Weaver signs new deal

Jeff Weaver, who helped the St. Louis Cardinals win a world series last season, is starting off fresh with the Mariners this year. The 30-year-old signed a one-year contract worth $8.325 million with an additional $1 million in incentives on Monday.
The Cardinals did offer Weaver a new two-year contract but he refused to take it. He will earn more in Seattle then he will in St. Louis.

Schilling Chooses To Pitch for '08

It was rumored last week that the right-handed ace was to be a U.S. Senate candidate in Massachusetts.
On the Boston-based WEEI-AM radio station he stated he planed on pitching for the '08 season. Schilling also stated that he hopes his deal with the Red Sox can be sorted out before Spring training starts for '07.

I guess American politics are just doing to have to wait.

MLB Releases Master 2007 Schedule

The first game of the 2007 regular season will be on April 1. It will be a rematch at Busch Stadium between the Cardinals and Mets, who gave fans a postseason classic when they last met for Game 7 of the National League Championship Series.
The last game of the 2007 regular season will be between the Giants and the Dodgers on September 30th.
There at 2,430 games lined up for this year. Get ready for spring training, its definitely on its way soon!

Who will make a comeback?

Will it be Sosa, Gagne, or Gonzo?


The Rangers are hoping to get lucky, because they believe Sammy Sosa is hungry and eager to prove himself this year. The Rangers made a year-long deal earlier this month with Sosa and are hoping many great things will come from him this year.


Texas believes that closer, Eric Gagne, is healthy and over the back and elbow problems that limited him to just 16 games and nine saves over the past two seasons with the Dodgers. They are hoping he is ready to play for gold this year.


Now Los Angeles is hoping that Luis Gonzalez will give the Dodgers a similar boost. He had elbow surgery in 2004 and hasn't been the same run producer since then, driving in 79 runs in 2005 and 73 in 2006. The Dodgers still think that there's something left in Gonzo's bat.

Surgery takes Podsednik out 6-8 Weeks

Scott Podsednik underwent sports hernia surgery Tuesday to repair an injury originally suffered four years ago when he was with Milwaukee and will be out of action for approximately six to eight weeks. The injury resurfaced recently when Podsednik put his workouts into high gear as most players do with Spring Training moving closer.

Podsednik is a left fielder and leadoff hitter for the White Sox. In order to help compensate for Podsednik's loss and add another productive bat to the outfield mix, Darin Erstad will be joining the White Sox on a one-year deal with an option for the 2008 season.

Utley receives $85M Extension

A day after saying "I do" to his new wife, Chase Utley agrees to a seven-year $85M dollar(wow) contract to stay with the Phillies until 2013. Specifics on the contract have yet to be announced but the deal is supposed to average around $12.14 million each season.

D-Backs and Davis make a deal.

The Arizona Diamondbacks came to a deal on Thursday night with southpaw, Doug Davis. Davis, along with pitcher Dana Eveland and outfielder Dave Krynzel, was part of a six-player deal with Brewers in November in exchange for catcher Johnny Estrada, pitcher Claudio Vargas and reliever Greg Aquino. He asked for $7.5 million from the D-Backs but they only offered him $5.25 million in return, which is still a great increase from what he made the previous year, $3.6 million. Davis will fill the No. 4 spot in the rotation behind 2006 National League Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb, Randy Johnson and Livan Hernandez.

Sosa and Rangers make agreement.

Its official, Sammy Sosa is coming back to the Rangers. The two sides reached an agreement earlier this week. Jon Daniels and agent Adam Katz are still trying to work out the final details. There should be a formal announcement within the next couple of days. Sosa is expected to come in to camp on a $500,000 incentive-laden Minor League contract in an attempt to show the Rangers he can be their full-time designated hitter and occasional outfielder.

Rangers offer contract to Sosa

Sammy Sosa was offered a Minor League contract by the Rangers for a one-year, $500,000 dollar offer that includes significant incentives. The Rangers are waiting on a response from Sosa's agent, Adam Katz, and are hoping to have a deal by the end of this week. Sosa, who has worked out for the Rangers both in the Dominican Republic and Arlington, did not play in 2006. Texas is looking at him as a possible right-handed designated hitter/outfielder.

