MLB

According to MLBTR , the Phillies have signed first baseman and corner outfielder Tagg Bozied.

Bozied batted .288/.360/.447 while hitting five home run and driving in 18 runs in 240 plate appearances last season playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, after starting the year in Taiwan.

Originally posted on: BringingHeat.com

After long-exploring multiple trade and free agent options, the Chicago Cubs finally decided to sign 32-year old Marlon Byrd. Bruce Levine of ESPN reports that it will be a three-year contract worth $15 million.

Byrd didn't hit his stride offensively until reaching Texas, having struggled previously in Washington and Philadelphia. Things changed when he became a Texas Ranger though.

Ok, so I've spent a few blog postings whining about how Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane knows as much about baseball as ESPN columnist Rick Reilly (who famously has whined about how boring baseball is despite getting euphoric about that wonderful cure for insomnia, golf). I've also worried about Houston's off-season moves and how creamed cauliflower will have a better 2010 than the 'Stros will.

Today, we take an acrostic look at what Richard Zowie (that's me) thinks will happen to the Astros in 2010:

The 2000’s were a roller coaster of a decade for Cubs fans. From the excitement of the 2003 playoffs and the 97 win season in 2008, to the disappointment of the Bartman-led collapse and the futile effort against the Dodgers, there were many ups and downs.

The past ten years of Cleveland Indians baseball has been a wild ride. As fans living in the present its hard to call upon some memories of the past to put the present into perspective.

Malcolm Schwartz and his friend, David Broman , lived in Flushing, Queens during the 1950s. Each attended his first baseball game on May 12, 1956.

Mal's father, who was born in Brooklyn, took him to Ebbets Field to see the Dodgers play the Giants. David's father was born in the Bronx, and they went to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles.

May 12 was quite a day for someone to attend his first baseball game, as Malcolm Schwartz, who hated the Yankees, discovered.

Baseball to those who love the game is the purest of all sport.

A game of imperfection, where greatness is judged by obtaining three hits for every ten at bats.

But for those who follow every moment, every inning, of every game, because we never know when greatness will strike.

Not in just in terms of overall plays in this forum, but some of the players, a few with such limited overall skills, have moved on to other teams, not because of free agency's big dollars, but players seeking a job.

DeWayne Wise, shown above, and Eric Brunlett.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Bobby Crosby made $5.3 million at shortstop this past year for the Oakland A's, but the Pirates have signed him for $1 million plus incentives. One of the reasons was that they let go of Jack Wilson last summer for two question marks, Ronny Cedeno and Jeff Clement.

And how much was Jack Wilson re-signed for by the Seattle Mariners? $10 million for two years, plus a $600,000 buyout of his $8.4 million club option for 2010, or an average of the same $5.3 million per year, for two years.