The Boston Red Sox have been flattering busy. All in one day, they reached indeterminate agreements with rough right-hander John Lackey and centerfielder Mike Cameron.

Lackey concluded to a five-year stipulate value rounded off $17.5 million annually, according to who else, but an unknown source informed with the incomplete, tip negotiations. Meanwhile, Cameron concluded to a two-year stipulate presumably value $8 million a season, theme to a physical.

Does this meant they’ve given up on outfielder Jason Bay? Ah, flattering much.

Adding 31-year-old Lackey to the brew would extremely beef up a revolution that already includes Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, not to discuss Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz, and old propagandize knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Too many cooks in that kitchen: contend goodbye to Clay, Sox fans.

Lackey, entrance off a damn great postseason in that he struck out fourteen batters and authorised only 5 warranted runs over 19.2 innings, has a 102-71 unchanging deteriorate jot down with a 3.81 ERA in 8 years, all outlayed with the Halos.

Cameron, a three-time Gold Glove leader who is roughly 37 years old, batted only .250 with twenty-four home runs and 70 RBIs final deteriorate for the Milwaukee Brewers. He will many expected switch to left field, given the Sox have been flattering happy with Jacoby Ellsbury in center. And apparently, the Yankees competence be meddlesome in Bay anyhow.

[SI.com] | [MLB Trade Rumors] | [The Joy of Sox] | [Full Count]

If there’s one thing we be vexed here at BLB, it’s teams pussyfooting around. The Toronto Blue Jays have hold Roy Halladay warrant for over an finish season, but it looks as nonetheless they’re ready to boat him off to Philadelphia.

In what should go down as the greatest post-winter meetings blockbuster of the offseason, Halladay is expected to be traded to the Phillies in a three-team stunner… at the price of lefty genius Cliff Lee and a couple of prospects.

The barter isn’t utterly finish yet, opposition on a intensity three-year, $60 million stipulate prolongation for Doc along with a doctor’s note for all players involved. So here’s the deal. The Jays would get prospects from the Phillies: presumably outfielders Michael Taylor and Domonic Brown, catcher Travis d’Arnaud, and may be even former #1 collect and highly-touted right-hander Kyle Drabek. And that’s not all.

Seattle would afterwards send 6′7″ tip pitching awaiting Phillippe Aumont to possibly the Phils or Toronto, whilst adding to their payroll 2008 AL Cy Young leader Clifton Lee, who will turn a giveaway representative after earning $9 million this season.

Halladay, who was speckled in Philadelphia for a physical, has one year left on his contract, that would plate out $15.75 million to him in 2010. Even nonetheless Old Roy is the ccenterpiece in this thing, the Mariners have been murmur in the Angels’ ear: we’ve got a brand new one-two punch and a badass top of the order. And we’re entrance for ya.

[Philadelphia Inquirer] | [MLB Trade Rumors] | [The Fightins] | [The 700 Level]

BCB reader dogbone sent me 4 photos which he pronounced his grandfather took at a diversion at Wrigley Field on May 29, 1949. On which date the Cubs and Reds played a doubleheader, losing the initial diversion 4-1 and winning the second diversion 10-2. After which day’s wake up the Cubs were 14-21, 6 games out of initial place, seventh of 8 teams in the NL. 1949 was a bad year for the Cubs; they accomplished 61-93, their second true 90+ detriment year (and at the time, those were the only dual 90-loss seasons in group history).

What is many engaging about this print is the “shade” that’s in the core margin bleachers. That was one try to minimize the “white shirt problem” which eventually resulted in the CF bleachers being sealed henceforth in 1953. This is the usually print I have ever seen of which “shade”.

Click on print to open a incomparable chronicle in a brand brand new browser window

After the jump, there have been 3 some-more photos; you will see how people “dressed up” for games in which epoch — quite on a Sunday — and the approach the “boxes” were numbered, with the steel railings. Note additionally which the seats were folding chairs, not permanent seats. I’m not certain just when the permanent seats were commissioned — the folding chairs were still there in this 1961 photo.

