The votes have been counted and Andre Dawson is the only candidate to get elected to the Hall of Fame. This is an epic fail on the part of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Bert Blyleven received 74.2 percent. Barry Larkin 51.6. Alomar 73.7.  All three of them deserved entrance.  Larkin and Alomar no…

It’s much better to be a DH buyer than a DH peddling your wares.  Just ask the Rangers who, according to MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan, have any number of options available to them this winter.  Among the candidates: Vlad Guerrero, Jermaine Dye, Jim Thome, Gary Sheffield and Xavier Nady. I agree with Sullivan that Nady, due…

One of the misfit toys the Yankees used in the rotation last year — Sergio Mitre — was eligible for salary arbitration.  He and the team have avoided that, as Jerry Crasnick reports that he and the Yankees have reached a deal for 2010 at $850,000. Mitre had a $1.25 million club option that the…

Following up on the Pearlman thing, here’s a link to a lengthy story from 2002 by the legendary Pat Jordan in the New York Times. It’s a profile of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling during their Diamondback heyday. It’s a nice compare and contrast.  Jordan doesn’t sugarcoat Johnson’s surly demeanor. He’s definitely a hard man…

I’ve openly questioned how Scott Boras can truly claim to represent Johnny Damon’s interests when he has a much more important free agent client — Matt Holliday — who plays the same position and would likely be in the running to land with the same teams. Today Boras was on Jim Bowden’s show over at…

After noting that the Mets, if healthy, will have a lot of guys with some power, Bob Klapisch offers a suggestion: The Mets don’t appear to be close to any significant upgrades in their starting rotation, so if they want to improve their run-differential why not maximize their HR quotient by reconfiguring the ballpark?  Doing…

With Matt Holliday in the fold for a gabillion dollars and an extension to Pujols in the offing, it’s not like they have a ton of room to work, but given that their current front runner for the third base job appears to have some issues taking care of himself, it’s not crazy for St.…

Jay Mariotti didn’t vote for anyone for the Hall of Fame. Not a single person. He gave his rationale on his ESPN podcast (transcript via Baseball Ink): I didn’t vote for anybody in the baseball hall of fame this year. Ya know why?  To me…the first ballot is sacred. I think Roberto Alomar is an…

In the same article that brought us the Chapman report comes word that the it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the Marlins are going to be able to move Dan Uggla. Uggla is arbitration eligible, of course, and as Juan Rodriguez puts it, he’ll “take a huge bite out of what is expected to be a…

Juan Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel reports that while the Marlins have upped their offer for Aroldis Chapman, their offer is not the highest and they are hoping that his comfort level in South Florida helps make up the difference.  I guess I understand the Cuban-player-in-Miami thing, but Chapman has played ball all over the world…

“Jarrod Washburn is the epitome of a bad free-agent target.” Aaron Gleeman, December 2, 2009 You may wonder why Aaron has been a bit quiet this week. I’m no good at keeping secrets, so I may as well just come out with it: Aaron is currently undergoing intense psychiatric counseling following multiple suicide attempts brought…

Sports Illustrated’s Jeff Pearlman — writing on his personal blog — reflects on the retirement of Randy Johnson and, as is typical for him, he totally takes the high road: I have nothing but negative thoughts for Randy Johnson, a brilliant pitcher but a pathetic human being. I covered baseball for a good chunk of…

In the excitement of the announcement of the Matt Holliday deal, the Randy Johnson retirement announcement and what was probably one of the least inspiring BCS bowl matchups in recent years, I neglected to break down the details of the Holliday contract, but they’re as follows: Holliday will receive $17 million for each season from…

Yesterday began with the AJC’s Dave O’Brien speculating that the Braves could maybe sign Johnny Damon. Today dawns with a move that is somewhat less inspiring: Just a few hours after signing Troy Glaus, the Braves added his backup when they agreed to terms with Eric Hinske on a one-year contract to serve as a…

Relief pitcher Luis Ayala, who is under a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was unharmed when gunmen stormed his house in Culiacan, Mexico, on Tuesday in an apparent kidnapping attempt. Martin Robles, a spokesman for the state prosecutors’ office, said investigators believed Ayala was the intended victim, whom police prevented from being…

My favorite catcher is now Tyler Flowers of the Chicago White Sox, simply because he has the guts to say he’s ready to be the starter, never mind that A.J. Pierzynski fellow. From MLB.com: “When I look at the whole offseason, I’m preparing myself to be the starting catcher for the White Sox,” said Flowers,…

After a stellar 22-year career Randy Johnson, The Big Unit, announced his retirement this evening.  He finishes with a record of 303-166. He racked up 4,785 strikeouts.  He won five Cy Young Awards, four of which came back-to-back-to-back-to-back, in the first four years of what has to be just about the best free agent signing…

Yes, this Hot Stove drama is over. Jon Heyman of SI.com broke the news just under an hour ago, as Matt Holliday has agreed to a seven-year, $120 million contract with St. Louis. Holliday will receive $17 million per season, according to Matthew Leach of MLB.com, and a no-trade clause. Holliday appeared on ESPN Radio…

Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Matt Holliday will return to the Cardinals on a seven-year, $120 million contract, a deal that Holliday later confirmed on ESPN Radio. The contract becomes the fourth-largest ever given to an outfielder, behind Manny Ramirez’s eight-year, $160 million deal with Boston, Alfonso Soriano’s $136 million…

Most people suspected this already, but the Red Sox have officially decided that they’ll play the newly acquired in centerfield and shift Jacoby Ellsbury to left field.  It makes sense: Cameron has played all of three games in left field — none of which with the Green Monster behind him — while Ellsbury has played…