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It looks like the Rangers’ Michael Young isn’t happy and he wants out of Texas.
The Texas Rangers are exploring trade options for five-time All-Star shortstop Michael Young at the player’s request after he became upset about the team’s plan to move him to third base. He is a career .300 hitter who has played nine seasons with Texas, earned his first American League Gold Glove award last season.
General manager Jon Daniels said last night during a hastily called conference call that the team has looked into trade possibilities but remains hopeful Young will remain in Texas.
“Our desire is for Michael to play third base,” Daniels said. “Obviously though, he’s got to buy into what we’re doing.”
The Rangers would like to move Young to third to make room for highly touted prospect Elvis Andrus at shortstop. He came to Texas in 2007 in the trade that sent Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves.
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Congratlations to both Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice, your 2009 members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. I figured most knew that Henderson was going to get in based on his incredible stats and accomplishments; however, the verdict was still out on Jim Rice.
Rice, I left was good enough to get in based on the stats of his era; however, I figured some members of the media might have still held a grudge against him. Time must definitely heal all wounds, and since he was so close last year, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that Rice would finally get in this time around.
NEW YORK - Rickey Henderson sped his way into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot Monday, and Jim Rice made it in on his 15th and final try. Henderson, baseball’s career leader in runs scored and stolen bases, received 94.8 percent of the vote from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, well above the 75 percent needed.
Rice, among baseball’s most feared hitters in the late 1970s and early 1980s, got 76.4 percent of the vote after falling just shy with 72.2 percent last year. Henderson became the 44th player elected in his first year of eligibility.
Rice was only the third elected by the BBWAA in his final year, joining Red Ruffing (1967) and Ralph Kiner (1975). The pair will be inducted into the Hall during ceremonies on July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
They will be joined by former Yankees and Indians second baseman Joe Gordon, elected posthumously last month by the Veterans Committee.
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Everyone, raise your hands — I mean raise them real high — if you any of you picked either the Eagles or the Cardinals to play in the NFC Championship. I sure as hell didn’t.
The Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants 20-14 this afternoon up I-95 in New Jersey, and then Cardinals whooped up on Carolina Panthers last night, 33-13.
I’m stunned. Between the Ravens win and what happened this weekend, I don’t know what to expect next week. I really hope Pittsburgh loses; however, I don’t see that happening against the Chargers.
It should be one hell of a game for Baltimore next week, assuming Pittsburgh wins.
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Ian of Sox and Dawgs, Jason of My Baseball Bias hosted our internet radio show — “The Hits Keep Coming” — that aired on the Fantasy Sports Channel at this past Wednesday on Blog Talk Radio.
We talked about the Mark Teixeira press conference, the MLB Network debut and our thoughts on it, the free agents left on the market, along with John Smoltz.
You can check it out by following the link provided at the end here or listen below. [The Hits Keep Coming - 1.7.09]
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Perhaps the Red Sox are buying up whatever pieces they can as a reclamation project. I guess it helps to bargain hunt, but after the Yankees spending spree and the Rays getting Pat Burrell, it looks like Boston is stocking up as well.
Now, the Red Sox have added Brad Penny.
After he left Fenway, the first thing Penny did was call his parents. “You can feel the electricity,” he told them.
The Red Sox continued the fine-tuning of their roster yesterday with not only the official addition of righthanded pitcher Penny but also the apparent retention of outfielder/first baseman Mark Kotsay. Both veterans will receive one-year contracts, in keeping with general manager Theo Epstein’s recent moves.
The Sox, according to a source, believe they have a formal agreement in place that will bring Kotsay back. Kotsay is vacationing in the Caribbean, and his deal can be finalized only after he returns and completes a physical.
Penny’s contract, according to a source, is worth $5 million, and performance bonuses - starting at 160 innings pitched - could add $3 million. Penny’s signing falls in line with other Red Sox deals following their failed pursuit of free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. He’s a low-risk, high-reward complementary player who, ideally, will bolster the Sox’ depth.
If Penny comes back from his injury — as does Smoltz — they will have one nasty rotation that may be one of the best and versatile in all of baseball.
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What was junk for the Washington Nationals has now become treasure for the New York Mets.
The Mets needed pitching, and they found another starter at a bargain bin price. Basically, Redding goes from a loser to a winner and into the frying pan.
The New York Mets moved to add a pitcher while still negotiating with higher-profile free agents, reaching a preliminary agreement with Tim Redding on a $2.25 million, one-year contract.
Redding’s deal is subject to him passing a physical, a person familiar with the negotiations said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made. Redding would be able to earn about $750,000 more in performance bonuses.
A right-hander who turns 31 next month, Redding was 10-11 with a 4.95 ERA last season for the Washington Nationals — the only 10-game winner on the team. He allowed 27 homers in 182 innings.