I have one of those folding chairs. When Tribune Co. paid for the Cubs in 1981, they spotless out a large storage area next the ballpark, where all the chairs had been stored. They put them out on Sheffield and sole them for $1 each. twenty-eight years later, I’m contemptible I paid for usually one.

I can overtly contend that when the Cubs sealed Milton Bradley (I hold it was during Jan of 2009), I had never listened of him. I knew zero about the story of personal problems that have been rehashed ubiquitously given then. Problems with umpires? I knew nothing. Problems with…



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The traffic promulgation Mike Lowell to the Rangers has been called off after a healing examination, sources comfirm.

CINCINNATI (AP) — Scott Rolen concluded to a two-year stipulate prolongation with the Cincinnati Reds by the 2012 season, an denote of how most they worth the 34-year-old third baseman as a hall leader.

You now, I was unequivocally vehement for the Seattle Mariners for a small whilst there. They were movin’ and shakin’ all over the place this winter.

First they signed Chone Figgins, adding a little speed and cocktail to the tip of their batting order. Also, he’s great defensively and can fool around flattering many anywhere. It’s not similar to they had to mangle the bank, either. They managed to grab the second third baseman for $36 million over 4 years with a probable 2014 option. Not bad.

Then, they nabbed a whopper: 2008 AL Cy Young Award leader Cliff Lee, who will be one half of what is expected to be one of the many torpedo one-two punches in ball along with Felix Hernandez.

The Mariners were commencement to take figure as the group to say with in the AL West.

Then they all crapped the bed. Milton Bradley you guys? Are you fooling around me? Do you not review the news, Jack Zduriencik? You’ll bewail this, buddy. Mark my words. That city slicker is loony toons. A bad egg. A decaying apple. He’ll move dysfunction to your happy family… and he’s not unequivocally which great at ball anymore, either.

Get ready to be persecuted, Seattle fans. It’s going to be your error shortly enough.

[Seattle Times] | [Delusional Cubs Fan] | [Chicago Breaking News]

Now which you’ve all had a day to demonstrate disgust, outrage, “FIREHENDRYNOW”, etc. over the traffic of Milton Bradley to the Mariners for Carlos Silva, let’s inspect how this really will start the 2010 Cubs on the field.

We do not have to rehash the reasons which Bradley had to be moved, but it was transparent after he was sent home in Sep which he would be, no have a difference what. And when which happened, it was additionally transparent which what the Cubs would get behind wasn’t going to be many — expected someone else’s bad contract. And which is precisely what we got.

All of you here know which I was opposite the signing from the commencement — but I’m not going to contend “told you so” here, given even I never illusory which Milton would warp down in the approach he would. Let’s usually contend he was never a great fit for the high-profile group which is the Chicago Cubs, and Jim Hendry should have well known that. Hendry took shortcoming for the complete debacle, and you can gamble which Tom Ricketts will have him on a flattering short control for the rest of this offseason and 2010. If the Cubs do not lapse to the playoffs in 2010, I’d design Hendry to be fired, and which banishment would be justified. Until then, I do think Hendry deserves a possibility to purify up the disaster which he made.

So what, really, do we right divided have here? There has been a little brawl over usually how many monetary service the Cubs got in this deal, but according to this cubs.com article, it’s $6 million. This essay has the same number. So until I listen to different, that’s the arrogance I’m going on for this post.

Let’s not fake this understanding is something it isn’t. In Dec 2009, in a vacuum, there is no approach any group deals for or signs Carlos Silva, formed on his opening the final dual years. He’s been horrific. And which competence be an insult to horrific players. I’ll cut Silva a little tardy for 2009, as he was harm many of the year. Could be, which contributed to his bad opening in 2008 also; may be he was harm afterwards and didn’t discuss it anyone.

