Baseball

Juan Pierre is baseball’s best fourth outfielder.

The problem is that Juan Pierre plays like—and is being paid like—a starting outfielder.

Pierre, 32, has two more years and $18.5 million remaining on the five-year, $44 million pact he signed with Los Angeles prior to the 2007 season.

As promised, I will begin to count down the top 30 Yankee prospects with in-depth profiles of each guy.

I came up with an aggregate list based on our separate rankings over at Pending Pinstripes, and will use that to count down. To start, here are two guys I would've liked to include, but failed to make the aggregate cut:

Sammy Sosa arrived at the Latin Grammy awards on Nov. 5, 2009 and nobody could recognize the former Major League slugger. It wasn't that he has aged and started to wrinkle, Sammy Sosa was as white as a ghost! 

Over the last few months, Sosa has become frighteningly white. Some say that this could be because of a cosmetic procedure, steroid side-effects, or even Michael Jackson's disease, also known as vitiligio. But Sosa's friends say that Sammy has undergone a procedure to bleach his skin tone.  

Like a good perfume smells better on Penelope Cruz, championships, perhaps, are best celebrated at baseball’s cathedral.

Whether you love them or hate them, you’re a capitalist or a socialist; the Yankees should be respected by every American because they are synonymous with winning and excellence.

By no means are the Yankees a model of perfection, however, but do you think you get to the top in America and stay there by shining everyone’s shoes?

• Year: 1904
• Record: 62-90
• Win %: .408
• Win % Change: -70 from the year before
• Run Differential: -122
• Pythagorean Record: 61-91
• AL Finish: 7th of 8
• Manager: Ed Barrow and Bobby Lowe
• Best Transaction: Traded Billy Lush to the Cleveland Naps for Ed Killian. This trade took place the January before the 1904 season and it appears to have played out in the Tigers favor. Lush was a weak hitting utility guy and Killian put together a pretty decent career with the Tigers.
  

With JJ Hardy finally dealt, it's time for Brewers GM Doug Melvin to focus on fixing the starting rotation. We've already looked at Erik Bedard and Mark Mulder as possible answers, and now let's take a look at a former Brewer who is willing to come home again: Doug Davis.

On Saturday evening, Chicago Tribune writer Paul Sullivan reported that the Chicago Cubs could soon part ways with both pitcher Rich Harden and outfielder Reed Johnson. Jim Hendry, the Cubs General Manager, would love to re-sign both players but both are risky.

If the Cubs decide to re-sign Harden, they would probably offer a one year deal. The one year deal is probably the most years that Harden would get from several teams, because of his injury risk. Johnson would have to take a pay cut to stay in the Windy City. 

You (probably) can hold out for more than the $15 million a year Boston is reportedly offering you, Jason Bay.

Based on his hitting, Jason Bay would be a "five win" (above replacement, or WAR) player. At $4 million a WAR, (the going free agent rate), Bay should be worth something like $20 million a year, at least for the first two years. (Maybe with third and fourth year cuts to $18 and $15 million to reflect his aging.)

The Braves always appear to be a team that is looking for a player to close out tight games. This season they used both Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez, unable to settle on which would be the best solution to their problems.

Almost four years ago, the Seattle Mariners signed left hander Jarrod Washburn to a four-year, $37.5 million contract. For the first three years, he posted 31-43 record with ERA never under 4.32, WHIP always over 1.35.

Every Mariner fans thought Washburn signing was another horrible mistake made by former GM Bill Bavasi.