What Isolationists Conveniently Omit

post from 2 Think Good on 07 February 2012 11:40:49 PM. © 2 Think Good

Perception: The size and reach of U.S. military power is unnecessary in today’s world. Reality: As U.S. military power diminishes, the vacuum will be filled by rival military powers, not some mythical democratic international arbitrator. Robert Kagan – a Romney … Continue reading →

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Rangers, SS Andrus agree to 3-year deal (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 07 February 2012 10:40:32 PM. © MLB News Blog

Shortstop Elvis Andrus and the Texas Rangers have agreed to a three-year contract and avoided salary arbitration. A person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday night that the contract runs through the 2014 season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was pending a physical and hadn’t been [...]

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Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball Starts Soon, Get Ready

post from Talking Chop on 07 February 2012 10:01:33 PM. © Talking Chop

With the baseball season fast approaching, there's no better time to start gearing up for fantasy baseball season. Talking Chop would like to suggest a platform for you to try: Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball. Take a look at what Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball has to offer:

Yahoo! Sports is the leading fantasy provider and home to the #1 Fantasy Baseball game available – all for free! It brings fans closer to the game and players they love with free live scoring, mock drafts, mobile apps, over 80 scoring categories, live and offline draft apps, and tools to manage your keeper league.
Yahoo! Sports now offers the fantasy fanatic an even more competitive way to play, Pro Leagues are here! Join a Pro League for $20 or $100 and compete to win cash prizes. For those who dare to put some skin in the game.
Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball '12 is easy and fun to play for the rookie or veteran fantasy user.
Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Baseball provides fans with top-notch information, resources, and expert advice.
Yahoo! Sports provides pre-draft advice clips to help you draft the best team possible. Fantasy advice is also available throughout the season with bi-weekly video clips and weekly radio coverage on the Fantasy Freaks (every Friday 8pm-10pm ET).
Fantasy baseball is the original social network, it is the way friends stayed connected over America’s pastime no matter where they were, Yahoo! Sports continues the tradition by letting fans talk smack talk, check'in, and chat on newly launched message boards.
Game opens 2/7/12 – get ready to play ball!

Yahoo! Fantasy Baseball supports SBNation for its commitment to furthering America's hardball obsession. As the #1 Fantasy Baseball game, players can count on Yahoo! to provide all the research, stats, live scoring, video highlights, and mobile apps to make this season the best yet. Game opens 2/7/12 - sign up here!

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Houston Baseball Dinner

post from Love My Team on 07 February 2012 10:00:07 PM. © Love My Team

The 2012 Houston Baseball dinner will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Major League Baseball on[...]

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Royals, Alex Gordon, Reportedly Close to Reaching
Agreement

post from Royals Review on 07 February 2012 09:01:26 PM. © Royals Review

Welcome to the Gordon-palooza, in which we avoid the Gordon-pocalypse.

According to Dutton, the two sides are a) working on a one-year deal for 2012 to avoid arbitration and b) setting up a longer contract. Here's the money quote:

The Royals are believed to have offered an overall four-year package for about $30 million, which would mirror the deal reached last year with designated hitter Billy Butler.

The Royals and Gordon can do the one-year dance for 2012 and 2013, but they presumably wouldn't want to do so, unless one of the parties truly wants out. It's tough to talk about a deal that hasn't been struck yet, but a 4/30 deal could be fair for both sides.

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Braves Quote For The Day ... The Brain Trust Is
In Wilmington

post from Talking Chop on 07 February 2012 09:01:24 PM. © Talking Chop

The Atlanta Braves seem to be pulling out all the stops in order to secure a new organization-owned minor league team, complete with brand new stadium. The Braves have targeted Wilmington, North Carolina for this endeavor. Here is the local ABC station with the latest.

Former Atlanta Braves Manager Bobby Cox, as well as Atlanta Braves General Manager Frank Wren and Mandalay Baseball CEO Art Matin are in town to attend tonight's Wilmington City Council meeting.

Talking Chop has been following this story since the beginning, click here for all the previous news about the Braves' partnership with Mandalay Entertainment. I'm sure we'll have more news tomorrow pending the outcome of the City Council meeting.

