A return to school and an increased workload at work due to sick leave has cut into my blogging time.  Not cool.

Ah well, time for a collective group of thoughts about baseball.

Scott Rolen and Troy Glaus Traded For Each Other

Kinda a odd deal, considering that both are high priced deals with huge landmines attached to them (Health) but overall the deal does work to the favor of each team in one way or another.

WIth Rolen, the Blue Jays gain a Gold Glove defender at third base, which would help compensate for the lead glove of David Eckstein, at the cost of some offense.  However, Eckstein is better than the shuffle at short the Jays had and there is the off chance that Rolen can prove himself to be semi-adequate with the bat.  More than anything, however, the Jays need some type of return from Vernon Wells, who disappointed last season after signing for superstar money with the Jays. 

In Glaus, the Cardinals get a big bat that is needed to help bolster the offense, which is, to be frank, pathetic outside of Pujols.  More than anything, however, the Cardinals needed to diffuse the situation between Tony LaRussa and Rolen, which was made all but irreparable after LaRussa poured gas on that particular fire this off-season.  The signing of Cesar Izturis does help improve the defense enough where the Cardinals can suffer through Glaus' hands of stone, and the move to natural grass and away from Toronto's turf should prove to be beneficial in the long run for Glaus.

All in all, it's a good gamble for both sides, but more importantly, it clears up some potential locker room disaster that would have exploded during the season had either player remained with their former teams.

Grade For Both Sides:  B

Thoughts On The Kotsay Trade

I was going to rant about how the Braves should have just offered Andruw Jones arbitration, keeping him around for one more year, as he would have accepted, and keeping the offense together.

Instead, they pull this trade.

To be honest, I gotta give Billy Beane all the credit in the world on this one, as I think Kotsay is done.  He's not the defender he once was and in terms of offense, he's not going to give you much in return.  In all honesty, the Braves would have been better off just giving the job to Josh Anderson for the season and just gone with it from there.  At least he's mostly paid for.

Oh wait.  Oakland got two prospects, one of which, Joey Devine, the Braves' first round pick from two years ago, will likely help out Oakland in the bullpen this season.  And they also got Jamie RIchmond, a right hander that could be a fifth starter.  That's quite a haul for a broken player.

Anyhow, that's my take on that.

Oakland Grade - B

Atlanta Grade - D

Lost A Bet

To my friend, who's an Astros fan, on the Cowboy Game on Sunday.

So, expect the first (and only) Astros Report sometime this week.

Ugh...

I'd stay the hell away from the Twins' free agents, especially since their market is going to shoot through the roof tomorrow, when agents can discuss dollars and cents.

Torii Hunter and Carlos Silva are looking to cash in, Hunter by reputation, Silva by scarcity, and both will be overpaid greatly and will likely be looked at in the same way we look at the Jason Giambi/Carl Pavano deals.

Hunter is coming off of a career year and will be picked up by a team making a splash and wanting Hunter's mix of attitude and charisma on their team. 

But he's not an elite centerfielder anymore.  He's never hit for a lot of power and he's not a run producer in the heart of the lineup.  And worse, his defense is center is beginnng to degrade, thanks to the numerous injuries and surgeries he's had on his legs.  Baseball Prospectus' PETCOA system has Hunter becoming a part time player by 2010.  That's not a great idea for the amount of dollars Hunter is looking for. 

As for Silva, he's a groundball pitcher that is young and entering a market that is lacking in decent pitching.  He'll have takers needing a innings eating starter, such as the Mets, Tigers, Reds and Dodgers, just to name a few.  But he's going to get Number Two starter money for a guy that's been a Number Three at best and a Number Four for his career.

Plus, to compound the reasons on Hunter, he's a Type A free agent and unless your pick is draft protected, he's going to cost you your Number One pick, not a wise idea unless you have a Type A on your team that won't be back, allowing you to recoup the pick.

Both guys are going to get ridiculously overpaid and both will likely put up decent numbers in the beginning of the deal.  But in the long run, both are like to disappoint and will break someone's heart.

Are The Yankees Really Close To Dealing Randy Johnson, Why The Mets Took The Allure Of New York For Granted, Why Bill Stoneman is Killing The Angels, And An Idea For The Next New York Giants Coach.

Yankees Possibly Close To Dealing Randy Johnson

Since it was announced that the Yankees were interested in dealing the aging lefty, he's been linked with the Diamondbacks.  Apparently, sources close to the negotiations said yesterday that the Yankees and Arizona could complete a trade to send Johnson back to the desert before next week.  

