Baseball

When we last looked in on Conor Jackson, he had just begun playing winter league baseball in the Dominican Republic.

With the season now in full swing in Santo Domingo, I thought it might be interesting to see how things are going for the lost Diamondback.

Playing for the Leones del Escogido, Jackson has now appeared in 23 games.

“Miguel Tejada signs with the Minnesota Twins.”

Reading that headline wouldn’t elicit the excitement it would have five years ago, but it’s still an intriguing proposition.

Five years ago, Tejada was one of baseball’s best players and had recently signed a massive six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

Kansas City Royals' ace pitcher Zack Greinke was deservedly awarded the 2009 American League Cy Young Award Tuesday afternoon.

Greinke, 26, who received 25 first-place votes and three seconds for 134 points, went 16-8 and he posted a 2.16 ERA for the putrid Royals (65-97).

When the Brewers traded JJ Hardy for Carlos Gomez, they sealed their fate as to how they will acquire starting pitching this winter.

Other than John Lackey, the free agent class for pitchers is rather underwhelming, but Brewers' GM Doug Melvin is determined to find two starters on the market.

I contemplated preparing something in advance for the occasion of Zack Greinke winning the Cy Young, but I was not entirely convinced that the BBWAA would make the right decision.  After the debacle that was the Bartolo Colon 2005 Cy Young Award and the late season statements of Patrick Reusse, a CY voter, I made sure to temper my expectations. 

Consider my faith in the BBWAA as capable award voters restored. 

This caps a season that we Royals fans are not entirely used to.  In fact, most fans have not been privy to a season like Greinke's 2009 campaign. 

One question, hundreds of answers. Which member of the Colorado Rockies had the greatest offensive season at his position?

Is Larry Walker the greatest player to grace Coors Field? Has any shortstop had a more productive year than Neifi Perez? Just which pitcher swings a better bat than Mike Hampton? Does Matt Holliday deserve a spot in the all-time Rockies' outfield?

The final votes are tallied, and Zack Greinke is your overwhelming winner for the American League Cy Young award. 

The baby-faced right-hander from powerhouse Apopka High School in Orlando received 25 first place votes and finished well ahead of runner up Felix Hernandez. 

Overcoming his off the field personal issues, the 26-year old sprinted out of the gates to a herculean April start and never looked back.He notched a victory in all of his first six decisions while allowing just two earned runs over a 45-inning span.

It is most definitely not summer anymore. 

In fact, this weather is much like a lazy fly ball to St. Louis’ collective applebag, if our applebags were saturated with 14 inches of rain.

The two most pertinent issues to the Cardinals offseason have been publicly tabled by the team: Matt Holliday will not be negotiated with until he speaks with other teams first, and Mark McGwire will get his day of media faux-indignation and soapbox bloviating sometime before the Winter Warm-Up (supposedly.)

According to foxsports.com, the agent for Pedro Martinez said Pedro has decided he wants to pitch in 2010. This is future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez who has racked up 219 wins and only a 100 losses, all in the “Steroid ERA.” Pedro has a career 2.93 ERA, three Cy Youngs and was the most dominant pitcher in a time where the long ball was king.  

Where should Pedro Go?   (Here is a short list of teams Pedro should sign with or think about signing with. I tried to focus on teams that have a shot at the postseason and a good fan base.)