December 2005 Archives

Happy new year to all. After two months of hot stove action, ESPN.com has posted its projected starting lineups and rotations for each team. Let's take a look at their projections for the NL West, compare each team to the...
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First, a few small-print updates: * At the request of a few readers, I've signed up to syndicate my feed. Or maybe feed my syndicate. Whatever it is, if you have RSS thingamabob stuff, you can sign up for Lefty...
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With the acquisition of Steve Finley, the Giants have found a fourth outfielder with a track record of recent success (a career high 36 HRs in 2004) and a more recent alarming decline. No need to rehash the 2005 stastistics....
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For the upcoming TV movie about Brian Sabean's life they better get Anne Bancroft to play him, because after today, we're going to call Sabes the Miracle Worker. He just traded Edgardo Alfonzo. People said it couldn't be done. People...
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WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE: The morning after, the non-tendered name that may best fit the Giants' needs is Miguel Olivo: Once a top catching prospect, Olivo has bounced from the White Sox to the Mariners to the Padres because he can't...
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Tomorrow night a new crop of players will be let loose on the free agent market, giving the Giants more options from which to fill their remaining needs (in descending order of importance): - left-handed hitting 1B/3B or backup outfielder...
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As if to answer the big wail of "Why?" that's gone up in the wake of his decision to sign with the Dodgers, Bill Mueller has shed some light on his thought process in this article from Pravda's Redondo Beach...
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As you might have heard by now, the Dodgers are about to sign Bill Mueller to be their regular third baseman. He'll likely be their #2 hitter, with fellow Blue newbie Rafael Furcal leading off. Combine that with the departure...
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From Will Carroll in today's BP: Matt Morris is a Giant now. Was three years too long for him or will the ballpark help him? I’ll leave the park effects work to Clay and Nate and the defensive work to...
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Now that Matt Morris is safely ensconsed in the Giants starting rotation (salary details to come), the attention of Giants' brass turns, or so we hope, to the other big hole on this team: a big bat, either at first...
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The chatter is pointing Matt Morris toward San Francisco, where the ex-Cardinal righty would become the Giants' #2 starter. The expected contract is 3 years at something like $25 million, perhaps with a fourth-year option. That's what Ken Rosenthal is...
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There's going to be something missing next year at Mays Park & Field, an absence of a certain sound in the air. It's a high, piercing sound that often accompanies a short badly-edited snippet of the Who's "We Won't Get...
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There's a report on the San Diego Union Trib's Web site that the Giants have signed career backup/pinch-hitter Mark Sweeney. If true (I haven't seen it anywhere else), Sweeney would likely be the Giants' main first baseman and platoon with...
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Fasten your seat belts, we could be in for a bumpy night and a busy tomorrow. Other than a few splashy signings and trades, most of the Hot Stove action has been elbow-jostling for prime position on Dec. 7, as...
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Not much time today, but good food for thought is Joe Sheehan's note from Dallas in today's Baseball Prospectus. He muses over Boston's reported 26-person contingent at the winter meetings, and how the role of general manager might be better...
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Generally I'm pleased with the Tim Worrell signing. He turns 39 next July, so the chances of physical breakdown or decline are higher, but at $2 M a year, he's making well below market value. The salary seems to be...
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Former Dodger exec (and former Laker) Tommy Hawkins has some unkind things to say about his former organization. Hawkins was one of their top PR guys until a year ago. Caveat: the messenger is L.A. Times caveman/columnist T.J. Simers, but...
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