AL East

The free agency period is now upon us, so we have been hearing lots of talk about Type-A and Type-B free agents and draft pick compensation…and the discussion leaves some people wondering what is all means.

For those of you who think you need an abacus to figure it all out, let’s see if I can help simplify it a little bit for you.

For the sake of discussion, let’s say the Red Sox sign John Lackey…and let’s say they lose Jason Bay to the Mariners and sign Jermaine Dye to fill the void left when Bay leaves. The question begs: which teams would get what compensation, and why?

So much for staying together for the kids.

Now I know what it must feel like for those poor children on Jon & Kate Plus 8 watching their parents go through a bitter custody battle, because it appears the same thing is happening to Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays organization - they're breaking up.

If you're thinking, sure, the Toronto Blue Jays “can” contend in 2010, but they likely won't, well, you're probably right. The odds are much greater that the team finishes 2010 in last place than second place and in the playoffs.

Good management in any business or sports organization dictates that personnel are slotted in where they have the best chance to succeed.

It appears as though the Blue Jays aren’t winning over very many fans these days.

After the infamous Boston Red Sox ticket stunt, Jerseygate , and other numerous public relations blunders, the most recent development seems to have irked quite a few fans of both the faithful and fairweather kind.

• Year: 1963
• Record: 79-83
• Win %: .488
• Win % Change: -40
• Run Differential: -3
• Pythagorean Record: 81-81
• AL Finish: 5th of 10
• Manager: Bob Scheffing and Chuck Dressen
• Best Transaction: Picked up Denny McLain off of waivers.  McLain’s story is well know in Tigers lore.  He reached a very high peak in the late 1960s and then fell apart on and off of the field.  No matter what kind of trouble he got into later in his career, you can’t beat the price the Tigers paid to get him.  McLain had five productive seasons in Detr
  

The O’Hare Hilton in Chicago is once a bustling Mecca of baseball decision-making this week as owners of the 30 baseball franchises meet with the Commissioner and members of the MLB front office. These meetings come just a week after the General Managers met here.

While not formally on the agenda, owners are planning to speak about the length of the post season and what baseball may be able to do to shorten the play-offs. There will also be informal discussions on the use of instant replay and whether to expand the types of calls that can be reviewed.

• Year: 1918
• Record: 55-71
• Win %: .437
• Win % Change: -73
• Run Differential: -81
• Pythagorean Record: 54-72
• AL Finish: 7th of 8
• Manager: Hughie Jennings
• Best Transaction: Purchased Marty Kavanagh.  This is a stretch, but Kavanagh is the only player the Tigers brought on bored prior or to or during the 1918 season.  Kavanagh was a former Tiger that was brought back for the stretch run.  Kavanagh hit .273 in 13 games (OPS+ 133) during this period before calling it a career once the season ended.  Told you it was a stretc
  

Matt Holliday formerly of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jason Bay formerly of the Boston Red Sox are the prize hitters in the 2009 – 2010 free agent market. They are both looking for someone to “show them the money,” to steal a line from Jerry Maguire.  Holliday, according to his agent, is looking for Mark Teixeira money in the range of $22.5 million per year, and Bay is rumored to be looking for about $20 million a year (good luck to both camps on getting that kind of money).

What are these players worth in today’s market?