Players finding new homes, and one who may have screwed his future with one...

Oh, Josh Hamilton. What can I say? I love it when I'm right, because that's not exactly a regular occurrence. So I'm going to gloat. At least a little bit. 

I won't go too much into how predictable I thought (and amusing) his recent relapse was, because that's where I stop being a baseball fan and start slamming the guy for his hypocrisy. But his "press conference" (I use the term loosely) was one of the least sincere apologies I've ever heard. How much credit can you be given for being open and honest about something if you won't even answer questions about it? Okay, so it's a personal matter and this happened before spring training started. And yet...this is the same guy who complained about smelling pot in the outfield of AT&T during the World Series and was so appalled by smelling it while walking the streets of San Francisco. For me, the minute you throw religion into it, you're on thin ice pretty much automatically. You made a mistake, it's no one else's fault, you're human, move on. Leave Christ out of it, please. According to reports, contract extension talks with the Rangers are "on hold for now". I think that means, "Bye bye, contract extension! Enjoy free agency hell!"

Moving on to a more positive happening, Edwin Jackson finally found a new home when he recently signed a 1 year/$11 million deal w/Nationals. The amount of money he signed for is not the surprising part to me - more that it was only for one year. If he's anywhere as good this season as he was in 2011, I'm guessing that contract will be extended. He's also found himself part of a fantastic-looking rotation. That's also where one of my cuties, Gio Gonzalez, recently ended up. I guess this means I may become a Nationals fan - and hey, I have to find someone in the NL East to root for!

Also signing a new one-year deal with a new team is Casey Kotchman, who was signed for $3 million with the Indians. I admit, I didn't really know who he was until "the game" the Rays had against the Rangers in last year's playoffs, in which he became my hero by owning the Rangers pitching staff. Hence why he and Matt Moore (for owning the Rangers hitters) were my heroes that day. And while Kotchman is no longer with the Rays, I will remember him fondly for that for at least a few years to come. If the Indians can keep some of their better players (Asdrubal Cabrera, anyone?) for the foreseeable future, they have a chance in the AL Central.

Now the only Giants-related news as of late is that Pat Burrell (or "Pat The Bat") recently announced his retirement. I've always had conflicting feelings about Pat. He was one of the reasons that, during the regular season, the Giants made it to the playoffs in 2010. However, once he got the playoffs, he was, well...terrible. I lost count early on of how many times he struck out, particularly once they were in the NLCS. But they did call him "Pat The Bat" for a reason, mostly because of his time with the Phillies. He is also fourth on the list of all-time home run hitters for the Phillies (at home, anyway). I just wish he had had a better (and fuller) final season. It makes me wonder if another ex-Giant, Edgar Renteria, will now consider retirement as well. One can only hope.

Speaking of the Phillies, Raul Ibanez is apparently in "serious" talks with Yankees for the DH spot. Ibanez would reportedly take less money to be a Yankee, which at 39 makes sense. Personally, I have always found Ibanez rather overrated, but that is in part because he was with the Phillies. Guerrero, Damon and Matsui are also apparently in the running for the spot. If I were Joe Girardi, I would go with Damon, mostly because he's had the most playing time recently of the bunch. But that's just me. Plus, the Yankees have re-signed former players more than once, so reason stands that they might do it with Damon. And while I've never liked the Yankees (but don't hate them like I do, say, the Dodgers), they usually have a few players I like. I also would worry a lot more about my pitching rotation than adding a DH. Once again, only time will tell on this one.

I'm realizing now that this entry turned out to be somewhat Phillies-themed, though I did not intend it to be as such. Moving along on that theme, I suppose it should be mentioned that Chad Qualls signed a 1 year/$1.15 million deal with the Phillies earlier this week. What I find perplexing is that they signed Qualls and yet seem rather sure that they would not re-sign Roy Oswalt. Yes, Oswalt had some injuries in recent seasons, but he's still considered an above-average veteran. It appears the Reds had some interest in Oswalt, but are now denying it. Oswalt is not the type of player I'd deny having interest in.

When the Red Sox denied interest in Cody Ross and then signed him a few days later, that made sense. While I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Ross, at this point, he's not a player that a team shouts from the rooftops about acquiring. I think Oswalt has plenty of gas left in the tank, so to speak. He may have been a Phillie, but Oswalt's numbers and staying power don't lie. And this is why Clubhouse Confidential is my favorite show on MLB Network, because stats are stats. It is the only kind of math I can get behind.

