About Last Night: O's Lose to Twins, Draft, Adam Loewen

The seemingly upward climb of Daniel Cabrera hit a little bump in the road as Baltimore lost to Minnesota, 7-5, last night in Minneapolis. Despite leading for much of the first half of the game, the Daniel of old returned in the fifth and sixth inning as the Twins scored four runs combined and the Orioles were left to lick their wounds. Daniel Cabrera (5-2) took the loss for the O's, allowing six runs on eight hits over six frames.

Baltimore's offense was able to knock out Kevin Slowey, the Minnesota starter, out of the game; however, they could not capitalize on a multitude of scoring opportunities. Joe Mauer homered and drove in three runs, helping Boof Bonser get a win out of the bullpen on Wednesday night.

Kevin Millar and Melvin Mora each hit solo home runs for the Orioles, who have dropped five of their last seven contests. Brian Roberts went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored, while Nick Markakis had two hits and one RBI.

***

The 2008 MLB draft is upon us, and while it is known Tim Beckham will be chosen first by the Rays, the Orioles have a number of options to choose from. It's conventional wisdom that Baltimore will go after a pitcher -- San Diego area pitcher Brian Matusz -- as their first round pick.

Unless something changes, I guess that's what may happen. I like Justin Smoak as a power option -- the Orioles sorely need it -- however, the Baltimore media is reporting it will more than likely be Matusz.

From Roch's blog: The Orioles' pick seems pretty clear unless the Kansas City Royals muck up the works and take San Diego pitcher Brian Matusz at No. 3. I'm guessing they'll take high school first baseman Eric Hosmer instead.

Hosmer is high up on the Orioles' draft board, along with Beckham, Matusz, Alvarez, South Carolina first baseman Justin Smoak and Missouri pitcher Aaron Crow.

Obviously things can change, and at times, events like this may become unpredicatable, but it looks like many are set with Matusz as the first pick.

The Baltimore Sun goes through the top five players the Orioles are looking at as their first pick & Dan Connolly muses with fans as to who they want as a part of the organization; and if you want a very good rundown of the draft picks in the latter rounds, the excellent and newest blog in Oriole-land, Camden Depot may be the place to go along with Orioles Hangout to get your draft expertise. As well, the Washington post has some tidbits and insight as to what the Orioles might do this afternoon.

I would like to hop into the fray and give my thoughts, but I am a little weak in that department and I only have so many hours in the day to devote to blogging.

***

Meanwhile, O's hurler Adam Loewen should be back in June and will more than likely have him in the bullpen. This is good news, as the Orioles are set with a glutton of pitching options right now, so there's no need to throw Loewen into the Lion's Den and have him starting again. I say that Baltimore should take their time with the youngster, and let him heal, get his command back and just let him build little by little in relief.

From the Baltimore Sun: Although the club is not addressing it specifically, Loewen might rejoin the Orioles as a reliever. He has come out of the bullpen just six times in his six-season pro career and only three times in 32 big-league games.

"I think we are developing the plan for the role that Loewen will be in when he comes back, but we are going to wait and see what he does in the minor leagues on his rehab stint first," Trembley said. "[Team president] Andy MacPhail and I and [pitching coach] Rick Kranitz and Adam Loewen have discussed all the options."

Pitching out of the bullpen would help ease Loewen (0-1, 7.85 ERA in four 2008 starts) back into the majors while putting less wear on a tender left elbow that has hampered the former first-round pick for more than a year.

Needless to say, the best course of action is to have Adam just get his mojo back and have him make a go of it in 2009.

About Last Night; The Hernandez Experiment Is A Bust, Random News & Notes…

Johan & Minnesota Don't See Eye to Eye; Francisco Cordero A Red For Big Money...

Well, it looks like Johan Santana remaining in Minnesota seems to be diminishing by the day. The Twins are attempting to keep one of the best arms in the game, but they are not getting cooperation from Santana and his people.

