I'd be pumped if I was on Orioles fan considering how the Orioles finished up last season.

News and notes:

Anybody wanna buy a team? Houston Astros are up for sale. Forbes valued the team at $453 mil. back in April.

Yankees are prepared to offer Derek Jeter a 3-year, $45 mil. deal. They're also interested in J.C. Romero. Johnathan Albaladejo got released too. :wavesad:

The Orioles are gonna bid in the Tsuyoshi Nishioka auction.

And coming over the wire, Larry Rothschild is the new pitching coach for the Yankees. He was previously pitching coach for the Cubs.

As a D'Backs fan, I want to curl up into the fetal position and die. This Justin Upton trade talk makes me sick.

Jim Leyritz aquitted of DUI Manslaughter charge in Florida

Wow.

Wasn't it pretty obvious that he was guilty?

Yeah...sometimes in cases where it's pretty obvious someone is guilty, they'll either get a slap on the wrist, or off the hook completely.

...sometimes Justice IS blind.

K, just read about it last night. Supposedly she was drunk too and there were conflicting testimonies on who had the green light. Nevertheless, he still has to serve 15 months for DUI.

(From ESPN.COM)

"However, Leyritz was convicted on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence, which carries a maximum sentence of six months in jail. Leyritz had faced up to 15 years in prison if convicted on the manslaughter charge."

He hasn't been sentenced yet, and even then, it's only a 6 month jail sentence at the most.

"Two witnesses testified that Veitch had the green light at an intersection before Leyritz's Ford Expedition hit her vehicle, causing a rollover crash that ejected her onto the pavement. But under cross-examination, those same witnesses were less definitive about whether Leyritz's light was red or yellow.

Defense expert witnesses also said Veitch's lights may have been off and that Leyritz did not appear to be speeding. They also raised questions about the reliability of Leyritz's blood tests and suggested he may have suffered a slight concussion that caused his body to absorb alcohol more slowly.

Prosecutors insisted that Leyritz was too drunk to react to the traffic light or avoid the collision with Veitch's Mitsubishi Montero. They said he consumed the equivalent of between 11 and 12 shots of liquor in the three hours before the crash, which happened at about 3 a.m. ET.

Florida law provides for a DUI manslaughter conviction when a person's actions either caused or contributed to the cause of someone else's death."

So basically, you could say that he got acquitted only because there was doubt about what happened, based on the testimony of the witnesses.

So, Leyritz will serve 6 months at the most...and Veitch's two kids will not get their mom back.

Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for her children. But her BAL was twice the legal limit in Florida. You would think that a responsible mother would not put herself in danger like that.

Seems odd the witnesses wouldn't know if he had a yellow or red light since it would be impossible for him to have a yellow if she had a green light especially at an intersection.

<font color=goldenrod>Mets pick Terry Collins.

Ugh. He was the last guy I wanted. I'll give him a chance, but I just don't like the idea of hiring a guy who hasn't managed in the majors in 11 years. He's gotten rave reviews for his work in player development - which is good for all the young guys that will be on the team. Not sure the veteran players can get behind it though.

He's also meant to be somewhat fiery...which is a bit better than a guy like Bob Melvin who barely had a pulse.

If the Mets suck under Collins though, Alderson will be raked over the coals for not taking Wally Backman.</font>

I'm reading it's only a 2-year deal, Vito. I wouldn't worry too much.

Was reading that Hisashi Iwakuma was looking for a 7-year, $126 mil. deal to play in Oakland and talks have broken off.

Ballsy move, but he's going back to Japan. And Oakland is down a pitcher after trading away Mazzaro.

Suckers.

<font color=goldenrod>Wonder if the Mets told Backman the job could very well be his soon with that short deal. I mean Collins is 61 already so it's possible he wanted something short-term.

Then again, if he actually WANTED a short-term deal that worries me that he won't be all that motivated. Bah. We'll see.</font>

Good of you to give him a chance, Vito.

It could also mean he's smart enough to know if the Mets struggle again, he doesn't want to get involved with all the bickering and craziness the past managers and GMs been involved last few years.

I think Girardi's initial deal was the same since he knew how crazy management can be if they struggle even if its just a week.

