Baseball

It appears as though the Houston Astros will be losing their two-year closer, as well as likely parting ways with a key shortstop they hoped to convert to a third baseman.

With Jose Valverde declining the Astros' arbitration late Monday, Houston general manager Ed Wade also all but ruled out Miguel Tejada’s return.

Houston then turned their focus to LaTroy Hawkins in a hope to at least salvage some of the talent from last year’s success.

This week, Andy Pettitte announced that he wanted to return to pitch in 2010 for the Yankees.

On Wednesday, the Yankees and Pettitte agreed on a one-year deal worth $11.75 million to bring the 37-year-old left hander back for at least one more season.

This is the third time Pettitte has put off retirement to pitch again for the Yankees. It's hard to blame him after a terrific 2009 season.

He went 14-8 in the regular season with a 4.16 ERA in 194.2 innings. He had 148 strikeouts in 32 start.

With a couple of months from the end of the MLB baseball season behind our backs, and with all the emotions snatched by the freezing winter breeze and snowstorms in Wisconsin, I chose to return to my Grading The Brewers sequence.

Today, I will take a dive into the 2009 Brewers infield, and will provide statistics, share my opinions, and of course, give grades to the players that filled those positions last season.

I chose to start my reviews with the infield, to also include the catcher position, because that is where, I believe, one can find the two standout performers of the Brewers for th

“The pitch- swung on and hit in the air to deep right-center field, that ball is high, it is far, it is GONE! It’s a GRAND SLAM! Ballgame over! Yankees win! THE YANKEES WIN!

The unmistakable voice of the New York Yankees, John Sterling, is the source of this booming home run call. He made this call on May 17, 2002, when Jason Giambi hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 14th inning against the Minnesota Twins during a massive, hours-long downpour of rain.

Were Carlos Delgado and John Olerud more valuable with the bat than Keith Hernandez—a star with the glove two decades earlier?

Is David Wright's combination of speed and power enough to see off Howard Johnson—the All-Star who took the current face of the franchise under his wing this winter to iron out his swing?

Is power more important than speed? Is the past worth more the present?

It all points to one question with hundreds of possibilities: Which New York Met had the greatest offensive season at his position?

There are many different reasons for why teams trade their popular players.

Sometimes it’s as simple as having too many good options for too few spots on the team, as was the case when the Phillies traded Jim Thome to make way for Ryan Howard in 2005.

Curtis Granderson, an All-Star center fielder acquired at the Indianapolis Winter Meetings, improves the Yankees’ 25-man roster immediately. Making him a top priority this offseason, however, was a mistake.

Two-time 20 game winner Roy Halladay is capable of swinging the balance of power in the AL by himself. Granderson, though a valuable player, is not.

According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, there is a preliminary deal between the Rangers and the Orioles to move Kevin Millwood to Baltimore.

Baltimore would send relief pitcher Chris Ray to Texas. Ray is 27 years old and has been less than stellar the past two seasons (2008: 42.2 IP, 16 saves, 4.43 ERA; 2009: 43.1 IP, zero saves, 7.27 ERA).

In 2008, he got shut down because of Tommy John surgery, and he hasn't shown that he's recovered fully yet.

The New York Mets have one of the best center fielders in all of baseball. He is an amazing five-tool outfielder who consistently puts up great numbers. He is a real pro.

Ever since Carlos Beltran came to the Mets, I think that he has been underappreciated.  He has just recently been named to Sports Illustrated's all-decade team, as the starting center fielder.