Valadius

From this article: ]The only two first-place votes that didn't go to Rodriguez were from Tom Gage of The Detroit News and Jim Hawkins of The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Mich.

Lowell to re-sign with Boston: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AoMbUx6t2TdTMGkM3dG6lkMRvLYF?slug=ap-redsox-lowell&prov=ap&type=lgns 3 years, $37.5 million.

I can't remember who the source was. My dad can't remember either, other than he thinks it was someone close to Willie. However, I faintly recall him saying something about a bouncer at some club. So I dunno. All I know is, he's certain that it was somebody in the know.

Actually, both 1st place votes for Magglio came from Detroit writers - one from The Detroit News and one from The Oakland Press (from Pontiac, MI).

I don't get it. The White Sox just re-signed Uribe.

I talked to my dad. He's met one of the Goldman guys before, and has heard of the other one. My dad works in a different department though.

According to MLB.com, Chip Ambres was signed as a free agent by San Diego. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/transactions/index.jsp

Glavine signs for 1 year, $8 million. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-braves-glavine&prov=ap&type=lgns

I would have liked this before I found out that Castillo was a bad influence on Reyes. My dad has a good source who told him that Castillo parties way too much, and stays out really late, and that Reyes went out with him nearly every night after Castillo was traded here.

We're going to have a very classy stadium with a very shitty (pun intended) name.

bmfc1 wrote: Maybe the Mets were leaked the word that Torrealba is on the Mitchell List. That's just a maybe, just speculation, don't sue me Torrealba legal team. That would make perfect sense. You may have hit the nail on the head.

Contact made with an Orioles forum: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=251&f=2023#s=251&f=2023&t=1417745&p=3 I'm trying to see if we can get Erik Bedard.

]Athletics trade IF Scutaro to Blue Jays November 18, 2007 OAKLAND, California (Ticker) - The Oakland Athletics on Sunday traded infielder Marco Scutaro to the Toronto Blue Jays for a pair of minor league pitchers. Scutaro batted .260 with seven home runs and 41 RBI in 104 games this past season. The six-year veteran started 86 games for the A's at five different positions, including 38 at shortstop and 33 at third base. In six seasons with Oakland and the New York Mets, Scutaro has a .259 career batting average with 31 homers and 174 RBI. In return, Oakland received righthanders Kristian Bell and Graham Godfrey from the Blue Jays. Bell, an 11th-round pick in 2004, posted a 3-7 record with a 5.33 ERA in 22 games, including 11 starts, for Class A Dunedin last season. The 23-year-old has a 18-17 record and a 4.18 ERA in 79 appearances, including 49 starts. Godfrey, 23, went 6-7 record with a 3.98 ERA in 21 starts for Class A Lansing last season. He was drafted in the 34th round in 2006.

]Shoulder injuries may have killed Torrealba-Mets deal Sunday, Nov 18, 2007 9:42 am EST Though neither side said so publicly, the Denver Post reported the New York Mets may have changed their mind on signing Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba because of his history of shoulder problems. Torrealba missed time in 2006 with two separate shoulder injuries. According to The Post, there are no ongoing negotiations between the two parties. The Florida Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Rockies and Mets pursued Torrealba last week. The field narrowed to the Rockies and Mets, with both sides engaging in serious discussions. When the Mets included a guaranteed third year, Torrealba was swayed. The Rockies' best proposal was a two-year, $7 million deal with a vesting option for a third year based on performance incentives.

