While the Evil Empire fights their own private Star Wars episode with the good folks from Boston, the rest of the baseball world will begin their holiday shopping within the next week or so.

Now that Curt Schilling has chosen Boston as his home for the next three years, the remaining free agent pitchers will quickly fall into place.

No doubt that the Yankees will counter the Boston move by resigning Andy Pettitte one of these days. Houston won’t kick in the necessary 45 million or so to lock Pettitte up, so the Yankees should keep their top lefty.

Next who will it be joining Mike Mussina and Pettitte in the rotation? Most likely Bartolo Colon since he will cost mere dollars instead of first baseman Nick Johnson, the price mentioned for Javier Vasquez of Montreal.

But what about Jeff Weaver, the Yankees forgotten righthanded starter?

Click below for the latest on his possible destination? [Read more →]

Nothing like some 35 degree temperatures to make baseball seem closer than it actually is. As of today, there are 84 days until the pitchers and catchers report for spring training on February 15th. Sounds pretty close.

This morning the question remains will Ramon Hernandez be the Oakland Athletics catcher on February 15th?

Click below for more! [Read more →]

Interesting stories in today’s sports pages respecting both the Giants and the A’s. With respect to the Giants, the headline is “Forget about Guerrero, Sheffield as additions.”

Ray Ratto is of the opinion that the Giants will not spend the money needed to get either of these right fielders. He may be right. If he is, the sentiment recently mentioned here, that Sabean wants to win it all now, should be modified to “Sabean wants to win it all now, if it can be done within the budget.”

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A Rod is the MVP of the American League. I’ve gone on record many times saying he is overrated, mainly because he sold out and went for the dough by signing with Texas, a team with little chance of reaching the postseason.

It’s no secret if you watch A Rod play that he has disappeared at the critical moments during his tenure with the Rangers. Still with the numbers he puts up he is tough to ignore when the MVP vote is taken. This season he won the award because no player from a playoff team had a knock your socks off type year.

Carlos Delgado and A Rod were the favorites because they were going to be named within the top five on more ballots than anyone else.

A Rod has acknowledged that the Rangers are trying to trade him this off season. He gave the go ahead earlier in the summer when he sent out the trial balloon indicating that he wouldn’t oppose a trade if the Rangers were so inclined.

Will he move on?

Click below and let’s talk some hot stove baseball about A Rod and others. [Read more →]

Once again, Sabean has let it be known that rebuilding is not the name of the game as far as the Giants are concerned. The trade for Pierzynski is, among other considerations, a message to those free agents sitting out there, that the team is intending in 2004 to make it to the World Series. There are a few free agents available who are capable of turning this team into a prime contender for the ultimate prize. One of them, for example, is Gary Sheffield. [Read more →]

One thing that separates baseball from the other sports is the amount of interest that is generated once the season comes to a close.

In many ways, the baseball offseason is more interesting on a day to day basis than either the NHL, NFL or NBA are in their full seasons.

With that in mind some things that may be percolating.

The Yankees may not be as panicked about redoing their club as we have been led to believe.

Click below for more on that and other thoughts!
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With Grady Little out of the picture in Boston, the braintrust is looking for the perfect manager to work with stat geek Bill James while still knowing how to run a baseball game on the highest level and then supervise a clubhouse full of multimillionaires for good measure.

The names kicked around to succeed Little are interesting to say the least.

Click below for more! [Read more →]

If you like the underdog you
must be the happiest person
on earth today a day after
the Florida Marlins took the
Yankees in 6 games in the
2003 World Series.

By Amaury Pi-González [Read more →]

Josh Beckett did what Mike Mussina, Roger Clemens, Kerry Wood, Mark Prior, Greg Maddux, Andy Pettitte, Pedro Martinez, Barry Zito, and Tim Hudson couldn’t.

Beckett threw a complete game shut out, dominating the opposition in his team’s biggest game of the year.

Oh, by the way, he did it in NY, in the world series, pitching on three days rest and never missed a pitch.

Young power pitchers in October, they are worth their weight in gold. Beckett is special and he delivered, leading his team to the championship. I can’t say enough about the 96 MPH fastballs he threw right past the best October hitters in the world or the 78 MPH curves that froze Bernie Williams all night. Give the Yankees an opening and they will take it. Beckett put a stop to the Yankee mystique in the House that Ruth Built.

The Yankees didn’t help themselves on defense. Pettitte inexplicably threw to second base with an easy out at third waiting on Derek Lee’s poorly placed sacrifice bunt attempt with the game still hanging in the balance.

Karim Garcia missed on a throw from medium rightfield allowing Alex Gonzalez to make one of the greatest slides I have ever seen avoiding Jorge Posada’s sweeping tag (Ah, Jeremy, I hope you were watching) giving the Marlins the only run they needed in this game.

No one faster in the game on the pivot or getting rid of the ball, than Luis Castillo and Alex Gonzalez, Miami’s middle defense.

The Marlins won two games in the Stadium as I predicted last Saturday when this series started. It wasn’t easy, but Brad Penny and Josh Beckett carried this team to the world series title.

Penny should get more play because he set the tone in game one with a dominating performance for 5 2/3 innings and then repeated it in game five Thursday night in Miami. The Marlins don’t win without Penny’s pitching either.

In my book, Penny and Beckett are co-mvp’s just like Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson were in 2001.

Click below for more baseball chatter. [Read more →]

It took a few days for the story of the 2003 World Series to take shape. The Marlins, a decisive 2-1 underdog, can finish off the mighty Yankees in the stadium if things go right for them tonight.

The story of 2003? I say Jack McKeon and his cool attitude on the biggest baseball stage of his career.

McKeon has kept his sense of humor when others in his position would have been tighter than a drum (Check St. Louis for instance).

His decision to start Josh Beckett on three days rest is a good one.

Beckett is a power pitcher and power pitchers in October are special. Beckett’s fastball can carry him even if his slider or curve are not available. He only threw 108 pitches in his last start. He has impeccable control and doesn’t waste pitches.

Perhaps the biggest factor is he insists on being the pitcher tonight.

Will it be easy? No way.

Click below for more! [Read more →]