Baseball

Late last week the Tigers re-signed third baseman Brandon Inge to a two-year, $11.5 million contract (with an option for 2013).  He showed significant power in 2009, but the numbers just weren’t there last season:

All that can be said about this Giants team in 2010 is, "Wow!"

The funny thing is, to be perfectly honest, I had a feeling coming out of spring training the team would do something special this year.

I told my friend to look out for the Giants this year. We were the best team in spring training and on paper and on the field had the best pitching in all of the Majors.

It's the law of gravity. Something that must be very delicately handled and respected. The question remained are we going up? Or is this the law of science forcing us to accept, there is no other way to go?

What goes up, must come down.

After too many years without a championship in Philadelphia, 2008 brought the end of a drought. 2009 assured us that we had something special on our hands.

I'm not sure what the Pirates are looking for in a manager right now, but apparently a proven track record is not one of the qualifications. 

Hometown boy Ken Macha was told by General Manager Neal Huntington that he is no longer being considered for the position.  This came several days after the Seattle Mariners hired leading candidate Eric Wedge, and John Gibbons removed himself from consideration.

Free agency. It is what consumes GMs, owners, players and fans during baseball’s offseason.

This free agent market looks to rival that of 2008-09, when the New York Yankees went on a shopping spree scooping up CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, AJ Burnett and Nick Swisher.

Boston has lost a pitching coach. Toronto has gained a manager.

The Blue Jays have hired Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell to manage the Toronto ball club in 2011, according to Richard Griffin of theStar.com. An announcement should be made on Monday.

The hiring has been expected for several days as Toronto ended a lengthy search to fill their managerial void. Of course, the move will leave a new void on the Boston staff, one not easily filled.

Last night, the New York Yankees were blown out for one final time in 2010, watching as the Texas Rangers celebrate with ginger ale on the pitcher's mound after closer Neftali Feliz struck out Alex Rodriguez for the last out.  Good to see A-Rod finally help Texas to the World Series!

More seriously though, the Yankees' window is quickly shutting, as even all the money in the world won't be able to get the Yankees out of their current troubles.

The Yankees 2010 season is now officially over.

There will be no ticket-tape parade down the Canyon of Heroes in November. There will be no celebrating the 28th World Series Championship at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

After the Rangers defeated the Yankees 6-1 in Game Six of the ALCS, all the Yankees have in the winter is a bitter defeat by a team that outplayed them in the series and a lot of questions surrounding their team.

It's been three years since the Joe Girardi era began in New York. Three seasons and one World Series ring later, I still hate the guy.

The New York Yankees faced elimination last night in Texas as "Mr. MVP" Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers were staring their first World Series appearance in the face. The Rangers finished the job, they beat not just one, but two of the best teams in baseball. They are going to the World Series.