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Initial Thoughts of MLB Network

By Alan Smodic | January 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Much like DirecTV's MLB Extra Innings package, the MLB Network is more baseball than one can handle. -- programwitch/Flickr.com

On January 1, Major League Baseball followed in the footsteps of the NFL and NHL by unveiling its own channel -- the MLB Network.If you don't already know what this exactly is, MLBNetwork.com's about page helps:MLB Network stands for Major League Baseball Network, which means access to more baseball than America's ever seen! This new 24-hour network delves into the world of baseball, going far beyond the field. Fans can tune in at any time for fresh perspectives, current news, the latest trade rumors, pre and post-game banter, highlights and more.Again, if you've seen the NFL or NHL networks, just picture those and think baseball. I wasn't sure if I'd receive the channel (I get the NFL network, but not the NHL), so I was surprised to see it coming in through my satellite. Obviously, I checked it out.I was impressed with my first viewing. The first show I saw...

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Will the Jays hit better in 2009?

By The Southpaw | January 5, 2009 | The Southpaw

In the midst of my discussion of who the Jays might add, the valid point has been made --- or at least alluded to --- that it only makes sense to add a player (especially one that' will take some millions of dollars to sign) if in fact there's a reasonable expectation that the player acquired will perform better than the internal options.So it occurred to me, for some reason, to take a look at the Blue Jays 2008 performance by position. Primarily this was to look at the potential for improvement at LF and DH with Snider and Lind manning those positions respectively, as opposed to what happened in last season. But if you are going to do something like this, might as well go whole hog, right?So, I'm going to take a close look at seven positions - I think we can all resign ourselves to the fact...

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Burrell's Flight, Jones's Limbo, Padres' . . . Relief?

By Jeff Kallman | January 5, 2009 | Community

UPDATE: There went that idea. While early Monday reports said he'd been on the threshold of going perhaps to Toronto (and I'd heard weekend speculation along similar lines as well), Pat Burrell ended up going no further than the opposite...

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Andruw Jones, Jake Peavy, Jeff Moorad, John Moores, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pat Burrell, San Diego Padres, Sandy Alderson, Toronto Blue Jays, Trevor Hoffman

Shopping on a Budget, II

By The Southpaw | January 3, 2009 | The Southpaw

The second instalment of my series on budget shopping takes on the free agent market. Now understand from the start, I'm not rehashing previously discussed lust for front-line players that, for whatever circumstance, are highly unlikely to become Jays. Much can and has been written about Manny Ramirez (too expensive), Adam Dunn (drama), Milton Bradley (both, plus injuries) and more, so I'm going to eschew going down that road again. Rather, I want to point out a few players who might very well be willing to play for the Jays and do so for a price we can afford. Especially guys who are not being spoken of in the media virtually at all and would be "under the radar" targets which might pay off nicely.1. Moises Alou - It's easy to assume Alou is done as a major leaguer. After all, he's 42 now and he missed almost all of...

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Interregnum

By The Southpaw | January 3, 2009 | The Southpaw

Before I get into the purpose of this entry, I notice something of interest in Buster Olney's overview of the pending Padres sale that I thought worth mentioning.Apparently it's uncertain whether potential new owner Jeff Moorad would retain Sandy Alderson as CEO. If indeed that is the case, then it seems to me that Alderson would immediately leap to the front of the line as the best man to fill the vacant seat with the Jays currently held by interim Paul Beeston. For jays fans, the situation bears watching. Now, on to other business.This was to be the second in a series of articles (which I'm thinking of expanding to four installments total) concerning relatively low cost acquisitions the Jays might make to improve their chances in 2009 without hindering their future progress. But before I get to the list let me digress a bit in response to the comments...

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Maroth finds a home.

