Quick Hits

More Drama in Tampa Bay: In 2006, quite a few Tampa Bay minor leaguers got in trouble with the law, in the minors and didn’t endear themselves well to either their organization or the media.

Well, 2007 may be a new year, but things have remained the same with some of the players. Uber-prospect, Elijah Dukes is in trouble once again.

He was arrested this week with another passenger and charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession after a traffic stop. His vehicle was searched due the presence of marijuana smoke & less than 2 grams of marijuana was in found in the car.

Yet more on an old friend, Slammin’ Sammy Sosa: The Rangers have offered Sosa a minor league contract and invited him to spring training where he will battle for a roster spot.

Sigh.

Why the Rangers would want Sosa, I have no clue. They need pitching, and to stock-pile it, not sign some aging slugger; the team honestly has enough offense. I’m not sure if Sammy should come back if gets a roster spot based on 2005, but the man is closing in 600 homers and may help out Texas if regain some of the power that made him great for the Chicago Cubs.

The deal will be incentive-laden most likely, if he were to make the ream.

Rodrigo Lopez: He signed a one year deal with the Rockies, if anyone cares.

* More news and info at fastballfans.com

Quick Hits: Rodrigo and the Ravens

Rodrigo: The erstwhile pitcher for the O's is gone from the beautiful state of Maryland and now in the Rocky Mountains. All in all, he was a fairy decent pitcher, considering where he was signed from. He won 15 game a a few times and was counted on being a fairly, consistent pitcher most of the time.

Then came 2006. He sucked it up - badly. I always figure it was a bad year, but his attitude due to his failures in 2006 didn't exactly endear him to anyone. Since baseball is a business, rather than a game anymore, he needed to go and a 4 million dollar reliever doesn't appeal to the O's, although we've got Baez.

Rodrigo, you were cool and did your job here the best you could. Happy trails, live long and prosper in Colorado. I'm not going to diss him, as he once stood out for 30-45 minutes and signed for fans, and I got his John Hancock.

Since I need to reach out and touch with my fellow bloggers, here's a roll call of the Rodrigo coverage.

* Camden Chat made me laugh so hard with their post on Rodrigo. Perhaps a little mean, but most O's fans can relate to the sentiment in the post. The proof is in the pictures - Link

* Oriole Central gives their say, but without the blatant humor, though they get their shots - Link

* The Baltimore Sun story - Link

The Ravens: Today will be big day here in Maryland. I live outside of Washington D.C. and no one really cares them here. It was a sea of purple at my job on Friday, but I'm on the wagon and I'm going to support the Purple and Black. Since I live in Maryland, we all might as well support the Ravens, you know.

I say the Ravens beat the Colts if they sport the "D" and don't let Peyton run up the score. If the Ravens can score 20, Indy is done.

I'll be tailgating up there and I'll see if I can get a ticket. If worse comes to worse, I'll just to go a bar and make some new friends.

Quick Hits...

• Orioles.com beat writer Spencer Fordin in his latest article writes about the Aubrey Huff impact with the Jay Payton signing and the expectations for him with the team. Also the article looks at the situation with Rodrigo Lopez, Hayden Penn’s status for ’07 and where’s former O’s catcher Javy Lopez?

• Baltimore Sun writer Dan Connolly believes that Ripken’s numbers were Hall of Fame worthy even without the streak, and I think that’s the case.
  
  
• Baltimore talk radio station WBAL has an article up about Cal titled Cal Waiting for the Call from the Hall.
  

• Washington Post Dave Shenin opines about Cal Ripken’s career and his legacy.

• Here’s a video of Cal Ripken chatting about his expected induction to the Hall of Fame.

• J.D. Drew is still waiting to become a member of the Red Sox. Take a look at Murray Chass’s article. Ridiculous.
  
  
• The University of Florida whooped on Ohio State 41-14 to win the National Championship in college football. Whoa. I thought there would have been much more of a challenge from OSU and that game would have been closer.

Honorable Mention: I found this website, The Road Less Traveled, the other day and found what the creator did with the site to be wonderful. Although I am not from the Boston area, I know quite a bit of people from there who live in the Mid-Atlantic region and I can relate to a lot of what’s on the site. The insight is great, you can have a few laughs on it and he’s got some cool photographs on it as well. Check it out!