Some links to read with Opening Day just a month away…
- MLB.com's Peter Gammons says one suggested way to improve competitive balance is by breaking up the Yankees and Red Sox. In the scenario he presents, the Yanks and Mets would be put in one division, the Sox and Rays in another.
- Tom Tango of ESPN's The Max Info blog built a 25-man roster out of players that signed just a one-year deals this offseason, and all for under $100MM (Insider req'd).
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks that agent Ron Shapiro's extended stay in Twins camp means the club is making progress on extension talks with Joe Mauer.
- The D'Backs don't appear likely to pursue Braden Looper or Jarrod Washburn, even if Brandon Webb starts the season on the DL, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
- Ben Sheets told reporters there is "zero bad blood" between him and the Brewers, his former team, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Teams are still interested in Jarrod Washburn, though he's not close to a deal, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
- Tracy Ringolsby of FOX Sports explains the story behind the reunion of A's GM Billy Beane and his adviser, Grady Fuson.
- The Red Sox obtained 15 of the 39 players on their 40-man roster through the draft, notes Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball in this look at the Boston club.
- Prince Fielder tells ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick that he isn't going to stress about his future, but he hopes to be part of the Brewers organization for 30 years.
- Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports thinks the floor for a Fielder extension might be $95MM over five years.
- Former Met and Marlin Henry Owens is auditioning for the Mets, according to Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog.
- Top Marlins prospect and MLBTR reader Logan Morrison is on Twitter.
- Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports hears that the Reds are unlikely to make a trade unless one of their players gets hurt (Twitter link).
- Matt Youmans of the Las Vegas Review-Journal profiles Bryce Harper, the 17-year-old phenom who is expected to be a top pick in this year's draft.
- Fielder, also a Scott Boras client, could be up for an extension. ESPN.com's Buster Olney says many GMs emerge from initial contract negotiations with Boras thinking there's "no (expletive) way" they reach an agreement.
- Gordon Beckham tells MLB.com's Scott Merkin that he tries to ignore the trade rumors he appears in. The infielder says he wants to play for the White Sox for years.
- Bengie Molina tells Jesse Spector of the New York Daily News that he would have signed with the Mets if they had offered two years. Their one-year $5.5MM offer didn't sway him.
Ah, the first Harper hype story of the year. A sign that baseball is coming fast.
it is great knowing that baseball is around the corner and considering i am philly sports fan, these phillies are the only sports worth paying to go see. its a great day for philly sports fan
I thought it was a good article, he came off a lot better in this one than the SI article, where he seemed very cocky.
In the beginning of the off season, I thought it would be the Nationals getting Harper, but the more moves and everything that is happening. It seems the Astros will more than likely have the number 1 overall pick.
Harper is a National if they want him, as he’s eligible for the 2010 draft.
The Astros can just hope to grab that 2011 #1 slot.
the first team to get a first overall pick with a payroll above 100million. now that would be pretty sad.
but i think its gonna be the padres or royals..maybe indians getting mr.#1 in 2011.
Are we still talking about Molina?
arguably the most hyped amateur baseball player since Ken Griffey Jr., , the hard-hitting kid, … a nationally-known player Bryce Harper,of LAS VEGAS should be an example to all young players and a guide to older performers in showing what persistence will do. His game has been the talk of the “ball-park” since his 9 and under tournament travel ball days. “BRYCE HARPER” is the real deal!!
Dan Cole “Common Man” at KFAN (1130 AM) in Mpls. is reporting Mauer will sign by Sunday. 8 years 22 mil…two option years…
Are you missing a zero somewhere in there?
That’s gotta be $22MM per year, right? Because $220MM/8 yrs is an ARod-like contract.
I’m pretty sure Washburn is going to end up retiring. He just doesn’t seem to have an offer that he likes. As for Looper he is going to come off of his demands soon enough and take a minor league deal as Spring Training progresses.
Wishful thinking on the part of Peter Gammons’ pal.
Gammons is right (sarcasm). Actually lets just make it so the rays go to the al central. Then if the yankees go to the NL East, It will be the Redsox Jays and Orioles. Then when their prospects get good, they can be moved to! IT”S PERFECT THE REDSOX WILL WIN THE DIVISION EVERY YEAR!
After reading what you just wrote I really hope that the Orioles and Blue Jays dominate the Red Sox this season.
Trust me i hope they do to… and when i said prospects I wasn’t talking about any in the majors
Gotcha.
Yeah, put the Red Sox with the weakest (financially) of those 3 teams. /sarcasm
As Red Sox fan who would love to come in 1st every year, Peter Gammons suggestion has to be the most absurd thing I ever heard in my life.
Yep.. amazing some of the stuff he comes out with. Break up the Sox and Yanks? Good god.
Peter Gammons … *facepalm*
Gammons just never has been right after getting that brain aneurysm.
oof…
Yes, Peter Gammons. Keep shamelessly showing your favoritism/homer-ism for the Red Sox. It makes so much sense to put them with two teams that could never keep up with the Sox financially, as well as the fact that the Sox can also develop their own talent. There is absolutely nothing unfair about that at all.
Breaking up the 18 games that the Sox and Yanks play vs. one another is pretty much a great way to utterly destroy a great source of publicity, revenue, and general interest in the game of baseball. No, the Sox/Yanks aren’t all baseball is about. But you’d be hard pressed to convince me that the intensity of The Rivalry doesn’t boost baseball’s interest level drastically.
Ah, Peter Gammons. You never cease to amaze me with your ability to make the most ludicrous statements, yet somehow earn a paycheck doing so. I’m still not sure if you are some form of genius or just a lucky moron. I’ll take the latter though.
Peter Gammons…ugh. Anything to advance the cause of his precious Red Sox. How about suggesting that every AL team, except the Red Sox, be moved to the NL? That way the Red Sox can just be handed the AL championship on opening day?
re: gammons – I’m not saying this is a good idea in any form. That kind of split would be bad for the red sox, the yankees, and baseball in general (typical “no the baseball world doesn’t revolve around the rivalry” disclaimer inserted here). I love the idea because it’s something that we as baseball fans wouldn’t even begin to consider. It’s one of those ideas that could never have been thought up, at least not in today’s baseball universe. Gammons did something unique here. He posed a hypothetical situation knowing all of the baseball world would reject it right out. Yet, before he posed it, I couldn’t conceive a world where the yanks and the sox don’t compete in the same division. It was something completely out of left field (pardon the pun). For that reason only, the sheer novelty of the proposition, I praise Gammons and his courage to write such a blasphemous piece. The only problem that exists now is whether Selig will catch wind of this idea and think it’s a good one…..