"Give me the reason why the mind's a terrible thing to waste..."

I received a gift this Christmas that I'm certain no one else did - my brother was kind enough, in helping me to develop some historical perspective, to get me an entire box of 1987 baseball trading cards. Yes, it's been fully acknowledged by now by pretty much everyone that there is indeed no cure for my baseball obsession. So why not heap more onto the fire?

I also received an ipad2, which is largely what distracted me from updating this blog sooner. On the flip side though, I'm glad I didn't update sooner than today. Why? Because it would've deprived me of talking about A's closer Andrew Bailey being traded (with Ryan Sweeney) to the Red Sox.

As I've said before, I haven't exactly been watching the A's religiously during the past few years. No longer having Dan Haren and Huston Street made them much less worth my time. However, I do like Andrew Bailey and his recent departure marks the end of a cuteness era (if you will) for the A's. On the other hand, Bailey's presence with the Red Sox will serve as a much-needed aesthetic upgrade for their pitching staff. Off the top of my head, the only semi-cute pitcher they have is Josh Beckett, and that's entirely dependent on what facial hair he's sporting. Bailey's financial security will also increase and it's always nice to see the younger guys get that. Plus, Bailey serves as a nice transition into talking about one of my very favorites.

Madison Bumgarner would normally be someone who wouldn't be anywhere on my radar, and I admit, if he weren't with the Giants, he may very well have fallen out of my sight completely. Nonetheless, there's something I really like about Bumgarner. Okay, so part of my fondness comes from the fact that I made $50 off my dad in game four of the 2010 World Series because Madison pitched six scoreless innings. That was one of the greatest performances I've ever seen, hands down. But despite that, it's his demeanor that I find so endearing. He hasn't been in the majors very long, but you wouldn't know it. It's the same reason I like Matt Cain so much (but sorry Madison, Matt is cuter).

Now I don't just bring him up because it's fun, but because Madison is part of the Giants golden starting rotation, and one that the team is trying to "lock up", as it were. The fact that I would prefer Matt Cain over Tim Lincecum is proof that aesthetics is a top priority for me (excluding Lance Berkman). Baseball insiders name Bumgarner as one of the only pitchers of his caliber to not have signed an extension with his current team yet. If the Giants are smart, they will fork over more cash, even if his extension is short-term. I certainly hope so. It's all speculation right now, of course, but for Giants fans it's something to think about. Do I think the Giants will keep all three starters? Not really. As fantastic as Lincecum has been, I would be the least sad to see him go of those three pitchers. Lincecum is the most expensive, which means he's least likely to sign an extension and more likely to get a better offer elsewhere. I have to say though, that it seems Cain is finally getting the attention he deserves and is slated to make quite a bit more money in the future. But I could talk about Matt Cain all day, obviously. Nevertheless, that's not why I'm here.

Speaking of pitchers (and not Giants pitchers), Edwin Jackson has not signed a deal with any team yet, which I find a bit surprising. Initially he was seen as a lower-tiered free agent pitcher. Once the dust settled on deals for guys like CJ Wilson, Mark Buerhle and John Danks though, opinions on him appeared to change. I was rather impressed with his postseason performances with the Cardinals this year. While his numbers aren't stellar, I think he should be able to find the deal he wants and not have to settle too much. I'm curious to see where he lands, if somewhere else other than St. Louis.

I really didn't mean for this post to be mostly Giants-related, but it is what it is. The Giants did a great thing (I think) by signing Emmanuel Burriss to a one-year contract. I was awfully sad when I heard he was sent down to the minors earlier this season. Any guy who can play most infield positions well is worth hanging on to, or at least worth giving another chance. He is young, fast and versatile (and, I won't lie, pretty damn cute). I hope Burriss gets plenty of chances to play in 2012.

As much as I'm not caught up in the speculation surrounding Prince Fielder, I feel I should weigh in and say I'm equally as surprised as everyone else that he hasn't signed a deal with any team yet. I agree with most baseball insiders who assumed that once Albert Pujols signed with the Angels, Fielder's signing would be pretty immediate. It seems we were all wrong. This situation reminds me, if nothing else, how complex the process of signing with a team is. Of course it's not all about money, but a lot of the decision rests on how a player "fits" in with a team. It's easy enough for a team to say, "We need a solid first baseman". However, it is a much less simplistic matter to say, "We need a solid first baseman who is a good fit for our team, our players and our clubhouse". Prince Fielder, I would think, fits all of the former categories of most any team out there. And it doesn't appear that a real bidding war is going on for him.

His ideal offer is apparently somewhere around $254 million for ten years, a full $1 million more than Pujols received. There are plenty of arguments to be made that Fielder is worth at least $1 million more, especially given his younger age. But the former team a player was with leaves a lot to consider too. Pujols has two World Series titles, multiple MVP and Gold Glove awards, and was a huge reason why the Cardinals consistently made the playoffs each year. Fielder doesn't have this kind of experience. He has some of the award recognition, but virtually (except this season) none of the postseason experience. Granted, part of how you get to have Pujols' experience is consistent excellence through the passage of the time, like with most things. But $254 million is a lot of money to take that chance on. I feel as if there are things going on behind the scenes with Fielder that the public doesn't know about. Despite Fielder's more-than-steep asking price, Pujols' signing should have made for a very swift signing for him as well. Though who can predict the free agent market? I certainly can't.

