The Oakland Athletics acquired outfielder Chris Young and cash considerations from the Diamondbacks for middle infielder Cliff Pennington along with minor-league shortstop Yordy Cabrera to Arizona. Arizona then turned around and traded Cabrera to the Miami Marlins in exchange for relief pitcher Heath Bell and cash considerations. I’m assuming Miami will be paying more than half of Bell’s remaining contract. Here’s the breakdown: Miami Receives: Single-A shortstop Yordy Cabrera from Oakland and $13 million worth of salary [...]

After reading Joe D’s post on SandyBall, I remembered an interview I did with an author from Gaslamp Ball, a San Diego Padres fan site. Joe D points to the fans view of Alderson from his time with the San Diego Padres, and I couldn’t help but think about this quote from the Gaslamp author: “In most cases I felt that he was trying to do the right thing by building from within and creating [...]

You’ve heard me refer to Sandy Alderson as a dinosaur before or repeatedly saying that he seems out of his element. His moves thus far, few as they may be, have done nothing to change my perception of him. When Omar Minaya was fired, it was my hope that he would be replaced with a young and more progressive GM – with my first choice being Rangers GM Jon Daniels. Daniels was interested in the [...]

I was driving into work this morning and was listening to Richard Neer on WFAN. He was talking about the Yankees and Braves success over the past 20 years. He was saying how the Braves and Yankees have made the playoffs virtually every year, and it’s not really about getting to the post season, it’s about winning championships. The championship comment obviously applies more to the Yankees then the Braves. However, the Braves get into the postseason [...]

  CHRIS YOUNG, RHP PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS: With veteran Chris Young there was first a hope before any expectations. Signed as a stop gap starter to begin with prior to the 2011 season, Young pitched effectively at first before injuring his shoulder. In four starts he was 1-0 with a 1.88 ERA, giving the Mets six innings a start. Although an injury risk, when sound he was a veteran presence who pitched with composure and guile [...]

The Texas Rangers have dismissed hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and hired Dave Magadan away from the Boston Red Sox. Magadan had been the Red Sox hitting coach for six years, beginning in 2007 when they won the World Series. The Red Sox, who are in the process of looking for a manager, held an option on Magadan for 2013. But with their manager’s position in a state of flux, they allowed Magadan to interview with [...]

Our own Craig Lerner came up with several bold predictions of his own last week, so I thought I would throw my own into the mix. We saw the triumphant debut of the Mets 2010 1st-round draft pick Matt Harvey, providing one of very few bright spots in an otherwise dreary second half of the 2012 season. He came up and looked like the pitcher we have been told about, and in many cases dreamed [...]

Catcher Buster Posey of the San Francisco Giants and closer Fernando Rodney of the Tampa Bay Rays have been named the recipients of the 2012 National League and American League Comeback Player of the Year Awards, respectively, Major League Baseball announced today. The Comeback Player of the Year Awards are officially sanctioned by Major League Baseball and presented annually to one player in each League who has re-emerged on the field during the season. In [...]

Check out the latest poll results from MetsBlog on where his readership voted on the question of Are the Mets are headed in the Right or Wrong Direction: If there was an option that said “Not Sure” that’s what I would have chosen. Maybe that’s why he only got 2,600 people to vote instead of his usual 5K+. I also suspect that those who were unsure and voted, gave the team the benefit of the [...]

The Detroit Tigers have put the Yankees in off-season mode, and it took only 4 games to do it. You know in the long run, the Yankees may have had less drama to deal with had the Orioles taken them out in 5 games. I have no doubt that this will be the start of a lot of changes in the Bronx. They already are speaking of the need to lower payroll, but with the [...]

PRESEASON EXPECTATIONS: Dillon Gee made a strong first impression with the Mets as a 2010 September call-up when their rotation was in tatters. He made five starts and gave the Mets at least six innings in each and didn’t up more than three earned runs in any. His 2.18 ERA and ability to keep his composure caught the Mets’ eye. When they were beset by injuries in 2011, Gee was brought up and won his [...]