Baseball Analysis

Matt Morris is a great addition to the Giants pitching staff. In Morris, the club obtains a # 2 starter to follow Jason Schmidt and precede Noah Lowry. Morris has great control and solid command of the strike zone. The only question marks for Morris are his slow delivery and his inability to demonstrate postseason consistency. Read more »

Franco will provide the Mets with a solid veteran to mentor the younger players ? especially Jose Reyes, David Wright, and even Carlos Beltran. The 47-year-old veteran can still get the job done with the bat and is solid in the field. He will likely see most of his playing time as a pinch hitter. Read more »

While the media attention was focused on the Soriano deal, a potential Manny trade and Florida dumping their whole team, the Giants made a couple trademark moves to help balance their roster. While we wait for a potential Matt Morris signing, Eric Klackner breaks down the moves that Brian Sabean completed. Read more »

The Angels finally acquired the left-handed reliever they've been looking for. On Friday, December 9th, the Angels traded Alexi Casilla to the Minnesota Twins for J.C. Romero. Read more »

Rogers will likely deteriorate as the season moves along. Though he pitched well for the first half of 2005 with Texas, I do not expect him to repeat that performance due to a decrease in velocity. If Rogers gets injured early on, this signing could be a disaster. Read more »

With the loss of Rafael Furcal earlier this week to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Braves found themselves with a gaping hole at both shortstop and the leadoff position in the line-up. Well, they took care of one of those problems today as they acquired All-Star shortstop Edgar Renteria from the Boston Red Sox for superstar third base prospect Andy Marte. Read more »

Lyle Overbay brings a solid bat to the Blue Jays lineup. He is a good run producer with some power. Overbay has a steady glove and should provide the Toronto with good defense in 2006. His limitations include his lack of true first baseman power and the tendency to be streaky. Read more »

Alfonso Soriano is a rare free-swinging power hitter that can steal bases regularly. The former Yankees second baseman has the potential to post a 40/40 season. Soriano provides a good bat to the Nationals lineup; he will provide offense for a club that truly lacked a big bat last season. Read more »

Dodger fans are a little more secure about their team after the hiring of Grady Little as the next manager. Little was chosen over several candidates to become the 25th manager in Dodger history. Read more »

This deal is fairly close; Chicago acquires a much needed and talented lead-off man to their dangerous lineup. Florida, on the other hand, adds three young pitchers with promise ? especially Pinto. Read more »

Michael D'Ambrosio breaks down the trade that will send Sean Casey to Pittsburgh. He provides the big middle-order bat that the Pirates have lacked in past seasons. While Cincinnati gets rid of Casey?s salary, they lose a formidable bat and good clubhouse guy. All they have to show for this deal is a struggling Dave Williams. Read more »

Going into the off-season, the Braves knew they had to add a few pieces in order to make another run at the World Series. Well, this plan hit a few speed bumps before it could even get off of the ground as the Braves lost their closer, Kyle Farnsworth, to the Yankees and their shortstop, Rafael Furcal, to the Los Angeles Dodgers before the winter meetings even began. However, the Braves shouldn?t press the panic button yet, as there are still a few closers on the market and a shortstop already in the system. Read more »

The pitching prize of the 2005 Free Agent class was taken off the market on Tuesday. Flamethrower A.J. Burnett signed a $55 million contract for 5 years with the Toronto Blue Jays. Read more »

The baseball world has descended on Dallas, Texas for the annual Winter Meetings, a get-together that often results in madcap free agent signings and the occasional trade. This year promises to be no different, with most of the top free agents still available and some major names on the trading block. What does this mean for the Giants? Unfortunately, I have no idea. What should it mean for the Giants? I have some thoughts on that. Read more »

Re-Sign Johnny Damon- Why not? Yes, Scott Boras has made it known that they want a small fortune to retain his client?s skills but I?m sure a 4 year, $40 million deal will lure JD back to Boston. Read more »

The Cleveland Indians joined the free agent frenzy on Sunday by signing veteran pitcher Paul Byrd to a two-year contract worth $14.25 million. Byrd, who turned 35 yesterday, will could as the replacement for free agent Kevin Millwood. Read more »

The Florida Marlins continue to unload players. Catcher Paul Lo Duca became the latest casualty of the clubs offseason firesale on Sunday when he was traded to the New York Mets for pitching prospect Gabriel Hernandez and a minor leaguer to be named later. This deal comes just two days after Luis Castillo was dealt to the Minnesota Twins. Read more »

Furcal will provide a dangerous bat at the top of the order with his ability to slap the ball the other way. He will be the table setter for some of the bigger bats in the lineup including J.D. Drew and Jeff Kent. Read more »

The Phillies signing Tom Gordon comes just days after the club lost closer Billy Wagner to the New York Mets via free agency. Gordon, who spent the last two seasons with the Yankees, threw for 69 strike outs in 80.2 innings in 2005. The veteran reliever also posted a 2.57 ERA as the bridge to Mariano Rivera. Read more »

They?re at it again. The Florida Marlins dealt speedy second baseman Luis Castillo to the Minnesota Twins on Friday in exchange for young pitchers Travis Bowyer and Scott Tyler. This deal comes just week after the club shipped slugger Carlos Delgado, staff ace Josh Beckett and third baseman Mike Lowell out of town. Read more »