MLB Offseason Update

We're still another two weeks from Christmas and nearly two months away from pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training but I wanted to chime in on some of the free agent signings and trades that have been happening around major league baseball.

I'll start off with the Hometown Nine and their signing of Curt Schilling (1 year at somewhere between $8-12 million), Mike Lowell (3 years at $37) and Mike Timlin (1 year at $3 million). I think that the signing of Schilling is a great move because he's a proven veteran. I also don't think there's the pressure on him to be a number one or two starter anymore, especially if we can land Johan Santana. I am also looking forward to the constant monitoring of his weight as he tries to increase the value of the contract by being periodically weighed. Although, I have to admit that the Schilling family photo kind of creeps me out for some reason, especially the kid with bare feet and the fact the Schilling looks a bit like a girl. I think that the Mike Lowell signing was a great move. Lowell will be 34 by the start of the season and is a huge presence in the clubhouse. The fact that Theo Epstein got this deal done for only $37 million is amazing. While I'ved like Timlin in the past, I think it's time to start expoloring other options besides 41 year old relievers (he'll be 42 in march) with a recent history of injuries. Timlin has been great for the Sox and, while I think it's time to move on, he's only making $3 million. I'm not even sure how he can feed his family for that amount but he'll have to make due.

I'm not sure what the deal is with the Yankees this offseason. After the Sox won the World Series in 2004, they made difficult decisions to get rid of some of their most beloved starters, including Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe, and then a year later they let John Damon go to the Yankees. Now it seems like the Yankees can't make the same hard decisions that the Sox have made in recent years. Case in point: they're spending $97 million on Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera. Jorge Posada, who is 36, signed for 4 years at $52 million while Rivera signed for 3 years at $45 million. He just turned 38. That seems like a ton of money to spend on two aging veterans who play key positions, have a ton of mileage on them and may not age gracefully. But never fear, they also signed LaTroy Hawkins as insurance for 1 year at $3.75 million. Yeah, I don't see that working out too good. I'm also skeptical of Joe Girardi as their new manager. Yeah, the guy had a phenomenal year managing in Florida but it was his only experience and that team was very young and easily influenced. The Yanks are an aging team that isn't going to be influenced by a former player coming in and trying to shake things up. I could easily picture LaTroy Hawkins and Joe Girardi hanging out on a beach unemployed in another year.

Speaking of not working out too good, the Dodgers appear to have made a big splash so far this offseason by snagging Joe Torre and Andrew Jones. Jones got a two year deal for $36.2 million that could turn out to be a bargain for the Dodgers if he rebounds from a terrible 2007 season. I think that Torre is taking a huge risk by not staying with the Yankees or retiring. He really doesn't have much to gain by going to LA but if he fails there, people will say that he only succeeded in New York because of the payroll and the ability to buy any player.

Torii Hunter going to the Los Angeles Angels for five years at $90 million seems like a pretty good deal but he's 32 and has been injury prone. This does make the Angels a better team and should also give Vlad Guerrero the protection he's never had.

Billerica's own Tom Glavine going back to the Braves for one year at $8 million had been expected but I don't think it really shifts the division either way right now. The Braves don't look like a playoff contender and, unless the Mets get more young pitching, they may not be able to recover from last year's demise. Although if Pedro is healthy all year, they may not need much more talent to contend.

There have also been a lot of head scratching signings that I don't even know how to comprehend. The first is the signing of Eric Gagne to a one year $10 million contract from the low-budget Brewers. I think someone had too much beer when they offered this contract because Gagne was horrible in a Sox uniform last year. Although, maybe that's what it takes for him to succeed- playing in a place where no one is paying attention. Either way, I will forever loathe Gagne for the anguish he caused at the end of last year. I feel sick writing about him.

I'm also not sure what the Chicago White Sox were thinking giving Scott Linebrink a four year $19 million contract. The guy is a 31 year old reliever who had a 3.71 ERA in the National League last year and it was in the NL West. I don't see this ending well for him or the ChiSox.

Speaking of not ending well, are the KC Royals insane? They just gave Jose Guillen a three year contract for $36 million. Did they realize he's on steroids before they signed this deal? Did Guillen realize he's going to baseball purgatory by signing with the Royals or was this his punishment for the steroid use?

Then there's the NL champion Colorado Rockies going out and signing Aaron Cook for three years at $30 million. I don't ever remember him pitching in the World Series but apparently he lost game four. Last year alone, Cook was 8-7 with a 4.12 ERA in 25 starts. For his career, Cook, 28, is 36-35 with a 4.47 ERA in six major league seasons with the Rockies. Look, anything under a 6 ERA in Colorado is good but are they serious with the $10 million annual salary for a .500 pitcher?

But the insanity doesn't stop there. Not to be outdone, the Chicago Cubs just signed Kosuke Fukudome to a four year $48 million contract. First of all, why would you sign a guy with the last name of Fukudome? You're just asking for trouble when you do stupid stuff like that. I also just found out that the guy is supposedly 30 years old (umm, does he look 30 or closer to 40 in the picture) and just had right elbow surgery in August. I looked up his numbers expecting him to be a big power hitter or something but for his nine year Japanese baseball career he is a lifetime .305 hitter and has 192 homers. And you expect him to come light it up in the majors after having elbow surgery. That gets you $12 million annually? The only good thing for Fukudome is that he'll be playing int he NL Central where an 82 win season might win the division.

As for the one big trade that has taken place, the Detroit Tigers certainly look like an improved group on paper but I'm not sure I'm buying into Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis coming in and being stars in the American League. In fact, I don't even think Dontrelle Willis is that good. He was 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA last year with the Marlins. He gave up 87 walks and 29 homers. How high is that number going to be in the AL? Miguel Cabrera is a good offensive pickup but I think he'll have a hard time adjusting to AL pitching. He hit .320 with 34 homers and 119 RBIs last year. Those are great numbers but I wonder if that's as high as they'll go now that he's in the AL. I also noticed his playing weight was listed as 210 but I think it's actually about 310 right now. I think that the move ultimately makes the Tigers a better team but we'll have to see if it gets them back to the World Series.

So there's a brief recap of some of the bigger moves in baseball so far this offseason. There are still a ton of free agents out there and the hot stove trade rumors change every day so I'll check back in when things heat up again.