Now there were some additional points I wanted to hit tonight, but I think they were less important - such as the Rockies' possible interest in Cody Ross (an in-limbo Giant) and Yorvit Torrealba's 66 game suspension from the Venezuelan Winter League (a former Giant). However, I think I've covered more than enough for one entry. So I digress.

the Rockies, Rangers, and a predictable fate for Aaron Rowand.

It appears the Rangers and Rockies have been quite busy lately with their signing developments. With the Rockies, it seems like signing Michael Cuddyer got the ball rolling and now there's talk of them acquiring Brad Lidge, and having recently signed Casey Blake.

I don't really have a feeling one way or the other about Casey Blake, other than the fact that he is now an ex-Dodger. I imagine that going from Los Angeles to Denver would be a hell of an upgrade!

As for Brad Lidge, I have rather fond memories of his time with the Astros (with teammate and favorite Lance Berkman) and when he was part of the team's great run in the playoffs in 2005. I can even forgive his unattractive choice in facial hair, because otherwise he's pretty cute. Aesthetics, as usual with me, is a big factor here.

Speaking of former teammates from the 2005 NLCS Astros, Roy Oswalt is also seeking a short-term deal for 2012. It seems that both Lidge and Oswalt (NLCS MVP in 2005) have declined in recent years, though with the latter it seemed that injuries were mostly to blame. As sad as this is to say, I was pretty happy when the Giants beat Oswalt earlier this year, but that's only because he's currently a Phillie. Not necessarily his fault. If he signs with another team next year (barring a few exceptions), I'll probably like him again. Although, as previously stated, I'm not proud of that. Anyhow.

Now we move on to the Rangers and their developments with two players I'm not too fond of. As previously mentioned, I'm not a Mike Napoli fan. But still, the Rangers have been in talks with him about a possible contract extension starting in 2012. It's been predicted that he will make over $9 million next season. Wait, what? The catcher whose defensive abilities have been called into question will make that much? I see things with Napoli going the way they went for Cody Ross. Napoli, to me, seems like nothing more than a flash in the pan. Who knows, maybe he'll vastly improve next year and be worth $9 million. But I doubt it.

His teammate Derek Holland is also up for a possible contract extension next year. Perhaps I was too quick to say I don't like Derek Holland (or "Dutch Oven" as he is referred to). I'm not going to lie and say I like him for the right reasons - because I don't. Holland was part of the trio of pitchers that collapsed during that infamous game in the 2010 World Series (one of my better baseball memories, perhaps ever). Because of that, he will always have a place in my heart. And it's not as if he didn't have a good season this year. Hopes were high for him with the Rangers in the playoffs (along with how many others?). Any way I look at it, however, he's still with the Rangers. I also have to say the quasi-mustache disturbs me a little.

Now it's on to the main event, in which I get to gloat just a bit. I don't get that chance too often, so I'm going to take full advantage of it. Aaron Rowand was really the only sore spot from the 2010 Giants team. I never understood why they acquired him or why they paid him so much. Okay, so he won a World Series with the White Sox. As per usual with the Giants though, that was not recently.

My complaints about Rowand have rarely ever been about his defensive skills. And regardless of how I feel about him, that one killer throw he made from the outfield in the 2010 World Series is one I will likely never forget. However, that does not make up for his offensive skills, which leave much to be desired. When he came to the Giants, he was not cheap and it took awhile for other people to realize that maybe he wasn't worth his high salary. In addition to that, again, it's not his fault, but he has the strangest build of any player I've ever seen. For me, something about that guy isn't right.

Anyway, earlier this week he signed a minor league deal with the Marlins. Now that just sounds bad. A minor league deal with the Marlins? Oh, how the once-barely-mighty have fallen. So many people I know defended Rowand when he was with the Giants. It was downright annoying. But now? I feel pretty justified in my doubts about him, especially when I think about all of the other outfielders the Giants could have signed instead. It's almost painful. Meh.

A final little tidbit I've chewing on for awhile: why did the Giants re-sign Eli Whiteside? If someone could explain that to me, I would appreciate it. Because I'm rather confused over here.

Welcoming Michael Cuddyer to the NL and other ramblings

Once again, there were plenty of signings and developments that took place this week and of course, I must mention one in particular first. I can't help it.

While I will use any excuse to talk about Michael Cuddyer (and to ogle him), since he was arguably the week's biggest signing, I have a legit reason to now. Yesterday Cuddyer signed a 3-year/$31 million deal with the Rockies. While I'm sure this move will make my pal Craig Finn (avid Twins fan that he is) sad, I'm glad that he is finally in the NL. Not only that, but he's in the same division as the Giants, which means I may finally get to see him play in person next season! So it's a great move, in my opinion. I just hope that Cuddyer can stay healthy for the duration of his contract, mostly because he's just lovely. At least to me.

To switch from a player the Twins lost to a new player they gained, Josh Willingham of the A's signed with the Twins for a 3-year/$21 million deal.