Before any deal can be completed, Arizona would want a 3 day window to negotiate a contract extension with Johnson, who is viewed solely as a gate attraction, allowing Arizona to profit off of Johnson attempting to go for win number 300.  

The Yankees, meanwhile, want to further increase their minor league pitching depth by asking for a package of Arizona's pitching prospets.  They have asked for all of the following pitchers (Dustin Nippert, Micah Owings and Ross Ohlendorf), but will likely have to settle for one, maybe two, with Nippert being the prime target of the Yankees.  Nippert is a 6-8 righthander who was 13-8 with a 4.87 ERA in Triple-A last season and lost both his major league starts. Owings, a 6-5 righty, was 6-2 at Double-A and 10-0 at Triple-A.  Ohlendorf, a 6-4 righty, spent most of last season in Double-A, going 10-8 with a 3.29 ERA, posting 125 strikeouts and only 29 walks in 177-2/3 innings.

The Diamondbacks need to watch their step around the Yankees.  With the Arizona system already thin on pitching prospects (but rich in positional prospects), perhaps it would be to the Diamondbacks' benefit to deal one of the combo of Nippert, Owings, and Ohlendorf and include soem other positional prospect that the Yankees are deficient on.  If there are any extra catchers lurking in the system, surely it would work to the benefit of the Yankees to deal for one, because after this season, Jorge Posada won't be a viable option as a primary catcher.

Why New York Overplayed The "Allure" Of New York

I gotta come clean with you all.

I think the Mets shot themselves in the foot here.

New York needed Zito, badly, especially with a rotation that will feature two 40 year olds (Orlando Hernandez and Tom Glavine), one solid young workhorse (John Maine), an unproven lefty (Oliver Perez), and a combination of young pitchers that might not be ready for the big time (Mike Pelfrey or Philip Humber).  Zito would have been able to provide some experience and depth to that rotation, all the white pitching in a pitcher's park and in a weaker league (lineup wise).

And all it would have cost was money, which the Mets have plenty of.

Instead, the Mets, surprisingly, showed fiscal restraint, instead relying on Zito's quirky personality and love of the big city lifestyle to draw him to New York.  And they seemed content to sit back and allow the contract negotiations for the lefty to take their course, as if they seemed to believe all the ESPN analysts' spin that Zito would end up in New York.

Hell, David Wright summed the Mets' belief best.

"This place sells itself."

"What is there not to like about this atmosphere? If you flipped on the TV during the playoffs, that sells itself. It's just an unbelievable experience, and I couldn't imagine somebody that didn't want to come and be a part of what we have going on right now.

"And the team that we have, you read all the articles about the chemistry and stuff. In my eyes, you'd have to be crazy not to want to come here and be a part of this."

In that case, Zito must have been crazy.

Bill Stoneman Is Killing The Angels

The signing of Shea Hillenbrand to play first base for the Angels is making it more and more clear that Bill Stoneman is killing the Angels.

Stoneman has advocated that the Angels hold the line, not spend too lavishly, and retain the depth of their farm system.

But the problem is that that same strategy has weakened the Angels and turned the division champs into a lesser team.

Since Stoneman has become the GM, he has allowed franchise players and the cornerstones of the 2002 Championship team like Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein, and Troy Glaus walk or be traded when it became clear that they would cost money to re-sign.

They have declined to deal from a position of strength (the farm system, which has several position players that are roadblocked) to make additions that would help the team compete.  Stoneman declined to deal pitcher Ervin Santana and shortstop Erick Aybar to the Nationals last season for Alfonso Soriano last season.  The Angels had the pitching depth to survive and Soriano would have given Vlad Guerrero, who is being walked more and more in key spots, the protection he needed to allow the Angels to contend.

One year earlier, Stoneman declined to deal Aybar, Santana, setup man Scott Sheilds, and another prospect for Manny Ramirez, who also would have helped the offensively.

Instead, Stoneman makes do with the likes of Juan Rivera, Hillenbrand, and other, lesser players that don't help the Angels accomplish their ultimate goal, winning the World Series.

The time is ticking on the Angels.  And I'm not sure Stoneman hears it.

Hey, Giants Staff, Here's A Recommendation For Your New Head Coach

If any Giants personnel are reading this (not likely, as this is primarily a baseball blog), I have a recommendation for you for your next head coach if you all do fire Tom Coughlin.

Tennessee Titans Offensive Coordinator Norm Chow.

Chow is a excellent football guy who has put in his years in the game and has great knowledge of the game.  Plus, he's also got a knack for developing quarterbacks, something you all need (along with getting rid of one of your cancers, Jeremy Shockey and Plaxico Burress).

Don't believe me.  Then check this little nugget out.