Silva has had, given 2004 when he became a revolution starter for the Twins, at slightest 3 seasons where his opening would have done him a able fifth starter for many teams. In 2005, in twenty-seven starts, he put up an ERA+ of 126 and a 1.17 WHIP. In 2007, the year which got him the four-year understanding from the Mariners in giveaway agency, he had a 102 ERA+ and 1.31 WHIP; those numbers, along with a 4.19 ERA, aren’t as well opposite from what the Cubs got from Jason Marquis in 2007 and 2008.

Can Silva do this again? The answer is, we simply do not know until we see him pitch. The Cubs explain they have good reports on him from Venezuela:

The Cubs have had scouts examination Silva in Venezuela. He has appeared in 4 games, distinguished out dual and on foot 3 over 9 innings. The bar will send the strength and conditioning staff down there to get Silva on a program. The right-hander did inform to stay this year thirty pounds lighter.

“We’ll do all we can to get him as tighten to behind where he was a couple of years ago,” Hendry said.

There’s no disbelief which he needs to remove weight — usually demeanour at the print at the tip of this post, which was taken Apr 14, 2009. Get the man in shape, move him to camp, and see what he can do. There were a little here who suspicion the Cubs should usually recover Milton Bradley and eat the $21 million on his deal. If Silva unequivocally can’t representation any more, he could be expelled — but the Cubs would usually eat $15 million. Even trade for Pat Burrell would have done the Cubs eat $13 million (because the Rays weren’t expected going to take any of Bradley’s 2011 salary), and Burrell would have been a unequivocally costly pinch-hitter.

At his best, Silva was a decent ground-ball pitcher who didn’t travel anyone. There have been pitchers similar to him who have come from the AL to the NL and had success — Bronson Arroyo, for one, or even Glendon Rusch, who had one decent year for the Cubs (2004) as a prolonged reliever/spot starter. There were a little links upheld around here yesterday — helpfully total by Harry Pavlidis — which prove which Silva is a unequivocally heated player who has on arise called out his teammates in open for not performing. Clearly, this isn’t a great thing, and the usually thing I can goal for is which the Cubs transparent the air on this right away.

Again, this is patently not a player you would have selected to supplement to your group in a undiluted world. The Milton Bradley incident was about as far from “perfect world” as you could get. The $6 million in income relief, we hope, will concede Jim Hendry to supplement a little assistance in CF (hey, how about a Ryan Church/Reed Johnson platoon?), or an additional starting pitcher (paging Joel Pineiro!), or a reliever similar to Matt Capps.

About Bradley, this apportionment of Paul Sullivan’s essay sums him up:

Bradley referred to himself as a “quiet” guy, and pronounced people who impugn him or athletes in ubiquitous have been perplexing to have names for themselves.

“Pretty many for me, anybody low down on the inside, seeking out or seeking in, you assimilate how PR functions and media works, and how people have been promoted, and how you have a bad man and you can have a great guy,” he said. “And that’s usually the approach it is. And so I’m portrayed as however I am. It usually adds to the mystique, I guess.”

Yep, Milton, sure. It’s regularly everyone’s error but yours. Bruce Miles calls you “unrepentant” and I am 100% agreed. For me, this matter by Ryan Dempster sums up the Bradley “era” in Chicago:

“It’s unfortunate,” Cubs pitcher Ryan Dempster pronounced in Sep after Bradley was suspended. “At the finish of the day, he was supposing a great event to come over here and be a partial of a unequivocally great classification with a lot of unequivocally great guys, and it usually didn’t appear to have him happy, anything.”

Somehow, I disbelief he’ll be happy in Seattle, either, but for now, I’m going to put the pitchforks down and haven visualisation compartment I see what else Hendry does this offseason. Let’s the rest of us try to do that, too. Finally, do not dont think about to opinion in the check I posted on the right sidebar, if you haven’t already, about this deal.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Mike Gonzalez wants to tighten games, and the Baltimore Orioles miss an gifted arm to strengthen ninth-inning leads.

NEW YORK (AP) — Nick Johnson is returning to the Yankees, a move which expected will finish Johnny Damon’s time in New York after 4 seasons.