Baseball

By many accounts, Ryan Braun disappointed in 2010.  A certainty in the first round heading into the year, his performance has left many fantasy owners on the fence on whether they should once again spend an early-round pick on him.

Let’s take a look (please note, when I talk about the first round, I am referring to a standard, 12-team league):

Today's baseball players simply have no idea the leverage and position they hold in negotiations thanks to sacrifices of some of the game's greatest players such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Before Curt Flood and the reserve clause, players either played or sat out.

Ownership held all the cards and ownership wasn't afraid to clench its teeth when it came to salary negotiations with some of the game's most loved and important icons.

In the digital age, rumors fly much quicker than they used to.  It literally takes only seconds to post a rumor online and create a huge buzz over basically nothing.  The same applies to Phillies free-agent  right fielder, Jayson Werth.  Early this morning, a talk-show radio host mentioned that the Phillies had offered Werth a contract and that it was good enough for him to possibly sign.  Should you give credence to this rumor?  The simple answer is "No."

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Florida Marlins have inked former Yankee, Javier Vazquez to a one-year deal worth $7 million. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

This is a risky move for the Marlins because Vazquez is coming off a terrible year with the New York Yankees. Fortunately for the Marlins, Vazquez has been a better pitcher in the National League. It's a big move for Vazquez because he needs to bounce back after his sub-par 2010 season.

The Florida Marlins have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent starter Javier Vazquez worth in the $7 million range, along with a full no-trade clause and the inability to offer arbitration next offseason. 

Coming off the Dan Uggla trade, the Florida Marlins were looking to use the intended salary on free agents to fulfill other areas of need. The Marlins signed catcher John Buck to a three-year deal worth $18 million earlier this month. 

Right handed pitcher Javier Vasquez agreed to a one year deal with the Florida Marlins.

It was reported that Vasquez had turned down a multi-year deal from another team, which only shows he wants to make himself a front of the rotation guy again, and get a great offer after 2011.

But for now, the deal is known to be somewhere around $7 million, according to baseball insider Ken Rosenthal.

The New York Yankees are one of the most decorated and historic franchises in sports.

Names like Mickey Mantel, Joe DiMaggio, Lou Gehrig, Yogi Berra and the Babe are just a handful of the historic names to don pinstripes.

“Winning Championships” is the Yankees motto. Baseball is a team sport, which makes individual accomplishments merely an added bonus. Awards for anything other than a World Series will not absolve a season’s failure.

The New York Yankees front office was faced with some problems following the team’s outstanding 1937 season in which they won the pennant by 13 games and defeated the New York Giants in the World Series.

Joe DiMaggio received $15,000 in 1937 and intimated that $25,000 would not be sufficient in 1938. Of course, the reality of the situation was that Joe had only two choices—play for the Yankees or don’t play.  Joe didn’t have the option of becoming a free agent.

There was much more.

Did Rickie Weeks finally put things together in 2010?  He’s been talked about as a potential breakout star for some time, though injuries and inability perennially short-circuited those hopes.

The 2010 season was the first time Weeks played in more then 129 games as he posted the following impressive line:

Dear Doug,