MLB

In desperate need of some offense, the San Francisco Giants added a bat last night.

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman via Twitter , the Giants have signed Mark DeRosa to a two-year, $12 million contract. DeRosa is expected to play third base for the Giants in 2010.

I’ll get to the Giants' part of this in a second, but for DeRosa and his camp, this has to be considered a loss. I know it’s hard to fathom someone losing when they just made $12 million, but it is.

Ed Rand has rooted against the Yankees all his life.

He recently became ecstatic, or least extremely pleased, when he read an article in an old baseball magazine about how Bob Cerv was sent to Kansas City and how the Yankees' reject almost won the 1958 American League Triple Crown.

What a difference a month makes.

On Aug. 30, Ronnie Belliard was traded from the Nationals to the Dodgers, who were in the middle of a pennant race and were looking to shore up their middle infield. In the five months prior, Belliard was only getting sporadic playing time with the Nationals and when he was playing, he wasn't producing. His .246/5 HR/22 RBI/.296 clip in 187 at-bats with the Nationals made it very clear that Belliard was no longer in the Nationals' long-term plans.

I've done numerous stories on the Yankees' need for a left fielder.

From Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon, Mark DeRosa and Xavier Nady, they've all been mentioned and in some way linked to the Yankees.

There is another name to add to the mix for the Yankees: Jermaine Dye.

Now, there are multiple sources with different stories to the Yankees' interest in Dye.

Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated has said that he doesn't see the Yankees as a strong suitor to land Dye and sees teams like the Braves, Giants and Rangers more likely to land Dye.

The Nationals acquired Sean Burnett from the Pittsburgh Pirates during midseason 2009 and were rewarded with a 3.20 ERA down the stretch. Burnett also posted a 3.06 ERA with Pittsburgh prior to the trade, so his ERA for the year was 3.12.

Given those numbers, it would seem that the former top prospect has settled in nicely as a middle reliever, but upon closer inspection, that's not the case.

The market is still wide open for Jason Bay, who most analysts agree is one of the top three free agents available this offseason. Surprisingly, he has not been highly sought after and has only received two known offers from the Red Sox and the Mets. Both offers are for four years and between $60 and $65 million.

He rejected the Sox offer early in hopes of receiving a fifth year, but that has not happened yet, and now he is leaving the Mets in limbo by not making a decision on their offer.

I will give General Manager Jim Hendry and the rest of the Chicago Cubs front office this.

They are not overreacting.

This offseason, after a largely disappointing 2009 campaign, the Cubs have made no significant additions to their 83 win team. They also are only rumored to be looking at tweaking, bringing maybe a bottom of the rotation starter or center fielder in.

In an era where those in player personnel often overreact to disappointing seasons, I wish it was more refreshing to see a GM who stays patient and plays for the long term.

Over the last several days, there has been a lot of speculation that the Red Sox's recent shopping spree may not be done. In the aftermath of the New York Yankees' acquisition of RHP Javier Vazquez, some pundits have speculated the Sox may feel the need to make one more big splash in free agency. The thinking is that the Sox will perceive the New York rotation to be close enough to the Red Sox (in quality) that the stark differences in the team’s respective lineups will be impossible to ignore.

I love baseball movies.

Field of Dreams still makes me cry (don't laugh—I know you cry when Ray Kinsella has that catch with his dad). Bull Durham is that perfect Saturday afternoon dose of rivalry and sweetness. Then there are the historical dramas like Eight Men Out.

So, when the American Film Institute recently released its selections for this year's top films, and a baseball movie called Sugar was on the list, I went right to my computer and shot it to the top of my Netflix queue.