So wrong having Dropkick Murphy's not about the Red Sox.

Rays get a steal in Asdrubal Cabrera with a 1-year, $8 mil. deal.

No doubt he was the best Shortstop on the market, but I'm kinda shocked by this. He could have gotten so much more.

14 errors last year, .241 avg, 108Ks.

He got what he was worth from his play in 2013.

Phillies trade Marlon Byrd to Reds for minor league RHP Ben Lively.

I like Byrd, but they gotta restock the farm somehow so I'm okay with this. Now to cross my fingers that Dom Brown goes next!

Yankees trade Manny Banuelos to the Braves for David Carpenter and Chasen Shreve.

Dellin Betances, is the last of the Yankee "Killer B's" to stay with the team.

A few weeks after being traded to the Marlins, Dan Haren has requested a trade to a west coast team. Surprise, surprise.

I wonder if San Diego will nab him with all the moves they've been making?

Didn't he say he'd retire if he couldn't play out west?

They hit baseballs with bats. We hit niggas wit em. Sometimes

Big day today as the Hall of Fame inductees will be announced today. And with the changes to how long you can stay on the ballot, I'm predicting a surprise entrant.

Royals sign Edinson Volquez to a 2-year, $20 mil. deal with a mutual option for a 3rd.


Rumor going around is that James Shields got a 5-year, $110 mil. offer on the table from an unknown team. Why he hasn't jumped on it yet is the head scratcher.

<font color=goldenrod>Big Unit, Pedro, and Smoltz should all waltz in on the first ballot. Biggio should also get in on his second go-around having barely missed out last year.

5 entrants have gone into the HOF together only once, the first-ever HOF class, so it's unlikely anybody else gets in other than the 4 mentioned already. I think Piazza will be next in line but right now only about 77% of ballots made public have him on it, and only 30% of ballots tallied. He's clearly going to fall short of 75%. Hopefully can inch close enough that next year is the year with Griffey the only slam dunk.</font>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>.<a href="https://twitter.com/onlyinsf">@onlyinsf</a> has featured my photo, thank you! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SFGiants?src=hash">#SFGiants</a> Theirs → <a href="http://t.co/B1L7pVMbh2">http://t.co/B1L7pVMbh2</a> Mine → <a href="http://t.co/U1wwybRGLX">http://t.co/U1wwybRGLX</a> <a href="http://t.co/seJzHLxExr">pic.twitter.com/seJzHLxExr</a></p>&mdash; Matt Fraser (@TheMattFraser9) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheMattFraser9/status/552529810107662338">January 6, 2015</a></blockquote>
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Craig Biggio, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz all got in.

Mike Piazza had 69%, lost out.

Aarone Boone got 2 votes.

<font color=goldenrod>No complaints with anyone who got in. As I suspected, Piazza missed out again but a 7% jump from last year. Not unreasonable to think he gets the extra 6% bump next year on a ballot not as loaded as this one.

It's such a strange process. You're allowed to vote for 10 but it seems that the old-school voters don't ever want more than 3 or 4 to get in at a time. The only class of 5 was the inaugural one, so they don't think anyone else should get the honor. Same reason nobody will ever go in unanimously.</font>

Great class. Bummed Piazza missed out, but he'll get in next year I think.

<font color=goldenrod>Also Tim Raines not being in sucks. Dude was a great leadoff hitter. Looks like he'll need to wait for the Veterans Committee unless he gets a really sharp uptick in votes in the next 2 years.</font>

Yeah I don't get why there isn't a minimum number of votes these writers need to give on their ballots. I can't see that Rule of 10 changing soon, so whatever on that, but I don't think guys should be able to vote for just one or two (or none). I would max it out every year to try to really get the best players enshrined.

:y: Pedro's in the Hall. Really great class this year.


I like the process the NFL uses where they go through a few rounds with the ballots to trim some fat and then have the final vote to ensure a better chance for more guys to get elected per year.

WHOOOO! PEDRO!

Want to see a good bump for Curt Schilling next year. Griffey Jr. better get 100 fucking percent.

Don Mattingly is done unless he gets specially voted in.

Trevor Hoffman.

<font color=goldenrod>I think Hoffman will take a year or two to get in, honestly. In general a lot of voters do not hold relievers in high regard.

Hoffman will get in before Mo gets in. Mo will get in first ballot. That might be it for closers pretty much ever. Maybe Wagner will get in after waiting for 10 years or something. Who knows.</font>

Bummed out about Donnie Baseball. Hope the Vets or that other committee get him in.

I'd like to wonder hats Pedro and Big Unit are gonna wear?

Most important of all, however, Mark McGwire, Alan Trammell, and Fred McGriff are starring down their last year on the ballot next year.

Maybe he can win a bunch of WS with the Dodgers and go in as a manager

Boston and Arizona.

<font color=goldenrod>Looking at next year's first of first year HOF eligible players, Griffey is the obvious headliner. Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner are there too. There's not a chance in hell that two closers are going in at the same time, and frankly even with 601 saves I'm not sure Hoffman will be a first ballot guy. Voters in general seem to have devalued closers. I think Hoffman will get in but maybe in his second or third year (but definitely before Rivera). Wagner might stick on the ballot for ages ala Lee Smith but not sure he's a lock. Jim Edmonds is another guy I can see sticking on the ballot if only from support from the new-school voters as he has far better WAR numbers than several outfielders who are already in.

So yeah, I'm fairly optimistic about Piazza next year. It does alarm me though that of the people who didn't vote for him - a lot of them were New York writers who covered him enough to feel suspicious based only on his physique. One of them even said "I'd rather risk leaving out someone innocent than letting someone guilty in." God bless America. I think he'll make it though unless something concrete comes out.</font>

Yankees (for some stupid reason) bring back Stephen Drew on a 1-year, $5 mil. deal.

Ugh. So are he and Sir Didi gonna fight it out for SS and the loser gets 2B? Was looking forward to the kids competing for the spot at 2B.

<font color=goldenrod>The A's acquire Ben Zobrist AND Yunel Escobar from the Rays in exchange for C John Jaso, SS Daniel Robertson, and OF Boog Powell.

Robertson was Oakland's best prospect.</font>

If i can take anything going into the season its the fact that the Orioles cannot possibly finish last in the AL East for the next two years given how much TB has dismantled its club. If it werent for the fact they still have some decent starting pitching theyd probably be well over 100 losses easily

Escobar does not seem like a player Oakland would want....guy is a giant headache....

This stove isn't fucking hot enough

Braves trade Evan Gattis to the Astros for some minor leaguers

Billy Beane must have read this. Because he sent Yunel Escobar to Washington for Tyler Clippard.

Read on SI that the Blue Jays want Dan Duquette from the Orioles to make him CEO.

<font color=goldenrod>Losing Gattis and Clippard from the NL East? I like it.</font>

Like anyone should have been worried about the Braves this year anyway. Crazy how big the blowup of the roster has been though. I cancelled my MLB.TV subscription this year well before all of this happened, and now I feel OK with my decision.

MLB approved using a pitch clock for the minors this season. Still need to negotiate with the players union in order to use it in the majors and work out some tweaks.

great minds think alike.... Clippard seems much more like an "Athletic" player.....

Tigers resigned David Price to a 1 year, $19.75 million deal and broke an arbitration record.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>BREAKING: Max Scherzer agrees to 7-year deal with Washington Nationals. (via multiple reports) <a href="http://t.co/JgTg0DJUgF">pic.twitter.com/JgTg0DJUgF</a></p>&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/557042759110889472">January 19, 2015</a></blockquote>
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