Baseball

As the third day of baseball's Winter Meetings come to a close, I'm going to make a couple of assumptions regarding the future of the Washington Nationals. Perhaps neither will occur, but let's assume for a moment that they will.

First, I fully expect that the Nats will sign Adam LaRoche as the team's first baseman, probably a two-year deal for $15 million or so.

According to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brewers GM Doug Melvin confirmed that the Brewers were one of the teams that met with Carl Pavano and his agent, Tom O'Connel, on Tuesday.

Melvin was rather tight lipped about the meeting saying, "I don't want to get into anything other than we met with him."

The New York Yankees have fierce competition in the AL East. Only the Baltimore Orioles finished beyond 10 games out of the playoffs. The Boston Red Sox have proven their goals this offseason by acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, and the Tampa Bay Rays are looking to bring back talent from last year's postseason squad while adding some new pieces.

While the Yankees have free agent pitcher Cliff Lee directly in their sights, the Winter Meetings continue around them.

Teams are trying to find talent wherever they can in the hopes of bolstering their respective team for 2011.

While Lee is the biggest free agent on the market, outfielder Carl Crawford is a close second.

Earlier today, the Kansas City Royals made it official that they have indeed signed free agent outfielder Jeff Francoeur.

The team announced that it was a one-year dear that includes an option for 2012, and is still pending a physical.

The signing also puts to rest the rumors about Royals GM Dayton Moore trying to sign Francoeur many times in the past.

There has been talk and speculation that the New York Yankees and free-agent outfielder Carl Crawford have spoken and that there is interest on the part of the Yankees.

The Yankees were informed by Crawford, however, that he really wants to play in Anaheim, and that he prefers the more laid-back attitude of the West Coast. The California money isn’t bad, either.

Well, here we are.  Just one more trade until I discuss what I believe is the worst one in baseball history and for No. 2, I’ve picked a good one. 

While Day 2 of the Winter Meetings were not as busy as the first (at least in terms of action), let’s take a look at the potential fallout from the moves that were made:

The Cubs signed 1B Carlos Pena.

Pena had a terrible 2010 campaign, hitting .196 with 28 HR and 84 RBI in 484 AB.  The fall in power (he had hit 46, 31 and 39 over the previous three seasons) was not due to the number of AB, as he has never had more than 500 AB in a season. 

The New York Mets are exploring their options this week. The Mets, like all the other teams in the MLB, are at the winter meetings. The winter meetings are all about rumors and making deals. In other words, fact and fiction both coexist in harmony for one week.

I have no problem with sports figures who are the personality equivalent of a stiff drink. Ted Williams is one of my all-time favorites. To me, Bobby Knight is a genius coach. If I shut down the moral center of my brain, I can even appreciate Kobe Bryant and Ty Cobb for their statistics and work ethic.