The Padres and Cardinals agreed in principle to a deal that would send eight-time Gold Glove Award winning center fielder Jim Edmonds and cash to Southern California for Padres minor leaguer, David Freese.
The deal, that is pending approval by the league, would offer a replacement for Mike Cameron in center field. Talks with Cameron had tailed off in the days leading up to Friday, and the Padres have since cut ties.
Cameron averaged .242 last season, with 78 RBIs and 21 jacks. The fans' growing dissatisfaction with Cameron's attitude, and mediocre effort at a position that he was clearly capable of playing well, will likely usher in Edmonds gladly, who at 37, is far from perfect, but is known to be a workhorse on the field.
Edmonds played with the Anaheim Angels (Yes, Anaheim, and up until '97, California) from 1993 to 2000, where he laid the groundwork for a stellar career that he carried over to St. Louis.
The concern comes around the aging Edmonds' susceptibility to injury at such an old age, playing such a demanding position. Edmonds started only 110 games in 2006 and 114 games in 2007.
This was the Padres first step toward toward rebuilding their tattered outfield. The Pads came up short in the bidding war for fabled Japanese prospect, Kosuke
Fukudome, and lost Milton Bradley to the Rangers last week.
Barry B. was arraigned in U.S. District Court on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice from a Nov. 15 indictment, today, and as if this was surprising to anyone, he plead not guilty.
I guess he's dug him self so deep that it's too late to back out.
We know all Barry had to do was pull a Giambi and admit to some stuff to clear his name some time ago, but NO, that would make him look bad... because we all know he has a picture perfect image.
Well, Barry's looking pretty bad now, as he avoided the slammer by posting $500,000 bail, however there are some conflicting reports that he was released without having to post any cash, and will be forced to forfeit $500,000 if he "violates the terms of his release." Somebody please enlighten me. (edit - 12:06am: The New York Times Reports the latter, so I'll rest my case with one of America's most trusted journalistic sources.)
I don't want to get into the specifics of the case, because honestly, as long a justice is served, I don't care what happens. However, over the years I've have noticed shifts in my favor towards Bonds.
I grew up watching Barry in his pre-size nine hat days, and almost (yes, almost) looked up to him. Then the steroid allegations hit, and the nation turned on him; thus leaving me to follow suit.
In May of 06, during the stretch run of Barry passing The Babe, I got a lot of heat for praising Barry on my old blog; I had jumped ship. The thing is, Barry brought some excitement to the monotonous pre-playoff rush ballgames, and I was willing to respect him for that.
The same was to say for this past season and the Aaron chase. As much as I didn't want to see Aaron's record get broken, watching Barry was like a car crash. You don't want to look, but you end up watching ESPN2 for a month straight, all in the name of witnessing history.
Bonds' dramatic home run chase brought me back to baseball on an "every night" basis. I cancelled dinner plans in the games leading up the record. I planned my days around these games, turning a movie night with a girl (this is RARE) into a "hey, let's watch the Dodgers, Giants game" night. I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the Giants franchise over that month span, but I have no regrets. Baseball was exciting in the middle of the season.
After the chase was over, I got in touch with my inner Padres fan, and buckled down for the wild card race... I have to say: Barry contributed to my dedication as a fan; HE MADE BASEBALL EXCITING.
In retrospect, I have no regrets, and I feel no remorse for backing Barry on the sole fact that he revived Baseball for me, BUT as the times are a-changing, I've wised up to this guy.
The Angels have reached a preliminary agreement with center fielder, Torii Hunter. The deal is reported to be for five-years at a value of $90 million dollars, and is subject to Hunter passing a physical.
QUOTETIME
"They shocked me. I didn't think they needed a center fielder" - In regards to the Angels recently signing Gary Matthews to a $50 million five-year deal
Coach Mike Sciocia: "Torii is going to be in center field virtually every day. Gary will be
in the outfield almost every day, so the other two guys will split up
the DH. We want all four of those bats in the lineup." - In regards to Matthews.
Hunter's agent, Larry Reynolds: "They came in trying to get something done in a hurry and it worked out."
Hunter glad to be out of Minnesota: "I watched the Angels go to work on us. They play the game the right way. ... If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Sometimes it's time to move on, sometimes your welcome is gone."
My Hombre Ryan Hamlett (aka the "Fantasy Dominator" from Squeeze Play Sports): "We got the best center fielder on the market. He's extremely
underrated. Last year was the opposite. We got an extremely overrated
Gary Matthews who had never been good...ever. Torii is a good choice and I think that it's exactly what the Angels need...they're gonna need at least one more bat though.
I'm with Ryan on this one; the Angels are making progressive moves despite #### that new GM Tony Reagins is getting for the Garland deal.
Torii Hunter is a catalyst with the bat; the Vlad support that Angels fans have been looking for for some time now.
Hunter batted .287 with 28 jacks last season, and .278 with 31 a year previous. Hunter's career average is .271 with 192 homers over a 10-year career.