Bonds Fails Drug Test

Barry Bonds, of the Giants, failed a drug test under Major League Baseball's amphetamine policy last season. The Daily News, quoting several sources, said that Bonds tested positive and then initially blamed the results on a substance he used that he found in the locker of teammate Mark Sweeney. In a statement released on Thursday night, Bonds said he did not receive amphetamines from Sweeney. Bonds, who with 734 career home runs is just 21 shy of Hank Aaron's Major League record of 755, is still under investigation for allegedly committing perjury before a grand jury in 2003 that was investigating a federal break-in at the headquarters of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO). During the hearing, Bonds reportedly told the grand jury that he had never knowingly used steroids.

I think he is trying to hide something...

D-Backs come to Agreement

The D-backs have reached agreement on a two-year contract with Randy Johnson, leaving only a physical and a review of his medical records standing in the way of him officially rejoining the team.
According to The Associated Press, the two-year deal is worth $26 million.
Johnson's new deal calls for a $12 million signing bonus, of which $3.5 million is payable this year, $500,000 in 2008 and $4 million each in 2009 and 2010, a baseball official with knowledge of the negotiations told The AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because the terms weren't disclosed in Sunday's announcement. Johnson gets salaries of $4 million this year and $10 million in 2008. As part of the trade, the Yankees would pay $2 million of Johnson's salary this year. That means Arizona would be responsible for $24 million: $5.5 million this year, $10.5 million in 2008 and $4 million each in 2009 and 2010.
On Thursday, the D-backs and Yankees agreed on a trade that would send Johnson and $2 million to Arizona in exchange for reliever Luis Vizcaino and Minor Leaguers Ross Ohlendorf, Steven Jackson and Alberto Gonzalez.
Johnson was owed $16 million this year in the final season of his January 2005 contract with the Yankees, a deal that called for $1.5 million to be deferred without interest until 2010.
Because of the cash involved(insane amount if you ask me), Commissioner Bud Selig must approve the trade.

Johnson going back to Arizona?

The D-backs and Yankees have agreed on a deal that would send Randy Johnson back to Arizona.
The D-backs are likely to be granted a 72-hour window today to begin negotiations with Johnson on an extension that would keep him in Arizona through the 2008 season because he has expressed a desire to pitch closer to his Phoenix-area home, and indications are that the two sides would be able to reach an agreement on an extension.
Once that happens, Johnson, who underwent surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back following the 2006 season, would have to undergo a physical and the D-backs would review his medical file.
The D-backs will send veteran reliever Luis Vizcaino and a pitching prospect in exchange for Johnson. It's believed that the Yankees will include some money in the deal to help Arizona defray the cost of Johnson's $16 million salary for 2007.
The D-backs would rather part with Vizcaino than young reliever Brandon Medders because the 32-year-old Vizcaino is set for a raise from the $1.7 million he made last year and he is one year away from becoming a free agent.
The Yankees, who have not commented on the potential deal, are willing to trade Johnson because they have a surplus of starting pitchers and would like to continue to restock their farm system with pitching prospects.
Johnson was originally dealt to the Yankees from the D-backs after the 2004 season. In two years with the Yankees, he is 34-19 with a 4.37 ERA.

Bichette hopes to sway Hall voters

Coors Field hosted its first regular-season game on April 26, 1995, where Dante Bichette ended the night by leaving a glorious impression that still hasn't faded away.
The place opened with a wild game that ushered in a season of high-scoring, exciting and successful baseball, and Bichette punctuated it with a 14th-inning, three-run homer to beat the Mets.
Bichette became the first star player to have spent most of his career with the Rockies franchise to appear on the Hall of Fame ballot. He was a prolific and clutch hitter during his Major League career from 1988-2001, the best seven seasons of which were spent in purple pinstripes.
The home opener homer opened a 1995 season that culminated with Bichette finishing second to the Reds' Barry Larkin in National League Most Valuable Player voting. Bichette batted .340 with a career-high 40 home runs and 128 RBIs.
It was the year Coors opened and quickly proved to be the greatest hitter's park in baseball history. However, there is a difference between players who pile up numbers and those like Bichette, who by sheer force of their swings can make a winner out of a team. The Rockies, in just their third season of operation, made the playoffs.
Bichette was more than a basher. In 1996, Bichette stole a career-high 31 bases, hit 31 homers and drove in a career-high 141 RBIs.
Bichette joined Andres Galarraga, Larry Walker and Vinny Castilla to form "The Blake Street Bombers," a group of hitters that helped draw large crowds and enjoyed celebrity status in Denver until Bichette was traded to the Reds after the 1999 season.

