One of the things that analysts and fans evaluate in a professional athlete is their physical and mental toughness. This is also important to an athlete because their reputation for being on the field on a regular basis also contributes to their legacy. Teams are still interested in Javier Vasquez every time he hits the free agent market because he consistently eats up innings; it has been documented that he can’t pitch in the “big [...]

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports shares some details about the new Collective bargaining Agreement which is expected to be announced very shortly and possibly before the official start of free agency on Thursday. Unlike past negotiations between the owners and the Players Union, things have been going quite smoothly under the circumstances and both sides seem committed to getting this done so that many new elements can go into effect this offseason. Free Agent Compensation In [...]

According to Buster Olney of ESPN, the Braves have traded starting pitcher Derek Lowe to the Cleveland Indians. The Braves will get 23 year old minor league reliever, Chris Jones who is currently in Single-A and is not very highly regarded. Atlanta will also pay all but $5 million of Lowe’s remaining $15 million salary. Lowe was 9-17 with a 5.05 ERA in 34 starts last season for the Braves. Matt Cerrone of MetsBlog thinks this [...]

The Pirates declined C Ryan Doumit’s $7.25 million option for 2012. Doumit posted a .303 batting average and .830 OPS this season in 77 games and has been hampered by injuries. The Pirates also declined LHP Paul Maholm’s $9.75 million option for 2012. Maholm posted a solid 3.66 ERA and 1.29 WHIP in 26 starts this season, but had to be shut down with a shoulder strain to end the season. As expected, the Indians declined OF [...]

In a Morning news conference at Busch Stadium, The Saint Louis Cardinals announced that manager Tony La Russa is retiring. The team had hoped to have their skipper back for a 17th season, but after 33 years as manager LaRussa decided it was time to hang ‘em up. La Russa retires third on the all-time wins list, just 35 behind John McGraw. In addition to this season, he won championships in Oakland in 1989 and St. Louis in 2006. Tony La [...]

Jose Bautista and Matt Kemp Win Hank Aaron Award. Both Kemp and Bautista were honored this past week with the Hank Aaron Award. This award was first given to players in 1999 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Aaron breaking Ruth’s career home run mark and is intended for the player in each league with the most impressive offensive performance. The MLB-sanctioned award is voted on by the fans and select Hall of Famers. Bautista [...]

The St. Louis Cardinals are the 2011 World Series Champions after beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night. After overtaking Atlanta on the last day of the regular season, the Cards knocked out the 102-win Phillies in the NLDS and then the Brewers in the NLCS. It was the Cardinals’ first championship since 2006, and gave La Russa his third World Series title. “It’s hard to explain how this happened,” Cardinals manager [...]

Here they are, courtesy of MLBTR. The official Elias rankings for this offseason. The list below includes all unsigned ranked free agents. Type A C.C. Sabathia, Yankees – 95.930 (can opt out) Brandon Phillips, Reds – 91.518 (club option) Albert Pujols, Cardinals – 95.200 Prince Fielder, Brewers – 91.200 C.J. Wilson, Rangers – 90.988 David Ortiz, Red Sox – 86.000 Ryan Madson, Phillies – 82.948 Rafael Soriano, Yankees – 82.217 (can opt out) Heath Bell, Padres [...]

Wow, wow, wow… David Freese homered to lead off the bottom of the 11th inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals forced the World Series to a Game 7 by rallying from two-run deficits against the Texas Rangers in the 9th and 10th on Thursday night. What an incredible game – an instant classic… 25 years after the 1986 Mets scripted their memorable World Series Game 6 classic, the Cards may have just matched or even [...]