I'm sure the A's will miss him quite a lot, but the Twins will be even happier to add him to their roster. There had been quite a lot of talk about just where Willingham would end up and I'm glad it was with the Twins. It might not make up for losing their longest-tenured player (Cuddyer), but it will certainly help.

Part of me feels like a "bad" baseball fan that I'm not nearly as interested in where Prince Fielder will be next season as most baseball people are. It's not that I don't like Fielder; I think he's a great player. I'm just not really invested in who his future team will be. According to insiders though, it seems as if the Cubs are the most likely of his suitors at the moment, followed closely by the Mariners. I think the Mariners need him more and they would have a solid DH on their hands as well. Moving on...

The most puzzling signing of the week, for me, has to be Dontrelle Willis signing with the Phillies. Granted, it's only a one-year contract, but the move seems like an odd one. Willis is not the pitcher he once was, and chances are, he probably won't be in the future. The logic seems to be that Willis would make the transition into the Phillies bullpen and perhaps end up as a reliever. I can't imagine he would be used much as a starter though, given how few innings he's pitched in the last few years. However, I'm still of the opinion that he was robbed of the Cy Young when he had that amazing season with the Marlins. That time is long gone though. I digress.

Why would the Braves want to get rid of Jair Jurrjens? That's a question I've been asking all week. He was one of the most impressive pitchers of the 2010 season, at least in the NL. It seems the Braves have been in talks to do a trade with the Orioles for Jurrjens and Martin Prado. Sure, Jurrjens had a rough last part of the season, but the first half was so good that you would think the Braves would want to hold on to him. To me, he's far too young and has far too much potential to trade him now. But that's just my opinion.

The final development I want to mention involves a player who, for whatever reason, I've never liked. My dislike of Jason Varitek is completely inexplicable. I rooted for the Red Sox when they finally won a World Series in 2004. I thought they had a fantastic team. But I wasn't necessarily rooting for Varitek. According to reports, he's still in consideration to continue catching for the Red Sox in 2012. Is it likely that he will? I doubt it. I don't blame him for wanting to continue playing; he's been a staple of the Red Sox for a pretty long time. It's just that, personally, I don't see what the big deal about him is.

My opinion of him makes me sad though, because he is a catcher. I usually like catchers. This is the girl who loves Bengie Molina, Brian McCann, Buster Posey and Joe Mauer. Come to think of it, the only other catcher I really don't like besides Varitek is Mike Napoli. And that's mostly by virtue of the fact that he's with the Rangers, so it's nothing personal. It can't be personal with Varitek either, really. It just is what it is; I'm not proud of it. We all inexplicably dislike some people, and those feelings are especially silly when you dislike someone you've never met and likely know little about. Alas.

More signings than you can shake a stick at, and a Ryan Braun "scandal"

Despite the winter meetings being over, that certainly hasn't slowed down the pace of player signings and trades. One of the biggest, in my opinion, is that of A's pitcher Trevor Cahill being traded to the Diamondbacks. Cahill's signing is one of the biggest trades, in my opinion, because of how it shakes up the NL West division for next season. First off, the Diamondbacks already have a solid pitching rotation, what with top guys like Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson. To add Trevor Cahill to that staff would be pretty major. Also, as previously mentioned, it takes away more cuteness from the A's pitching staff. And that can't be good.

Speaking of the A's pitching staff, it seems almost guaranteed that Gio Gonzalez will not be with the A's next season. Where he will land, exactly, isn't clear yet, but insiders point to the Blue Jays as the most likely team. If that means more money for him, then that's great. He was really impressive this season. Need I mention, though, eliminating more of the cuteness factor of the A's pitching staff. As of right now, I might not even have a reason to watch the A's in 2012! (Not that I watched them much in 2011)

Next up would be the Rays locking in Matt Moore to an 8-year deal, with 5 of those being guaranteed money. I think it's a smart move for both Moore and the Rays, and despite having missed the ALDS game that Moore pitched this season, he has the potential to be top notch. If the highlights of said game are any indication, I missed one hell of a performance. Between Moore and Jeremy Hellickson, the Rays have some future aces on their pitching staff for sure. Is it a risk signing a relatively inexperienced rookie to an 8-year deal? Sure, but Moore seems to be worth it. 

And to mention a trade/signing that is not pitcher-related, Aramis Ramirez signed a 3-year contract with the Brewers this week. I'm happy for him that he will be on a much more competitive team next season. To be honest, I hadn't kept up with the speculation on Ramirez and who he would sign with, but I imagine the Brewers (and their fans) are pretty happy about it. 

As much as I don't want to go in depth about it, I suppose that mentioning the Ryan Braun "scandal" (if you will) seems necessary. Despite the story having been out for a few days now, all information about it seems to be cryptic, at best. At first, it was a performance-enhancing drug that Braun only tested positive for during the playoffs. Then, it was implied that it was simply a prohibited substance that Braun may have used because it helped speed up his recovery from his recent injuries. Well, which is it? Braun's agency quickly assured his innocence in a statement not long after the report first came out. But of course they did! What else were they going to say? However, it seems that no player has successfully appealed a positive result for any of these tests and he likely faces a 50 game suspension next year. Until Ryan Braun himself speaks though, I will reserve most of my judgment. But why did he only test positive during the playoffs and not the regular season? I'm curious to find that out.

An embarrassment of riches...

