To discuss trades, rumors, free agent signings, whatever.

Whopping trade #1: Josh Barfield traded to Cleveland for minor league prospects. (sarcasm on the whopping)

It was for Kevin Kouzmanoff cockface. And you call yourself a sports fan...

There's a new name no one can say without chuckling.

Bigger Trade: Gary Sheffield for 3 minor league pitchers, and only Humberto Sanchez do I recognize.

The Reds sign Bubba Crosby for 400 grand

Jim Edmonds re-ups with the Cards for two years.

I don't like that Sheff to the Tigers deal. I don't think he's what Detroit needs at this point. Potential bad attitude and injury prone.

The Orioles traded Chris Britton to the Yankees for Jaret Wright and cash.

I think Wright could be serviceable outside of New York.

Red Sox pay $51 million for Matsuzaka?

He could be very good....but Theo's clearly smoking something.

Hopefully he ends up being the next Hideki Irabu (who?) instead of the next... uh... (thinks of great japanese pitcher that wasn't a flash in the pan)

The Mets RESIGN El Duque for 2 seasons? God damn, the guys like 67 years old!

His arm will probably fall off one of these days.

I'm very worried about this...

Cubs get Mark DeRosa and are close to getting Gil Meche as well...

Brandon Webb is YOUR Cy Young Award Winner for 2006.

Historically, his season can't compare to other Cy Young winners. But this year, there wasn't much to choose from.

I officially hate Mike Mussina. He signs with the Yankees for two more years, meaning I won't see him end his career where he should've stayed if it weren't for Angelos.

Sentiment aside, would signing Mussina really have been a step up for the Orioles? A 38 year old starter who hasn't thrown more than 200 innings in a year since '03?

He's done well for the Yankees for the last couple years.

At 38 and about $12 mil a year...that's a good signing for the Yankees, but not for another team. Mussina's always delivered good numbers on the field, but I don't think many GMs would want to shack up with those financial numbers for two years. Especially a team that's trying to put something together, like the O's.

Tom Glavine is another guy in a similar situation.

Johan Santana is the unanimous Cy Young winner in the AL. Only the fifth pitcher to win the award unanimously twice in his career. Arriba!

The Twins need to figure out how to clone Santana before the season starts, or it will be a long year without Liriano. Bonser, Silva, Garza, Baker, ugh.

Cards re-sign Scott Spiezio and his ridiculous goatee.



The Imperial, indeed.

And a close facsimile of said fuzz can be YOURS..for only 3 bucks!

Spiezio Goatee on eBay

eBay links are tempermental... so if you're reading this a week or two after my post date, the link's probably broken.

The Orioles added Tigers relief pitcher Jamie Walker to a 3 year $11.5 million deal.

Good pick-up, Walker's about as good a lefty reliever you'll find on the market.

Just read that the Cubs signed Alfonso Soriano to an 8 year/$136 million deal.

Are they really gonna use him in centerfield?

Speaking of overpaid and centerfielders, Juan Pierre and Gary Matthews Junior both got ridiculous deals considering their amount of talent. What's next, J.D. Drew getting $15 million a year for which he will play 38 games? I could see the Red Sox doing that...

I'm afraid of the Red Sox doing just that

Well, the Astros got a big bat in their lineup. They signed Carlos Lee to a 6 year/$100 million deal. The O's had a chance, but they offered $90 million over 6 years.

Ugh... the salaries are insane this year. Some dogshit players like Matthews Jr. are pulling in 10 million a year.

What the hell did Matthews do this year to deserve that contract? Other than ONE catch of course.

Hit .268?

Sounds more like a 1-2 mil. contract to me, not 10.

(cries at the thought of another Rays season)

I blame ESPN for this one honestly. It's the same disease that makes people think Jeter is some defensive marvel.

Matthews hit .313 lats year and was an All-Star. That's why some teams are getting a boner over him. But 10 mil for a 32 year old journeyman? There's no way he'll be around for the entire duration of that contract.

I cal this "Heathcliff Slocumb Disease". Slocumb was a journeyman reliver and had one decent year with the Phillies. Next year, the Red Sox signed him with a relatively big deal to be their closer. Worked out for Boston, though... as two years later they traded him to Mariners for Varitek and Lowe.

Like all contracts there's an escape clause for the Angels-- if Matthews completely sucks, call the Yankees in July.

The Orioles added another reliever to their bullpen, signing Danys Baez to a 3 year/$19 million deal.

Add Bradford and Williamson to that list.

Walker, Baez, Bradford, Williamson so far. Apparently since the bullpen sucked last year they decided to go all out and build the most expensive one in the majors...