By Sean Heyboer | December 31, 2008 | Trumbull and Michigan

One of the nicer guys in all of sports has finally found a new home.Mike Maroth has signed a minor league deal with the Blue Jays, and has been given an invite to spring training. Good for him. Back in November we caught up with Maroth, and every since then I have been hoping he was on someone's radar. He never had overpowering stuff, but when he was on he was a poor man's Jamie Moyer. Great guy, great teammate, great competitor. I can't say enough positive things about him.One more. He graduated from UCF, my alma mater. So i guess I can. Anyways, I hope I get a chance to see him pitch this year, and maybe he will have some semblance of his old self. Good luck Mike.-s...

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Shopping on a budget

By The Southpaw | December 30, 2008 | The Southpaw

So then, laying aside fantasies about sneaking in and grabbing Manny, and taking JP at his word on the budget (which, if we assume it's $85 million he has about $4 to play with unless he sheds someone) and avoiding the silly doom & gloom notion that we're not going to make ANY moves the rest of the off-season, why not let's look around the league and see if we see some obvious targets to acquire. These players are in three groups: 1. young players which the current team may be willing to deal because of positional crowding; 2. unheralded free agents; 3. Minor league guys who are non-prospects and blocked with their current team, both free agents and guys you'd have to make a trade for. For the sake of length, I'll make each group a separate column.Young up-and-comers1. Chin Lung Hu, SS, Dodgers - Now that the Dodgers...

Read more | 25 Comments | Tags: Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays

I can feel it coming . . .

By The Southpaw | December 29, 2008 | The Southpaw

Jayson Stark reports that the Dodgers are now expressing interest in Adam Dunn, and Kenn Gurnick writes for MLB.Com that they are sniffing around Bobby Abreu as well.. Make of that what you will, but the common reportage of late is that Manny Ramirez has no suitors beyond the Dodgers and the two year deal he didn't accept while it was on the table.Manny, of course, wants a longer deal. But who out there is going to give it to him? Who has both the money and the need to sign Ramirez who hasn't already said they don't want him? Most observers are coming up with a pretty bleak outlook from Manny's point of view. See, for example, Buster Olney's rundown on the Manny Market.More and more I sense an opportunity. Some team that Manny would enjoy playing for needs to step up - once Ramirez and Boras realize what...

Read more | 7 Comments | Tags: Los Angeles Dodgers, Sand Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays

Initial Thoughts of MLB Network

By Alan Smodic | January 6, 2009 | MVN Outsider

Much like DirecTV's MLB Extra Innings package, the MLB Network is more baseball than one can handle. -- programwitch/Flickr.com

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Hot Stove Dishes - November 28, 2008

By Brian Joseph | November 28, 2008 | MVN Outsider

The latest buzz served up from baseball's Hot Stove League. Ten of the hottest stories, moves and rumors from the past week: Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia -- the L.A. Angels "shell game" continues.The Angels haven't made an offer to Mark Teixeira even though they want him but have floated the idea of offering big money to CC Sabathia -- even though it might be tough to match the Yankees' gigantic offer -- and Teixeira's side has countered. Teixeira's agent Scott Boras revealed that Teixeira has had offers worth considering. All of the peripheral talk from the Angels about Sabathia as an alternative target and Teixeira's interest from other clubs stems from a difference in years of service the club is looking to give Teixeira and the 10 years that the slugger is seeking. You got to love the Hot Stove posturing, don't you? Brian Fuentes wants major cash and K-Rod doesn't want...Read more

Read more | Discuss | Tags: A.J. Burnett, Baltimore Orioles, Barry Bonds, Brian Fuentes, CC Sabathia, Detroit Tigers, Francisco Rodriguez, Freddy Garcia, Houston Astros, Jake Peavy, Ken Griffey Jr., Los Angeles Angels, Mark Teixeira, MLB, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Rafael Furcal, Randy Wolf, Roger Clemens, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays

Where could Mark Teixeira land?