Guitar Hero causes missed games!

The Detroit Tigers pitcher, Joel Zumaya missed three playoff games from a repetitive strain injury caused by playing way too much Guitar Hero(best game ever). The right-handed pitcher missed the games during the American League Championship Series in October because of forearm pain. Training staff found that his injury was more in line with a guitar playing motion than throwing. Guitar Hero’s main selling-point is the guitar-shaped controller that simulates the strumming and fretboard fingering of a real guitar. When staff told him to stop playing the PlayStation 2 game, the pain went away, and he pitched pain-free for three appearances during the World Series.
The funny thing is, I totally don't blame him for playing the game, it gets VERY addicting.

Padres reunites the Giles Brothers

Former Atlanta Brave Marcus Giles will join his brother Brian on the Padres when he's introduced as San Diego's new second baseman at a press conference at PETCO Park sometime today.

Marcus Giles, who was expected to complete his physical on Tuesday the 19th, will reportedly get a base salary of $3.2 million this season with incentives that could take his contract to $4.25 million. The club option for 2008 is for $4 million.

Marcus Giles, who was over run by injuries last year, batted .262 with 11 home runs, 60 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. In the 2003 season, his first as a full-time starter, Giles batted .316 with 21 home runs and 69 RBIs and made the All-Star team. Giles has a .285 career average with 72 home runs in 2,514 at-bats and a .361 on-base percentage.

Giants sign Klesko to One-Year Deal

The San Francisco Giants added another vital part to their team on Tuesday by signing free-agent infielder/outfielder Ryan Klesko to a one-year contract.
Klesko, age 35, is one of baseball's better left-handed hitters, sporting a lifetime .280 average and scoring eight 20-homer seasons in his 15 Major League campaigns.
The veteran, who played under new Giants manager Bruce Bochy for seven seasons in San Diego, is expected to contend for the first base job with Rich Aurilia. Klesko, who missed most of the 2006 season with the Padres due to a strained left shoulder, has a .372 career on-base percentage and a .507 slugging mark.

Orioles re-sign utilityman Gomez

On Monday, the Baltimore Orioles announced they had re-signed utilityman Chris Gomez on a one-year deal. He will not have to take a physical for the deal to become official because the veteran has played his last two seasons in Baltimore, which means the medical staff already has his records on file.

Last year, Gomez broke a bone in his left hand and missed two months. He came back strong, leading the Major Leagues with a .437 batting average in September. He spends most of his time at third base because of his skill against southpaw pitchers, which are in short supply on the team. Last year, Gomez hit .333 against lefties.

Matsuzaka possible to play for Red Sox

Matsuzaka may be able to play for the Red Sox as early as next season. The star pitcher for Seibu Lions reportedly is flying to Boston, a good sign that both Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox have reached an agreement. An official with knowledge of the negotiations said, "You should assume a deal is close or done."

A few days prior, Scott Boras would not allow Matsuzaka to take a physical unless both the pitcher and Boston had reached a preliminary agreement. The MLB team has a deadline of midnight Thursday to reach an agreement.

The Red Sox bid $51.1 million last month for the rights to negotiate with Matsuzaka. If Matsuzaka and Boston reaches a deal, the bid will be paid to the Seibu Lions of Japan. If they do not reach a deal, Matsuzaka will not be eligible until he becomes a free agent next November.

We're Baacck!

Stay tuned - More to follow!

We've Moved

As the title says, we're now at http://eastcoastagony.weblogs.us.