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If Mauer doesn't win the MVP there is a serious flaw in the way they tally votes. By all accounts, Mauer should be MVP, deservedly so.

At 11/13/09 05:31 AM, Coop83 wrote: Also, do you think Mike Lupica is bitter?

Holy crap! He wrote an entire article about the Yankees without mentioning how much their payroll is, or how "overrated" they are and he didn't find a way to squeeze in a reference to the Mets. Course he did dwell on the whole "we waited a long 9 years for this!" which I found kind of funny. Some Yankee fans that have been spoiled with that 1996-2000 run and expect to win it every year should really go talk to some Cubs or Indians fans or other fans of teams like those for some perspective. Hell, they can come talk to me, I still remember what it felt like waiting 20+ years for a championship team of any kind.

Pivoed is a dumbass.

At 11/13/09 04:59 PM, phileeguy wrote:

At 11/13/09 05:31 AM, Coop83 wrote: Also, do you think Mike Lupica is bitter?

Holy crap! He wrote an entire article about the Yankees without mentioning how much their payroll is, or how "overrated" they are and he didn't find a way to squeeze in a reference to the Mets.

Does that mean that they've found a good editor for Lupica?

Course he did dwell on the whole "we waited a long 9 years for this!" which I found kind of funny.

Tongue-in-cheek sarcasm is a great method of writing comedy. A shame he did it because he was bitter :P

Some Yankee fans that have been spoiled with that 1996-2000 run and expect to win it every year

Well, I've only got three championships since I started being a Yankee fan in 1999. Yes, I know that's more championships than most other franchises have in their histories, but percentage wise, it's only 30%.

*stops digging*

should really go talk to some Cubs or Indians fans or other fans of teams like those for some perspective. Hell, they can come talk to me, I still remember what it felt like waiting 20+ years for a championship team of any kind.

I know what you mean with that though - my football club haven't won a league title during my lifetime. We've been in position to win a couple of times, but the best we could manage is second.

Right, we've got Rookie of the year candidates taking the stage today, with a close race in the NL and a wide open field in the AL. Place bets now!

National League
I don't know about you guys, but I've got it down to two forerunners: J.A. Happ of the Phils and Tommy Hanson of the Braves. Both ahve pitched really well this year, for rookies, giving the voters something to think about. I'd say that Dexter Fowler coudl surprise a few this year, given his 5 steal performance against the Padres. He could have done more if he were playing the Red Sox, mind :P

American League
Hells bells, we've got a field this year... I think it's got a shot of being a pitcher from both leagues. Of the three pitchers making the most noise (Jeff Nieman, TB; Brett Anderson, OAK, Rick Porcello, DET), I think that Porcello's performance on October 6th is the tell here - he pitched pretty good for a guy just about still in his first year. It wasn't playoff baseball then, so it counts. Only the bullpen let him down there.

Then there's the other side of the coin. Gordon Beckham of the White Sox. He's got a pretty handy glove and also he can hit well for power. 27 doubles (42 XBH), 63 RBIs, .467 Slugging isn't bad at all for a 23 year old making his first starts in the Majors.

I think on reflection, I'm going to say that it'll be Happ in the NL and, by the smallest of margins, Beckham in the AL.

At 11/16/09 08:44 AM, Coop83 wrote: Right, we've got Rookie of the year candidates taking the stage today, with a close race in the NL and a wide open field in the AL. Place bets now!

National League
I don't know about you guys, but I've got it down to two forerunners: J.A. Happ of the Phils and Tommy Hanson of the Braves.

That was pretty much the consensus of most people at the end of the season. Hell, both had 11+ wins, sub 3 ERA, and they finished the season leading most other categories, and whichever category one of them wasn't first in, they were 2nd to the other.

Both ahve pitched really well this year, for rookies, giving the voters something to think about. I'd say that Dexter Fowler coudl surprise a few this year, given his 5 steal performance against the Padres.

But the surprise was Chris Coghlan of the Marlins winning it. Granted he didn't get much publicity on a team that was young and didn't make the playoffs, but he did put up some good numbers batting .321 overall and leading most offensive categories for rookies.