Here are the last four quarterbacks Chow has developed.

• Vince Young
• Matt Leinart
• Carson Palmer
• Philip Rivers

Happy New Year everyone.  Drink Responsibly.

As a fan of the Dallas Cowboys (I seem to be a fan of all the teams in Dallas, with the exception of the Mavericks.  I’m a Spurs fan all the way.)  And, as expected, I’ve seen quite a lot of terrible seasons and inconsistency under center since the last stable Cowboy Quarterback, Troy Aikman, retired.

I’ve checked for some information on this, as I was curious on how many players actually started for the Cowboys since Aikman retired.  To say the least, I’m shocked.  I’ve counted eight (coincidentally, Aikman’s number) nine quarterbacks that have started under center since Number 8 retired.  If there are more, please let me know and I’ll update the list.  This list (not the comments) is largely from memory, so I’ve probably missed a few.

·          Randall Cunningham (2000) – Oddly enough, I do remember the quarterback controversy when some fans wanted Dallas to start Cunningham instead of Aikman.  Nonetheless, Cunningham was a decent backup and took over for Aikman after the Lavar Arrington concussion that ended his career.  Despite Cunningham’s name value, he was also one year away from retirement and was not brought back the next season when Aikman would retire.

·          Quincy Carter (2001-2003) – The longest lasting of the Non-Aikman’s, Carter was drafted in the second round in the 2001 draft, to possibly replace the icon.  It was hoped that Carter would be able to re-discover the talent that made him one of the best NCAA quarterbacks in his freshman year before inconsistencies seemed to cause him to slide.  Those inconsistencies followed him to the NFL, and Carter would briefly lose his job to Chad Hutchison quarterback in 2002 before he seemed to have turned a corner in 2003, where he was serviceable, with the Cowboys went 10-6 and to the playoffs.  Carter would become incensed when Dallas signed Vinny Testaverde and after an average pre-season, a supposed failed drug test, and Bill Parcells feeling that Carter had neither the drive nor the leadership skills needed from a starting quarterback, the Cowboys cut Carter loose.

·          Clint Stoerner  (2001) – Special Thanks To Shooter For The Heads Up.  Started a couple of times, but was pulled in favor of starting...

·          Ryan #### Leaf (2001) – What the #### Hell Is Ryan Leaf doing here?  Leaf was just as bad in Dallas as he was in San Diego, and didn't start long before Carter won the job back on the basis of "least shittiest quarterback on the roster.".

·          Chad Hutchinson (2002-2003).  After a brief stint with the St. Louis Cardinals, Hutchinson would unseat Carter for the final nine games of the season as the starter, where he was largely average.  Hutchinson would lose the job in the pre-season and in the Cowboys’ pre-2003 quarterback cuts, Hutchinson and Carter would both be cut together in favor of another former baseball player, Drew Henson, and Tony Romo.

·          Vinny Testaverde (2004) – Brought in as a starting quarterback candidate, Testaverde’s signing angered Quincy Carter, who felt that he should enter the pre-season as the starter.  Testaverde wound up surviving the 2004 Pre-Season cuts and was installed as the starter.  While it was hoped that Testaverde would be able to hold the reigns long enough for Henson to start, Testaverde’s performances ranged for bad to mediocre at best.  Testaverde would start all but one game in the 2004 season before being cut loose for another Bill Parcells favorite, Drew Bledsoe.

·          Drew Henson (2004, technically 2004-2005).  After flaming out with the Yankees, Henson returned to football and was traded for by the Cowboys and given a large contract.  Henson only started one game and didn’t impress enough for Bill Parcells to leave him in the game, and would be replaced by Testaverde in the second half.  Henson remained a lame duck on the roster for another year, falling on the depth chart to third behind Tony Romo, and would finally be released before the 2006 season.

·          Drew Bledsoe (2005-2006).  Probably the best of the bunch, Bledsoe gave the Cowboys a needed presence at quarterback and for the first time, the Cowboys had a legitimate starter behind center.  Bledsoe would lead Dallas to a 9-7 start, but after a shaky start to the season, thanks largely to a suspect front line than his own short comings, Bledsoe was benched in favor of Romo and is reported contemplating retirement, not wanting to be a backup.

·          Tony Romo (2006) – Romo, an undrafted quarterback from Eastern Illinois, outlasted Carter, Hutchinson, Testaverde, Henson, and Bledsoe and has impressed Parcells with his talent, quick release, mobility, and moxie.  Romo is off to a solid start, winning his first career start.  Now the Cowboys wait to see if they’ve finally found their franchise quarterback or if Romo is only the latest to disappoint.