Baseball

This winter's free agent market for starting pitching in Major League Baseball is especially thin, with John Lackey being the only real headliner.

Other pitchers, like Rich Harden and Randy Wolf, might fill out the middle or bottom of a team's rotation, but some teams are looking to upgrade the front of their rotation.

That's where the trade market begins.

The economy has stripped teams of a lot of the financial flexibility, and big contracts are becoming as unpopular as ever.

Each year, Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer of the Louisville Slugger baseball bat, selects recipients for the Silver Slugger Award. The Silver Slugger recognizes the best offensive player by position for each league. Major League Baseball coaches and managers vote on who they feel had the best season offensively.

David Murphy reports in today’s Philadelphia Daily News that Chase Utley has won his fourth straight Silver Slugger award. Utley led all N.L. second baseman in runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, home runs, and extra-base hits.

If it feels like we’ve been in this bunker before, we have. Almost every year for the last three or four years, either Jarrod Washburn, his agent, or the Twins’ front office makes some noise about the LaCrosse native playing closer to home, and fans are forced to duck and cover.

It didn’t take Jim Riggleman long to make his first decision as full-time manager of the Washington Nationals.

Starting shortstop Christian Guzman will be moved over to second base in 2010. The Nationals became concerned with Guzman’s range at short last year, and now coupled with off-season surgery on his throwing shoulder, it makes sense for the Nationals to move Guzman to second base.

Guzman’s move to second base presumably opens the door for Ian Desmond to take over the starting shortstop job for the Nationals in 2010.

Billy Williams, Fergie Jenkins, Ryne Sandberg, Ernie Banks.

The Chicago Cubs have had some of the all-time greats run out onto Wrigley Field.

While they haven't been to the World Series since 1945, there is more than enough talent in the Cubs' history to fill out a dream team twice over. From Rogers Hornsby to Derrek Lee, the Cubs have had incredible depth and production throughout their lineup.

One question remains. Which Chicago Cub had the greatest ever offensive season at his position?

Building and maintaining a consistent winner in baseball is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. In football, basketball, and hockey rosters can completely change over within the course of two or three years.

The economics of baseball don't allow such turnover to take place. Guaranteed contracts and no-trade clauses tie a team to player regardless of performance or injury. While reconfiguring the economics of the game is an entirely different discussion, the Houston Astros are one of the teams most affected by the current set up.

There have been many outlandish claims made when comparing the relative merits of baseball players, but to conclude that Johnny Damon is in the same league as Derek Jeter is as graphic an example of specious reasoning as baseball fans have ever heard.

The only way to accept the claim is to facetiously state that they are in the same league because they are both American Leaguers.


It Hurts Johnny Damon's Case

To give Johnny Damon a long-term contract borders on insanity. Comparing Johnny to Derek Jeter only weakens his position.

Ah, here we are yet again, sports fans: the offseason.

Just a week after the Yankees won their 27th World Series trophy, the baseball world is itching and ready to go for next April, when our stars will finally take the field again for another season of America's Pastime.

Of course, not all is quiet in the land of baseball from November to March, and teams are shuffling both players and coaches to try to stand where the Yankees do now in 12 short months. Everyone has a plan to get them into October 2010 and beyond.

Hello, once again! To start, a big congrats to the World Champion New York Yankees! It has a been a long time coming for us fans, and the team definitely earned it this year with their clutch play!

Honestly, this was one of the best teams the Yanks have had in the last 20 years or so, I would say the only one that might best them would be the incredible 1998 Championship team. Enough about the past though, let us look ahead into the future to the 2010 team that will look to defend their championship.