Baseball

If you're a Houston Astros fan who would love to see hard-throwing lefthanded Cuban pitcher Aroldis Chapman wearing an Astros uniform, you'll most likely be very disappointed.

Right now, it looks like Jose Valverde has a far better chance of re-signing with the Astros (something he almost certainly won't do) than the 'Stros do of acquiring the defecting Cuban pitcher.

  Could this offseason be deja vu for Orlando Hudson?

Last winter, the second baseman was coming off a stellar season offensively and defensively that was cut short by injuries. Nevertheless, Hudson was rated as a type A free agent was looking to cash in on his big year with a large multi-year contract that was in the $25-$35 million dollar range.

The hand-wringing that has occurred over the last three days across the Philadelphia region has now subsided. The deal is done, and now all that is left is the debate over whether it was the correct one.

For all of the complaints about the enormity in terms of prospects given up and the departure of Cliff Lee in the process, this deal is positive for the Phillies' future.

I hope Chicago Cubs fans are gearing up for another six months of disappointment, because this winter isn't giving any indication that 2010 will be any better than the season it will follow.

The Cubs closed their 2009 season with one singular goal: Unload Milton Bradley. The marriage was a failure almost immediately, and GM Jim Hendry made it clear when he sent Bradley home for the last few weeks of the season that he couldn't be back in Chicago next year.

Ladies and gentleman, the return of JAYRC. He is a permanent writer here at the site and will start shouldering a huge chunk of the load once a computer issue is resolved...

On Sunday, Billfer of Detroit Tigers Weblog had a link suggesting that the recently non-tendered Kelly Johnson would be getting a healthy amount of consideration from teams.

In the article, Dan Wade of Baseball Daily Digest had this to say:

When the free agent season began, one of the hot names on the market was pitcher Mike Gonzalez. The left hander was one of the top relief pitchers in baseball last season and was a hot commodity on the market because of his ability to strike out hitters and his dominate stuff.

(Aaron Torres is a journalist whose work has been published by Sports Illustrated and syndicated by USA Today and AOL.com. To read all of his work, including this article in its entirety , please click here, or visit him at www.aarontorres-sports.com )

Out of every sport, baseball is the one I go furthest back with.

On Monday, I profiled some of the potential landing spots for Garrett Atkins, who was non-tendered by the Rockies.

I expected the Orioles to be one of the main suitors for Atkins' services given their need for a third baseman and a power hitter. As I wrote at the time:

According to a report in today’s New York Daily News, New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes visited scrutinized doctor Dr. Tony Galea numerous times.

Galea is a physician based out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who is noted for using a technique called blood spinning to help athletes recover from injuries more quickly.