A.A is doing a very under-rated job. Dealt an aging Gonzalez for Escobar, dealt Brandon League for Morrow who was killer stuff, got good value for Halladay (Drabek looks awesome and I've heard nothing but great things from D'arnaud and Gose), rebuilt the farm system and now just fleeced Anaheim. From what I heard no money is going to Anaheim. Even moves like trading for Miguel Olivo just so he could get a draft pick when he signs elsewhere is so smart. Really excited to see where this team is headed as they finally have some direction after Ricchardi fucked it up.

In late breaking news, the Tampa Bay Rays have invited Mark Bellhorn, Doug Mirabelli, Pokey Reese and Dave McCarty to Spring Training.

neither

Seriously, theres no need to retread Albert Belle/Sammy Sosa crap again signing washed up sluggers to contracts so fans of the Orioles can watch whats left of their careers fall off the cliff in a car crash. Vlad might of have won a Silver Slugger last year, big whoop.

Luke Scott finally adjusted to being the fulltime DH last year after being used as a DH and OF in 09. Im perfectly fine with the Pie/Jones/Markakis OF considering the other improvements theyve made.

Manny Ramirez, and Johnny Damon to the Rays.

Damon gets $5.25MM for one year, Ramirez gets $2MM

Decent pickups if they can perform, but Ramirez is on the quick decline so.

Damon was bad last year in Detroit. He's a waste of money.

Damon put up solid numbers. They're not bringing him in to carry the team. Just to try and help bolster the top of the lineup.

Manny DH'n every day is going to extend his season and maximize his value. I don't think anyone doubts that can still hit. The problem has been keeping him healthy, and playing left field everyday for the Dodgers wasn't helping.

I think Manny will do fine so long as he's motivated.

And, boy, what a terrible off season for the Angels. They missed out on their two top free agent choices in Beltre and Crawford. Then they give up some cheap, steady offense in Napoli for an overpaid Vernon Wells.

Detroit fans didn't like Damon. I'm from the area and people constantly bitched about him. He's slowed down and has no arm and his numbers aren't great. If Manny is the dh then I don't know where the hell Damon will play.

Damon will play in the outfield regularly despite the fact that he's been a bit of a mess defensively for quite some time now. They're not paying him close to 5.75 mil plus attainable incentives to ride the pine, as the Rays would never do such a thing, and he's less of a defensive liability than Manny.

That doesn't say much.

No, it really doesn't.

Word is The jays traded Wells to free money up to give a huge contract to batista...who will surely drop off the face of the earth.

If I'm a Rays fan I think I'd rather have Manny in the field than Damon.

The Jays are going to spend the money on the draft since they have 7 of the first 80 picks. I doubt Bautista will make anywhere near as much as Wells since A.A throws money like he throws manhole covers.

Damon has a terrible arm, but has speed and range at his disposal, has a general idea how to go about playing his position, and doesn't make mental mistakes. I'd take that over Manny's once average at best arm and no positives in those other categories.

Damon should probably be a designated hitter at this point in his career, but would need to play the field if he had a teammate who more needs to be a DH at this point in his career. Manny Ramirez is definitely one of those someones.

True story - Johnny Damon is closer to a Hall of Famer than most people realize. The 10 players through age 36 that his career lines most resemble include 4 Hall of Famers, Tim Raines (who probably should be one himself), and Pete Rose.

I've seen Damon make his fair share of mental mistakes in the field. I'm not really sure how they're gonna play it, though. Will they switch between DH/OF?

Would be pretty hilarious to see Manny and Damon platoon LF.

I wouldn't call Damon a HOF'er. He just seems like a guy who has kinda stuck around past his prime and accumulated stats rather than just flat out being dominant during his prime.

And Screech, you DO NOT want Manny in left field. Coming from a San Diego Padres fan who got to see Manny play left field for the Dodgers, he is absolutely horrendous. Not a good sight to see.

As for Bautista, I don't think one fluke year should earn him some huge contract. This is what got Riccardi in trouble. he handed Alex Rios and Wells these over bloated contracts for one elite offensive year and it came back to bite him and ultimately cost him his job.

If I'm the Jays, I see what Bautista does this year, and use it as a gage for the future. He's not going to hit 50 plus home runs. Every home run minus one went to left field. You would think he's going to get pounded on the outside third of the plate till he proves he can go with the pitch for power.

I know Manny isn't great, but Damon is awful too. Almost a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation there.

There's a lot more ground to cover in Tropicana than Fenway. Damon is better suited for there. Although Manny played better off the green monster better than anybody else has in a while.