So, first things first. Albert Pujols is officially with the Angels now. Who saw that coming? Apparently no one. Even though the Angels were not in the running at all, I have to say that I'm glad he will be in the AL next season. According to reports, the Marlins lost out on Pujols because they would not give him a no-trade clause in his contract. Wait, WHAT? Just because that wasn't needed for Reyes, Bell or Buerhle does not mean that Pujols shouldn't get one if he so chooses. Hello, he's ALBERT PUJOLS. I didn't expect myself to be as annoyed by that as I am, but I guess I am. If the Angels are looking for a boost in attendance (though I think theirs is pretty solid), they certainly will have it for 2012.

Although there must be a lot of sad Cardinals fans today. A lot of people are probably asking, "Where the loyalty?" After ten years, I would think that Pujols' love for St. Louis was pretty solid. How many other teams can say they'd had a future hall of fame slugger on their team for ten years? And he certainly went out with a bang.

Not long after that, it was announced that CJ Wilson signed with the Angels, getting a nice 5 year/$75 million contract. I guess compared to Pujols' 10 year/$254 million contract, that's small pickings. I happened to catch an interview with Wilson on MLB Network today (where else!) and he said that despite liking Miami, he wanted to be closer to his home in LA. The thing I found most interesting about Wilson's interview was the topic of how his former teammates feel about his departure, especially to a division rival team. He said that he got text messages (that's all baseball players do, it seems, is text each other) from a lot of his former teammates wishing him well and giving congrats. Wilson also said that he got a text from David Murphy asking if they were enemies now that they were on rival teams. I appreciated Wilson's honesty in saying that he didn't know yet. If nothing else, this move will make the race for the AL West division a lot more interesting!

I would imagine that Mike Scioscia is pretty happy with the potential starting rotation for the Angels next year: CJ Wilson, Jared Weaver and Ervin Santana. Not too shabby!

While that was the biggest news from this week's winter meetings, the news that Huston Street went to the Padres is, I think, something worth noting. It's also a nice move for the Padres, who may have had to part with Heath Bell, but picking up Huston Street is pretty damn nice. I just wish he weren't a closer so I would know which games he would be pitching in advance. Alas.

Despite no actual moves having been made yet, it seems many teams are interested in the top three pitchers on the A's rotation: Andrew Bailey, Gio Gonzalez and now possibly Trevor Cahill. I would be happy for any of them to make more money elsewhere, because they all deserve it. I have nothing against the A's, mind you, I just worry about their payroll. And that no one goes to actually see them pitch at home. So sad. As long as they don't go the way of Barry Zito, it's all good. However, since none of them will be going to the Giants, chances are, they will do fine wherever they end up.

Speaking of the Giants, I heard possibly the greatest news (to me) all week. Alex Gonzalez signed with the Brewers and not the Giants. What does this mean, though? Do the Giants suddenly have more confidence in Brandon Crawford? Or were they too broke to snatch him up? It's hard to say. I'm hoping it's the former.

Quite a lot seemed to happen during the winter meetings this week. Some interesting things, some not so much. As much as I've enjoyed keeping up with all of the news, I'm relieved that it's over. I think the fact that I watched pretty much every single playoff game this season (except three, I think) is catching up with me. I won't make that mistake again. Oh wait...yes I will. It's a sickness and I don't foresee a cure. Bring it on!

the Marlins are still the Marlins and other truths.

Having lurked in the forums on mlbtraderumors.com recently, I've come to an interesting conclusion: either I don't know jack about baseball or I should be glad that I come up for air once in awhile. Those forum posters mean business! Sure, there's always more to learn about in regards to just about everything, but this is a whole other ballgame (so to speak). I'd like to think I know a thing or two (or three, or four) about baseball. I'm fairly confident in that stance. However, now I feel like my status as a baseball junkie is in jeopardy. How much more can my brain possibly process and retain? I've never been good at pacing myself and tend to hit the ground running with most things - which is why I often get tripped up along the way. Maybe I can think of this as being served a slice of humble pie. Except the pie is oliberry. And I hate oliberry.

My long-winded point is that I want to learn as much as I can about baseball, without it further encroaching on my life. I have to say though, that not knowing who Chris Iannetta (former Rockies catcher, recently acquired by the Angels) was is something I'm not proud of. I mean, how many of us can name former Mets players without (really) knowing who is currently in their lineup? I certainly can and I have no idea why. My brain must still have plenty of spongue-absorbing power left. I think. Anyhow.

Apparently, the world of baseball is not far removed from the world of politics, at least not as of late: Albert Pujols may be lying about his age and if he does not produce a birth certificate, he can forget about getting offered more than a $200 million/nine-year contract.

If I were Pujols, I wouldn't really give a crap. I'd still be Albert Pujols. And I think I'd be pretty damn happy with that Cardinals offer anyway. I don't know think we will find out suddenly that he's 35 instead of 31. Because we all know that 31 is ancient. I guess in baseball it's kind of getting there. I digress.

