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Royals Offer Arbitration To Grudz

By Craig Brown | December 1, 2008 | Royals Authority

EDIT: I changed the title... Because it was wrong. :)So the Royals offered salary arbitration to Mark Grudzielanek. This would be a horrible move for the Royals, but there's this:""I'm probably 95 percent, 98 percent sure I'm going to pass on it."Whew.That's the only reason this move makes any kind of sense. You can be certain that GMDM and Grudz talked this over and the Royals (former) 2B gave his assurances that he would decline the offer. There's no way arbitration is offered if the Royals thought Grudz would accept. At least I'll tell myself that's the case. Because if it's not, I would be extremely disappointed in how this organization operates. Grudz has been making noises over the last several months that it's more important that he finish his career with a contender, rather than a fat wallet. Of course, he would probably like both. Who wouldn't?In 326 career...

Read more | 10 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Kansas City Royals, MLB

Peter Gammons checks in with Fire Brand

By Evan | December 1, 2008 | Fire Brand of the American League

Peter Gammons - 64Jazzbass

Peter Gammons stops by Fire Brand to answer a few questions. He cautions not to write off David Ortiz and muses about an Eric Byrnes and Miguel Montero to Boston trade.

Read more | 56 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, MLB, Texas Rangers

Sunday Drivin' with Kelly Shoppach, Orlando Hudson and Rafael Furcal

By James Pete | November 23, 2008 | Tribe Report

I figured that I'd better take a Sunday Drive with Kelly Shoppach while I still can. As much as I'd like the power hitting catcher to stay with the Indians for the long haul, I don't see it happening. You see, the Indians have made it pretty clear that Shoppach will likely be moved before the end of the year.The Indians declared their 40-man roster this past week, or should I say, their 39-man roster, which fellow Tribe Scribe writer, Michael Taylor, has already explained thoroughly. What wasn't strange to me was the fact that they left a slot open for a future move, other than signifying that the Indians were relatively sure that there was going to be a future move. What stood out to me was the fact that the Indians protected five catchers. We all know how important catchers are in this league, but I'm not sure...

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Buckeyes, Cleveland Indians, Indians, Kelly Shoppach, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, MVN, Ohio State Buckeyes, Orlando Hudson, Rafael Furcal, Tribe, Tribe Report

Hot Stove Dishes - November 22, 2008

By Brian Joseph | November 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

The latest buzz served up from baseball's Hot Stove League. Ten of the hottest stories, moves and rumors from the past week: The Giants are the dark horse to be big time players this offseason.Out of nowhere, rumors swirled that the Giants would be inserting themselves into the CC Sabathia chase. San Francisco already went out and signed one of the better lefty relievers on the market. Besides Sabathia, the Giants are after Edgar Renteria and might jump into the fray on another higher end infielder to fill their middle infield needs. If the Giants land Sabathia, they would instantly be contenders in the National League West. Mike Mussina retires!We can move on from the discussion of will Mike Mussina return to the Yankees or not for 2009 since he officially announced his retirement this week. The 270-game winner now will be discussed based on his merits for Hall of...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, CC Sabathia, Chase Utley, Edgar Renteria, Francisco Rodriguez, Joe Beimel, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mike Hampton, Mike Mussina, MLB, MLB Playoffs, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Ramon Vazquez, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Trever Miller

Top 50 Free Agents: Rankings and Predictions

By Ryne Crabb | November 17, 2008 | Fire Brand of the American League

Top 50 Free Agents on FireBrand

Last year, on November 6th, 2007, I released my top 50 Free Agents rankings and predictions. This year, a week later than usual, I've again ranked and predicted the destinations for the top 50 free agents of this year's free agent class. 2009 is very top-heavy, and there aren't many sexy names in the bottom 25, but that only made everything that much more unpredictable.

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dogers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

2009 Top 50 Free Agents: 26-50

By Ryne Crabb | November 15, 2008 | Fire Brand of the American League

The Top 50 Free Agents: Part 1

Last year, on November 6th, 2007, I released my top 50 Free Agents rankings and predictions. You can check out the archive on my old blog if you are interested. This year, a week later than usual, I've again ranked and predicted the destinations for the top 50 free agents of this year's free agent class. 2009 is very top-heavy, and there aren't many sexy names in the bottom 25, but that only made everything that much more unpredictable.

Read more | 6 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dogers, Milwaukee Brewers, MLB, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

This Day in Cubs History - 11/09

By Joe Aiello | November 9, 2008 | View from the Bleachers

2002 - After a decade as the skipper in San Francisco, Dusty Baker signs a four years deal to pilot the Cubs. The three-time NL Manager of the Year compiled a 840-715 record during his ten-year tenure with the Giants.2004 - Hoping to fill the void created by Steve Stone's resignation, the Cubs hire former Diamondback manager and current Fox television analyst Bob Brenly to broadcast games on WGN. After spending twenty years in the broadcast booth, Stone left Chicago after his on-air comments concerning the team's swoon in the wild card race angered manager Dusty Baker and some of the players.This Day is Cubs History brought to you by: NationalPastime.com...

Read more | Discuss | Tags: Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, MLB, Reds, White Sox

Links for 11/5: Johnson, Francoeur, Peavy

By Will Schaffer | November 5, 2008 | Chop-n-Change

Something tells me that baseball may not be the first thing on everyone's mind right now but nevertheless, there is plenty of action to report on the rumor front. Here are some links to hold you over until I can get the next part of the top 20 list up.Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports says that ten teams have contacted the Braves about second baseman Kelly Johnson. Specifically, he mentions the Cardinals and Diamondbacks as teams who have holes at second. With the emergence of Omar Infante and Martin Prado as potential starters, it makes sense that the Braves would be willing to deal Johnson if the right deal came around. The Cardinals could make sense as trading partner with their outfield depth but I just don't see how the Diamondbacks would match up.Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star says that Jeff Francoeur is still on the trading block...

Read more | 35 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Jake Peavy, Jeff Francoeur, Kansas City Royals, Kelly Johnson, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Zach Greinke

Hot Stove Dishes - November 22, 2008

By Brian Joseph | November 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Being the GM: 2009 Arizona Diamondbacks

By Evan | October 27, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Randy Johnson - SD Dirk

No one's discounting this team out, not with talent the likes of Stephen Drew, Chris Young, Justin Upton and the two-headed pitching monster of Brandon Webb and Dan Haren.Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Arizona Diamondbacks, MLB

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