Opinion

Are you disappointed in how the Nationals’ offseason went?

So many seem to be, suggesting that the team’s relative inaction was the result of an ongoing malfeasance of management that still carries the stink of the Jim Bowden era.

But really, that isn’t true at all. All the non-deals left the team better off in the long run. Why wait all these years for the fruits of the farm system to ripen and then block their entry to the major leagues?

When Trevor Hoffman announced his retirement yesterday, immediate talk about his Hall of Fame candidacy, his 601 saves, and his reputation as a great Padre surfaced. I do consider him worthy of the hall of fame as he, along with Mariano Rivera and Billy Wagner, were the most effective closers who did it for the longest time. But it seems as if they’re a dying breed.

As Trevor Hoffman joins Billy Wagner in riding off into the sunset, the MLB is arguably down to just one great, longtime closer.

Despite initially not expressing interest in signing him, the New York Yankees have signed reliever Rafael Soriano to a three-year, $35 million contract, and while they are overpaying him, here is why the acquisition is a smart one.

It's almost the middle of January, and the Yankees quest for pitching depth continues.

It may get even more complicated if, in fact, Andy Pettitte doesn't come back to the Yankees, or at least, for the beginning of 2011.

The Yankees are rumored to be interested in former Oakland A's pitcher Justin Duchscherer, but he has been on the DL regularly since 2008 and the Yankees aren't sure if they are interested in him for the starting rotation or the bullpen.

With the signing of reliever Kevin Gregg to a two-year, $10 million deal, the Baltimore Orioles have loaded their bullpen up with late-inning options.

It's not even February, however the Boston Red Sox have been all but given their rings as 2011 World Series Champions. Hello? We have to actually play all those 162 games to decide things, people! Cliff Lee be damned, the Yankees are still a pretty solid team, yes? Does it not seem premature to declare the AL East, never mind the Series, as a lock for this Boston team?

While Boston is certainly an early October favorite with their monster offseason moves thus far, they are still a team that has distinct and pronounced weakness.

If you know where to find the panic button, Yankees fans, feel free to press it now.

(Go ahead. Don't be shy. Tilt back the head of that Kevin Maas bust. There it is, in all its resplendent fury. Push it. Good job.)

Your team is officially in serious trouble. I know many believed that was already the case when Cliff Lee chose to sign with the Phillies, but that was premature doom-and-gloom.

Few things went as expected for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010.

A team built on seasoned veterans that was supposed to take the NL Central division crown with ease found that they couldn't overcome injuries and poor hitting enough to catch up with the energetic Cincinnati Reds, finishing just five games out of first place.

Yes, it was a tumultuous season to say the least.

Former Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman, a native of Worcester, has been named the hitting coach for the (Single-A, Short-Season) Lowell Spinners of the New York–Penn League.

Gedman, widely considered to be one of the real good guys in baseball during his playing days, was once an All-Star with the Red Sox; but, his offensive skills disappeared soon after Walt Hriniak was hired as hitting coach by the Red Sox in 1986.

The off-season keeps getting worse for the New York Yankees, as ace Andy Pettitte finally gave word that he was not physically ready for the 2011 season.
 
What does this mean exactly?
 
It construes that Pettitte has not been preparing this off-season for an on-time return to the Bronx, but he is could come back later on.