Results tagged ‘ Cubs ’
Hairston, Sheets, Nady,
Jerry Hairston Jr. has signed with the San Diego Padres for 2 million dollars. This signing will cut down the Yankees left field options to Damon, Reed Johnson, Rocco Baldelli, and Marcus Thames. The Yankees did not make an offer to Hairston which probably was the reason he signed with the Padres. Jerry Hairy will play all over for the Padres. He will play third base most, I would say, because of the trade of Kevin Kouzmanoff. He will give youngster Everth Cabrera and veteran David Eckstein days off. I don’t see why the Yankees didn’t offer Damon a deal. He would give Derek Jeter, Nick Swisher, and Alex Rodriguez days off, plus he would platoon with Brett Gardner in left field. Jerry Hairston Jr. was very important to the Yankees last year and to lose him is a big loss. 
Ben Sheets is throwing a bullpen session for teams tomorrow and the Nats, D-Backs,Cubbies, Rangers, Cardinals, Blue Jars, Dodgers, Brewers, and Mets will be there. MLBTraderumors says to not rule out the Yankees, Orioles, and the Mariners. The Angels will not be there. The Yankees will probably not sign him, after acquiring Javier Vazquez from the Braves. I think the Orioles should go after a left like Erik Bedard to go along with youngster Brian Matusz in the rotation. I feel the Mariners are done, only needing to fix up their bench. It would be amazing but very unlikely that the Yankees signed Ben Sheets. 
The Cubs are interested in Xavier Nady along with Jermaine Dye. The Yankees of course and the Braves have been linked to Nady. The Yankees have not had any recent talk to Damon so Nady might have to be the Yankees left fielder next year.
When we thought baseball players couldn’t get worse, they do.
When we thought
baseball players couldn’t get worse, they do.
Mark McGwire. One great thing comes to your mind when you
hear that name. He broke the homerun record in 1998. UNDER STEROIDS. Not so
great anymore right? Yes Mark McGwire used steroids. First Jose Canseco said “Me
and teammate Mark McGwire used steroids as far back in 1988″ in his 2005 book, Juiced:
Wild Times, Rampant ‘Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball got big. Second, his
brother, Jay McGwire, said “He used to in low dosages so he wouldn’t lift his
way out of baseball” in his book, The McGwire Family Secret: The Truth about
Steroids, a Slugger and Ultimate Redemption. And now McGwire finally admits
to using them. He brings a decade of wondering and speculation to an end after
he admitted his steroid use during a 20 minute telephone interview with The Associated
Press. “I used steroids during my playing career, and I apologize” We all would
Mark but would we all take them? No. Taking them is the worst thing. If you
know it is wrong, then why would you take them? To make you better? Probably.
To make more money? Probably. But you can make money without taking steroids.
Take Ken Griffey Jr. as an example. Griffey has made money and has been very successful
without taking steroids. Along with Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols who we are
pretty sure didn’t take steroids. So
back to Big Mac. He took them when he was recovering from an injury in 1993,
tried them in 1989/1990 and as Canseco says 1988. And the biggest year of them
all! 1998. The season he beat Roger Maris’s homerun record with 70 homers. Another player that year who surpassed Maris’s
61 homers was Sammy Sosa who has also been linked to steroids. I am really sad
to say: Baseball isn’t baseball anymore. It isn’t how it used to be. Every big
homerun hitter is linked to steroids; Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa, Manny
Ramirez, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds just to name a few. The only good thing
about players admitting about taking steroids is that they are being honest
about doing it. But that means nothing. Except that they have courage to do
that.
Other News around the
League
·
Mark Teixeira is getting honored with the Legacy
award along with King Albert, Zack Grienke and others.
·
Jon Heyman says Johnny Damon has offers from the
Braves and Giants. The Giants probably pulled that back after they signed
Aubrey Huff and David O’Brien says the Braves have not offered Damon a
contract. Executives think that Damon will resign with the Yankees.
·
Bleacher Report thinks the Yankees should pull
off a deal for Carl Crawford by sending Brett Gardner, Austin Romine, and a
good pitching prospect. This is not a bad idea, but could be tweaked. I
personally would prefer the Yankees wait till he is a free agent.
·
Greg Maddux will return and he will be an
assistant to Cubs GM Jim Hendry.
·
Dice-K Matsusaka was hiding a groin injury from
the Red Sox for the whole entire year.
·
Tony LaRussa said he might consider bringing
Mark McGwire to pinch hit so the voters will have some more time to think about
if he deserves a Hall of Fame plaque or
not.
