Baseball

Hall of Fame journalist Peter Gammons announced earlier today that he is leaving the ESPN network at the conclusion of the 2009 Winter Baseball Meetings:

"My decision to leave ESPN and move on at this point in my life has been conflicted. I owe a great deal of my professional life to ESPN, having spent more than half of my 40 years in journalism working for the network, and the choice to move on was made with nothing but the strongest feelings for the people with whom I worked. ESPN gave me a great deal more than I gave it, and will always be a huge part of who I am.

No one ever said doing the right thing would always be the most popular thing.

Peter Gammons, 64, has reportedly released a statement that says he will be moving on from ESPN at the conclusion of the 2009 MLB Winter Meetings later this week to pursue new endeavors.

Gammons, who has been with ESPN since 1989, said that the decision to leave was "conflicted."

Last night , I predicted that Boof Bonser wouldn't be with the Twins next season. And this afternoon, the Twins made that a likely possibility by designating him for assignment. The move is related to Carl Pavano accepting arbitration. Minnesota's 40-man roster was full, which meant that in order to add Pavano, someone had to go. 

This is far from comprehensive. But here goes.

1. Peter Gammons is leaving ESPN. Never liked the guy. I hate the Red Sox.

While some sources reported it as a rumor earlier, Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated has confirmed via his Twitter that the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Detroit Tigers have agreed on a deal that will send OF Curtis Granderson to the Bronx and P Edwin Jackson to the desert. The details are as followed:

There is a 3-team deal in place that would send CF Curtis Granderson to the Yankees; RHP Ian Kennedy and RHP Edwin Jackson to the Diamondbacks; and LHP Phil Coke, Daniel Schlereth and CF Austin Jackson are sent to the Tigers.

This deal is horrible for the Yankees. Austin Jackson was their top ranked prospect and set to start in CF for the squad this upcoming year. In Scranton-Wilkes Barre he hit .300 with 4 homeruns and 65 RBIs. He added 24 stolen bases in 132 games. He currently is 22 and will be 23 starting the '10 season.

The Ace List

Here is an early look at my Top 10 Fantasy baseball picks for the 2010 season as of right now, in a 5x5 rotisserie league format.

No. 1 Albert Pujols (1B-Cardinals)

Is there any debate here?  Albert does it all for you.  He even stole 16 bases last year.  I wouldn't expect him to do that again necessarily, but 10 steals is reasonable to expect.  He will be a triple crown threat next year, and if you are lucky enough to get the No. 1 pick, take him and be thankfully that you have him on your team.

2009 Stats: .327 AVG, 47 HR, 135 RBI, 16 SB, 124 R