<font color=goldenrod>Joey Votto wins NL MVP

Ryan Howard received a second place vote. Whoever gave him that should be tracked down and banned from ever voting again.</font>

Most Vottoest Player

Reds to sign Dontrelle Willis to a minor league deal.

Good choice for NL MVP and for a while was in the hunt for the Triple Crown against some quality hitters.

ESPN is predicting Josh Hamilton for AL MVP but also said if he didn't win it was because of him being hurt in September (2 games played).

Now now, you're being too nice. Honestly it amazes me he could read or write enough to fill out a lineup card.

Great boost for Canadian baseball to have another MVP crowned from Canada. West side(Morneau) and east side (Votto) representing.

Not to mention Lary Walker back in the mid 90's.

Holla

Cmoooooon Cano

<font color=goldenrod>Tigers sign Victor Martinez. 4 years, $50 million</font>

Big blow to the Red Sox offense but they just couldn't meet V-Mart's demands.

Huff Daddy is getting a big raise in San Fran. Going from $3 mil last year to agreeing on a two year $22 mil contract today.

D'Backs finally concede that Upton will most likely be in Arizons's lineup on Opening Day. Thank God.

Orioles talking to D'Backs about Mark Reynolds. That's more like it.

They're overpaying him, but, hey...they won the WS.

<font color=goldenrod>Josh Hamilton wins AL MVP

Cliff Lee didn't get a single vote yet Soria and Soriano did.</font>

Good for Josh.

Lee hit a rough patch in the middle of the season. Probably why he didn't get a vote.

<font color=goldenrod>Really impressed with Terry Collins after his press conference and interviews today. Sounds like a huge change of pace from the guys that have been in there recently, and certainly nothing like I'd read in news articles that claimed he'd be the same.

Sounds like he's on the 2-year plan no matter what. His job will be to come in, clean up, and get the team going in the right direction for the next man in 2013.</font>

Yes they could. They just didn't want to

the Os really need a below the mendoza line (198/.320/.453) 3B who will be getting $11 million in 2012 on his current contract.

I can hardly wait.

Bring back melvin mora!

I'm not saying they should have. Victor will be 36 when that contract is up. I really wanna see how Jarrod Saltalamacchia can do with a change of scenery. Supposedly he had the yips in the minors last year and couldn't even throw the ball back to the pitcher for a period. Possibly bring back Varitek and mentor him; something he never mad in the majors. Same goes for Andrew Miller. He could be this winter's steal.

Anyone think Jeyter and Mo might sign elsewhere?

NEW YORK (AP)—Hank Steinbrenner has a message as the New York Yankees negotiate to re-sign Derek Jeter(notes) and Mariano Rivera(notes).

“As much as we want to keep everybody, we’ve already made these guys very, very rich, and I don’t feel we owe anybody anything monetarily,” the Yankees co-chairman said Tuesday. “Some of these players are wealthier than their bosses.”

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_yl...-yankees-jeter

I don't know if they'll sign elsewhere, but I'm surprised it has come to this. I thought they would resign Mo and Jeter pretty quickly.

The way the Yankees blow money like it is nothing, you would think they would not fight over a few million when it comes to their two greatest players of the last 50 years.

Exactly, that's why I didn't think it would get to the point where the Yankees are basically saying "Either you sign the proposal we gave you, or go somewhere else". We're talking about Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. The Yankees have blown money on Carl Pavano, AJ Burnett, Javier Vazquez, among others, so I didn't expect them to be this "strict" with DJ and Mo.

This makes me sad.

We traded him for peanuts, and we could have signed him to this deal all along, which is a bargain. I hate the Dolans so much.

$40 mil for Kei Igawa, $82 mil for Burnett, but nickel and dime the faces of the franchise?

The problem is is that even though Daddy Steinbrenner through his money around, this is Hank's team now.

Change in ownership, change in the way money is thrown around.

AND YES I'M AWARE THEY THREW 140 MILLION AT CLIFF LEE YESTERDAY

I don't think Rivera is gonna be a problem at all. I think soon they'll give him two years at around what his last contract was. The first I even heard about Mariano this offseason was yesterday.

Its not a couple million though for Jeter. The Yanks offered him 45M over 3 years - which for a 36 year old SS who put up a season similar to Marco Scutaro last year is a lot. I really believe thats more than any other team would offer so the Yankees really shouldn't have to pile on more money.

