Baseball

Of all the sights that Blue Jays fans were subjected to over 162 games this year, the one above is one that I never got sick of seeing.

For their incredible efforts this season, Adam Lind and Aaron Hill were rewarded as recipients of the American League Silver Slugger awards . The two brought strength and power back to the heart of the Blue Jays lineup in 2009, combining for 71 home runs and 222 RBIs.

The Boston Red Sox are certainly in for an eventful offseason.

Already there's been the seemingly surprising move of acquiring Jeremy Hermida from the Florida Marlins.

But there are still many decisions to be made regarding players. In this article, I'll breakdown a few of the players rumored to be heading to, or from, the Red Sox.

If you think I've left any player off this list, leave me a comment. This article is in no particular order.

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Lefty Cuban pitching sensation Aroldis Chapman defected from his national team in July and he is currently a coveted unsigned Major League Baseball free agent.

ESPN The Magazine reported in the summer that Chapman vacated his hotel room in the Netherlands, where Cuba was in the midst of participating in a baseball  tournament, and never returned.

Some months ago, I found some old news articles on John Wetteland's playing days and assembled them into a post on his personality during his teens, as well as his time with the Dodgers and Yankees, in 1989 and 1990, then again in 1995.

Today's news about him calls for a need to understand something about his past and how it likely relates to his hospitalization in Texas.

I love the offseason in baseball. Love it.

I love the trade rumors. I love the rumors about who’s going where and how much they’re going to get when they arrive. I love all the work and research people do during the offseason as well as the prospect lists.

There are two things about the offseason I don’t much care for. One is when the Tigers do dumb things or are rumored to be about to do something dumb. Another thing I don’t love about the offseason is the point we’re at right now. In this early stage, the news is slow and we don’t really know much.

Roy Halladay in pinstripes?

With recent talk that the Mets may not be spending on a top tier free agent, many Mets fans have begun speculating which second tier free agents or trade targets may be a fit.

Glen Perkins has dropped his grievance against the Minnesota Twins.

The two sides were able to reach a settlement earlier today, thus avoiding the hearing that was planned for this Friday in New York.

The grievance came as a result of the Twins’ decision to option Perkins to Triple-A Rochester after activating him from the disabled list at the end of August.

Perkins and his agent felt that he should have remained on the major league roster and been sent on a minor league rehabilitation assignment rather than being sent to the minors.

It's the middle of November, so there's a ton of speculation flying around the web about baseball players moving addresses before the 2010 season.

For teams like the disappointing Chicago Cubs, the final out of the World Series means the beginning of a new hope. But, this winter, that hope needs to be tempered with a strong dose of reality.