From CNNSI.com: "The Minnesota Twins recently offered superstar pitcher Johan Santana a four-year extension for about $80 million, SI.com has learned, leaving a sizable and significant gap in contract negotiations and perhaps even enhancing the chances that Santana may be traded this winter, possibly even by end of the Winter Meetings, which run from Dec. 3-7 in Nashville, Tenn.

The Twins have been telling people they will do their best to retain Santana, who is considered the sports' most dynamic pitcher and is still only 28. However, two executives on competing teams said they foresaw little likelihood the Twins could keep Santana long-term barring a stunning turnaround in negotiations, and one said he believed Santana is "out there'' already as a trade possibility."

The chatter should increase, and it looks like Santana not only wants a long term deal, but get paid -- and paid big time.

From CNNSI.com: "...While Santana's asking price isn't known, it is generally thought to be well in excess of the $126-million contract the Giants gave last winter to free agent pitcher Barry Zito, who isn't considered in Santana's league. It is believed that as a free agent next winter the lefthanded Santana could earn at least $150 million, or more, providing he stays on his current path of productivity. So the sides could be as much as $50 million apart, or even more."

Considering lack of reliable pitching and premier arms -- someone will pay him, rest assured.

***

The Cincinnati Reds had a horrendous bullpen in 2007, and on Friday they took steps to fix it.

With the market being as it is, the organization was proactive as they signed one of the best closers in the game in 2007.

According to ESPN: The Cincinnati Reds have reached preliminary agreement on a four-year, $46 million contract with closer Francisco Cordero, a baseball source confirmed Friday to ESPN.com.

The deal, which includes a club option for a fifth year, is subject to Cordero passing a physical exam. The agreement was first reported by Foxsports.com.

Cordero, 32, has 177 career saves in nine seasons with Detroit, Texas and Milwaukee. He ranked second in the National League with 44 saves last season in Milwaukee and made the National League All-Star team.

I'm not sure if this is the most prudent move signing a closer for years with the amount of money offered; however, the best arms want long-term deals, and the Reds gave in.

He'd turned down a 4 year, $42 million dollar deal from Milwaukee.

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Quick Hits: Johan Santana & The Twins, News Around MLB

Johan Santana may be into his last days of being in a Minnesota Twins uniform.

From Buster Olney's blog on ESPN.com: "Rival general managers say that in recent days, Minnesota’s Bill Smith is quietly gauging the market for left-hander Johan Santana, determining what deals he might have, in the aftermath of the report that Santana turned down a five-year, $93 million offer from the Twins. The Mets will be among the most aggressive teams in any Santana bidding."

I'm sure if the Twins don't sign Johan to a long term deal or get the talks into an advanced stage this winter, I'd say he's going to be traded. The Twins being a small market team may not be able to afford the services of Santana, especially if he is looking at a deal over $18 million per year.

Expect his name to have a large buzz and the big-money powerhouses such as the Yankees, Mets, and a few others jockeying for position for one of the pre-eminent left handers in the game today, and perhaps in the future, in the history of the sport.

***

* The New York Mets acquired Johnny Estrada from Milwaukee for reliever Guillermo Mota on Tuesday, moving quickly to plug their hole at catcher after talks with Yorvit Torrealba collapsed.

* Outfielder Scott Podsednik was cut Tuesday by the Chicago White Sox as he was designated for assignment.

* Torii Hunter, according to a report in the AP will choose a team to his liking next week. He said Tuesday that his goal is to make a decision next week on which team to play for, before baseball's winter meetings on Dec. 3.

* The Cleveland Indians signed free-agent Japanese closer, Masahide Kobayashi to $6.25 million, two-year contract. He's 33, and he went 2-7 with a 3.61 ERA and 27 saves in 49 appearances. He was on the disabled list in September with a minor neck injury but finished the regular season on the active roster and pitched in the playoffs.

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Photo Gallery: Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles; August 25, 2007

Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles; August 25, 2007

Here are photos of Saturday night's game where the Twins took on the Orioles.

Hope you like them!

Twin Sweep O's, They Lose 11-3 to Minnesota; The Rundown...