I've read a lot lately about what Jeter wants (who knows how much is true), but he doesn't want any paycut at all. He wants to be making 20+M a year and get a ton of years. On the radio today they said the Yankees and Jeter are something like 50-100 million dollars apart on a deal. I find that unlikely but who knows.

As a Yankee fan I'm obviously a huge Jeter fan, but signing an aging SS to $20M a year over 5-6 years is not a smart move, no matter if he's Derek Jeter or not.

They're really not nickel and diming him though. They're offering Jeter 15M a year until he's almost 40.

yea really, just because they are the faces of the franchise doesn't mean they get whatever they want. it's still a business and if the guy's production has gone down then they are stupid to throw that kind of money at him

I think a big problem was the Yankees tend to over pay players by a lot compared to their market value or range other teams are willing to pay. It bites them in the end since now they have players other teams can't afford to carry and it makes negotiations harder for them.

Can't really blame Jeter for going after a big value deal since the same thing happened to Riveria and A-Rod where the team over paid both of them by a lot compared and in Riveria's case, want him to take a pay cut even though he's still productive but is old.

Stupid move by management to make it public since they are trying as hard as possible to make it seem like Jeter is the bad guy and lessen public backlash should Jeter leave.

Interesting how the Steinbrenners called Jeter this generation's Babe Ruth. Ruth retired after playing for the Braves.

Maybe we should all send food stamps to Jeter

D-Backs aquire Zach Duke from the Pirates for a PTBNL.

Wasn't his best season. Maybe a change of venue will do.

The Orioles are stupid enough to throw huge piles of money at Jeter. Someone wrote a column in the Baltimore Sun about why they should do it. You watch..

He's going to get crushed at Chase Field. Mark my words.

Also, Mariano is worth what he's asking for (I heard 2 years 36 mil) and Jeter is not.

yea, Mariano I'm fine with. It's the Jeter thing that's ridiculous. And I understand it's just his agent trying to get as much as he can. Unfortunately, it's how it works. I am pretty sure they'll come to an agreement though

<font color=goldenrod>The media is blowing this way out of proportion. Jeter will not play anywhere else.</font>

Never thought I would see Andy Pettite in an Astros uniform.

Babe Ruth, Boston Braves

I must Jeter going to The Red Sox would be hilarious.

Jeter wants 6 years 150 Million according to the Sporting News

Ok, I know that Rivera was one of the best closers but he's clearly not as dominant as he was even a couple years ago..but..how is a guy thats 4 years older than Jeter and might play the equivalent of 6 games total in IP (IP declining down to 60 in 2010) worth $18 million and Jeter isn't worth $25 million as an everyday player even with his declining offensive skills.

Ain't happening.

Twins win the Tsuyoshi Nishioka sweepstakes with a $5.3 mil. bid.

They got 30 days to work out a deal.

Rivera hasn't really shown any signs of decline yet, his last 3 years have been some of the best of his career. And he's still one of if not the best closer in baseball still.

His highest ERA in the past 3 years was 1.80 and his highest WHIP was .90.

While I do agree that no closer in baseball, no matter how dominant is worth 18M, he has a much better case than Jeter to be the highest paid player at his position. Even though the Yankees would still be making Jeter the highest paid SS with their 15M offer.

Rivera's WAR last year was 3.0, Jeter's was 1.3. So even though Mariano only pitched 60 innings, he was more valuable than Jeter playing every day. Thats how terrible Jeter was.

Another thing is that other teams would probably pay Mariano decent money to sign him. Not 18M, but not terribly far off from that. Jeter isn't getting close to 15M (the Yanks offer), nevermind the 25M he's seeking.

Ok, I'm totally on the Yankees' side about Jeter now.

Dodgers sign Jon Garland to a 1-year, $5 mil. deal.

Kershaw, Kuroda, Billingsley, Lilly, and Garland. That's a solid rotation Donnie Baseball gets to work with.

They gotta do something about that offense, though.

Bullpen's an even bigger problem.

<object height="390" width="640">


<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k2YrgkQ82ls&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="390" width="640"></object>

Felix "dont call me Cherry" Pie gets a bit upset because he's terrible and made a huge boneheaded mistake (what the hell was he doing so far off first with the winning run on 2nd in the bottom of the 11th?).

