Darvish excited to be with Rangers (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 20 January 2012 10:58:32 PM. © MLB News Blog

Yu Darvish leaned over and looked at his name and the No. 11 on the back of his Texas Rangers jersey. Then he looked up and smiled. “Excited, that’s all I feel right now,” Darvish said through a translator. “Just excited going forward.” Japan’s best pitcher is now officially a member of the two-time defending [...]

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Nats, Morse agree to 2-year, $10.5M deal (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 20 January 2012 06:56:32 PM. © MLB News Blog

Outfielder Michael Morse has agreed to a two-year contract worth about $10.5 million with the Washington Nationals, avoiding arbitration. The Nationals announced Friday they had reached a deal with Morse before arbitration figures were exchanged this week, but it was contingent on his completing a physical exam, which he’s now done.

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Posada will hold press conference to announce
retirement on Tuesday

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 20 January 2012 06:53:50 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

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Billy Williams 2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts
Legendary Materials Game Used Jersey Card

post from 30-Year Old Cardboard on 20 January 2012 06:41:47 PM. © 30-Year Old Cardboard

Billy Williams 2009 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts – ‘Legendary Materials’ – Game Used Jersey Card While not an official ‘goal’ of 2012, I do want to acquire some more modern-era cards of Billy Williams during the new year. I … Continue reading →

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Yankees avoid arbitration with Brett Gardner

post from Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog on 20 January 2012 06:37:23 PM. © Bronx Baseball Daily » Bronx Baseball Daily, a New York Yankees blog

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Rangers sign Hawpe to minor league deal (AP)

post from MLB News Blog on 20 January 2012 06:04:31 PM. © MLB News Blog

The Texas Rangers signed veteran first baseman and outfielder Brad Hawpe to a minor league contract. The Rangers announced Friday that they are also inviting the Fort Worth, Texas, native to their major league camp this spring. The 32-year-old alumnus of LSU and Boswell High School in the Fort Worth suburb of Saginaw batted .231 [...]

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What Have We Learned From The Past

post from LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers on 20 January 2012 06:01:27 PM. © LADodgerTalk.com - Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Vin Scully, Andre Ethier and the Dodgers

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Lincecum Now Last Giant Seeking 2012 Contract

post from The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website on 20 January 2012 06:01:20 PM. © The Giants Baseball Blog- A San Francisco Giants Blog and Fan Website

After the Giants came to deals with nearly all their arbitration eligible players this week, including signing Sergio Romo to a one-year deal Friday, the teams final arbitration eligible player is also their biggest. Even though their preliminary figures were $4.5 million off, I still expect the Giants and their ace to come to terms before they'd be forced to go before an arbiter.

The Giants gave one of the premiere set-up men in the game in Sergio Romo, a one-year, $1.5 million deal. That's more than double what he made in 2011, but the right-hander has really earned it as he's become one of the games premiere set-up men. The only minor concern I have with Romo is his durability. At such a young age (28), you'd expect him to be able to take on more of work-load than the 49 innings he threw in 2011, but none the less, the 49 innings he threw in 2011 were pretty darn dominant. He ended the season with a 1.5 era, 70 K's, 5 BB's, and a 0.71 WHIP over those 48 innings, which are some pretty gaudy numbers. Anytime your over 1.5 K's per inning, that's something special, and Romo is right there, but what's even more impressive is his uncanny command. Five walks in 20 innings isn't bad, let alone 48, and when you couple that with 70 K's, the ratio is ridiculous. He gave up some big home runs during the 2010 championship run, but kept his composure enough to finish off well during the championship run, then just destroy National League hitters in 2011, his first as a full-time set-up man. Again though, he had some arm troubles in September that hopefully came from all the work in 2010, pitching until November, then all the K's early on in 2011. And with the signing of Romo, the contract the given to Sandoval and the one-year deals dished out to Nate Schierholtz, Melky Cabrera and Angel Pagan in the last few days, the Giants have taken care of all their arbitration players except Lincecum.

I mentioned in the last post that I thought Lincecum would wind up at $18+ million, and I still think he' gets around $18-19M. As good as he's been during his young career, it's tough for any arbitration player to ask for north of $20 million, even one as accomplished as Lincecum. Heck, it's tough to net $20 million per year as an accomplished free agent in his prime, let alone a player in his arbitration years. That said, if anyone is worth it, Lincecum is, with his 2 Cy Young's and incredible numbers he's piled up since 2008. The thing I think that's holding the two parties up, is the Giants trying to encourage Lincecum's party to take a multi-year deal, like they were able to do with Pablo Sandoval. Whether it's a 3 year deal that buys out a year of free agency or a 5-year deal (which is what I think the club really wants to do), I think the Giants are trying to persuade Lincecum into taking one or the other, but I see Timmy sticking to his guns and taking only a deal for the 2012 season for now. It's just a question as to how much he'll end up getting. If I'm the Giants, I show some good faith now, hoping it comes back to help them in the end, and give Timmy his $20 million and let him set a new record. They don't have to go $21.5M like Lincecum's asking, but I bet if they offered $20M, Lincecum's agents would jump all over it. They shouldn't let the difference of $2-3 million bucks cause any ill will with their star pitcher when they're trying to sign him long-term.

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Colorado Rockies Close to Acquiring Marco Scutaro
- MLB Daily Dish

Colorado Rockies Close to Acquiring Marco Scutaro - MLB Daily Dish

Troy Renck is reporting that the Rockies are close on acquiring SS Marco Scutaro from the Red Sox. Scutaro had a pretty solid 2011, and he'd provide some stability for the 2B position that the Rockies have craved for a few years now.

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Friday update on Roy Oswalt

There have been some news today, mainly from Cleveland and Boston so I am presenting and update of what has been happening on Roy Oswalt the last day or so. This is the fourth update, and you can find them all here. This is what we learned since the[...]

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