Red Sox Nation, Yankees Universe, Rays Republic . . . the Nats are content to go with something more modest. Eh. What about an “Army?”  Worked for Kiss, so you think it would work for a baseball team. Sorry to be sticking with this subject today, but I don’t have to report for Death Panel…

Headline: “Did the Twins just lock up the next Jason Kendall?” The answer, ultimately, is “probably not,” but the article is worth reading if for no other reason than to be reminded that there was a time when Jason Kendall was pretty close to awesome. I like headlines that make people freak out for a…

Back in December the Nationals selected Dodgers minor leaguer Jamie Hoffmann with the first pick in the Rule 5 draft and then sent him to the Yankees in a pre-arranged deal for Brian Bruney. Hoffmann was thought to be a near-lock for a spot on New York’s bench, but apparently the Yankees decided against keeping…

It ain’t Kenny Lofton for David Justice and Marquis Grissom, but a spring training trade is always fun.  Today’s version: the Rangers trade infielder Ray Olmedo to the Brewers for catcher Matt Treanor. Matt Treanor is a backup catcher who can’t hit, and his presence in Texas is significant only insofar as (a) he’s, like,…

Joe Mauer getting the Twins to fork over $184 million has the other top catchers in the American League dreaming about their next contracts. Victor Martinez of the Red Sox is an impending free agent, so removing Mauer from next offseason’s catching market could have a huge impact on him. Alex Speier of WEEI.com speculates…

I’ve always known that players can’t hold equity stakes in their teams due to the Basic Agreement (see paragraph 4(c) on p. 213 of this massive document), but I never knew why. Today, however, Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus explains. Once upon a time Rogers Hornsby got a cut of the Cardinals, was traded to…

Cito Gaston announced that Shaun Marcum will be the Blue Jays’ Opening Day starter, which is noteworthy given that he missed all of last season following Tommy John elbow surgery. Roy Halladay started each of the past seven Opening Days for the Blue Jays, but he’ll be taking the mound for the Phillies in Game…

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times reports that the Mariners are considering making Casey Kotchman their number three hitter behind Ichiro and Figgins. What’s more, Milton Bradley is probably going to bat cleanup. I haven’t been paying all that much attention to the Mariners’ spring, so my first thought was “that makes no sense!”  Upon…

Erik Bedard was slated to throw off a mound today for the first time since August shoulder surgery, but the Mariners canceled those plans with trainer Rick Griffin explaining: “He’s not ready, in our opinion.” Griffin went on to clarify that the cancellation isn’t a “setback” for Bedard, but given that the bullpen session was…

Who says you gotta move the Rays out of the AL East? They’re fitting in just fine. WEEI’s Alex Speier just passed along this quote from Joe Madden: “The Red Sox have got the Nation. The Yankees have the universe. We’ve created The Rays Republic.” I like it! But why stop there? How about the…

The all-time pinch-hit leader and current Dodgers’ coach was rushed to a hospital on Friday. They found severe blockage in four arteries and performed a quadruple bypass. Harris was said to be resting comfortably as of yesterday.  Word is, however, that he could see some action today if the Dodgers fall behind late and the…

John Fay writes about Aroldis Chapman’s efforts to learn the language and get used to life in the U.S.  A couple of interesting passages: The Reds are in uncharted territory. Players from the Dominican and Venezuela get assimilated before they get near the big leagues. Johnny Cueto was in the Reds’ system for four years…

Remember how the Pirates signed those two Indian reality-show winners?  Well, they’re back in camp this year, and unlike last spring, which was basically a publicity tour masquerading as baseball, this year they’re pitching and working out just like any other ballplayers. And they’re improving: The progress between last spring and now is remarkable, Pirates…

Buster uses the Mauer signing as a jumping off point for thoughts on the A’s and Rays.  For the A’s: Bud needs to make San Jose happen.  No argument there. My view is that the commish should offer the Giants some concessions, deem the move to be OK, and make the Giants sue if they…

FanHouse’s Ed Price reports that Jim Edmonds is surprisingly lukewarm about being a backup outfielder for the Brewers this year. Edmonds says “some days, driving in, I think [WTF?]” and questions whether the backup job is enough to keep him playing. He rebuffs the suggestion that he’s playing the game because he loves it, saying…

Last night Jon Heyman tweeted “Joba is out of the Yanks rotation debry.”  The basis for this?  The news that Chamberlain will pitch an intra-squad game today while Phil Hughes will pitch against the Phillies in Clearwater.  Left out of this is the fact that the intra-squad game and the need to get both pitchers…

Howard Megdal thinks so, arguing that Greenberg experienced an uncharacteristic spike in walk rates towards the end of his 1938 season.  Megdal says “the American League didn’t seem exactly thrilled with Greenberg’s pursuit,” and concludes that “the statistical record stands as evidence that Greenberg’s religion might have been an additional barrier” to him in surpassing…

Last week the Dodgers sent Eric Gagne to the minors.  Last night they said, eh, forget it, and just released him. He allowed six runs and eight hits in 2.2 innings. Late innings in spring training games, so it’s not like he’d be facing a less-talented brand of competition in the minors. I would assume…

As the foremost Twins dude on the Internets I defer to Aaron’s take on the Mauer deal. But others have weighed in too. Let’s take a look-see: Rob Neyer (on Twitter): “I say there’s at least a 50/50 chance that Twins are regretting the Mauer contract by 2016.” [Rob's longer take is here] J.C. Bradbury:…

Joe Mauer’s new eight-year extension is worth $100 million more than any other contract the Twins have ever handed out and committing to pay a catcher $23 million per year through his age-35 season in 2018 represents a massive amount of risk. With that said, it was a no-brainer. First and foremost, if reasonably healthy…