So, Jose Reyes is officially a Miami Marlin. Like some baseball insiders I've been following, I would love to know where all of this money is coming from for his $100+ million contract. Sure, they probably haven't spent a ton of money on payroll over the last few seasons, but they are still going after CJ Wilson and/or Mark Buerhle. Obviously, neither of those pitchers will command a small salary and they shouldn't. The Marlins might have a new name and ballpark, but they can't escape the fact that they are in Miami. Florida is a college football state, not a baseball state. I remember reading a quote once that basically said, "Florida would rather see Shamu than Mike Cameron". I think that general sentiment still applies today.

I'm also finding it amusing that the two teams who have signed the most players so far are the Marlins and the Dodgers. Bankruptcy should not equal aggression on the free agent market! At least not to me. I guess we'll see what the winter meetings produce this week.

The final topic I want to mention is the news that Pedro Martinez is retiring.

While not necessarily a favorite of mine, Pedro has more than sealed his place as one of the best pitchers of his generation. And if it weren't for that pesky strike during the 1994 season that axed the World Series, he would probably have more than one championship ring to show for it. Not that he needs it. Regardless, I tip my hat to him for his many achievements. And for his tendency towards fighting, which I just think is fun. Rar!

Barely scraping the surface...

So another fruitful, busy week in baseball has gone by. There seems to be a lot to catch up on, but I'm just going to hit what I feel like were the most important things.

I suppose the subject of managers has to come up, given all that has happened for the Red Sox and the Cubs this week. Honestly, I don't have much of a view on managers (other than Mike Matheny taking the role of the cutest one), but I will say I feel a bit bad for Bobby Valentine and his role as the new manager of the Red Sox. He's got a hell of a lot of clean up to do. The Red Sox have a starting (and now a closing) pitching problem, in addition to re-signing David Ortiz. I guess that locking up the liquor cabinets in the clubhouse would be the first step! As far as Dale Sveum goes, I don't have much of a feeling one way or the other about him. If the team can re-sign Kerry Wood and try to court Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder, that would be a great start. Recently having signed David DeJesus will help too, I would imagine. Also, I wish Greg Maddux had stayed in Chicago instead of going to the Rangers to help with pitcher development, but that's clearly my own issue. Enough said. Moving on...

It seems that as far as recent signings go, everyone is talking about the Marlins. First, they signed closer Heath Bell to a (I think) healthy $27 million/3 year contract. Basically, they won't need to worry about a closer because they will have one of the best. I could pull a Nelson from The Simpsons and point at the Rangers saying, "Haha!" that they got Mike Adams instead of Bell, but I won't. Plus Adams was the least of the Rangers rotation problems this postseason. I have to say that Bell provided the best moment in this year's All-Star Game when, on his way out to the mound, literally slid into place and flashed a great smile afterward. I'm not sure what it is about closers, but many of them seem to have unique personalities.

Beyond clinching a solid closer, the Marlins seem to be courting C.J. Wilson pretty hard. I've said my words about Wilson and they don't need repeating. Either way, it seems like the Marlins have plenty of vacancies to fill in their line-up. Personally, I would be trying much harder to lure starter Mark Buerhle to my team than Wilson. But that's just me and I don't make those decisions. Obviously.

There's just something about Buerhle that I've always liked and respected, beyond him being an excellent starting pitcher. I hope he finds a place that suits him, wherever that is. I will be curious to see just who the Marlins can sign, given that they've cast their nets out pretty widely so far. It seems safe enough to say that if they can nab Jose Reyes, others are likely to follow.

Quite a few teams seem to be interested in another favorite pitcher of mine, closer Andrew Bailey.

Perhaps because of the A's recent history of adorable pitchers (Haren, Zito, Street, etc.), I've enjoyed watching Bailey pitch. However, if the A's were to lose both Bailey and starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez (which they might), they would have no cuteness left! And where's the fun in that?

In addition to all of the other baseball news of the week, there was a bit of Giants news (sort of). No one seems to want to say for sure whether Brandon Crawford will be the starting shortstop next season, despite a fairly successful run in the Arizona winter league. I can mostly respect that. Or at least I did, until I discovered that the Giants were considering Braves shortstop Alex Gonzalez to be in his place. If the Giants are going to spend money on a decent shortstop, shouldn't he have much better numbers than the player you are putting on the bench? Not in this case, it seems. I don't have any feelings about Alex Gonzalez, really. It's just his numbers (or lack thereof) that bother me. Again, some of this comes down to benching one of the cutest Giants players in a long time and (potentially) replacing him with a player like Gonzalez. Of course, if Gonzalez had the looks of teammate Brian McCann, that would be another story. But most guys aren't Brian McCann. Therein lies the problem. I still think that Crawford's defensive strengths at shortstop make up for his lacking offensive strengths.

I mean, who in their right mind would want to replace that beautiful man? Not this fan! And I know I'm not alone in this. But I digress.

Despite having caught up on quite a lot here, there's still a few things I didn't even mention - Jonathan Braxton signing with the Royals, which makes their starting rotation look even stronger. Or the Cardinals being interested in Jimmy Rollins if Pujols doesn't re-sign. And so it goes.

Ryan Braun...wait, what? And other thoughts

Since it was announced earlier this week, I found myself thinking a lot about the NL MVP award. This was, after all, the last trophy (as it were) given out and not an insignificant one either. However, after I did that, I found myself rather distracted by this man.