Sorry for the lateness in posting today, I had a friend whom I went to high school sadly lose her life in car accident and I basically have been offline for the past day.

***

Well, with the Orioles it is the same sh*t, different day.

On Sunday, the black and orange lost their sixth game in a row, as they got whooped by the Minnesota Twins, 11-3.

With the win, The Twins swept the series against the Orioles, and won all seven games they played this season.

What else is there to say? Bedard was very un-ace like as he gave up six earned runs and was off from the onset of the game. Although he settled down after giving four runs in the first two innings, his effort was futile as the Birds could not get anything started. He was supposed to be the stopper, the man who could come in, dominate and stop a losing streak.

Sunday was not the day.

Bedard did get the team record 219th K, but it meant nothing to the fans or the players, as they lost real badly.

The bullpen once again made a game that was looking bad into a train wreck thanks to Paul Shuey and Rob Bell.

Shuey -- nice guy, great comeback story, but he needs to be DFA'ed. We might as well give a roster to a young guy who has a future with the organization.

Bell -- should he sent down or released. At this point, like with Shuey, he's not been effective and there's a reason why he's been with several teams.

Folks, 2007 is done and buried. The Orioles are indeed a better team, but are eons away from contending unless more pieces are added to the equation. The bullpen situation has not worked out (it was a good try, but it failed miserably), the offense is putrid, and the infield situation (sans Robert, and the surprising Millar) is a mess.

At this point, Tejada should just DH, move to first; or perhaps even better, traded and sent on his way. I have watched more baseball because of the Oriole Post, Oriole Magic and all the other stuff I do this season than in years past, and my eye has picked up so many things wrong that it is shocking.

Tejada, Mora, and Roberts have made more bonehead plays in the field than I count and its jarring. The offense isn't there, and this team has played bad baseball in general all around.

With the exception of Bedard, Guthrie, Roberts, Markakis, Loewen (sill young), I'm just in awe how bad everyone else has been. The bullpen is shocking (Hoey, a youngster; Walker and Bradford excluded), and have no idea what even to think anymore.

In the next few weeks, let's see who have in the lower levels and let them get their feet wet in the big leagues. As well, we need to look at seriously rebuilding and getting quality players (note: not retreads, or guys past their prime) to contribute and get the Orioles out of the mess they have made for the past decade.

As the season is winding down, a lot of fans have pretty much given up on the Orioles as evidenced by attendance and the amount of reports on the various news websites. It looks like the area is gearing up for Ravens' football and the NFL season to begin.

This is sad, hopefully one day baseball in Baltimore can be revelant in the fall, rather being done before summer.

***

The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Examiner, & Washington Post.

Roch Kubatko in his blog has thoughts from this weekend, as does Bill Ordine in O, By the Way...

Ramon Hernandez was benched, and the numbers don't lie -- he's been in a deep slump.

Radhames Liz showed promise in his start on Saturday as he has a good fastball; however, a good fastball is not going to get professional hitters out, he needs to use his breaking stuff more. In light of giving up 5 runs, he deserves another shot and might be part of the future if he can be consistent. Meanwhile, minor league prospect Pedro Beato is ailing...

Dave Trembley hired a bullpen coach, Alan Dunn, who just may be as intense or even moreso than our manager. As well, the Orioles have a Q&A up on their site with Trembley.

B.J. Surhoff was inducted into the Oriole Hall of Fame on Saturday...

Photos: Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles; August 24th, 2007

Minnesota Twins vs. Baltimore Orioles - Aug. 24th

Photos from last night - hope you enjoy!

The 'Pen Blows It Again: O's Lose 7-4 to the Twins...

What can we say? It safe to assume things have not been the same since Bedard’s start on Tuesday?

Once again, the Orioles lost another game they led. On Friday night, the black and orange lost to the Minnesota Twins by a score of 7-4.

In a scene that keeps repeating itself, an Oriole starter (this time Jeremy Guthrie) has a tight lead and the trusty bullpen blew the game.

