You’ve seen the commercials for years: “Major League superstar” Fred McGriff in some off-brand hat and jersey endorsing the Tom Emanski Defensive Drills video.  I never flip away when that spot airs. It’s positively sublime. McGriff, sure, but those little leaguers going through their drills is pretty sweet too. I always wonder which of those…

The Mets unveiled their newest bauble a couple of hours ago. After giving him a New York Rangers jersey with his name on it — seriously — Bay faced the press. The whole thing is here if you want to read it. Here are the highlights: Asked about leaving the Sox, Bay said that he…

Ken Rosenthal (and others) have reported this morning that Adrian Beltre’s 2011 option could double from $5 million to $10 million based on incentives. What incentives? Rosenthal just tweeted that he gets the extra $5 million if he makes 640 plate appearances. For what it’s worth, Beltre has made 640 plate appearances thrice in his…

A lot of you get sick of the little piece-by-piece rumor mill of the hot stove season, preferring that we wait until there’s a solid news story instead of a mere rumor to talk about something.  I understand why you feel that way, but I disagree with that approach for the simple reason that I…

Shelley Duncan would have probably been a nice addition to any number of teams last year, but he had the misfortune of being one of the few — the Yankees — that had absolutely no use for him. So he ended up sitting in Scranton last season, where he hit 30 homers. Now he’s going…

Arbitration season starts in earnest today, as the filing period for arbitration begins. Players and teams will exchange figures on Jan. 19th. The hearings begin on February 1st. Arbitration, most people don’t realize, is basically litigation, and as is the case with litigation, most arbitration cases settle. Ninety percent, in fact. There are a number…

There are a lot of reasons why the NL has been getting its butt handed to it by the AL in recent years. Money is one, the DH is another. Matt Klaassan of FanGraphs has another theory:  better GMs in the AL than in the NL. He doesn’t rank them, really. He simply creates two…

Dave O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution spends some time imagining Johnny Damon in a Braves uniform, observing that Atlanta could afford to sign him if they could do a one- or two-year below $10 million. And he thinks that Damon would consider it because (a) he hasn’t received better offers; and (b) he’s told some…

As reported by Troy Renck last week, the Colorado Rockies finalized their agreement with Miguel Olivo yesterday: one year and $2 million, with a club option for 2011. Good for the Rockies.  Even if the Rockies exercise Olivo’s option — which is $2.5 million — they will have saved $1.5 million over what Yorvit Torrealba…

And with this quote from Ron Gardenhire about Francisco Liriano, we officially begin to transition from the hot stove season to the “Player X is in the best shape of his life” season: “I just got a report that he’s throwing the living fire out of the ball down in the Dominican (Republic). He threw…

The first thought in most people’s minds after the Adrian Beltre deal was reported last night was what the Red Sox were going to do with Mike Lowell. OK, my first thought was “wow, Boras really misread the market for his dude,” but my next thought definitely was what to do about Mike Lowell. Almost…

Joe Strauss of the Post-Dispatch reports that Cardinals’ Chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. and GM John Mozeliak met with Scott Boras over the weekend, and that the team and Matt Holliday are “on the brink of a deal.” Tony La Russa acknowledged that a deal should be done this week, though he did say “At some…

It’s probably rather galling to the rest of baseball that, in addition to being able to outbid just about everyone for any free agent, the Red Sox also get big discounts on guys who simply want to go there. That seems to be the case with Adrian Beltre: Beltre turned down more money from at…

This morning, Craig touched on Carlos Delgado’s return to action in the Puerto Rican Winter League, mentioning that the Mets could be interested in bringing the slugging first baseman back to New York. Turns out that they are, indeed, interested. From MLB.com’s Alden Gonzalez: One day after Carlos Delgado made his return from hip surgery…

Jason Giambi is considering re-signing with the Colorado Rockies. We know this because a source said as much to Troy Renck of The Denver Post. Giambi opened up his new club “Vanity” at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas this week. He’s a part owner in the venture, and lives in Vegas during the offseason.…

In just his second full season in the majors, Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp blossomed into a star. He hit .297, smashed 26 home runs, drove in 101 runs, and stole 34 bases. He earned both Gold Glove and Silver Slugger awards. It doesn’t get much better than that. Or does it? Now, according to…

Peter Gammons tweets:  1 year deal for $9 million and a player option for $5 million. There’s also a $1 million buyout, presumably so everyone can say he got $10 million. Physical pending, announcement to come later. Gut reaction: something of a comedown for the Boras-represented Beltre who, in addition to wanting $10 million, most…

Anyone else see anything wrong here?

Normally if you get an unsolicited package in the mail from a group called “The National Ethnic Heritage Foundation in partnership with the Order of Sons of Italy in America,” you’re going to want someone else to open it. I got such a package today, but figuring that I have neither told anyone what I…

7:51 P.M.: OK, now we do know what the hell is going on: Beltre to Boston, one year, $9 million, with a player option for $5 million. 5:37 PM: First the Sox were in, then out, and now they’re apparently in again, as Gordon Edes at ESPN Boston is reporting that the Sox have actually…