I'm a little surprised that Happ didn't win, but I can't argue with the pick. Coghlan played really well, especially down the stretch batting like .388 after July or something. He finished overall with 105 points, with 17 first place votes, Happ a close second with 94 points and 11 first place votes. Hanson surprisingly finished a distant third with 37 points.

American League
Hells bells, we've got a field this year... I think it's got a shot of being a pitcher from both leagues. Of the three pitchers making the most noise (Jeff Nieman, TB; Brett Anderson, OAK, Rick Porcello, DET), I think that Porcello's performance on October 6th is the tell here - he pitched pretty good for a guy just about still in his first year. It wasn't playoff baseball then, so it counts. Only the bullpen let him down there.

Well lets see, Nieman finished 4th with 21 points and 0 first place votes, Anderson 6th with 4 total POINTS, and Porcello finished 3rd with 64 points and 7 first place votes. I actually thought Elvis Andrus would've won, but he finished 2nd with just 1 more point than Porcello. No, the award goes to Andrew Bailey, A's closer who posted 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. Interesting pick I thought.

I think on reflection, I'm going to say that it'll be Happ in the NL and, by the smallest of margins, Beckham in the AL.

Not bad on the Happ prediction (well the smallest of margins part was right, just 2nd and not first), but kinda off on the Beckham pick there. He finished 5th with 10 points and 0 first place votes.

At 11/16/09 10:39 PM, phileeguy wrote:

At 11/16/09 08:44 AM, Coop83 wrote: National League
I don't know about you guys, but I've got it down to two forerunners: J.A. Happ of the Phils and Tommy Hanson of the Braves.

But the surprise was Chris Coghlan of the Marlins winning it. Granted he didn't get much publicity on a team that was young and didn't make the playoffs, but he did put up some good numbers batting .321 overall and leading most offensive categories for rookies.

Well, at least my picks here finished 2nd and 3rd :P I suck at this game.

Still, congratulations to both the winners.

I'm a little surprised that Happ didn't win, but I can't argue with the pick. Coghlan played really well, especially down the stretch batting like .388 after July or something. He finished overall with 105 points, with 17 first place votes, Happ a close second with 94 points and 11 first place votes. Hanson surprisingly finished a distant third with 37 points.

I thought that Happ was a shoe in, to be honest. Then again, I also think that you should have gone with him instead of Pedro for Game 6. Especially if Pedro was ill.

American League

Well lets see, Nieman finished 4th with 21 points and 0 first place votes, Anderson 6th with 4 total POINTS, and Porcello finished 3rd with 64 points and 7 first place votes. I actually thought Elvis Andrus would've won, but he finished 2nd with just 1 more point than Porcello. No, the award goes to Andrew Bailey, A's closer who posted 26 saves and a 1.84 ERA. Interesting pick I thought.

I think on reflection, I'm going to say that it'll be Happ in the NL and, by the smallest of margins, Beckham in the AL.

Not a single first place vote for Beckham. D'oh. Maybe the Yanks will have a candidate for ROY next season?

Not bad on the Happ prediction (well the smallest of margins part was right, just 2nd and not first), but kinda off on the Beckham pick there. He finished 5th with 10 points and 0 first place votes.

Well, maybe that one was just bad before I ace the Cy Youngs and MVP predictions?

AL Cy Young - I've got to go with Greinke - he's been the pace setter for the field all year, especially with his 6-0 start and perfect April. The most Earned Runs he allowed in one start was only 6 and on an under performing Kansas City team, he's probably been denied a chance at his first 20 win season.

Verlander and CC will both feature in the voting, but don't be surprised to see Felix Hernandez up there in the voting either, even though I don't personally think he'll win it.

*waits patiently for Felix to win AL Cy*

At 11/17/09 05:16 AM, Coop83 wrote: I thought that Happ was a shoe in, to be honest. Then again, I also think that you should have gone with him instead of Pedro for Game 6. Especially if Pedro was ill.