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Hamilton sees MLB doctors after relapse (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 07 February 2012 08:22:30 PM. © MLB News Blog

Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton has been to New York to visit with doctors for Major League Baseball and the players’ association following his admitted relapse with alcohol. General manager Jon Daniels says Hamilton was accompanied to New York on Monday by Shayne Kelley, the team’s newly hired major league staff assistant whose job will include [...]

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Spring Reporting Dates Just 10 Days Away

post from The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website on 07 February 2012 08:01:13 PM. © The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website

Here we are folks, the NFL is officially finished with until next fall, and full focus has shifted back to baseball, and in the Bay Area, around the San Francisco Giants. With just 10 days until pitchers and catchers report, the Giants appear to have made all the moves they're anticipating before the opening of camp.

In the last couple of weeks, they came to agreements with key arbitration figures such as Tim Lincecum, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Vogelsong as well as their two newest additions, Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan. The Giants also scoured the bargain bin and came up with a guy who's been a starting shortstop for much of his career, and a fairly decent one at that, in Ryan Theriot, a player whose skill set this team definitely needed. It's helped them round out what appears to be their 25-man roster, barring any unforeseen injuries or extreme breakthroughs, but as I write this, this team still has just 3 outfielders who've played in over 100 major league games (not counting Aurbey Huff) and as I've voiced here plenty in the last 6 weeks, I feel this team should be still trying their darnedest to deepen that very thin outfield. I mean, even if they are banking on Brandon Belt coming into his own and taking over the left field job, it would leave Nate Schierholtz or Angel Pagan as the only backup outfielder with any kind of experience. However, the fact still remains, that there just aren't many viable options left out there who could come in provide guaranteed stability, but as I've been saying, why not take a flyer on someone who will sign for the league minimum and give them a shot this spring? With Ross off the market, it leaves only Raul Ibanez and Magglio Ordonez and as I've said here before, of the two I'd go with Ordonez. He's no longer a 500 at-bat player, but give him 400 ab's platooning with Schierholtz in right and I bet he'd give you a nice return, especially considering the discounted price tag.

Speaking of discounted price tags, we saw Clayton Kershaw do the Dodgers a tremendous favor by inking that 2 year, $19 million deal, that probably has Tim Lincecum chuckling under his breath. I mean, when you compare the last two seasons for each pitcher, Kershaw has actually been slightly better than Timmy, going 34-15 with a 2.47 era to Lincecum's 29-24 record and 3.20 era. Lincecum has him beat on the strikeout totals by a small margin, but I'll take the wins and low era and give up the extra K's. Now you won't find a bigger Lincecum fan than myself and I think the deal he got was completely just, but I just wonder a bit if the Giants may be kicking themselves a little after seeing that Kershaw deal. On the other hand, this could actually help the Giants' long-term efforts with not only Lincecum but Matt Cain as well, who must have said something at the fanfest that I missed because Giants fans are getting a bit frantic in thinking Cain may bolt after the season. I mentioned a few posts back that I think the Giants should offer Cain the same deal the Angels gave Jered Weaver (5 year/$85M), and see if he bit, but now I'm hearing numbers north of 5 years and $100 million. Cain was the one guy I thought to be almost a sure bet to be a Giant for a long time, so this is either mis-interpreted news, or a complete surprise to me. It all the sudden raises the question, what if, just what if, Cain and Lincecum are both in other uniforms for the 2014 season! Think Brian Sabean will be beating himself up for not taking full advantage of this window of opportunity? I'd say so, and it would probably be as an un-employed GM too, cause that's about the time his contract is up as well!

2012 Roster Preview coming up next!

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Utilityman Hall, Yankees agree to deal (AP)

The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with utilityman Bill Hall and invited him to big league spring training. Hall announced the deal on his Twitter account Tuesday, and New York confirmed the agreement. If Hall is added to the Yankees’ 40-man roster, he would get a $600,000, one-year contract and have the [...]

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Twitter / @Tom_Helmer: I have loved every minute
...

Twitter / @Tom_Helmer: I have loved every minute ...

Tom Helmer just tweeted that he won't be a part of the Root Sports crew for the 2012 season. This comes as a surprise to me, personally, as Helmer was a fan favorite at Coors Field.