I'll take my home state of New Jersey. For a relatively large state with a relatively large number of players, New Jersey's crop of talent is surprisingly thin, especially at pitcher. Among position players: Johnny Briggs - OF George Case - OF Sean Casey - 1B Rick Cerone - C Doc Cramer - CF Mark DeRosa - 2B/3B/SS Doug Glanville - CF Kid Gleason - 2B/P Goose Goslin - LF/RF Billy Hamilton - CF Jeffrey Hammonds - RF Bill Haselman - C Frankie Hayes - C Charlie Jamieson - LF Derek Jeter - SS Mike Jorgensen - 1B/OF Eric Karros - 1B Elliott Maddox - OF/3B Joe Medwick - LF Dots Miller - 1B/2B Joe Orsulak - OF Hardy Richardson - 2B/OF/3B Johnny Romano - C Billy Shindle - 3B Joe Stripp - 3B Mike Tiernan - OF Jeff Torborg - C Hal Wagner - C Earl Williams - C/1B Eric Young - 2B New Jersey can put together a rotation of: Don Newcombe Al Leiter Andy Messersmith Johnny Vander Meer Al Downing With the following pitchers in the bullpen: Ron Perranoski Joe Borowski Dan Miceli Rawly Eastwick Joe Black The starting lineup for the New Jersey team: Billy Hamilton CF Derek Jeter SS Joe Medwick LF Goose Goslin RF Eric Karros 1B Frankie Hayes C Hardy Richardson 3B Eric Young 2B Don Newcombe P With the following bench players: Sean Casey Johnny Romano Mark DeRosa George Case Johnny Briggs Billy Shindle Doc Cramer The greatest New Jerseyan Met, by far, is Al Leiter. For best pitcher, I'm going with Don Newcombe. The best position player and best overall player, in my opinion, is Goose Goslin, who barely edges Joe Medwick.

I hope and pray that we don't get Jason Kendall. He is by FAR the most overrated catcher I have ever seen in my life, especially offensively.

Who do you think is the best player to come out of Connecticut, Iubitul? I'm going with Roger Connor, who held the all-time home run record before Babe Ruth. A case could also be made for Jim O'Rourke. The crop of pitchers is pretty thin, though. That's pretty cool that your teacher played in the majors!

Now, for Delaware. Delaware has a few pitchers to consider, but it comes down to either Sadie McMahon or Chris Short. I'm going with Short. There are actually a few decent position players from Delaware despite the fact that it's a small state. The following position players of some importance are from Delaware: Delino DeShields - 2B Kevin Mench - OF John Mabry - 1B/3B/OF Chris Widger - C Randy Bush - OF/1B Hans Lobert - 3B/SS Dave May - OF Delino DeShields is the best position player and best overall player from Delaware. And so, the all-Delaware team: Delino DeShields 2B Hans Lobert 3B John Mabry 1B Kevin Mench LF Randy Bush RF Dave May CF Chris Widger C Ed Cihocki SS Chris Short P Dallas Green is the only Met from Delaware.

HOLY SHIT. This was such a done deal that Yahoo Sports added him to the Mets' roster today. I'm guessing a trade may be imminent.

To update, we have so far covered: Alaska Colorado District of Columbia Hawaii Idaho Maine Montana Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Rhode Island Utah Vermont West Virginia Wyoming Let's now take a look at New Hampshire. For a small state, New Hampshire is surprisingly pitcher-heavy. It boasts 5 100-game winners. The battle for best pitcher (and best overall player) is between Mike Flanagan and Chris Carpenter. Both have a Cy Young award. My pick is Flanagan, because he (so far) kept it up longer than Carpenter. The best position player, in my opinion, is Arlie Latham, but Red Rolfe comes in at a close second. Don Florence is the only Met to come out of New Hampshire.

Huh. Interesting. Never would have guessed.

Let's examine Maine. The best pitcher of the bunch is Bob Stanley by far. The best position player is probably George "Piano Legs" Gore, who played in the 19th century. I'm not sure if I can really compare the two, but I think Gore is the best overall player. Carl Willey is the only Met to hail from Maine. I noticed that Maine players have some fantastic nicknames, such as Live Oak Taylor, Chief Sockalexis, Cannonball Titcomb, Chummy Gray, Cuke Barrows, and Squanto Wilson.