Hell, I would've went with Happ over Hamels in game 3. I mean throughout the year he was the Phillies' most consistent pitcher, and faced the Yankees earlier this year and gave up only 2 earned runs over 6 innings. But on the other hand you had Hamels who can get it done, but never did this year, and blew up in innings 4 and 5. Of course I'm just a fan, what do I know!?

AL Cy Young - I've got to go with Greinke - he's been the pace setter for the field all year, especially with his 6-0 start and perfect April. The most Earned Runs he allowed in one start was only 6 and on an under performing Kansas City team, he's probably been denied a chance at his first 20 win season.

Verlander and CC will both feature in the voting, but don't be surprised to see Felix Hernandez up there in the voting either, even though I don't personally think he'll win it.

*waits patiently for Felix to win AL Cy*

Nope, you were right. It was pretty clear cut throughout the year. Grienke wins it.

Greinke wins his well deserved AL Cy Young despite his dreadful run-support

Wainwright should get his tomorrow...

At 11/17/09 02:24 PM, phileeguy wrote:

At 11/17/09 05:16 AM, Coop83 wrote: I thought that Happ was a shoe in, to be honest. Then again, I also think that you should have gone with him instead of Pedro for Game 6. Especially if Pedro was ill.

Hell, I would've went with Happ over Hamels in game 3.

I'd have probably put Hamels in for Game 2 - riding the momentum from Cliff Lee is how to get a misfiring starter going, I think.

The question is, how would I have done games 3 and 4? Happ, then a well rested Martinez against CC? Could be a very interesting matchup.

Of course I'm just a fan, what do I know!?

Exactly - neither of us know enough to even be considered for Manager of the Year - See below ;)

*waits patiently for Felix to win AL Cy*

Nope, you were right. It was pretty clear cut throughout the year. Grienke wins it.

Yeah, but look at what happened - Felix was second, ahead of my predictions for Verlander and CC. If CC had made his 20th win, it could have taken a few 1st places away from Zack, but he's earned it. Congratulations to him.

At 11/17/09 06:14 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Greinke wins his well deserved AL Cy Young despite his dreadful run-support

With run support, Greinke wins at least 20 games. Simple.

Wainwright should get his tomorrow...

No, he'll have to wait until Thursday for his chance.

Manager of the Year - NL
Jim Tracy, Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, Charlie Manuel.

Personally, I think that Tracy is the class of this field, as he hasn't had the depth of playing stars to dig him out of the hole that the Rox were in, as LaRussa, Torre and Manuel have had. I think that Bobby Cox didn't have one of his best years and they're looking at a "lifetime achievement" award with his name being mentioned here.

With a name like that, surely he should be managing a team with the nickname "Thunderbirds", but Jim Tracy still gets my vote.

Manager of the Year - AL
Mike Scioscia, Ron Gardenhire, Ron Washington, Don Wakamatsu, Joe Girardi. Tough choice.

Yes, everyone's talking about how Scioscia led the Angels through the aftermath of the tragic collision that took Nick Adenhart. The players showed heart and no-one should really be surprised to get heart from a guy who is LA through and through. He only played for the Dodgers and has only managed the Angels.

Gardenhire should be given serious consideration, because he didn't let the Twins put their heads down, he just kept them primed and got them to the playoffs, when most people had written them off. With a small budget and gaping holes appearing after Morneau's injury, most would have said the Twins would fold. A ballsy all-in bet took them to October and surprised many, including most of Detroit.

Girardi may have had the benefit of the biggest payroll in the majors, but he was often criticised for over-managing his side. Hell, it got the job done, didn't it? I don't think he'll win, but he's a big reason that he'll be getting a new mission statement stitched to his shirt next season. Marshalling the troops after the A-Rod revelations / injury, the team struggled, but rebounded under Girardi's guidance and having the best record in baseball has got to say something, hasn't it?

Conclusions

Jim Tracy and Mike Scioscia to win

Dark horses are Joe Torre and Charlie Manuel in the NL and Ron Gardenhire and Joe Girardi. I just can't write off a Yankee for any award at the moment :P

Manager of the Year award announced:

NL: Tracy

AL: Scioscia

Stoner won the NL Cy Young award.