Redding had a $1 million base salary last year and earned $125,000 in performance bonuses. Washington failed to offer him a contract by the Dec. 12 deadline, allowing him to become a free agent rather than make him eligible for salary arbitration.
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The Trevor Hoffman era has officially ended in San Diego.
Hoffman agreed to a one-year contract worth $6 million on Thursday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been announced.
Hoffman can make an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses, based on games finished.
The 41-year-old right-hander had pitched for the Padres since 1993, becoming the face of the franchise after Tony Gwynn retired. Hoffman converted 30 of 34 chances last season, increasing his saves record to 554.
Hoffman became a free agent but still hoped to hear the gongs of his trademark warmup song — AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” — in San Diego for the rest of his career. Contract talks with the Padres soured, however, and the team pulled its offer of $4 million for 2009 with a club option for $4 million in 2010.
Amazing; however, if John Smoltz could leave Atlanta, then anything can happen.
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If someone told me last month that John Smoltz would ever leave Atlanta and consider the possibility of playing in another uniform, I would have laughed at you.
Now it looks like one of the mainstays of those great Braves teams is now moving north to Boston. The Braves have seemingly given up on John Smoltz, due to his injuries and recovery from shoulder surgery. It looks like he will be joining the Red Sox in 2009.
From Boston.com: The Sox also are trying to hash out an agreement with free agent righthander John Smoltz, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. Smoltz, 41, would likely not be able to pitch until late May, but the Sox normally overstaff their starting rotation to account for injuries, as they did with Bartolo Colon last season.
Sources indicated last night that Smoltz was leaning toward Boston’s offer, which was said to be in the vicinity of $5.5 million guaranteed, with the opportunity to earn up to $10 million with incentives. The Sox and Smoltz have been talking since before the winter meetings. One of the incentives being discussed would be a roster bonus if Smoltz is with the team by June 1.
Smoltz has spent all 20 of his major league seasons with Atlanta, which has expressed a desire for him to return.
If this is all true — which I think it is — it would be a sad day for Braves fans and could be a PR disaster in that part of the country. How does the Braves heirarchy explain this turn of events to their fanbase?
For the Red Sox, if they find Smoltz is still effective and healthy despite his advanced age, they’ll have even more formidable pitching rotation than anyone could have imagined.
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I am not one to really laud players on other teams, but I’m glad that Rocco Baldelli is still playing baseball and playing for his “hometown team” (unlike some other pinstriped individual who we all know.)
Rocco Baldelli, the once heralded outfielder who was once part of the Tampa Bay organization signed a deal with the Boston Red Sox yesterday. He missed parts of two seasons with a mitochondrial condition that left him lethargic and without energy, but he was able to get it under control and play the sport he loved again.
Baldelli is from Cumberland, R.I. and seems ready to relish the chance of playing near his boyhood home.
He may never become a superstar, but at least he’s got a job and a chance to become part of something.
It goes without saying, anyone who can come back from a debilitating illness and play at the highest levels of sport no matter what team he or she plays for or colors they wear deserves all the respect in the world.
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After seeing this, do YOU really think he wanted to go anywhere else but New York? He completely used every other team as bait to get a deal, and he’d rather be a piece of with a team - Boston or New York, rather than a focal point of a lineup - everyone else. He may have wanted to be a Yankee, and is saying the right things — almost too perfectly — but, he wants to win and the paycheck is definitely worthwhile
I also think it’s nice he listened to his wife, and she helped him come to a decision. Again, this does not make it any easier to stomach that he bypassed everyone else for a chance to wear pinstripes.
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It looks Jason Giambi is returning to where his career began.
First baseman Jason Giambi and Oakland reached a preliminary agreement, pending a physical, on what is expected to be a one-year contract with an option, sources told the Associated Press.
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If this is true about Giles, there’s a place in hell reserved for him.
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Carl Pavano has found work in Cleveland. Let’s hope he doesn’t become part of a punchline again.
His deal is worth $1.5 million plus heavy incentives which he could earn an additional $5.3 million based on starts and innings pitched. The Indians got a pitcher on the cheap — mostly because of his adventures in New York — however, if he can be a .500 pitcher or better, he’ll help them out greatly.
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The big news of today in baseball was the unveiling of Mark Teixeira as a Yankee. We all know the details; alas, seeing him in pinstripes was a little surreal after all that took place this off-season.
Mark said all the right things in his press conference, and only spoke glowingly of his new employers, but I’ll be interested to see the reaction when he struggles in the Big Apple.
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I just read this online, but longtime Minnesota Twins owner and billionaire, Carl Polhad passed away today at 93.
From what I know of him from talking with some Twins fans over the years, they have called him cheap, greedy and demonize him for his part in the attempted contraction of the team.
In light of it all; however, you cannot discount the success that’s he had in life and with the Minnesota organization.
Rest in peace, Carl Polhad.
