MLB

Last offseason, fresh off his team's first championship in nearly three decades, Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. pounced on free agent OF, Raul Ibanez to fill the void left by the departed fan favorite, Pat Burrell.

Amaro acted quickly, as the rival Mets were reportedly hot on the trail for the left-handed slugger.

The rookie GM offered the 36-year old Ibanez a three-year, $31.5 million deal, to which he quickly agreed to.

The Mets have finally, finally, finally made a move this off-season.

In an off-season full of total disappointment as Mets GM Omar Minaya failed to make plays for John Lackey, Jason Marquis, Randy Wolf, and Roy Halladay, it appears that the Mets will finally make a splash this winter.

According to WFAN radio host Mike Francesca, the Mets will sign outfielder Jason Bay to a long term contract. The deal is pending a physical and, according to Francesca, the Mets will make an announcement after the New Year.

In his four plus years with the New York Yankees, Melky Cabrera was loved by many of the fans. But he was never appreciated by the management of the team.

Cabrera was often the talk of trade rumors until he was finally traded last week to Atlanta in a move which will bring Javier Vasquez back to New York.

But Cabrera was still only 25-years-old, and he was a better player than he was given credit for.

Off Season Moves Coming This Week

According to sources the Mets will come to an agreement with free-agent outfielder Jason Bay early next week.  They are awaiting results from a physical examination before the deal is announced

Bay must have seen the market for his services dissipate over the past few weeks and decided Flushing was the best place to settle down.

The Oakland Athletics signed Justin Duchscherer to a one-year, $5.5 million deal earlier this week.

This is the sort of move I've been hoping the A's would make for weeks.

It's no secret around Bleacher Report that I think Trevor Cahill and Vince Mazzaro need to start 2010 in Triple-A, and that the A's, prior to signing Duchscherer, only had three true MLB-level starters: Brett Anderson, Dallas Braden, and Gio Gonzalez.

They also have Josh Outman, but Tommy John surgery will keep him out for at least the first two months of 2010.

It’s insanity. That’s what fantasy football is when it comes to the playoffs. Jonathan Stewart and Jerome Harrison become huge fantasy steals in the final two games, and studs that you’ve depending on all season like Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers clam up and shut down early, even in blowout wins. At least Chris Johnson has continued to be magical every week.

I forget how bizarre it really becomes until it’s this time of year again.

It is only late December, and already the offseason for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim feels like it's winding down.

Most of the big fish that dominated the post-Word Series headlines have already been caught and what remains is little more than bait for future trade hooks.

Two monsters still lurk the depths, but each appears to be circling one lone lure, searching for another to compare it with.

Matt Holliday and Jason Bay have received sizable offers from the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets respectively, and no team has been reported to match either.

Much has been said about the quiet winter that the Mets have had so far, even though there are still two months before the official start of full squad Spring Training.

Last year by this time, the Mets had already completed a 12-player, three-team trade and had secured Francisco Rodriguez.

While the exact reasons are unknown at this point, the Mets have not been able to make the breakthrough signing.

Even though there is still plenty of time for that to occur, the fact that nothing is really even being discussed publicly is a bit concerning to many fans.

With the Hall of Fame election fast approaching, I’ve been meaning to write an article or two on the election, starting with my article before last. I’ve had plenty ideas of what to cover, but I finally decided to try and project the future of the Hall of Fame. I realize just how tricky this can get, with baseball’s unpredictability.