Starting to like our rotation, but yeah. We need some offense. Bullpen help too, Broxton has been TERRIBLE. Would love to get Beltre back.

<font color=goldenrod>Seems like a Kaz Matsui clone.</font>

Anyone else find it ironic that a guy who's won the gold glove last year in the toughest position, a guy who's fans defended his selection fervently, that boasted he'd won it 5 times since 2004 are now questioning his declining defensive skills as one of the main raesons as to why not to sign him for such a huge amount of money or years.

Talking about Jeter and Yankee fans, btw ;)

Hope he doesnt tear his asshole

Jeter getting overpayed at 3 years 45 million, sad thing is I don't see who the replacement would be if he left. Nunez? ugh.

I still don't see Jeter playing anywhere else. I believe even HE doesn't want to play in another team, he's just trying to leverage himself against the Yanks in this contractual dispute, yet no other team seems to want to offer him anything, perhaps because they know he'll just use their offer to get more money with the Yankees.

Javier Vazquez to join the Marlins, pending a physical. One-year deal, $6-7 mil.

You can have him.

The Red Sox should seriously offer 3 years for 51 million for Derek Jeter. Especially if Beltre goes somewhere. What's the worse that can happen?

Having Jeter has a 3b wouldn't be that bad, and thats the worst case scenerio.

That could be a real possibility based on if Red Sox don't get Dunn or another 1B to let Youkilis move to 3B.

If Rivera was shrewd enough, he could even leverage the Red Sox need for an established closer as a reason for more money or a better deal from the Yankees.

I developed a heart palpitation when legend said that.

The Red sox have to offer Jeter something just to scare The Yankees a little.

lol I'm not a Marlins fan, just saw no one else posted it.

Not a big fan of Vazquez either, but I think he'll do better there.

He will. He usually does good on NL teams that have no chance of winning it all. Even then, he's a 15-10 pitcher.

Outside of NYY, Vasquez has put up solid numbers, K, innings pitched. He just don't love New York.

Good to know it was a loveless relationship.

If Omar Minaya was still Mets GM, I'm 99% certain that he would've signed Vazquez now when the Yankees didn't re-sign him.

Thankfully, he's not. So thankfully, he didn't.

Who's got some Reality Potion?

Oh, and Juan Uribe goes across the bridge to the Dodgers. 3-years, $21 mil.

Too much money, but I like the pickup. If anything, it takes away from the Giants.

Rangers sign Yorvit Torrealba to a 2-year, $6.25 mil. deal.

Mets are working on a deal with Chris Young.

just read that the Rockies signed Tulo to a 7 year extension ending in 2020

hope that's true

The only thing at stake in this Jeter contract dispute is Jeter's legacy. If Jeter stays a Yankee then he gets grouped with DiMaggio and Mantle. If he leaves, his legacy is destroyed. Dunno how he has any leverage here.

Son of a bitch

Rockies re-up Jorge De La Rosa for reportedly 3 years, $32 million. Thought he was going to be that guy who got the ridiculously overpriced contract this offseason, but I guess being a Type A free agent hurt his interest with other clubs.

UURRIIBBEE, bye Theriot!!! ok, diggin' us now

<font color=goldenrod>Buster Olney said the Mets were close to signing Young but then a bunch of other reporters refuted it and said nothing was close to being done. Typical offseason "he said, she said" bullshit.

That being said, I'd love to have Young. The pitching market is relatively weak this year outside of Lee, and out of that group Young's a guy I definitely wanted. He'd fit in really well at Citi. Plus they need a starter anyway since nobody knows when Santana will be ready.</font>

How are these two posts about the same player

I still think it's too much money...

I think you're right. I've never been a big Uribe fan at all. Definitely earned his money last year, but I don't see his numbers coming close.

Do Dodgers fans want Kemp out? That seems to be the way the media is portraying it but come on the guy's a stud. I'd take him and I'd give up a lot to get him.

I hate Juan Uribe. He's terrible.

Juan Uribe is a guy who's just been lucky to be "in the right place, at the right time". Plus he's streaky as heck.

Love Matt Kemp. So good.