·
The Cubs will retire Andre Dawson’s number 8 if
he goes into the Hall of Fame as a Cubbie. Dawson played for the Expos twice as
much he did the Cubs so we will see what will happen.
·
Lastly, Derek Jeter is finally getting married
to Minka Kelly, just to throw that out there.
The biggest remaining question is will Johnny Damon resign
with the New York Yankees. You will have different opinions and feel free to
comment and tell us what you think about Mark McGwire, Johnny Damon and the
rest.
TRANSACTION REVIEW WEEK OF 11/30/09
This week’s transaction review is going to be quite long, because of the number of major trades that were made. So let’s get started.
CHRIS COSTE SIGNS WITH THE METS: The Mets signed catcher and first baseman Chris Coste for a one year contract. Chris Coste is coming off a rough 2009, in which he batted .224 with 2 homers and 18 RBIs with the Astros. He will help replace Brian Schneider, who signed with the Phillies earlier this week (SEE BELOW). Coste will provide some experience as a backup catcher (to Omir Santos) and backup first baseman (to Daniel Murphy), but you would have expected the Mets to have gone after Bengie Molina or Ivan Rodriguez instead, both who had better seasons than Coste. The Mets certainly have the money to sign a higher quality catcher than Coste.
BRIAN SCHNEIDER SIGNS WITH THE PHILLIES: The Phillies signed catcher Brian Schneider to a two year contract. The 33 year old hit .218 with 3 homers and 18 RBIs in 59 games with the Mets last season. He will serve as Carlos Ruiz’s understudy, but again, you would have expected the Phillies to sign a higher quality catcher with the money they have.
RAYS TRADE PLAYER TO BE NAMED LATER TO THE INDIANS FOR KELLY SHOPPACH: The Rays were in search of a backstop ever since they declined their option on Gregg Zaun, and Shoppach might be a good replacement. In 2009 he could only manage .214 with 12 homers, but he has talent, as he proved in 2008 with 21 homers and a .517 slugging percentage. He might even getting the starting catcher’s position, as Dioner Navarro turned in a disappointing 2009, hitting .218 with 8 homers and 32 RBIs. Shoppach is only 29, so he has plenty of years ahead of him to improve. The Indians will probably give the catching job to prospect Lou Marson until massive prospect Carlos Santana is ready for the majors.
BILLY WAGNER SIGNS WITH THE BRAVES: The Braves signed closer Billy Wagner to a one year deal. The 38 year old will help bolster Atlanta’s bullpen since they just lost Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano to the free agent market. Wagner was brilliant after returning from Tommy John Surgery in 2009, posting a 1.72 ERA over 15.2 innings with the Red Sox and Mets. Though he’s always an injury risk, it is smart of the Braves to sign him.
PLACIDO POLANCO SIGNS WITH THE PHILLIES: The Phillies signed Placido Polanco to a 3 year, 18 million dollar contract. The ex-Tiger second baseman will move to third base with the Phillies. Polanco played with the Phillies from 2002-2005, and is replacing Pedro Feliz to make the Phillies lineup even more dangerous. In 2009, Polanco hit .285 after smoking .341 in 2008. The 34 year old will probably bat second in the lineup, and he makes the Phillies lineup arguably the best in baseball.
TAKASHI SAITO SIGNS WITH THE BRAVES: The Braves signed relief pitcher Takashi Saito to a one year, 3 million dollar contract. In another attempt to make up for the loss of Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano, Saito will serve as set up man to Billy Wagner. He should do pretty well; the 39 year old posted a 2.43 ERA in 56 appearances for Boston in 2009. He will help bolster the Brave’s bullpen.
HENRY BLANCO SIGNS WITH THE METS: An odd move by the Mets: they already signed veteran Chris Coste, and now they have gone and signed 38 year old Henry Blanco, who will probably be a backup catcher as well. It is a mystery to us all why the Mets feel the need for so many catchers, especially such low quality ones; Henry Blanco eke out .235 in 2009, with 6 homers and 16 RBIs with the Padres. And rumor has it that the Mets are still on the lookout for a more productive catcher. Only the New York Mets…
ATHLETICS TRADE JEFF GRAY, MATT SPENCER, AND RONNY MORLA TO THE CUBS FOR JAKE FOX AND AARON MILES: The main cog of this trade is Fox, who hit .257 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs in 216 at bats in 2009. The versatile 27 year old provides pop to the weak Athletics lineup, and will challenge Eric Chavez and Jack Chavez for at bats. Aaron Miles could only manage .185 over 157 at bats with the Cubs in 2009 and will probably serve as a backup infielder to second baseman Mark Ellis and shortstop Cliff Pennington. Matt Spencer is a good prospect who will provide some much needed power to the Cubs lineup when called up. Last season in the minors, he belted 19 homers with 91 RBIs. Jeff Gray, who managed a 3.76 ERA over 26.2 innings in 2009 will likely work in the Cubs bullpen. Eduardo Morla is a virtually unheard of 21-year old, who went 1-7 with a 4.86 ERA over 63 innings in the low minors last season. Seems like a pretty even but unimportant trade, as no truly talented prospects were traded.
