Baseball

When President Barack Obama stood up in the eyes of the nation Tuesday night and advocated a 30,000-man surge in troop force for the ongoing war in Afghanistan, all Americans ought to have taken pause to measure the gravity of the moment.

There will be no draft; Obama was clear on that point. As it has been since the end of the Vietnam War, all military service will be voluntary.

As such, it seems highly unlikely that any high-profile baseball players will go overseas to fight, either in Afghanistan or in Iraq.

The passing of the deadline for Major League Baseball teams to offer arbitration to their former players clears the landscape slightly in the free agent market.

Players who have been offered arbitration have until Monday to decide whether to accept, but at least now teams know which players will cost them draft choices if they decide to sign them.

The week after Thanksgiving is Open Season for bargain hunters. Holiday shoppers all over the country flock to Best Buy and Target in search of discounted products they don’t actually need.

As the spending surge tapers down, it is clear that the shrewdest customer of the last few days was Tampa Bay Rays GM Andrew Friedman, who acquired Kelly Shoppach from the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday.

BY MICHAEL GANCI
EDITOR

When Billy Wagner returned from injury last season, I didn’t think the Mets were going to have much use for him. I was actually at Citi Field when he made his return, and the crowd was clearly excited to see him.

He returned with a vengeance, and he pitched so well that the Mets were able to trade him for two players to be named later.

Though I confess that I already knew, but was sworn to secrecy, I'm excited to officially announce the signing of right-hander Jason Grilli to a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians with a big-league invitation to spring training.

Grilli will be given the opportunity to compete for a spot in the Indian's bullpen. If he makes the big league club, he'll earn $800,000 for the season.

It was 103 years ago. To some, it seems as if it were yesterday. The 1906 Chicago Cubs won 116 games while losing a mere 36 for a .763 winning percentage.

There aren't many individuals who could name the 1906 Cubs lineup or pitching staff. How fleeting is fame.

Manager and First Baseman Frank Chance, the Peerless Leader

For those of you who are not aware, yesterday at 11:59 pm EST was the last day teams could offer their free agents arbitration. Once a team offers arbitration to a player, that player has until Dec. 7 to accept.

A team would offer arbitration to a player—especially to a Type A or a Type B free agent—because that team then would receive draft compensation as a result of that player signing with a new team.

A great example of this is what we saw this morning.