Baseball

The San Francisco Giants' eternal search for a masher to pair with slugger Pablo Sandoval would end if they landed Russell Branyan, who is one of the best free agent first basemen on the market. 

Branyan has played on six teams over the last four years, bouncing from San Diego to Tampa Bay to Philly to St. Louis, back to San Diego, to Milwaukee, and then to Seattle. 

It is time to start looking towards the new MLB season. While many Yankee fans are still relishing in their 27th World Championship glory, it is time to gear up for another exciting season of Yankee baseball.

I decided to do a breakdown of the Yankees current roster. This will give everyone a look at the Yankees lineup and rotation. Without further ado, let's begin!

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We are almost upon the New Year of 2010. A new decade is about to dawn upon us.

But, when that decade comes, the Yankees will begin it as the reigning champions of baseball.

They will also be still in search of a left fielder for the 2010 season.

Just this week, two more options went off the board for the Yankees in the left field sweepstakes.

Mark DeRosa signed a two-year, $12 million dollar deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Jason Bay signed a four-year, $66 million dollar deal with the New York Mets.

ESPN's Buster Olney is reporting on Wednesday that the St. Louis Cardinals' offer to free agent outfielder Matt Holliday is in excess of $100 million.

In the wake of Jason Bay agreeing to a four-year deal worth $66 million with the Mets ($17 million per), it's hard to imagine another team throwing that kind of coin at Holliday.

They call him ‘The Hawk”; a name fitting for one of the most tenacious, ball hunting outfielders in MLB history.

He was better known as Andre Dawson.

For nine years—what has probably been an eternity for Dawson—the eight time Gold Glove Award winner has patiently waited for that one phone call that ever HOF nominee yearns to hear, and for nine long years, that call has perpetually remained silent.

With the decade coming to an end tomorrow at midnight, let’s take a look back at the Boston Red Sox top 10 individual seasons from 2000-2009:

No 10: Tie—Championship Performances

Curt Schilling, 2004

Is He on the Block—Or Not?

There is a rumor going around that Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs ace, is headed out of the Windy City via a trade.

May I add that my ambiguously worded article regarding the Mets' offseason intentions may have added some legs to that rumor.

The facts are—there are no facts. Which is why if you re-read my piece you will see that the trade of Zambrano to the Mets for Luis Castillo is "a possibility," not a solid lead.

Since the blunder that sent George Sherrill, Adam "I'm not Pacman" Jones, Chris Tillman, and two others for Erik Bedard, the Seattle Mariners have played as if they were trying to win a Class 3A high school championship, not a World Series.

However, there has been a shift in the AL West.

When the Yankees signed Nick Johnson as DH for approximately $5.5M base pay, I thought that it was a very solid move.   Nick Johnson "keeps the line moving," wears down starting pitchers and gets on base, which is not a bad think in a lineup including Rodriguez, Teixeira, and Posada behind him.

Very shortly thereafter, the Yankees traded Melky Cabrera and two prospect pitchers for Javier Vazquez.  Nothing wrong with that trade either.

Every year, hundreds of rookies touch down in the major leagues for the first time. Each has the same goal: to demonstrate to his team and the fans that he has what it takes to be a baseball star.

Luckily for them, they have a generous margin of error should they not immediately succeed. While the fans might not be patient, managers usually are; most people who matter understand that it takes time to transition to the big show.

Unfortunately, not everyone has this safety net.