Now that the Hot Stove season has come to and end, here are five of the worst signings I believe went down this Winter. Matt Holliday – Cardinals 7 years, $120MM – Everybody loved this signing, but I laughed my ass off when I first caught wind of it. Already 30-years old and in a 3-year decline (’07 1.012 OPS, ’08 .947 OPS, ’09 .909 OPS), I was overjoyed that the Mets passed on this ticking [...]

The Mets sent a press release out yesterday about the Dave Matthews Band shows just announced for Citi Field, on July 16 and 17.  Sure, this is significant for you DMB fans (tickets go on sale February 26), but the problem is, it also might be the most significant event at Citi Field this season.  Because by mid-July, it’s quite possible the Mets could be out of the playoff race. It’s easy to be skeptical [...]

So far this offseason, the Mets have failed to lure a free agent pitcher to Flushing.  What was supposedly their top priority (signing a starting pitcher), has turned into an endless series of questions regarding why the Mets can’t get any pitchers to sign with them.  In a span of 24 hours, the Mets and their fans have once again been subjected to watching two more free agent pitchers who were supposedly on the Mets’ [...]

According to CBS Sports’ Danny Knobler, the Oakland A’s have signed free agent Ben Sheets to a one-year deal worth more than $10 million dollars plus bonus incentives. He passed his physical today, and the deal is expected to be announced this afternoon. Passing his physical today would indicate this may have been agreed to 2-3 days ago. @SI_JonHeyman: Ben Sheets got $10 million plus performance bonuses. Not bad after idle ’09. Also, no word if [...]

Update 1/26 3:00 pm Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reports the obvious via Twitter, Mets’ next target, after losing Sheets, looks to be Smoltz. They have not been aggressive on Garland, according to a source. Adam Rubin also reported that the Mets were engaged in aggressive dialogue this morning even before the Sheets signing went down. Update 1/25 3:30 pm: According to Adam Rubin (Welcome back Adam!) of the Daily News, the Mets are also actively [...]

Free Agent sinker-baller Joel Pineiro, one of the top free agent pitchers left on the market, is available no more. Pineiro has agreed in principle to a $16 million/2 year deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Pineiro started his career with Seattle, as a starter, before shifting to a bullpen role with mixed results. He made his way to the Cardinals in 2007, and as many down-on-their-luck pitchers do when they come to a Dave [...]

I know there are rumors flying around like crazy about pending free agent signings, and that the Mets are interested in the likes of Ben Sheets, Joel Pineiro and John Smoltz.  And while any of those guys are capable of stepping in and being, at the very least, our #4 starter, we should be prepared for the worst.  And that “worst” is the depth chart in our starting rotation as it stands today—Johan Santana, Mike [...]

As most of you already know, Ben Sheets spent the 2009 season recovering from surgery to fix up his torn flexor tendon, but now he seems to be recovering pretty good. A slew of teams will be showing up later today to see Sheets pitch for the first time in almost a year. Then soon after, the bidding will begin for the 31 year-old right hander. Sheets has a lifetime ERA of 3.72 and 1,206 [...]

Ben Sheets is by no means the only selfish ballplayer.  In fact he’s just one of the vast majority.  But I chose to pick on him because his name is so prominent in the news right now, as he tries to find a team to gamble and guarantee him a lot of money. If you don’t know, Ben Sheets has been injury prone for most of his entire career.  He has averaged just 18 starts per [...]