The team was up 4-3 in the eighth inning, but Guthrie got pulled as he allowed three runs in the top of frame. He gave up two homers; a solo shot to Justin Morneau and a two run shot to Jason Kubel.

And then all hell loose.

Jim Hoey and Jamie Walker could not hold the slim 4-3 lead they had and the ‘pen just blowing leads has been played over and over like a broken record.

Then Danys Baez came up to the mound in the ninth and served up a two run-homer to Torii Hunter to out the nail in the coffin for the Orioles.

The black and orange squandered a game, as the Orioles tagged Johan Santana (only one of the best starters in the game) with four runs – three homers.

The two teams square off on Saturday and Sunday.

***

The Baltimore Sun has a report from yesterday’s game as does the Baltimore Examiner, Orioles MLB site, & Washington Post.

Radhames Liz will start today in Baltimore against the Twins. Well, at this point in the season, the Orioles might as well see what they have and perhaps one of the kids from the farm may be a diamond-in-the-rough.

Former Oriole, B.J. Surhoff will be inducted into the team Hall of Fame tonight.

Roch Kubatko has his thoughts from last night in his blog, Roch Around the Clock.

O's Lose to the Twins 5-2; The Rundown

Well, I am still trying to get over the abusrdity of Wednesday, but the Orioles did play another game last night.

The black and orange took on the Minnesota Twins and they lost 5-2 in the late innings of Thursday night's matchup. The Orioles were doing pretty well with Steve Trachsel on the mound, but in the eighth inning, the team unnraveled.

They were up 1-0 in the inning, the O's coughed up 4 runs to the Twins in that frame.

A huge error by Miguel Tejada open up the floodgates for Minnesota with the bases loaded, and things went to hell thereafter.

The Orioles stumbled, bumbled and fumbled to yet another loss.

It's become painful to watch the black and orange this week, but as a fan, I still have unconditional love for the team...

***

The Baltimore Sun has a recap of the game, as does the Baltimore Examiner, & Washington Post.

There's more stuff from Wednesday's game and last night in Roch Kubatko's blog, Roch Around the Clock.

Check out Bill Ordine's blog, O, By the Way. It has updates on the massacre from Wednesday and how it relates to Dave Trembley, and also Anna Benson who's not been heard from in eons. I wondered what happened to her...

***

Rick Maese has a very interesting article in the Sun about the record loss on Wednesday and it being a symbol of the past decade in Baltimore. Well, I like his columns and what he has to say, but I respectfully disagree with his assertions.

Wednesday’s game was a total fluke and is a part of the ups and downs of baseball along with life in general; however, some fans believe what the Rangers were able to accomplish is symptomatic as to what is wrong with the Orioles today – bad luck, horrible management, and a storm cloud over them.

In all honesty, from my point of view, Wednesday was just a bad night – a very bad one. The Orioles are much, much better than they were a year ago, despite the record. However, the same problems remain, and Maese is right in that respect.

Since we are still on the topic of the beatdown on Wednesday, Childs Walker of the Baltimore Sun has a piece on how professional baseball players move on from a tough loss.

***

Garrett Olson, who has struggled in the majors, has been sent down to Bluefield as the Orioles need some bullpen relief; meanwhile, James Johnson has been called up. I'd expect Olson to be back up in early September.

First-round pick Matt Wieters toured Camden Yards yesterday, met with the media and was introduced to fans on Thursday. He'll start his professional career tomorrow with the Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds.

Paul Shuey has his thoughts from Wednesday's game, and yes, he was trying; plus, the Rangers cannot explain or comprehend the record-breaking game...

Meanwhile, the Mariners optioned former Oriole reliever, John Parrish.

Tom Boswell of the Washington Post has a great piece on Dave Trembley.

The Best of April -- Baseball Photos...

Best of Baseball - April

I attend a lot of baseball games and blog about the sport; therefore, today I wanted to share a few images with you all!

Anyhow, let me know what you think and also take a look at my Webshots gallery for more images and stuff! If there's anything you'd like, feel free to shoot me an email at mdguy2415@aol.com!

