Baseball

Considering that we're in the home stretch of the holidays, it's very apropos that Rogers Sportsnet is rolling out a special this evening that's sure to get you in the giving spirit.

I encourage you to check out Vernon Wells "Perfect 10" documentary on Sportsnet tonight starting at 7:30pm EST.

There's something cooking in New York and no, it's not the Mets.

You'll see him soon—showing up in his typical attire, the red and white suit, with his aged hat.

His socks sit about knee high, tucked under his insulated leggings to keep warm in the coldest days of the year. Waiting all year to deliver his special treat that he has given fans worldwide, near or far, for quite some time.

His name? Not Santa Claus, but Charlie Manuel.

However, it seems that each smile sender seems to have the same persona. Heck, everyone loves them, giving a not so far-fetched idea that Charlie Manuel is Santa Claus.

When Francisco Cordero left the Brewers after the 2007, he was an elite reliever no matter where you looked in his stats.

His 44 saves, 2.98 ERA, 2.24 FIP, 2.82 xFIP, 2.12 tRA, and 2.70 True ERA all confirmed that Cordero was excellent in 2007.

These same stats all pointed to a 2008 downturn for Cordero. Some (34 saves; 3.33 ERA) didn't indicate the precipitous decline of others (3.77 FIP; 3.98 xFIP; 4.35 tRA; 4.56 True ERA), however. Whatever the case, Cordero seemed to be in decline.

Following the Javier Vazquez for Melky Cabrera trade, the Braves' fanbase has gone berserk.

"What? Our best pitcher for a crappy fourth outfielder?" and blah, blah, blah.

Well, while it is tough to see Vazquez go, we should all just chill out and accept the trade. And there are a couple of reasons why.

First of all, Frank Wren found only a couple of teams willing to take Derek Lowe, and all of the teams wanted the Braves paying about half of the salary left on Lowe's contract.

Now think about this: How mad would all of you have been if the Braves did this:

We've already covered Brandon League, and I've tried to soothe Seattle's uncertain ego by establishing his rising value.

But what about this other guy, Johermyn Chavez?

Chavez is a 6' 3", slugging outfielder whose 220-pound frame will turn 21 on Jan. 26, 2010.

Kid can't even buy a drink yet.

An undrafted righty, Chavez was signed into the Toronto organization in 2005.  In four years in the Blue Jays' farm system, the young Venezuelan has demonstrated developing power.

In 2009, Chavez batted .283 with 21 homers and 89 runs batted in for Class A Lansing.

By now, you have all heard about the Yankees deal for Javier Vazquez . Around the blogosphere, everyone has thoroughly analyzed Javier Vazquez and what we can expect from him. The general consensus is that the guy is pretty damn good, so I'll spare you my analysis.

I must admit, I didn't foresee the Yankees being so busy this offseason.

They are the World Series champions, after all. Unless you're the 2006 St. Louis Cardinals, this means you already are an excellent team. You've proven this, because, um, you won the World Series.

The recent reports suggesting that the Bronx Bombers were interested in at least exploring a trade with the Cubs for Big Z has left me wondering, once again, just what the hell Jim Hendry is thinking.

True, Zambrano has a full no-trade clause and hasn't expressed any willingness to relinquish it, but for Hendry to not even entertain the idea, if true, is stupid.