February 4th is a big day in contract extension history. Last year on this date, the Tigers and Justin Verlander finalized a five-year, $80MM contract while another Tiger, Curtis Granderson, agreed to a five-year, $30.25MM contract three years ago. The most notable deal was struck seven years ago, when the Cardinals and Albert Pujols avoided arbitration by agreeing to a seven-year deal worth $100MM. St. Louis picked up the $16MM option for 2011, but now they're trying to get a new deal done that will keep Pujols in town for the rest of his career.
Here's the latest from around the web, with a heavy dose of interviews and Q&A sessions…
- Pittsburgh Lumber Co. recapped a recent get together between bloggers and Pirates president Frank Coonelly, GM Neal Huntington, and pitcher Paul Maholm.
- Phoul Ballz posted some excerpts of their interview with Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr.
- The Process Report interviewed Chaim Bloom, the Rays' Assistant Director of Minor League Operations.
- DRays Bay, meanwhile, interviewed one of the newest Rays, Dirk Hayhurst.
- Blogging From The Bleachers posted a Q&A with Matt Antonelli, who signed a minor league deal with the Nationals.
- Splashing Pumpkins asked Giants' prospect Thomas Neal ten questions.
- SF Giants Rumors interviewed a different Giants prospect, Brandon Crawford.
- The Few, The Proud, The Braves listed five things they learned at a Braves' season ticket holder event.
- Beyond The Box Score looks at the possibility of a Barry Bonds comeback.
- Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness wonders if the Dodgers should have taken a look at Jim Edmonds.
- Camden Crazies likes the Justin Duchscherer signing, noting that the O's could trade him if he stays healthy during the first three months of the season.
- Through The Fence Baseball makes a case for the Pirates having baseball's best outfield.
- Some Thoughts On Baseball breaks down the Blue Jays' rebuilt bullpen.
- Yankeeist looks at the possibility of Yu Darvish becoming the next great Yankee right-hander.
- Harness The Halo sorts out the Angels' catching situation following the Mike Napoli trade.
- Earning My Stripes lists one last move the Tigers could make this offseason.
- Baseball Analysts wonders if the Phillies' rotation is a luxury, or a necessity.
- Red Sox Beacon posted part one of their series looking ahead to John Lackey's 2011.
- Ivy Report wonders if next season will be Carlos Zambrano's last chance.
- The Nats Blog looks at how the Mets' financial crisis impacts the Nationals.
- The Todd Van Poppel Rookie Card Retirement Plan came up with an idea to revolutionize bullpen usage.
- River Ave. Blues penned a requiem for the Yankees' offseason.
- MLB Depth Charts looks at some Comeback Player of the Year candidates.
If you have a suggestion for this feature, Mike can be reached here. Only one email per week, please.
Dodgers look at Jim Edmonds? Would have made perfect sense. He’s old and hits left-handed.
I looked at the article about the Mets, and eventhough im a Nats fan, I feel bad for the Mets owner, I know the father really has a love for the game and it must be a tough situation. I hope it works out for them.
I hope it works out for them.
Thanks for the consideration, but as a Mets fan I have to say that I don’t.
It’s time for an owner who is forward thinking…and unlikely to ever allow the team to become his kid’s favorite toy.
As much as I love making fun of Zambrano with his over bloated contract and his “Hulk Smash!” impression, he did actually pitch decently the last half of the season. I think the Cubs will ride it out with him unless they can get something worthwhile in return.
It is said Gatorade coolers roll away in fear from him…
It will be interesting to see if he can pitch up to that level for the whole year as opposed to meaningless down and out games.
Ha, could you imagine Bonds back in the MLB.
That would be sweet! The giants should bring him back for a bench role.
I would love to see him back in uniform… truthfully any uniform. I know he’s got baggage, but for the best player in the game to be forced into retirement like that is unbelievable
Its called being a scapegoat, and unfortunatly he is the biggest goat there is, him and Roger Clemens, speaking of which, did he ever go to trial for perjury yet? he could be cell mates with Bonds.
yeah, fifty pounds heavier with a whole lot of back acne and a voice like Dave Stewart.
I would love to watch Yu pitch every 5th day!
So, umm…..the guy who wrote that the Pirates could have the best outfield in the game…..
“Tabata and Jones are some of the fastest rising stars in the league.”
I like Tabata, but a guy who struggled to keep his OPS above .700 with little plate discipline while primarily playing 1B is one of the fastest rising stars in the NL? Is that why he’s being platooned with Matt Diaz?
I’m not even sure they’ll have the best outfield in their division. Once the Cardinals realize Berkman won’t cut it in RF, they’ll likely have an outfield of Holliday, Rasmus, Jay/Edmonds….which is pretty damn good.
The Yankees better hope Darvish becomes the next great Yankee pitcher. They’re going to need someone in the next couple years.
they need someone now
Can’t see them laying $100MM+ for a Dice-K look-a-like. They should remember the names Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa. As well as the old saying…’ Fool me once, shame on you… fool me twice, shame on me…fool me thrice, shoot me in the head…’
I think Darvish is on another level. Look at that dude’s stats dude! Walter Johnson is only comp IMO.
When he’s putting up the same stats in MLB then, and only then should Walter Johnson’s name be mentioned.
Don’t believe the hype. Dice-K had very similar numbers, Kei Igawa was the second best pitcher in the NPL. None of the asian pitcher’s numbers have ever translated to anything comparable in the US. His posting fee is going to off the charts and then his salary demands are going to be just as high. Yankees can sign pitchers with similar stats for far less money.
You do realize they throw a different size ball in Japan and sometimes it doesn’t translate well in the MLB, when teams scout international players the first thing they do is have them throw actual MLB balls and the results are really staggering, Dice K really does have a gyro ball pitch but cant get the same spin with an MLB ball.
awesome use of the word Thrice go team Coco.
Why has nobody said anything about how the MLB teams coordinated to ensure Bonds was not signed? Why is this suddenly going to change?
Because if they did Bonds would sue over whats commonly called collusion, look it up.
Baseball’s rife with collusion. What about the Gentlemen’s Agreement that kept blacks out of baseball for 70 years?
And what’s this “look it up” crap?
I just read the article about Zambrano and was wondering if the author was either A) smoking crack or B) on an afternoon bender. It will be quite interesting to see what Zambrano the Cubs will get this year but, to go as far as saying just to cut him? Madness I tell you. If the Jays can dump Wells to the Angels, I see no reason why the Cubs couldn’t get a decent haul for him.
Have Reagins call Hendry
Your right, they could always call the Mariners, they sure bailed them out of Bradley.
I think the article was written under the assumption that they wouldn’t be able to get anybody to buy into Zambrano’s contract given the way he has performed these past years. Of course they would trade him if there was a buyer.