Can the Piranhas Win the AL Central Again? Minnesota Twins 2007 Season Preview...

The ever so-controversial manager of the Chicago White Sox, Ozzie Guillen christened the infelders of the Minnesota Twins the “little piranhas”, because of their style of the play, their tenacity & unwillingness to give in, along with the lack of household names. However, that should probably apply to the whole team.

The reasons above are how Minnesota came back from a horrendous April and May where they were well under .500 and pretty much buried to storming back to win the American League Central on the final day of the 2006 season. Under the guidance of manager Ron Gardenhire, and GM Terry Ryan, the small market Twins, despite their lack of resources in comparison to the powerhouse New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been able to compete this decade thanks to intelligent scouting along with fostering a culture of winning and nurturing young talent.

Their amazing second half made for a great story for baseball and an unprecedented run for a division title, but things will probably be even more difficult in 2007. Sadly, the Twins due to their economic standing could not at all be players in free agency this winter and will probably need the same amount of good fortune it had in 2006 to be viable contenders this upcoming season. With the market is as it is right now, the Twins are handcuffed due to arbitration-eligible players, taking on Hunter’s $12 million dollar option, so much of the free agent signings were of journeyman players and reclamation projects.

Although the team wound up losing to the Oakland Athletics in the Division Series, the Twins no doubt had an amazing 2006 where hometown boy Joe Mauer won the batting title, Justin Morneau won the MVP, Michael Cuddyer broke out and had a career year, and Johan Santana was his usual dominant self. Minnesota became very scary, as a two headed monster was created in the starting rotation with Johan Santana and superstar rookie, Francisco Liriano.

Liriano went down with an elbow injury and missed pretty much the latter half of 2006 and he’s not expected to be back until 2008. As well, longtime Twin, Brad Radke struggled with arm and shoulder problems throughout the season and relied on guile as well as guts to succeed. However, after the playoffs, he decided to retire due to injuries.

As we head to spring training, the Twins have a lot of positives going for them, but they once again may have a mountain to climb. The positives are that the Twins really did not lose any of their core players, and much of the starting lineup you saw in 2006 should be back for 2007. With Twin mainstay and human highlight film, Torii Hunter returning, along with the aforementioned Mauer, Morneau, and Cuddyer, the Twins offense should be able to maintain or perhaps even exceed 2006. As well, the Twins also had some young pitching come up the pipeline and contribute as well in both the rotation and bullpen.

In light of the positives, the Twins also have a few negative forces to deal with. The forces working against them involve the lack of starting pitching, & with dealing with arbitration-eligible players. Based on the team’s track record in this decade, they might have a very good chance at working through their issues and once again surprise the league.

Let’s start with the pitching staff, most notably the rotation. Ace and perennial contender for the Cy Young, Johan Santana, will of course be back and be expected to anchor the team. For the Twins to succeed, it is vital that Johan Santana to keep up the success he’s had previously. The Twins also had young pitchers Boof Bonser and Matt Garza come up from the minor and contribute in the middle of a pennant race, although Garza had some growing pains. Probably now more so than ever, they will need to deliver in 2007 if the team has any chance of competing in the AL Central. The Twins will also need Carlos Silva to come back from a bad 2006 and regain his form in previous seasons.

The wild card of the Twins happens to be with well, the rest of the potential starting pitching staff. The team recently signed former Nationals pitcher Ramon Ortiz, former Baltimore, St. Louis and New York Yankee pitcher Sidney Ponson. I am very familiar with the two men, and Ramon’s 2006 numbers look bad, but he’s showed signs of brilliance at times and had a good track record with the Angels. If he can return to the form that he had with the Angels, he might be a diamond in the rough. Sidney Ponson’s troubles have been well chronicled, and he’s got talent, but his vices and poor conditioning have done him in. I would expect him to be in the bullpen and spot starter, but if he fails in Minnesota, this may be the last stop in his career.