Speaking of impressive stats, the last bit of relevant news to mention is the Dodgers locking Clayton Kershaw into a 2 year/$19 million deal. If nothing else, Kershaw is proof that hating the Dodgers doesn't cloud my judgment of a future pitching ace when I see one. I think he deserves every penny. And his attitude seems to fit in with the Dodgers quite nicely.

Of all people, I never imagined I would be someone who would root for a Dodger, but here I am. I think it's partially the fact that he's a pitcher; Jason Schmidt was a Dodger (very briefly after being a Giant) and I will always love him. And remember the game where I witnessed his lovely home run. Those were good times.

Matthew Stafford, and baseball puppies without homes...

So, here's a random fun fact from watching the Lions/Saints game over the weekend: Matthew Stafford, quarterback for the Lions, at one point played catcher for Dodger pitcher Clayton Kershaw. If facts like this continue to come out about other baseball players, I may just have to watch more football. Just maybe.

It occurred to me this week that we are now in the midst of the dog days of the offseason for baseball. I guess that's why school work piling up (and, you know, having a life) recently hasn't made me feel too bad about being behind - because what is there to be behind on, really? Well, a few things, I suppose.

There still seems to be no home for Prince Fielder, Ryan Madson or Edwin Jackson. Personally, I've never been super impressed with Madson, but that could be because he was with the Phillies. As far as Prince Fielder goes, I'm not sure what he or any of the supposedly interested teams are still waiting for. At this point, it seems likely that Fielder will sign with a team right before spring training. The same might be said for Edwin Jackson. However, the best news out of spring training (for me) is that Johan Santana will be ready to go in time for it!

Santana has been one of my favorites of the past ten (almost fifteen!) years. Besides being very cute, he was an excellent pitcher for the Twins for many years and then, unfortunately, took a dive once he went to the Mets. But that's not his fault. Hello, it's the Mets. Jason Bay should've thought of that before he went there too. But I'm hoping that maybe 2012 is the year Santana will bounce back. Someone who was so great for so many years has to have some good miles left in the tank, right? Fingers crossed!

Going from someone who is trying to bounce back to someone who is retiring, it appears that Jorge Posada has finally done the latter. Now why would I want to talk about a Yankees player retiring? Usually I would ask myself just that same question. And despite my dislike for the Yankees (with a few exceptions, like Nick Swisher), I have to say that I admired the final year he had with the team. It seemed at one point that he wouldn't be getting much playing time, what with Russell Martin catching for them and a few choices at DH (like Brett Gardner, as I recall). Nevertheless, there he was during the playoffs this year, looking like he was really enjoying himself. Then there were the rumors that he was really trying to find some team to play for for one last season. With how he ended his career with the Yankees, I'm glad he decided to retire now. Playing only for the Yankees as long as he did is impressive. And since he's a catcher, I wouldn't be surprised to later find him in management somewhere. So congrats to him.

It seems the Marlins, in addition to quite a few other players, have acquired Carlos Zambrano. The combination of him and Ozzie Guillen as manager is almost too much for me to take! Zambrano is definitely what you would call a firecracker, and so is Ozzie. But who knows, maybe they get along well enough that there won't be any fireworks in the clubhouse (or on the field) - especially since it was noted that Guillen and Zambrano had talked about this possibility quite awhile before the acquisition took place.

Either way, I still want to know which lottery the Marlins have won and where I can get some of that money. Seriously. Does acquiring all of these players mean more revenue for the Marlins this year? Not necessarily. I think things will not go quite as swimmingly (no pun intended) as the team hopes. It's not that I don't want the Marlins to raise attendance or do well, but this is the team that has a fire sale after every World Series win. Not a good track record.

Normally, I don't make it a habit of mentioning players I don't like. And why would I? However, I just couldn't resist talking about Josh Hamilton. It doesn't matter why I don't like him, I simply don't. But he's been mentioned recently in relation to his future in free agency. Seems that Hamilton's injuries (and his difficulty in getting treatment for them) have put his money-making potential in jeopardy. For me, it's just nice that someone, somewhere is not bowing down to him and kissing his ass. Because that just gets tiring. Really tiring. Besides, he's just never struck me as the most humble guy around. Also, he complains about smelling pot from the outfield of AT&T Park. Regardless of his history of drug abuse, that's silly. Period. Most don't agree with me on that, but I stand by my opinion. And my general opinion of Hamilton.

Even though I should be, I'm just not too interested in the Hall of Fame discussions going around lately. Nothing against, for example, Barry Larkin, but I don't need to be once again reminded of how long it still is until spring training. Oh, January and February are dreary months for sure.

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?