Baseball

Another day, another series of big deals. Almost all involving the biggest spending team in all of Baseball- the Los Angeles Dodgers. Firstly, they've agreed a trade with Philadelphia to sign former NL MVP shortstop Jimmy Rollins in exchange for a couple of the Dodgers young prospects. They quickly followed that up with a seven-player blockbuster trade with Miami, sending the Florida side Dee Gordon, Miguel Rojas, veteran pitcher Dan Haren, and a player to be named later, in exchange for Enrique Hernandez, Chris Hatcher, Austin Barnes, and highly rated prospect Andrew Heaney. Although, almost immediately, the Dodgers traded Heaney to the Los Angeles Angels, in exchange for second baseman Howie Kendrick. But arguably, they saved the biggest for last- trading away their ultra-talented, but inconsistent outfielder Matt Kemp (and catcher Tim Fedorowicz, and a large amount of the money owed to Kemp- $30M of it, to be precise) to the San Diego Padres, in exchange for Joe Wieland, Zach Eflin, and catcher Yasmani Grandal.

Randomly put Baseball Tonight on last night on ESPN and they were going on about the Cubs signing a new pitcher for $155 milli. And then they said the Cubs under new management etc are 2 or 3 new players away from being a "contender" in a penant race. As an on/off Cubs fan for many years I found this quite shocking lol! A contender? Us? Surely not.

I'm going to try and continue to get back in to baseball this coming season, its a good bridge between NFL/College football seasons

^ Ohhh yes. I don't see the Cubs winning it all, but they have some unbelievably exciting young talent, and now have a bona fide ace in Jon Lester. Theo Epstein is doing a grand job there. He helped Boston end their loooong wait for a World Series. Could he do the same for the Cubs ?

Here's hoping lol

Another few hectic days for MLB. Trades and signings aplenty. And on that note.....
The Detroit Tigers continue their period of rebuilding, trading for Cincinnati pitcher Alfredo Simon, in exchange for shortstop Eugenio Suarez and prospect Jonathan Crawford. And then completed a trade with Boston, sending pitcher Rick Porcello to the Red Sox in exchange for outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Alex Wilson, & Gabe Speier. Boston, meanwhile, made a couple more acquisitions- signing free agent pitcher Justin Masterson to a one-year deal, worth a minimum $9.5M. They also traded for Arizona pitcher Wade Miley, and sending Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster, and Raymel Flores to Arizona. Other deals in the last 48 hours include, Kansas City signing free agent Kendry Morales to a two-year $17M deal. The Minnesota Twins have signed free agent pitcher Ervin Santana to a four-year $55M deal. And the Miami Marlins continue to make big changes, trading for Cincinnati pitcher Mat Latos, in exchange for young prospects Anthony DeSclafani and Chad Wallach.

Almost six-weeks since my last update (shameful laziness, I know) and a LOT has gone down. The San Diego Padres continue their HUGE offseason by acquiring Atlanta star outfielder Justin Upton and pitcher Aaron Northcraft in exchange for Max Fried, Jace Peterson, Dustin Peterson, & Mallex Smith. The New York Yankees signed Miami Marlins pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, 1st baseman Garrett Jones, & Domingo German, in exchange for 2nd baseman Martin Prado, David Phelps, & some $. Tampa Bay continue to chop 7 chop at a furious pace- trading away two of their best players- 2nd baseman Ben Zobrist and shortstop Yunel Escobar to Oakland in exchange for Boog Powell, Daniel Robertson, John Jaso, & additional $. Within a week though Oakland traded Escobar to Washington in exchange for pitcher Tyler Clippard. The Chicgao Cuns continue their big restructuring by trading for Houston outfielder Dexter Fowler, sending pitcher Dan Straily & 2nd baseman Luis Valbuena to the Astros. The Astros also singed free-agent outfielder Colby Rasmus to a one-year deal. The Texas Rangers traded for talented pitcher Yovani Gallardo, sending Luis Sardinas, Corey Knebel, & Marcos Diplan to Milwaukee. And last, but no means least, the biggest name free-agent on the market- Max Scherzer has put pen to paper with.....Washington. He's signed a mega $210M, seven-year contract. But it's structered in a way to pay him $15M a year for 14 years instead of $30M per annum over seven years. That really only leaves James Shields as the biggest free-agent left.

Actor Will Ferrell to play a innings in 5 different pre season games, 1 for LA Dodgers
http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/...story.html

Two days to go 'til Opening Day. It's been an interesting Spring Training, but thankfully the real deal is 'round the corner. Given the trades and Free Agent signings it has the makings of the most open season in years.

Renewed my MLB.TV subscription and the Cubs are the first live game on ESPN, lol, it'll still come in handy for the other 161 games of the season

Same here. I'm looking forward to seeing your Cubs this year. Especially when Kris Bryant is finally called up from the Minors (in 2 or 3 weeks).