As well, the Twins have rookies Scott Baker & Glenn Perkins, who might be able to secure starting pitching jobs as well. Both men struggled in the majors, but perhaps another shot at the big time may be motivation for them to pitch well in the majors.

The Twins bullpen was real strong last year, and should maintain the same level in 2007. The corps in the pen is led by super Joe Nathan who once again had a dominant year recording 36 saves. He should be good for many years to come and while he’s unknown to casual fans because he plays in Minnesota, the rest of the nation will soon see how good he is. Longtime Twin Juan Rincon, Pat Neshek, Matt Guerrier, Jesse Crain, Dennys Reyes, J.D. Durbin & Jose Mijares will also man the bullpen.

The offense for the Twins in the past usually was once of basic fundamentals, and hit & run with not a lot of focus on power. That changed in 2006. The middle of the lineup, Mauer, Morneau and Cuddyer will be the key for the offense.

The nation got to see Minnesota native, catcher Joe Mauer break through as he won the batting the title narrowly over Derek Jeter and emerge as a potential star. Mauer will probably bat third, and he at this point may have a limitless ceiling. He will probably hit for more power in 2007 and even improve on his impressive ’06 numbers. He’ll be expected to be a leader on the team and continue his production.

First baseman Justin Morneau won the MVP award and overall numbers are even more impressive considering he was batting in the .230’s in May. He ended up 34 homers and 130 RBI’s, and was probably a big factor as to how the Twins won the AL Central. He’ll be expected to live up to his 2006 numbers with the upcoming season fast approaching us. He’s yet another guy on this team who has potential superstar written all over him.

Right fielder Michael Cuddyer also broke out in 2006 with 24 HR and 109 RBIs. After bouncing around in various positions on the baseball field, he’s found a permanent home in the outfield. Like Mauer and Mornaeu, he’ll be expected to main or exceed his production in 2006.

The Twins also brought back one of my favorite players and fan favorite Torii Hunter after the team took on his option for 2007. Although he had a down year offensively, the team needs his outfield presence and defensive wizardry to help out the team. Rondell White was re-signed after a subpar 2006 and will probably man the left field spot or be the designated hitter most of the time, with Jason Kubel perhaps playing in the field.

The rest of the infield is pretty much set Jason Bartlett at shortstop, Nick Punto at third, and Luis Castillo at second. Bartlett with limited playing time batted over .300 and was hot for a stretch and the Twins hope can continue has production. Punto has a strong year as well, where batted .290 and should bat at the bottom of the order. Castillo, much like Punto and Bartlett had good year at the plate as he batted .296. Although the infield outside of Morneau doesn’t have much power, they seem to do the little things right, get the key hit and contribute in key situations. They will be expected to continue their role on the team if the Twins are going to be successful.

The bench will compromise of infielder former Royal Ken Harvey, Jeff Cirillo, Luis Rodriguez and outfielder Lew Ford & Jason Tyner. All five men will be expected to platoon, especially in the case of Ford and Tyner.

A lot will have to happen in order for the Twins to win the American League Central along with contend with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians, but won the division unexpectedly in 2006 and with their young talent and pitching. However, 2007 may be a different story with the pitching situation as it is right now and in turn, may play an outcome in what happens.

In the end, the Twins have surprised the baseball world before, and there’s not reason to believe it can’t happen again.

Quick Hits...

• Orioles Arbitration: The agents for Brian Roberts, Corey Patterson and Erik Bedard traded salary figures with the teams on Tuesday in hopes of brokering a contract agreement before the startup of league-wide arbitration hearings on Friday. Under Peter Angelos’ ownership, arbitration hearings have usually been avoided, except for nine instances and the team has lost once, in the case of Ben McDonald. More Info: http://blogs.baltimoresun.com/sports_custom_roch/2007/01/exchanging_figu.html & http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.orioles17jan17,0,2958581.story?coll=bal-sports-headlines
  
  
• Fan Fest: According to Sun Reporter, Roch Kubatko, Fanfest will still be on tap for the winter. He notes in his blog that Fanfest will happen sometime before spring training, just not in the usual format. I think it might be smaller, or held somewhere else, but due the NFL playoffs, a usual tradition for Orioles’ fans was postponed. In light of the lack of success from the Orioles in the past decade, fans still look forward to the annual event to see the new faces, get a perspective on the team for the upcoming season and to have a wonderful time. Hopefully the Orioles can make this year’s Fanfest as good as the others in the past.
  