This man happens to be Josh Homme, frontman for Queens Of The Stone Age. And as much as I love baseball, if there ever were a man to distract me from it, he's a damn good one. His band is pretty good too. As I was saying...

Apparently, I'm one of the few who thought the NL MVP Award should have gone to Matt Kemp, when, in fact, Ryan Braun did. I find myself obviously conflicted - Matt Kemp is a Dodger, after all. Nonetheless, with the kind of year that Kemp had, the choice was obvious. At least to me. When baseball insiders voiced their reactions to Ryan Braun being the recipient of said award, their main argument perplexed me. The logic seemed simple enough, and yet, completely unfair: Braun played for the Brewers and was one of the main reasons that Milwaukee won their first division title since 1982 (my birth year, in fact!). Kemp, on the other hand, played for the third-place NL West Dodgers and thus his contributions were less valued. 

Now, I'm not stupid enough to argue that Kemp's numbers were better or that Braun somehow didn't deserve to win the award. On many levels, he did. However, to base that argument largely on which team a player was on is at least somewhat absurd. If Matt Kemp had played in front of Prince Fielder, his contributions probably would have been more valued too. Any person's would have. Matt Kemp did not have that advantage, although when Andre Ethier was healthy that must have been nice. I admit, this argument is not dissimilar to, in particular, the kind of teams a pitcher faces when being considered in award contention. But I'm going to go ahead and make the same case for Matt Kemp that I did for Jacoby Ellsbury: both players had amazing seasons while playing for less-than-amazing teams. They both stood out in their respective leagues and divisions. 

As far as voting went, Kemp was not the only NL West player in the MVP award race; Justin Upton was as well. I'm not sure you can exactly compare these two players, but Upton was the main reason that the Diamondbacks had one of the highest home run averages in the NL, and the top five in all of baseball. I take some comfort in knowing that Kemp is more than capable of winning the NL MVP award someday. Anyhow. As Ryan Braun himself pointed out, Kemp had one of the best seasons in Dodger history this year. There is also my own personal preference to consider. Was Kemp the more attractive of the two? No. For me, cuteness almost always counts. This particular situation, however, is an exception. Matt Kemp was the NL MVP, hands down. And that is that.

Okay, so I won't lie and say that I paid a lot of attention to the recent baseball CBA (collective bargaining agreement) discussions that took place. I can say, however, that one of the good things mentioned was the usage of instant replay. Not only do I agree on the usage of instant replay, but it's particular necessity on foul lines. The very fine (almost invisible) line between a foul ball and a home run is one of the most interesting, if not frustrating, components of the sport. For the sake of argument, it's a life-or-death situation for hitters. In terms of outcome, there's no gray area - it's either a home run or it isn't. And its consequences can be deeply felt by all involved. So bravo for that potential investigation. 

My only "nay" from the CBA discussions was the idea of expanding the playoffs to include more teams. The addition of a wild card team from each league was a great thing, and the stats tell it all - many World Series winning teams have been wild card teams. On the flip side though, what will expanding the playoffs mean, exactly? Does that mean making it into the playoffs will somehow be less special? It's unfortunate, but I think that would be the case. After playing more than 120 games during the regular season, the few teams that make it beyond that should be select, at the very least.

While I've been on the subject of cuteness, it seems that one of my favorites pitchers, Huston Street, is gaining interest from quite a few teams this off-season, including the Red Sox and the Reds. I was lucky enough to see him in a game as the closer for the A's early in his career and I have to say, regardless of where he ends up, I just hope I'll be seeing plenty of him in 2012. And that perhaps his ERA is a bit lower next year, too.

One quick note on the Giants: it seems that they are interested in Jerry Hairston Jr., which I find a bit mystifying. That's not to say I'm against the Giants acquiring a utility player, but do they need a utility infielder in particular? They have Aubrey Huff (for only one more season, hopefully) and Brett Pill at first base, Buster Posey as catcher (theoretically) and Pablo Sandoval at third base. Perhaps their interest implies shaking confidence in Sandoval's ability to stay in shape next season? I can only hope not

Jacoby Ellsbury, Craig Finn and Roy Halladay, oh my!

I feel like I can go on quite a rant about Justin Verlander winning the AL MVP award today, but I have other items to discuss after said rant. So, am I surprised that Verlander won the AL MVP award? No, not really. I think that what upsets me more is not so much that Verlander won it, but that Jacoby Ellsbury did not. I'm not going to dispute Verlander's stellar season and his numbers. We all know what those are. But can we talk about Ellsbury's numbers for a minute? 321 average, 32 home runs, 119 runs, 105 RBIs. Is it seeming at least a bit more ridiculous that he didn't win now? I also think that the team you play for has to be considered. The same reason I'm upset about Ellsbury not winning the AL MVP award is the same reason I'm upset that Pablo Sandoval didn't win the Gold Glove award for third baseman.