MARCO SCUTARO SIGNS WITH THE RED SOX: The Red Sox signed shortstop Marco Scutaro to a two year contract. The 34 year old impressed in 2009, hitting .282 with 12 homers and 60 RBIs. He was the best shortstop on the market, and could prove to be the end of the Russian Roulette the Sox plays with its shortstops. He is above average both offensively and defensively, and a Red Sox fan will be quite happy with this move by Boston.
CHONE FIGGINS SIGNS WITH THE MARINERS: Third baseman Chone Figgins signed with the Mariners. Since Seattle third baseman Adrian Beltre is unlikely to return, this is a clever move by the Mariners. The 31 year old Figgins hit .298 last season with 5 homers, 54 RBIs, and 52 stolen bases. Figgins is a suitable replacement for Beltre, and though he won’t provide the same kind of power, the Mariners will be salivating at the idea of him and Ichiro Suzuki causing nightmares for opposing pitchers and catchers on the basepaths. Great move by Seattle.
GREG ZAUN SIGNS WITH THE BREWERS: The Brewers signed catcher Greg Zaun to a one year contract. The 38 year old, who hit .260 with 8 homers and 27 RBIs in 90 games for Baltimore and Tampa Bay, will serve as a suitable backup catcher and a veteran mentor to young backstops Mike Rivera, Angel Salome, and George Kottaras.
And that will wrap up this week’s trade review! There was a lot of player movement around baseball this week, and there will be a lot more as the off season progresses, and Yankeeholics will cover every inch of it. Join us next Sunday for another Transaction Review!
Questions, comments, disagreements? Feel free to leave us a comment!
Rumors, Rumors, Rumors…
Well the offseason is full of news, moves, and of course
rumors. We will have all the rumors (Mostly about our Yankees) that may be big
when it comes to how next season shapes up. 
·
7 teams including the Yankees, Red Sox, and Mets
are interested in Mark DeRosa.
·
Buster Olney says to not be surprised if the
Yankees aren’t interested in Jason Bay or Matt Holliday.
·
Yankees are looking for a starter on the open
market which includes John Lackey, Rich Harden, Joel Piniero, and perhaps Randy
Wolf. Roy Halladay is also on the Yankees radar, though re-signing Pettitte is
the biggest priority. The Yankees also want to pick up a free agent reliever.
·
The Mets are on Jason Marquis’s wishlist but is
Marquis on the Mets wishlist? Could be. The Mets are also looking at Randy Wolf
and Joel Piniero
·
The Royals,
Rangers, Giants, and Rays are interested in Ivan Rodriguez.
·
The Cubs are interested in Mike Cameron and
Marlon Byrd but to get one of these 2 they would have to get rid of Milton
Bradley.
·
Mets are of course interested in Bengie Molina.
·
The Pedro we all hate wants to pitch in all of
2010.
·
3 teams are interested in Milton Bradley
·
The Rockies are interested in Justin Duchscherer
and LaTroy Hawkins.
·
The Tigers are not going to deal Miguel Cabrera
anytime soon.
·
Rockies GM Dan O’Dowd is not pursuing Orlando
Hudson.
·
The Giants will not probably move Jonathan
Sanchez and they are looking for a catcher besides Bengie Molina.
·
Tigers are interested in Bobby Crosby and interested
in bringing Adam Everett back.
·
Braves are also interested in Marlon Byrd after
his fine season.
·
The Phillies are also interested in Brandon Lyon
and have been linked to John Smoltz and JJ Putz
·
LA Angels are trying to trade Gary Matthews Jr.
·
The Nats are interested in John Smoltz and are
looking to upgrade catching.
·
The Mariners are interested in Jason Bay, John
Lackey and Rich Harden
·
The Cubs are trying to figure out a deal to get
Curtis 
Granderson and the Burrell for Bradley talks are still strong.
Those were most of the Rumors of the weekend and we will
keep you updated on the big moves on tomorrows Transaction Review.
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