  
• Yet Another Rodrigo Goodbye: Rob from Random Reality Thoughts has another tribute to Mr. Lopez, albeit very short. I didn’t he think was that horrible for the Orioles, except in ’06, but most everyone is saying good riddance to him and the goodbyes have been nothing short of brutal.

* Around Baseballl. Twin Billing: The Minnesota Twins have offered arbitration to their two young uber-stars who were the core for the team in ‘06, AL MVP Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer & Michael Cuddyer. The Twins offered Morneau $4 million, Mauer $3.3 million and Cuddyer $3 million.

In addition to being young superstars and All-Stars in the making, I think it is vital that they lock these guys now, because as the market is right now, it will perhaps be even be more expensive to shore them and their young players up for the long term.

I have a very soft spot for the Twins, as all their players are class acts, I have gotten to see them play at the Metrodome and have gotten to speak to a few guys on the team. With the economic state of the Twins and their resources right now, it may be unrealistic for them to keep the same team throughout the years, but the organization seems to know how to find and cultivate talent.

* Around Baseball: Getting Paid. The area of big contracts is now rearing its head with arbitration now around the league. Cubs ace, Carlos Zambrano, want $15.5 million for salary in 2007for his arbitration hearing coming up & the Cubs offered $11,025,000 to Zambrano. However, keep in mind that Zambrano is eligible for free agency in 2008, and where he could easily get a $150 million contract for his skills. With his numbers in 2006, he may perhaps get the highest arbitration award ever in the history of the sport.

As well, Marlins third baseman, Miguel Cabrera asked for well over $7 million in arbitration, and the team offered $6.7 million. In my eyes, Cabrera is another guy who could easily cross $100 million plateau in 2007. Due to the teams finances, he’s most likely to leave Florida and get paid, but it is amazing how much players are asking today due to the market.

Wow.

• For the Red Sox fans out there, can you all please tell me what is going on with J.D. Drew? Why is he not signed yet (scratching my head on this one...)?
  

Quick Hits

Dave Letterman’s Top Ten – Hall of Fame Edition: If you missed the Top Ten with Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn on CBS, here it is:

* The Link : Go Here.

Ripken Commercial: I found this on YouTube. I am going guess this was done towards the very end of his career, and it features him, some audio highlights of the big moments of his career. His daughter appears at the end wanting to go home.



More Rodrigo: Fellow blogger, Jason at My Baseball Bias gives his take on the Rodrigo Lopez trade. He takes a look at Rodrigo's numbers and seeing them jump out on the screen tells you all need to know as to why he's no longer an Oriole.

News on an old friend, good ol' Bruce Chen: The Minnesota Twins are interested in another former Oriole, Bruce Chen. He may be used in the pitching rotation as a spot starter or in the bullpen. Bruce was was 0-7 with a 6.93 ERA with the O's last season after winning 13 games the year before in 2005. There's a reason why he'd been with 8 teams, as he seemingly had never got himself together until 2005, and then completely failed. He'll pitch for someone since he's left handed, but his stuff needs to be spot on in order for him to succeed.

Real nice guy though; however, I do find him real corny & very unfunny. Those who have been to Oriole Park know what I mean...

(Thanks to Babes that Love Baseball for the tip.)

Honorable Mention: A great site I found the other night was Babes That Love Baseball, a Minnesota Twins Blog. Anyhow, I opted to exchange links with her and in the course of talking via email, we talked about baseball (of course) and I showed her a gallery of Minnesota Twins pictures I had taken. On her site, she created a little nifty gallery of some pictures that were shared.

Check it out – she knows her baseball and the Twins!