Friday, February 11, 2011

IT'S ALMOST TIME

The sports columns are filled with all the various possibilities that we might witness this season. There aren't even that many actual predictions other than the Red Sox are the definite favorites to win the AL East. Some time in the next couple of weeks, the writers will publish their predictions as to the order of finish in each league. Until then, we'll have to put up with the "space-fillers," such as the one in Buster Olney's blog today: What was the actual game being shown on the TV in the movie "A Few Good Men?" Answer - Twins/Orioles, 6/17/91. Now we'll all sleep better.

***THE YANKS WILL TRADE FOR...***
...anybody that's available or who may become available. It doesn't matter who, according to the sportswriters. It's just easy to mention the Yanks simply because they can afford anyone. Other teams can kick the tires on a player and no mention is made, but if the Yanks even LOOK at a player, why it's becomes front page stuff. There is one exception: Albert Pujols. Everyone is convinced that the Yanks have no interest in him, and they're probably right.
You have to wonder what's going on there, since St Louis seems to be dragging their feet in the negotiations. Pujols wants it settled by 2/16 or he going to go to free agency at the end of the year.

***A FEW INTERESTING STORIES***
Ross Ohlendorf won his arbitration case against the Pirates, getting a raise to $2+ million from $439,000. I think if I'm the Pirates front office, I'd be a little concerned about the process: Ohlendorf's record was 1-11.

Pujols is reportedly asking for a 10-year contract at $30 million per year. He probably deserves it, but he's going to have to eat his popcorn by himself: he's not A-Rod after all.

Oriole GM, Andy MacPhail, asked a group of law students what was the worst baseball contract ever. He finally got the answer he was looking for: A-Rod's $252 million deal with Texas. His point was that A-Rod did all you could expect from a player during his stay there, but...and it's a big but, the team wasn't able to improve and the attendance did not increase. What's the point of giving a player, any player, an extreme contract if it doesn't pay off in the end. You especially need to increase your revenue stream and one major player won't do that for you. How do you do it? Put a WINNING team on the field, he said. Seems like a good point.

Now put that theory to work for the Yankees. They supposedly have a very good core of minor league players and a major league roster that's very old. If you start trading these youngsters away to get some stop-gap superstar, you're just continuing the pattern. Maybe the Yanks should stand pat and hold onto these highly rated kids to replace the veterans instead of mortgaging the future for another veteran. But they won't.

***FROM BRAD DICKSON***
"During the Penguins-Islanders game, the two goaltenders got into a fight. This was the first NHL game to end with a final score of 39-38."

CP-

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