By Evan | November 20, 2008 | MVN Outsider

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As Thanksgiving approaches with the winter meetings not too far behind, Mark Teixeira is getting closer and closer to figuring out what ballpark he will call home next year.There has not been a ton of chatter surrounding Teixeira, but everyone knows the two big players for 'Tex' are the Los Angeles Angels and New York Yankees. There are, however, a couple other teams in the mix. Here's a ranking of who is most likely to get Teixeira...1. New York YankeesThe New York Yankees are going all out this winter, economy be damned. With the Yankees set to move into a new stadium that will send their revenue through the roof, they will continue to lead the field for a very, very long time in dollars spent.The acquisition of Nick Swisher seems to have tempered most people's expectations that the Yankees will chase Tex, but I don't believe it for a...Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Angels, MLB, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

What about Sheets and Dunn?

By EJ Fagan | November 8, 2008 | MVN Outsider

A lot of attention has been paid to speculation about the big name free agents: Manny Ramirez, C.C. Sabathia, and Mark Teixeira. While they are surely important players, I'm amazed at how little ink we've seen regarding two very attractive but lesser free agents in Ben Sheets and Adam Dunn. Both have their flaws, but also their upside. In Sheet's case, the flaw is injury. He's been chronically unable to stay healthy over the past few seasons, and finished his spectacular 2008 campaign on the shelf with a minor elbow injury. He should be ready for spring training, but he obviously brings a lot of uncertainty.Sheets is unlikely to be able to command a major long term commitment. No team expects his body to hold consistently over 4 or 5 years. That said, he's also an excellent gamble: Sheets is an ace when healthy. It seems to be like we...Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: Adam Dunn, Ben Sheets, Hot Stove, MLB, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays

MLB '09 off-season starter: Can LA afford to lose Manny? The Obama Effect on free contracts; Big name pitchers cut loose

By Brandon Rosage | November 7, 2008 | MVN Outsider

To celebrate the start of what looks to be a competitive and active winter of dealing among big league clubs, The Pitch's Joe Aiello and Brandon Rosage weigh in on the biggest stories effecting the market this week in Major League Baseball, including... Dodgers GM Ned Colleti makes A-Rod-like offer to Manny Ramirez The Barack Obama tax plan's effect on player negotiations this winter Matt Holliday's desire to skip a pay day in favor of postseason plans A.J. Burnett walks away from $24 million and two years with Toronto to hit the free agent market Cubs leading the Jake Peavy sweepstakes Nationals unveil some sharp and fugly new jerseys The guys also rewind to their 2008 predictions from March 2008 and relive the embarrassment and glory of sounding like naive idiots. Listen in and participate via e-mail (thepitch@mvn.com) or in the comments....Read more

Read more | 2 Comments | Tags: audio, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

Being the GM: 2009 Toronto Blue Jays

By Evan | October 23, 2008 | MVN Outsider

Jason Giambi ends up in Canada - Evan Brunell (MVN)

J.P. Ricciardi certainly has done well as general manager of the Blue Jays. He turned a terrible team into one that's been over .500 these last few years. Unfortunately, they keep missing out on the playoffs because of ill-timed injuries and more talented teams. With Ricciardi's job on the line, he's going to be looking to make the moves necessary to make the playoffs.Read more

Read more | 4 Comments | Tags: A.J. Burnett, Jason Giambi, Nick Punto, Toronto Blue Jays

MLB Power Rankings

By Daniel Rathman | September 22, 2008 | MVN Outsider

The MLB Power Rankings will run on Outsider every Monday night until the conclusion of the regular season.� This is the second-to-last edition of the Rankings; next Monday's edition will be the last.� The final week of the regular season is upon us.� Yeah, already.� Hard to believe, isn't it?� The Halos, Rays, and Cubs are into the playoffs.� The Dodgers and Red Sox are, for all practical purposes, in.� Two of the Mets, Phillies, and Brewers will make it, as will either the White Sox or Twins.� All the other teams will be hitting their La-Z-Boys when the final outs of their games are recorded on Sunday.� Here's how the league stacks up in the penultimate edition of the Power Rankings. Note: some of the statistics and records below are through SATURDAY's games. 1.� Los Angeles Angels, 95-59 With the AL West division locked up and home-field advantage essentially...Read more

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