MLB

As the Aroldis Chapman sweepstakes heat up, one thing has become a bit more clear:  Chapman will not be signing with the Yankees, Mets, or Astros.  Chapman is set to decide on a club very soon, and these three clubs have fallen out of contention for the flame-throwing Cuban lefty.

Three doors have been shut.  Which means three more have opened.  Behind door No. 3 stands Boston GM Theo Epstein.  Behind door No. 2 stands Florida GM Michael Hill, and occupying door No. 1 is Anaheim GM Tony Reagins. 

Let's take a look at door No. 2, shall we? 

What's the potential of the Pirates in 2010?
Let's take a look in this preview around the bases.

All projected stats are based solely on myself. A stat you may not recognize is home run percentage. This equation is simple it's at bats divided by home runs hit. In doing calculations for 2010 previous years are taken into account along with the possibility of improvement.

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Paula Volpoff loves the Cleveland Indians.

She suffered through the early 1950s, when great Cleveland teams were edged out by the slightly better, or as she says, "luckier," Yankees.

Volpoff vividly recalls what happened to the Yankees in 1954.

Excuse me, loyal reader, as I go on a bit of a rant this morning.

On Tuesday's addition of Around the Horn on ESPN, writer Jay Mariotti won the day's pseudo competition and was awarded his 30 seconds of face time.

He chose to use this time to exclaim how he didn't vote this year for Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame.

He said that none of the players up for the first time deserved to get in on the first ballot, and that was reserved for players like Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwen.

1. Will Hideki Matsui continue to produce? 
He will turn 36 years old this summer so expectations should be tempered. He’s also leaving the home run haven that is Yankee Stadium. Plus, the Angels’ lineup is not as formidable as the Yankees was. Given his injury risk and new home, he’s a player I would avoid in 2010.

This is a response to a very interesting article by Jordan Scwartz; The 50 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time .

In his article Jordan ranked all MLB players (not all players; neither players from the Japanese leagues nor the Negro League were included) based soley on statistics, mixing pitchers and hitters. The idea was good, but I, like others, thinks the method needs to be refined a little. I have made an attempt.

There are several interesting player comparisons we can look at in the first few rounds of 2010 fantasy drafts.  This season seems more muddled then normal, with very few clear-cut selections for fantasy owners to make due to injuries or epic struggles in 2009.  One of the interesting debates right now comes in the second, with David Wright (ADP 14.40) currently going a selection before Carl Crawford (ADP 15.17), on average.

"When he's hot there's no stopping him—he'll even hit a ball over his head." - Nolan Ryan in Nolan Ryan's Pitchers Bible.  (1991)

The man known as "The Hawk" has finally made it to Cooperstown.  Andre Dawson will soon have a plaque and a place in baseballs hall of fame.  My only question is, what took so long?  He should have been in years ago, and I think it's only fitting he will enter the hall alone.  No one will be able to steal his thunder or overshadow him in anyway.  It will be the Hawk's day.  A day that is well deserved and long overdue.

There is nothing quite so gratifying as a great big dump. Salary dump, that is. Just ask the Toronto Blue Jays GM, Alex Anthopoulos.

Over the past six or seven months, the Toronto Blue Jays have parted company with Roy Haladay, Scott Rolan, Alex Rios, Marco Scutaro and Rod Barajas. These moves represent a salary dump for the 2010 season of a little over $47 million.

The five players who will replace Halladay et al—John Buck, Alex Gonzalez, Travis Snider, Edwin Encarnacion, and one entry-level starting pitcher—will earn slightly more than $10 million for the coming season.