Baseball

Jon Heyman of SI.com has reported that free agent closer Rafael Soriano has agree to a 3-year, $35 million deal with the New York Yankees.

The Yankees may have overpaid Soriano, but this is a great move for the Yanks who should have no problem closing out games in the 2011.

The signing of Soriano gives the Yankees probably the best one-two bullpen punch in the league.

Rafael Soriano has reportedly agreed to a three-year deal worth $35 million with the New York Yankees. Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman was the first to report the deal and says that the deal will allow Soriano to opt out after either of the first two years.  

Despite initially not expressing interest in signing him, the New York Yankees have signed reliever Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35 million contract, and while they are overpaying him, here is why the acquisition is a smart one.

SI.com's Jon Heyman has reported the New York Yankees have finally landed a top free agent. All-Star closer Rafael Soriano and the Yankees have agreed to terms in a deal reportedly worth $35 million over three years, according to HardBallTalk.com.

It's almost the middle of January, and the Yankees quest for pitching depth continues.

It may get even more complicated if, in fact, Andy Pettitte doesn't come back to the Yankees, or at least, for the beginning of 2011.

The Yankees are rumored to be interested in former Oakland A's pitcher Justin Duchscherer, but he has been on the DL regularly since 2008 and the Yankees aren't sure if they are interested in him for the starting rotation or the bullpen.

Former Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman, a native of Worcester, has been named the hitting coach for the (Single-A, Short-Season) Lowell Spinners of the New York–Penn League.

Gedman, widely considered to be one of the real good guys in baseball during his playing days, was once an All-Star with the Red Sox; but, his offensive skills disappeared soon after Walt Hriniak was hired as hitting coach by the Red Sox in 1986.

The Red Sox are my sleeper pick.

This prediction comes in spite of their heavy losses in sluggers Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre.

According to the Daily News, Brian Cashman has said Andy Pettitte will not be playing at the start of the 2011 season. I've been trying to give Andy the benefit of the doubt, but he's start to remind me of Brett Favre. 

I know how hard it is to walk away from a sport, I had to do it in college, so I can hardly fathom how it is for someone who has played more than 30 years. 

Instead of hanging on for one more season, Major League Baseball’s all-time saves leader has decided to retire.

There has been some significant movement in our starting pitcher rankings since we originally checked in on them. 

The most glaring change was due to Zack Greinke’s trade to the Brewers, but that’s certainly not all. Let’s take a look at how things currently look: