HOT STOVE, COOL SAND

ha ha! watching the J's msg board going mental this morning was good for a laugh.

having lived through the matsuzaka posting i'm v. sorry for jays fans

pourquoi?

eh checking msg boards every 5 mins, tons of misinformation and confusion, but sox came out on top and jays didn't (assuming yall were pro-darvish). it was just a really exciting and happy moment to be a fan. of course then we saw matsuzaka pitch.

yuni -> back with the royals!

also it is being reported that the mets, in a cost-cutting move, are abandoning their rookie-level appalachian league team in kingsport, tennessee. (i can't imagine that this saves a tremendous amount of money, but whatever.)

the appy league president claims to know nothing of this (which is totally feasible, because it's the appy league). also, it would drop the number of affiliated minor league clubs to 159 when the bargaining agreement requires 160.

lol at everyone, basically

wow, it must be so agonizing as a Royals fan if Yuni winds up being the starting SS this year. just when they thought he was out...

I'll be really surprised if the money for Darvish really pays off in quality pitching. I suppose it raises the Rangers rep over seas, but really outside of Hideo Nomo has any of these Japanese pitchers been really that good? Nomo struggled with injuries but he put up a few good seasons.

dice-k was 18-2 or w/e right? i wouldnt put it outside the realm of possibility he could be at least serviceable esp as an innings eater if he can somewht get a hold of his control in the future

eh that season was insanely weird and lucky; also he only pitched 167 innings and could never go deep into games so innings eater is kind of wishful thinking.

taking sides: dicek or lackey

oh god just kill me

this is most likely a somewhat-to-epic overpay - but, on paper, this guy looks even better than Dice-K.

for what it's worth.

hey mook, the NYT sez it's the Gulf Coast team the Mets wanna cut.

that is true

it's not an absurd move baseball-wise -- they still have two other short-season teams -- but the money being saved is a drop in the bucket

australian baseball league all-star game is now on mlb network live

Was it Dice-K (pre-posting) that one of the BP guys was claiming had some magical never-before-seen pitch?

yeah that was the whole gyroball thing

world 8, australia 5

sydney blue sox dh tyler collins with a key three-run blast

"I suppose it raises the Rangers rep over seas, but really outside of Hideo Nomo has any of these Japanese pitchers been really that good?"

Kazuhiro Sasaki was pretty good, but he was a reliever.

i'm still waiting for that freakishly overpaid Yankees minor leaguer to get his second shot!

@rustindodd Royals believe addition of Betancourt as UTL guy could allow them to carry 8 relievers at times.

brian cashman and the yankees no longer have kei igawa to kick around, as his contract has ended. they also no longer have $46m loooool

career major league era: 6.66

that whole thing is weird -- he could've become a pretty okay bullpen pitcher, even just as a lefty/lefty guy

i think they honestly hated him, first because his suckiness pointed out their horrible blunder, then because he wouldn't just quit and go back to japan. i'm surprised they didn't send him to class a charleston

holy shit - i totally forgot about him!

they could have traded him, right? (if they only agreed to eat a lot of salary) I'm sure a lot of teams would have at least worked the guy out.

@rustindodd Royals believe addition of Betancourt as UTL guy could allow them to carry 8 relievers at times.

UTL guy? He can't even play his natural position!

Beltran iz a Card.

LoMoMarlins Logan Morrison
Maybe u could hook me up w/ a sweet fedoras 2 disguise me? RT @Kevin_Goldstein: LoMo sure gets a lot of attention 4 a LF w/ a .330 OBP

that was so awes

i was still holding out hope that the Giants would give in and sign Beltran. they give up Wheeler and lose Beltran and gain Cabrerra and Pagan, oh fucking boy.

"Kazuhiro Sasaki was pretty good, but he was a reliever."

I completely missed that guy. If it is AL and specifically AL West, I probably don't know the players very well.

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwldj2cCgz1qk9es5o1_500.jpg

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lw1hepY9F61qisuj3o1_500.png

LoMoMarlins
Just heard from my boy that Prince to Seattle is a done deal...

LoMoMarlins
Purple Rain & When Doves Cry are going to sound unbelievable this summer under the lights at Century Link Field youtube.com/watch?v=OjLG92…

lol, they are talking about Prince on MLB Network right now. Mitch thinks the Rangers, Larry picked the Dodgers and some guy named Dave picked the Brewers. don't know who that Dave guy is?

Dave:

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/valleda01.shtml

I bet Torrealba is really bummed about his 66 day ban in Venezuelan ball.

A's on the move at last?

http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/12/26/2661744/oakland-athletics-san-jose-new-stadium-christmas-present

With the stadium sitting in the shadows of the Atlantic Ocean, the organization feels it is only natural to display a couple of aquariums. What will make people take notice is where they are located.

Last Friday, two 450-gallon fish tanks were installed inside the wall behind the home-plate wall. They are positioned on the first- and third-base sides, and currently they are not filled with water.

The fish will be protected by shatter-proof glass, and the team has been ensured the fish will be safe.

"The reason this has never been done before, is not that it can't be done," Marlins president David Samson said. "It's because no one thought to do it."

In the early stages of building the ballpark, team owner Jeffrey Loria insisted to make the stadium mirror Miami.

After batting around ideas, it was decided to install aquariums.

With the stadium sitting in the shadows of the Atlantic Ocean, the organization feels it is only natural to display a couple of miami bass clubs. What will make people take notice is where they are located.

Last Friday, two 450 sq. ft clubs were installed inside the wall behind the home-plate wall. They are positioned on the first- and third-base sides, and currently they are not filled with miami bass dancers.

The clubs will be protected by shatter-proof glass, and the team has been ensured the dancers will be safe.

"The reason this has never been done before, is not that it can't be done," Marlins president David Samson said. "It's because no one thought to do it."

In the early stages of building the ballpark, team owner Jeffrey Loria insisted to make the stadium mirror Miami.

After batting around ideas, it was decided to install miami bass clubs.

:)

"The reason this has never been done before, is not that it can't be done," Marlins president David Samson said. "It's because no one thought to do it."

hahah this is such an amazing quote

david samson on signing a free agent:

"The reason this has never been done before, is not that it can't be done," Marlins president David Samson said. "It's because no one thought to do it."

The first time a foul ball rattles off the aquarium I hope the fish go crazy

the team has been ensured the fish will be safe

crazy - like they panic and escape from their tank and start attacking horrified patrons?

(all 200 of them)