed by Giants
The San Francisco Giants have signed Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year, $8M contract. The lefthanded reliever is the first free agent to sign on the open market this winter. From the Giants’ perspective, the signing is eerily similar to one made by the Mets during the 2006-2007 offseason. First, it’s a LOOGY coming off an [...]
Mets Will Make Offers to Fuentes, K-Rod
According to David Lennon of Newsday, the Mets will be making contract offers this week to Francisco Rodriguez AND Brian Fuentes. So if they both say yes, I guess the Mets will have both a setup man and a closer. Perhaps that suggests that they don’t see Fuentes as a closer? (Keep fingers crossed!)
Salomon Torres Retires
In a surprise move, Brewers closer Salomon Torres retired from baseball last week. Yeah, we’re a week late here but it takes a while for the pony express to get here from Wisconsin. Torres chose to quit baseball in order to devote more time to serving God and his family. Torres had the best season [...]
Darrell Rasner Sold to Japan
The New York Yankees have sold righthander Darrell Rasner to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific League for $1 million. Rasner was hit hard in his partial seasons with the Yankees, and didn’t fit into their 2009 plans. Japan should be a good destination for the 27-year-old.
K-Rod Took a Physical in NYC?
According to Victor David Melo Zurita Jose Manuel Fernandez, the beat writer for El Universal, Francisco Rodriguez took a physical in New York City and may be ready to sign with the New York Mets. Before we get too excited, Victor David Melo Zurita Jose Manuel Fernandez isn’t exactly the Jon Heyman of Caracas. Though [...]
Hot Stove Toolbar
To keep up to date with all the latest Hot Stove news, buzz, and rumors, I’ve built a custom toolbar that you can install to your browser. The toolbar includes bookmarks, quicklinks, search engines, a radio player tuned to sports talk radio, RSS feeds, a newsticker, and many other items to keep you up to [...]
Yankees Make Offer to Sabathia
Buster Olney is reporting on ESPN radio that the Yankees have tendered an official offer to C.C. Sabathia for 6 years and slightly more than $137.5M. There are no web links to support this, but it is being reported on 1050 ESPN Radio and on XM MLB 175. If true, the only surprise is that [...]
C.C. to the Mets – Why Not ?
The buzz is that trades will be held up while C.C. Sabathia mulls over the millions that will be thrown his way over the next few weeks, and that this fact could hold up a big trade made by the Mets. The three amigos at The Daily News go so far as to suggest that [...]
