MLB

Edgar Martinez didn’t invent the designated hitter rule. He did better than that—he owned it.

It’s not his fault he was so good at it.

Martinez, eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time this year but nowhere near election (he was named on just 32.6 percent of the ballots; 75 percent is needed for induction), pretty much did one thing and one thing only. He swung the bat, and that was it. Maybe he didn’t even own a glove. Or if he did, perhaps it was covered with cobwebs.

For the 13th straight year, Bert Blyleven failed to gain induction into the Hall of Fame, this time by the slimmest of margins as he received 74.2 percent of the vote (75 percent is necessary for induction). 

Often considered the best pitcher without a plaque in Cooperstown, the right-hander will remain just that for at least another 12 months, and it's not right.

What must a player do to enter the Hall of Fame? Let’s look at a player’s resume without the name attached.

He must have won awards; they tell us he was among the best in his era.

Rookie of the Year in 1977. National League Most Valuable Player in 1987—on a last place team. Eight-time All Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner, four-time Silver Slugger.

Washington, DC -- His home white No. 55 hanging in a locker stall behind him, Matt Capps was officially introduced to the media in the intimately lit clubhouse in Nationals Park he will call home in 2010.

On hand were a small gathering of beat reporters and selected Internet writers, far from the elaborately staged press conferences of the other significant free agent signings.  There were no television reporters, no cameras of any kind, and no columnists to be seen. 

Today, Red Sox traded first baseman Casey Kotchman to the Seattle Mariners for veteran utilityman Bill Hall and a prospect.

Last season, in limited playing time, Hall hit just .218 with a homer and seven RBI.

So, why is this deal so great from a Sox perspective?

Hall will earn $8.4 million in the final year of a four-year deal he signed with the
Milwaukee Brewers. But as part of the deal, the Mariners will pay approximately $7.65
million of remaining salary, meaning  Hall will cost the Sox about $750,000.

The other day, I published a piece about the first-year eligible players on this year's Hall of Fame ballot (seen here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/319445-among-first-timers-alomar-mcgriff-martinez-stand-out ). In that article, I stated that Roberto Alomar, Fred McGriff, and Edgar Martinez should be inducted to the Hall of Fame this year.

The New England Patriots are set to begin their quest for another Lombardi Trophy this weekend and the Boston Celtics are firmly entrenched in another battle for NBA supremacy, and yet if one’s only outlet for information was sports talk radio in Boston, he or she might come away believing it was the middle of July.

Recently, the Boston Red Sox traded utility first baseman Casey Kotchman to the Seattle Mariners for a minor league player and Bill Hall.

Hall hit .201 last year between the Mariners and the Milwaukee Brewers and is scheduled to make $8.4 million in 2010.

In other words, Bill Hall is a complete waste of money.

I'm definitely no Casey Kotchman fan (the worst trade of 2009 was LaRoche-Kotchman trade, in my opinion), and I was begging for his trade all offseason, but is Bill Hall really all that Theo can get in return?

Since free agency began in November, Matt Holliday and Jason Bay have been the consensus two best hitters on the free agent market.

The general thought seems to be that while Bay is a great hitter, Holliday was the more desirable free agent for several reasons:

* Age: Holliday is almost 30 years old and should be entering his prime years. In contrast, Bay will be 32 years old this season.