Baseball

I knew the Tampa Bay Rays were interested in both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, but I was stunned upon learning that the team signed the duo for a combined $7.25 million. Ramirez, 38, played with Damon, 37, on the Boston Red Sox from 2002 to 2005. Now the stars meet up again on another American League East power.

Before Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon decided to make St. Petersburg, Florida their baseball home for the 2011 season, the AL East was already shaping up to be more fun than usual, and that's saying something.  Big name players had already changed addresses within the division.

As I looked through the lead stories of the sports world late last night, I started reading the headlines. "Okay, let's see, Venus retired from her match with injury, the Hornets destroyed the Hawks, Ramirez and Damon signed with the Rays, Polamalu is going to...wait, what?!"

It's hard to believe, even if the Rays dug up their graves to get them, that Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon are headed south. Their careers have already done that. How much is left in the tank with these two?

While I was making dinner (grilled chicken with some garlic mashed potatoes), I had the MLB Network’s Hot Stove Live on in the background. Just as I was about to mash my potatoes (homemade, baby!

The baseball world seems to have gone crazy to end the week. The Tampa Bay Rays have acquired both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon. What’s truly amazing is the size of the deals: for one year of each, the Rays spent a mere $7.25 million. Both played well enough last year, and look to provide value in 2011.

I saw Red Sox right-hander Clay Buchholz pitch for the first time on June 26, 2007, in Manchester, NH. I instantly knew that I was watching a star in the making. I could not wait to get home to report what I had seen. I told Red Sox Nation to get to the ballpark to see him pitch and declared, “You’re in for a heckuva treat!”

Jordan Brown is a good baseball player.

Good enough to win an International League batting title in 2009. 

Good enough to win back-to-back MVP awards in 2006 and 2007. 

Good enough to be a third-team All-American at Arizona.

The New York Yankees agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal with Andruw Jones on Thursday to replace Marcus Thames as a right-handed-hitting fourth outfielder.

While Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, is not the same outfielder he was 13 years ago when he was still breaking into the Majors, he's still a far better defensive option than Thames.

But at what cost?

Jones hit just .230 last year with the Chicago White Sox, and what's scarier is that was his highest average since 2006.

Late Thursday afternoon, after nearly an entire offseason of position-player inactivity, Yankee GM Brian Cashman inked the former Braves superstar to a one-year, $2 million contract, with another $1.2 million in additional performance-based incentives. After bolstering their bullpen with top-shelf relief arms, the Yankees' acquisition of Andruw Jones fills the hole left by the late (not so) great Marcus Thames.

The Metropolitans were seventh in team ERA (3.73) in 2010. Impressive right? You bet. But in fantasy terms, the Mets starting pitchers are merely irrelevant.

As for Johan Santana, who will likely miss the first half of the season recovering from shoulder surgery, it will be tough to determine what ADP (average draft position) is suitable.