I know it seems stupid that I would ever compare the Red Sox with the Giants, but I have my reasons. At the same time that the Tigers were running away with their division (which was for a pretty long time), the Red Sox were anything but consistent. And with the Giants' collapse in their division at the end of the regular season, maybe it's not on the same level as the Red Sox, but there are some similarities. My point being this: the pressure of doing well on a team that, by and large, is not is pretty major, if not intense. Ellsbury came through for the Red Sox, and in the end, he was one of the few bright spots on that team. Pablo Sandoval was the same way for the Giants. He had a fantastic year amid some major disappointments and stumbling blocks. Players like that simply stand out. How many games did Verlander pitch this season? Not even 40 games in a season that has over 120. So, he doesn't play half the season and wins the AL MVP award. Wait, what? Here's the thing: instead of putting down Verlander, I simply want to point out how overlooked Ellsbury was this season and how much more sense his winning the AL MVP award would have made. Anyhow. Onto other matters...

Now, I'm not a person who believes in jinxing a person, or that jinxing even exists, but have I just jinxed poor Joe Nathan? Not even a week after posting his picture in this blog, he signs with the Rangers. Say it ain't so, Joe! It also gives me the perfect opportunity to mention one of my favorite musicians, who is probably as miffed as I am about it.

Oh yes, I went there. I had to mention Craig Finn (of the Hold Steady, for those woefully unfamiliar), perhaps one of music's biggest Twins fans. When you talk about the Twins being in the playoffs for a full paragraph in your band's liner notes, obviously you are a fan. And he doesn't just talk about loving the Twins. He's practically the Twins' musical endorser (as indicated in the picture), wearing Twins gear whenever he has the chance. I also have to love a guy who is quoted as saying that going to baseball games alone is one of life's great pleasures. Additionally I discovered, via Twitter, that he is following the Twitter accounts of potentially every player for the Twins that tweets. This is obviously a guy I could talk to, and about more than our mutual love of The Replacements and Pavement. But I digress. Joe Nathan becoming a Ranger just saddens and disappoints me. And that's that. Although, if I can figure out a way to mention Craig Finn again, I definitely will. Any excuse is a good one to me! *swoons* Moving along...

Watching MLB Network as religiously as I do, I found the topic of Clayton Kershaw beating Roy Halladay for the NL Cy Young award an interesting one. One of my favorite shows on MLB Network is Clubhouse Confidential, which is all about baseball statistics. Now normally, I hate statistics. It involves math, so it is usually evil to me. However, I am pretty fascinated by baseball statistics. According to the statistical experts on this show, Roy Halladay should have won the Cy Young over Clayton Kershaw. One of the categories they mentioned, however, had little to do (I think) with statistics themselves: the schedule that a pitcher has, including the opposing pitchers he faces and how many times he's faced certain teams.

What this show pointed out was, if you simply compare Halladay and Kershaw's schedules, it is pretty obvious that Halladay has faced tougher opposing pitchers and tougher teams overall. Also, Halladay has pitched more innings than Kershaw and several complete games (which for an NL pitcher is impressive). On the flip side, both pitchers have similar stats when it comes to ERA, WHIP and strikeouts. Both Kershaw and Halladay were almost unbeatable at home this season. As much as I think Kershaw deserved it (Halladay has already won it anyway), I can't say that it wasn't a close call this year.   Then again, despite Tim Lincecum's somewhat-off year, he remained in the top 4 in strikeouts among NL pitchers all season. Like a lot of things, it's a double-edged sword, for sure. But wow. This is longer than I thought I could go on about guys who pitch for the Dodgers and the Phillies! What does that say about me? No, wait. I won't answer that.

However, I will say, the best thing about having a baseball blog is that I can say my constant watching of MLB Network is "research". What could be better than that?

Various snippets, courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors

A few odds and ends:

- While I already don't like the Phillies, at this point, they're just getting greedy. By the end of the year, they could acquire Michael Cuddyer, in addition to already signing Jim Thome and Jonathan Papelbon. What did the Twins do to Philly? Papelbon is the only one that makes sense to me, since the Phillies really do need a decent closer, but the other two? Yes, Thome is technically coming back to his old team, but he's not getting any younger and it's not a team where he could be the DH. Does not compute!

- The speculation on whether or not Tim Lincecum will be with the Giants next year is not only silly, it's unnecessary. The World Series hasn't even been over for a month and the bay area is in a tizzy over this! And now they have moved on to whether or not Matt Cain will re-sign with the Giants next year. Considering how long both pitchers have been with the team, it seems unlikely that SF will lose either of them, let alone both. Enough already!

- With Mike Matheny having been made the new manager of the Cardinals, it looks like I have to be a full-fledged Cardinals fan now. I think he has a better shot at managing the team than some people do. Plus, he's obviously the cutest manager in baseball now!

- Why is everyone grabbing at a chance to get C.J. Wilson when he was winless in the entire postseason? Sure, postseason play isn't everything, but to lose each start from the ALDS to the World Series is something worth noting. The fact that insiders are projecting he will earn the same amount as Matt Kemp is short of insane!

- Can someone explain to me why Clayton Kershaw still only makes $500,000, but Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee got at least $50,000 extra each for coming in second and third in the NY Cy Young race? I'm baffled, to say the least.

- Even though SF don't need him in their rotation (assuming Brian Wilson stays healthy), having Joe Nathan back as closer would sure be awesome. I really miss him! Come back Joe, come back!

