The New York Yankees made a much-rumored signing official today by inking Raul Ibanez to a one-year, $1.1 million deal. Ibanez is projected to serve as the team’s designated hitter following the retirement of Jorge Posada and the trade of Jesus Montero to the Seattle Mariners. Ibanez looked like a shell of a player last […]

Our first trip to the Double-A level in the minor leagues is the Eastern League, established (as you can see in the logo) in 1923, making this the 90th season of Eastern League baseball. However, it hasn’t been called the Eastern League for all 90 seasons. In fact (and this continues the trend of minor […]

The commissioner’s office has (finally) announced the compensation that the Boston Red Sox will receive from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Theo Epstein, reports Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The Cubs will reportedly be sending reliever Chris Carpenter to Boston. The teams will also be swapping players to be named later. Carpenter ranked […]

Clinton, Iowa’s Ashford University Field may not have anything in common with a DeLorean on the surface beyond the simple fact that they’re places where people can sit. But looking a bit deeper, if you put yourself in either, you’ll find yourself going back to the future before long. The low-A Midwest League is littered […]

Last month, Charlie wrote a post about Jose Canseco tweeting about playing ball in 2012. Well here we are in February, and Canseco *is* playing…in the Mexican League, with the Tigres de Quintananaroo, located in the Cancun area of Mexico. Jose has been tweeting up a storm today about his time so far in the […]

Our long national nightmare is over. Free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez has signed with a team, and that team….is the outfield-rich Oakland Athletics. The deal is of the minor league variety, and will pay Ramirez $500,000. Ramirez will be forced to serve a 50 game suspension before he’s able to play in the majors this […]

The Phillies gave starter Kyle Kendrick a two years, $7.5 million deal to buy out his next two arbitration years. Kendrick agreed to a one year, $3.585 million deal last month that would cover his 2012 season. He’s not a particularly great pitcher, and I actually figured he’d be a nontender candidate in the coming […]

It’s looking like the end of the road for Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek. No team aside from the Red Sox has offered Varitek a major league deal, and Boston has a glut of catchers (Jarrod Saltalamacchia, newly-signed free agent Kelly Shoppach, and young Ryan Lavarnway) that would prevent him from getting a lot […]

In this article by Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star, Griffin makes the ludicrous assertation that MLB commissioner Bud Selig should have considered using his “best interests in baseball” clause to void the trade of AJ Burnett from the New York Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates. My immediate answer? “Um….why exactly?” Griffin’s major argument is […]

At the corner of Clark and Addison in the heart of Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood stands the greatest monument ever erected to futility. Beckoning you with it’s cherry red marquee advertising it as the Home of the Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field kicks off our Where I’ve Been series becuase it is the quintessential summer destination in […]

The late Gary Carter meant a lot to the city of Montreal. The legendary catcher spent 12 of his 19 seasons there with the Expos, establishing himself as a fan favorite with his unparalleled work ethic and his desire to connect with the French-speaking fanbase, despite the fact that he didn’t know a lick of […]