Baseball

The rumors that the Boston Red Sox are interested in former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro.

I prefer Scutaro to almost every other shortstop on the market for the Red Sox. Boston has already let their shortstop from last season's stretch, Alex Gonzalez, go to Toronto.

Scutrao's defense is not as good as Gonzalez's defense, but it's passable compared to some of the other shortstops the Red Sox had since the traded Nomar Garciaparra back in 2004.

Both Scutaro and the Red Sox brass have expressed very serious interest in each other.

Bert Blyleven belongs in the Hall of Fame.

In fact, he’s belonged in the Hall of Fame for 12 years.

Yet, for 12 years in a row, the Baseball Writers Association of American has erred by leaving him out in the cold when the voting results are announced.

Did Mark McGwire cheat? Did he use steroids to build his massive home run hitting frame? Is he little more than a liar when it comes to admitting what we all know is the truth?

The collective answer is obvious to anyone taking a step back from the emotional brink.

We don’t know.

Roy Halladay will never don a Blue Jays jersey again. As a fan base, we know that much. What we don't know is who will cowboy up and give up the necessary talent to land this ace. 

Many are speculating that the Halladay sweepstakes will eventually turn into a classic Red Sox versus Yankees bidding war. It's hard to argue. Last offseason, the boys in blue managed to spend $441 million for five players! That figure was over two times what the rest of the American League spent altogether.

With Thanksgiving over and the Christmas season in full swing, baseball's free agency period and winter off-season shopping and trading will likely now pick up full steam.

The biggest name on the trading market is Blue Jays ace pitcher Roy Halladay.

Halladay's agent recently named four teams Halladay prefers: the Red Sox, Phillies, Dodgers, and Yankees.

Brian Cashman has already made calls to Toronto to state his interest in Halladay, who is looking to leave the only place he has known as home in his major league career.

While originally a piece of an article about all sports, I had to cut two of the sections short for length considerations, so I figured I might embellish upon the notion within the specific sports at hand. 

2009 stats: .271/.360/.454, 490 PA, 15 HR, 98/45 K/BB at New Britain (AA)
Last year’s rank: Not Ranked
Acquired: 34th round selection of the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 draft; 36th round selection of the Minnesota Twins in the 2005 draft

This past season, Philadelphia almost won a second consecutive World Series title. Almost.

The Phillies were a fantastic, diverse team. They had their sluggers, like Ryan James Howard, Rauuuuul, and Chase. They had their fair share of wheels, with J-Roll lighting up the base paths for 31 steals and a success rate of 80 percent.

We have all seen pitchers suffer from whiplash, consistently turning to watch ball after ball sore over the fence. The question is, is that a problem that is going to plague them once again or is there hope of overcoming it and righting the ship in 2010? 

Let’s take a look at the pitchers with the 10 worst home run/flyball rates in 2009 to see:

1) Braden Looper: 15.8 percent