Three quarters of the way through yet another grueling, daunting, rumor filled offseason, Major League Baseball is set for a philosophical battle the likes of which have rarely been seen.  Spring Training is still more than a month away and already the stage is set for perhaps the biggest showdown in baseball history.  No, I’m […]

With the news breaking yesterday that Bud Selig got a contract extension and wouldn’t be leaving his post as MLB commissioner after the 2012 season, fans pretty much went nuclear on Selig. Every negative thing that’s happened during his tenure as league commissioner has been brought up as as a black mark against him. But […]

After a 2011 season that saw ten different pitchers get MLB starts, the Boston Red Sox are going down a different route in 2011. None of Boston’s starters thew over 200 innings, with just two, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, qualified for the ERA title. Three of Boston’s six starters who started double digit games, […]

Just a couple hours ago, I examined the fit between free agent reliever Ryan Madson and the Reds. Well, the Reds and Madson have agreed to a one year deal, according to CBS’s Jon Heyman. Terms weren’t immediately disclosed, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that the money is “in excess of $10 million”.  […]

News is floating around on Twitter that the Cincinnati Reds are heavily interested in former Philadelphia Phillies closer Ryan Madson. The move would make sense on the surface, as the Reds are looking for a closer after the declining former closer Francisco Cordero’s 2012 option (who the Reds signed to a four year, $46 million […]

With 86.4% of the vote, Barry Larkin will join Veteran’s Committee selection Ron Santo as the only two inductees in the National Baseball Hall of Fame this season. He easily surpassed the needed 75% for induction and will be enshrined on July 22 in Cooperstown. Just missing out on induction was Jack Morris, who got […]

Word trickled out yesterday that long-time Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is set to announce his retirement in the next couple of weeks. Posada won five rings with the Yankees as a member of their 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009 World Championship teams. Discounting the rings, the first conversation that started to be stirred up […]

With the Chicago Cubs trading for Anthony Rizzo yesterday, another possible suitor for former Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder has apparently gone by the wayside. Three of the teams rumored to be leading the charge for Fielder, the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals, aren’t exactly big markets and contenders (though the Nationals […]

You know the drill. The 2012 Hall of Fame inductees will be announced on Monday. We conducted an informal poll of the staff here at TOC, and we had eight of our writers participate. If you go by the Hall of Fame standards, you need 75% to be inducted….so if you’re on six of our […]

The Chicago Cubs were looking for a first baseman, and they got one on Friday, but not one of the ones you were thinking of. The team acquired Anthony Rizzo, along with pitcher Zach Cates, from the San Diego Padres in exchange for pitcher Andrew Cashner and outfielder Kyung-Min Na. Cubs president Theo Epstein and […]

The bizarre saga of Carlos Zambrano has come to a close on the North Side of Chicago, as the Cubs dealt their one-time ace and long-time mental case to the Miami Marlins for 25-year-old starter Chris Volstad. In addition, the Cubs will pay $15.5 million of salary relief for Zambrano this season, the final year […]

In this offseason that has been rife with long-term contracts, two teams stand out above the pack for their spending: the Los Angeles Angels, and the Miami Marlins. Both teams made quite a splash in free agency, with the Angels signing Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson, and the Marlins signing Jose Reyes, Mark Buerhle, and […]

On this New Year’s Eve, we had some movement, as the Chicago White Sox have traded outfielder Carlos Quentin to the San Diego Padres for minor league pitchers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez. The move seems bizarre in the wake of the John Danks extension, but fits with the plan of “rebuilding” that Kenny Williams […]

With 2011 closing up shop in a couple of days, there are still several major free agents on the market, including one of the most desirable: first baseman Prince Fielder. Fielder hasn’t gotten a lot of interest, with a majority of the love for him coming from the Mariners. Teams seem to be hesitant to […]