Bautista is in arbitration right now so I imagine he'll get 1 year 10.5 mill, play out the year and A.A will go from there.

Manny directly benefited from an almost impossible level of luck in regards to playing left at Fenway. He had a fairly ridiculous number of balls take improbable bounces right to him while an inexperienced, clueless or poor runner tried to stretch out a double. His immediate predecessor was Troy O'Leary, who played left substantially better. His immediate follow-up was Jason Bay, who committed all of one error in his year and a half in Boston (including a goose egg in '09) and who had nearly twice as many assists in '09 - mostly legit, non-wall aided assists at that - than Manny averaged during his time in Boston.

Manny being such a piss-poor overall outfielder and Johnny's spaghetti arm have to be one of the key reasons why many Red Sox fans continue to hold Trot Nixon in an insanely high regard. Nixon was certainly well above average defensively, but standing next to those two in the outfield, he looked like the next coming of Willie Mays.

Iteresting day in D'Backs land today. Acquired Armando "PG" Galarraga from Detroit for a couple middling minor leaguers and re-signed the best hitting pitcher I've ever seen, Micah Owings.

nats got todd coffey fuck yeah

I think I would rather have a ham sandwich in the field than either of them

That's a good point. If Bautista has another good year, and I'm talking 30 plus homers, someone might buy into him and overpay the Jays in prospects. I think Bautista's biggest value for the Jays comes at the trade deadline if he continues to hit well.

The funny thing about Jason Bay is that he is not considered a good outfielder. He's average at best from what I've gathered.

In Padres news, GM Jed Hoyer signed Jorge Cantu to a one year, $850,000 contract pending a physical. I love this signing. Gives the Padres a solid right handed bat off the bench who can cover 1st and 3rd base for guys who don't particularly hit well against LH pitching. Not to mention, the potential for the numbers he could produce is worth way more than $850k.

Looks like the biggest question mark for the Padres going into spring training is who gets the 5th spot in the rotation.

Adam LaRoche's little brother Andy goes to the A's on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

Jorge Cantu to the Padres on a 1-year deal.

Manny played so well off the monster because he just waited for the ball to come to him. Loved watching him play there.

I agree 100%. The Jays should be ready to make a run at around 2013. Bautista by all account should be tailing off. The Jays should deal him for some young position players.

Tampa's outfield could be the worst defensively now.

Jays deal Mike Napoli to the Rangers for Frank Francisco and cash.

Better bolt down the chairs at the Skydome.

Wow. Napoli couldn't even take his shoes off before A.A. flipped him.

But for Crazy Frank Francisco? Doesn't make sense.

Wandy Rodriguez stays in Houston. 3-years, $34 mil.

Could be even sooner considering the pitching pieces they still have. Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, Kyle Drabek (coming soon) etc. Not to mention, Arancibia looks like he's the guy this year, though he should've been getting Buck's ab's last September. They got a young shortstop who, if he changes his attitude, could blossom into a very good line drive hitter with solid d. It'll be interesting to see how the Jays do this year.

The Rangers look like they're going to run away with the division. Again. Napoli is prob. gonna DH for them. With a returning middle infield that's only getting better, an upgrade at third in Beltre, and another year of Hamilton/Cruz in the OF, the Rangers are looking better and better.

My only question concerning them is where does Micheal Young play? Mitch Mooreland is surely their opening day first baseman. Can Young move to left, or is there another player blocking him there? Pretty nice problem for the Express and co. to have.

Just read breifly that GM Brian Cashman expects Jeter to be in centerfield by the time his current deal runs out. I thought the outfield would be an option, but CENTERFIELD? His range is already dimished. Centerfield is a very range-driven position. I'd say a corner spot for the Captain is a more appropriate move when the time comes.

ESPN had the stat that Jeter, while winning a Gold Glove, costs about 61 defensive runs in a season which is #1 worst in MLB and #1 worst in AL. Only reason they never moved Jeter from SS when they got A-Rod was due to potential fan backlash and they don't have anyone of a Jeter-quality to replace him at SS without upsetting Jeter.

Cashman also said Red Sox are better than the Yankees and that Mariano is the best Yankee he's seen during his time with the team (he's soured on Jeter last few years).

I don't know what's going on with Cashman and the Steinbrenner's over there but it sounds like a fucking mess and getting worse

First off let's be fair. Mariano Riveria is the best Yankee of Brian Cashman's era. Since when did Cashman grow a pair btw? He's been really quiet these last few years, and now for him to suddenly come out and say these things is rather interesting.

Also there is no way Jeter is going to move to Centerfield. That's never happening.