I would be lying if I were to say the Hot Stove was heating up.
We're coming to a boil here, and from the looks of things, we aren't going to see an end to the baseball buzz anytime soon.
The Halos improved upon their already stellar pitching rotation, shipping out shortstop, Orlando Cabrera in exchange for White Sox starter, Jon Garland. Garland put up 18 wins in both 2005 and 2006, but dropped off a little bit last season, going 10-13 with an ERA over four. Cabrera batted .301 and was awarded the American League Gold Glove at short, thanks to a .983 fielding percentage. Maicer Isturis will likely fill Cabrera's spot at short stop. Isturis is a reliable defender that could use a little bit of work on offense. The general consensus I've gotten from Angels fans is that this is a progressive move for the team, giving them the arm that really puts their starting rotation over the top. The final factor still remains however, the Angels need a bat.
Reports have it that the Dodgers are leading the race to acquire the league's other Cabrera; Miguel. Cabrera is the most sought after third baseman on the market right now, and if the Dodgers were to snag him, it would be a solid move to get Torre more talent for his maiden voyage in the ciudad. Cabrera has been criticized over the past couple of years for his inability to control his weight, but he has continued to put up steady numbers, batting .320 last season with 34 jacks. The rumored deal will send Matt Kemp, Adam LaRoach, and AA pitcher, Clayton Kershaw.
It was a rather slow sports day in Los Angeles. No Lakers game, no Clippers game, and though nobody truly cares here, no Ducks game and no Kings game either.
Here's run through the rumor mill, news stand, and garbage pail:
A-Rod, who is seeking the biggest contract in the history of the league, is now ready to venture out into the free agent market. His agent, Scott Boras, a.k.a the dude that "ruined" game four of the World Series, reportedly used this week's GM meetings to pimp A-Rod to anyone who would listen. Among those listening closely, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets, and Angels. The Angels, however, stepped things up and appear to be the front runner, with this statement from GM Tony Reagins:"We're interested. We're going to speak to his people and see where they are," Reagins said. "They'll know where we stand and we'll go from there. You look to try to improve your club. If that's a piece that improves your club, you go for it."
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the mother of Clippers G/F Corey
Maggette has said "Corey would love to be a Bull.'' This is obviously a
case of "what were you thinking," but with Corey being the highlight of
the team while Brand is out, combined with the Clipps' 4-0 record,
countered by Chicago's 1-4 record (they finally won a game), I think
he's staying put.
Lamar Odom is expected to return to the Lakers starting line-up for Friday's game against the T-Wolves. Odom, who was sidelined in May after undergoing shoulder surgery will likely replace Luke Walton in the line-up in lieu of Ronny Turiaf's stellar play in the first four games of the season.
Good old Phil Jackson is already talking about next season... four games into this season. When asked about the status of his standing contract with the Lakers, he said "It will probably be before Thanksgiving, or around Thanksgiving time. That's a good time period." Jackson, who is still recovering from his second hip replacement surgery has mentioned that his heath, as well as the team's propensity to win a championship play a strong role in his decision.
Much to the chagrin of change-seeking Lakers fans, Jerry West has been said to be very much enjoying his retirement down time.
Ex-Euro soccer star Ruud Gullit will be announced as the new coach of the L.A. Galaxy in a press conference friday morning. ...Yet another expenditure that will likely get the Galaxy nowhere. Here's to hoping Gullit doesn't go down with a knee injury.
Incoming Dodgers manager, Joe Torre spoke to the press this morning making everything official, and from the looks of things, Dodgers fans have something to be excited about.
The signing of Torre ranks right up there with all the A-Rod BS, as the top story of the off-season thus far, and though it's still early on, and the Dodgers are still young, and Jeff Kent still has the team swinging from his nuts, things look progressive in the front office.
Torre addressed the media about an hour ago, in a press conference that FSN Prime Ticket covered like the second coming (FSN rules with the whole impromptu coverage thing).
Quote time:
"When I think of the Dodgers, I think of efficiency, I think of pride,
I think of a measuring stick. You always measured
yourself against the Dodgers, because they always did everything right."
"Being from Brooklyn, I'd better get this out, we had the Dodgers, the Giants and the Yankees. We
were pretty spoiled in the East. I managed the Yankees and now I get to
manage the Dodgers and I was a Giants fan. I want to apologize for that
right now."
"I didn't sleep all night. It's just a great feeling to be
here. This is one of a handful of organizations you automatically say yes to."
"Wow! This has been wild here. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. You say goodbye to one prestigious organization and you say hello
to another prestigious organization."
Torre also announced that former Yankees coaches Don Mattingly and Larry Bowa would be joining him in Los Angeles.
"Don Mattingly, I can't tell you how excited he is. We're
just looking to go to work." - Regarding Mattingly's son being a member of the Dodgers farm system.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
I guess he's dug him self so deep that it's too late to back out.