- Another inexplicable recently-made decision: why are the Astros moving to the AL in 2013? The reasoning seems to be that it adds one more team to the AL West, but really? I'd like a better reason than that. And having two Texas teams going against each other in the same league and the same division can come to no good. Does that mean that the Astros will suddenly be good again? I think it will take more than a move from one league to the other, especially since they no longer have Hunter Pence or Michael Bourn. Their recent glory days ended when Lance Berkman was no longer an Astro. Those were the days.

And I realized that I'm as addicted to mlbtraderumors.com as some people are to tabloids!

Congrats, award edition...

A quick re-cap of the recent awards given out every off-season. I would like to give a few congrats and "I figured that"s. First off, I figured that Craig Kimbrel would win the NL Rookie of the Year Award. A record 46 saves in your first season will make that more than likely, and since he's one of the main reasons the Braves were in contention in September at all, that's a fairly obvious pick. So congrats to Mr. Kimbrel. Plus, he's pretty cute, so it's a bonus for me! 

Moving on...

Now, I admit to not really knowing much about Jeremy Hellickson. Why? Because the only rookie pitcher on the Rays that I paid attention to was Matt Moore. But congrats nonetheless. Having an ERA under 3.00 and 13 wins would indicate that that was once again a deserved choice.

When everyone first started talking about their predictions for NL Manager of the Year awhile back, I just assumed it would be Kirk Gibson. And what do you know? I was right! I can't say I'm a big Kirk Gibson fan, mainly because of his legendary association with the Dodgers, but he obviously did a lot of things right to pull off a "worst to first" with the Diamondbacks in the NL West. Being a Giants fan, I'm not too into the Diamondbacks, but they had one of the highest HR averages in the NL and a solid pitching rotation. So he gets a hesitant congrats from me.

I would say that Joe Maddon winning AL Manager of the Year was similarly unsurprising, and that the Rays had something in common with the Diamondbacks playoff-wise. Unfortunately, much like the multiple times the Twins have faced the Yankees in the ALDS, it was not to be for the Rays once again. And I'm sad to say that I missed that amazing final day of the season game they had, and the one ALDS game they managed to win against the Rangers. Apparently Matt Moore put on a hell of a performance. So another deserved congrats to Mr. Maddon.

The NL CY Young award winner was yet another "I figured that". Despite being a Dodger (again, I'm conflicted), Clayton Kershaw had such an amazing year and his numbers don't lie. The idea that anyone in the NL could catch him was kind of silly, especially given how the voting turned out. Is it wrong to say that when Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee came in behind Kershaw? Well, not to me. And I must say that I like his humility when compared with Dodger legend Sandy Koufax. Let's just hope Kershaw's career turns out better than the last Dodger to win the Cy Young, Eric Gagne. We can only hope.

My final sort-of congrats and definite "I figured that" is of course, Justin Verlander winning the AL Cy Young. Most of us probably knew this back in August, or maybe earlier. As I recall, the Tigers were running away with their division lead for quite some time before September came around. Do I think Verlander deserved it? Sure. He had an amazing year, one that had not been duplicated for at least a decade. However, my sort-of congrats comes from his apparent ego, especially when it comes to his chances of winning the AL MVP award.

Usually thinking that you are "different than everyone else" is something you might want to keep to yourself. Or at least I would. But to each his own. Humility is obviously not one of Verlander's strong suits and to rob players like Granderson, Cano and Ellsbury of the MVP award would be something short of criminal. We'll just have to see how it plays out.

And so it begins...

So, I've been sitting on the idea of having a baseball blog for awhile now, but never managed to actually get one started. Apparently, my brother, having realized that 80% of my Facebook posts were baseball-related, suggested that any girl who writes about Michael Cuddyer should have their own blog exclusively about baseball. This makes sense, given that a good 75% of 29-year-old girls in this world outside of Minnesota don't know who Michael Cuddyer is. And why would they? But I digress.

I started out innocently enough as a born and raised Giants fan. Throughout the years, however, my obsession has become about baseball in general. The level of importance some people put on watching, say, every episode of "Dexter" or "Glee" is the same level of importance I put on watching every episode of MLB Tonight. I read baseball box scores in the paper/online and MLB Trade Rumors on Twitter religiously. Because baseball season runs from April to October, generally the months in between are sad ones for me, hence why I decided to start this blog in November. Instead of feeling depressed and restless during the baseball off-season, I thought, why not do something about it? I seem to have enough to rant and rave about during the off-season as I do during baseball season, so why not?

So here we are. Long story short, because I'm a Giants fan, I'm generally a National League fan. However, I have an inexplicable hatred toward the Phillies (though for a Giants fan, not quite so inexplicable right now) and, of course, the Dodgers. And, once again, quite possibly because of being a Giants fan, I also hate the Rangers. And the Yankees, for the most part, though I have conflicts with that because I really like Mark Teixeira and Nick Swisher. It is what it is. The Giants are the only team I follow obsessively, but I do have love for individual players on other teams, again, for mostly baffling reasons: Lance Berkman, Josh Beckett, Huston Street, Justin Morneau, Dan Haren, Joe Nathan, Joe Mauer and Brian McCann, to name just a few. I seem to have a thing for pitchers, for reasons that escape me. My favorite Giants players (currently) are Brandon Crawford, Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval, Javier Lopez and Madison Bumgardner.

This is probably all one needs to know about me. For now.