This is interesting: ]NEW YORK -- Warren Buffett advised Alex Rodriguez to approach the New York Yankees and go around agent Scott Boras, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. The newspaper cited a person familiar with the matter, whom it did not identify. "A-Rod really loves being a Yankee," Buffett was quoted as saying. He wouldn't comment on the substance of any discussions with the player. The two became friends several years ago. Rodriguez, on Boras' advise, opted out of the final three seasons of his record $252 million, 10-year contract on Oct. 28. The Yankees had said many times that if he opted out, they wouldn't negotiate because they would lose $21.3 million from Texas for the final three seasons that was agreed to at the time of the 2004 trade, money to offset the $72 million New York owed from 2008-10. Upset with developments after he opted out, Rodriguez contacted Buffett, and the investor told him to approach the Yankees without his agent, the Journal said. After speaking with the investor, Rodriguez contacted a managing director at Goldman Sachs that he knew, John Mallory, who then got in touch with Gerald Cardinale, a Goldman Sachs managing director who has worked with the Yankees and their YES Network. With the assistance of the two Goldman executives, Rodriguez and the Yankees negotiated a $275 million, 10-year contract that is in the process of being finalized. I'll have to ask my dad if he knows the two guys at Goldman.

Yes, he is Catholic. Funny thing though - he was selected to the Jewish All-American team in college despite the fact that he's not Jewish. In reading up on Eckstein, I found that he actually came up through the Red Sox farm system as a second baseman. From ESPN.com, circa 2002: http://espn.go.com/talent/danpatrick/s/2002/0828/1424027.html

... by Kenny Rogers. ]DETROIT -- In an unexpected twist to the offseason saga surrounding both free-agent pitcher Kenny Rogers and agent Scott Boras, Rogers has dismissed Boras and now is representing himself in contract negotiations, multiple baseball sources confirmed Friday afternoon. Clubs were informed of the change in an e-mail sent out league-wide through Major League Baseball and its Players Association. The Tigers confirmed they were notified Friday afternoon. The sudden firing is the second move in the last three days regarding Boras and one of his clients. The Yankees and Alex Rodriguez negotiated his deal this week without Boras representing. At no point in that case, however, had Rodriguez apparently changed agents, and subsequent reports suggested Boras re-entered negotiations to work out the final details on the contract. The Rogers negotiations haven't had nearly the same drama or attention, but they've had their fair share of twists and turns. The free-agent left-hander said toward the end of the season he wasn't sure if he wanted to pitch again in 2008, but if he did, he wanted to do it with Detroit. When he decided he wanted to pitch again, however, Boras informed the Tigers during the GM Meetings last week that he and his client would listen to interest from other clubs, a move that caught president/general manager Dave Dombrowski by surprise. The Tigers have made two one-year contract offers to Rogers through Boras, both of which were declined. Meanwhile, the Rangers have confirmed their interest in Rogers, and the Mariners have been among other clubs reportedly interested in the 43-year-old southpaw as well. Rogers told MLB.com in an e-mail Thursday evening that he still hoped to re-sign with the Tigers. It was his first comments regarding his situation with Detroit since he declared for free agency two weeks ago. His previous contact with Detroit reporters had come through Boras. "I would prefer not to discuss negotiations publicly," Rogers wrote Thursday. "I will say that I still hope to be in a Tiger uniform in 2008. Thanks for your understanding and patience during this process." The Tigers didn't want to speculate on how Friday's move will affect their negotiations. They didn't know of the change until they received the e-mail. By all appearances, however, it's expected to ease the way toward a deal that would return Rogers to Detroit. In the rare previous instances of prominent players representing themselves, they usually do so to finalize a contract with a particular club, not shop themselves around to other clubs. A-Rod is one such case; another is current Tigers slugger Gary Sheffield, a former Boras client who negotiated his free-agent contract with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner four years ago. Justin Verlander finalized his first professional contract through his father, a union negotiator who stepped in to help save his son's negotiations after previous talks reached an impasse. Rogers' talks presumably now will go directly from player to team. Dombrowski was on his way to a speaking engagement Friday evening, according to a team spokesperson, and could only confirm being notified of the change. Rogers was not available for comment. Phone messages left with Boras on Friday evening were not returned.