Apparently two Cardinals team mates split the votes amongst themselves and you know what happens. Overall I'm kind of mixed but whatever.

At 11/19/09 02:17 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Stoner won the NL Cy Young award.
Apparently two Cardinals team mates split the votes amongst themselves and you know what happens. Overall I'm kind of mixed but whatever.

I won't argue with it. With his pitching he helped make an offense deprived San Francisco team relevant until the last 2-3 weeks of the season in terms of the Wild Card. And since he's on a team that doesn't hit, he's going to have a worse record than Carpenter or Wainwright.

Yes, there's something to be said about having 2 Cy Young contenders on the same team and subsequently splitting votes because they were both instrumental in helping the Cards make the playoffs. It could've easily been either of those 2 due to the fact that in the end all 3 were separated by just 10 points.

Then again there's also something to be said about voters who look at just the wins. Wainwright got the most first place votes even though he had the highest ERA of the 3, had the most losses, and was behind Lincecum in Ks.

At 11/19/09 11:27 AM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Manager of the Year award announced:

NL: Tracy

AL: Scioscia

Holy shit, I got both right! I even got the 1-3 correct in the AL, which was a nice bonus :)

At 11/19/09 02:17 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Stoner won the NL Cy Young award.

Well, under the barrage of stats that they quoted Lincecum as having, I can't really argue.

But Lincecum clearly improved overall. The 25-year-old trimmed his ERA by 0.14. Opponents hit .206 off him this season, compared to .221 in 2008. After walking 84 in 227 innings a year ago, he improved to 68 walks in 225 1/3 innings this season.

The NL's starter in this year's All-Star Game, Lincecum led the league in strikeouts for the second year in a row, the first Giant to do so since Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson (1907-08). Lincecum also topped the NL with 26 quality starts while ranking second in ERA and opponents' batting average and third in innings. He tied teammate Matt Cain for the league lead with four complete games and joined four other pitchers atop the NL list with two shutouts.

Apparently two Cardinals team mates split the votes amongst themselves and you know what happens. Overall I'm kind of mixed but whatever.

Normal service resumed :P

At 11/19/09 04:23 PM, phileeguy wrote:

At 11/19/09 02:17 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Stoner won the NL Cy Young award.
Apparently two Cardinals team mates split the votes amongst themselves and you know what happens. Overall I'm kind of mixed but whatever.

I won't argue with it. With his pitching he helped make an offense deprived San Francisco team relevant until the last 2-3 weeks of the season in terms of the Wild Card. And since he's on a team that doesn't hit, he's going to have a worse record than Carpenter or Wainwright.

Yes, there's something to be said about having 2 Cy Young contenders on the same team and subsequently splitting votes because they were both instrumental in helping the Cards make the playoffs. It could've easily been either of those 2 due to the fact that in the end all 3 were separated by just 10 points.

Then again there's also something to be said about voters who look at just the wins. Wainwright got the most first place votes even though he had the highest ERA of the 3, had the most losses, and was behind Lincecum in Ks.

You can bet on it happening on the AL MVP voting as well. As much as I would like to see someone from the Yankees to win it, I don't see it happening since Jeter and Texiera will split the votes as well, also Mauer did carry the Twins to the playoffs after Morneau went down so it's pretty obvious. As long the Yankees won #27 I'm fine with it. Besides, no player from a WS championship team have won a regular season MVP since 1988.

At 11/19/09 04:23 PM, phileeguy wrote: I won't argue with it. With his pitching he helped make an offense deprived San Francisco team relevant until the last 2-3 weeks of the season in terms of the Wild Card. And since he's on a team that doesn't hit, he's going to have a worse record than Carpenter or Wainwright.

I think that next season, they need to get some more offensive talent. With pitching like Lincecum and Matt Cain, while considering an emerging talent in Jonathan Sanchez, these three guys are going to need some support. Where will Randy Johnson land?

Then again there's also something to be said about voters who look at just the wins. Wainwright got the most first place votes even though he had the highest ERA of the 3, had the most losses, and was behind Lincecum in Ks.

And then you look at why Chien Ming Wang doesn't have a Cy Young :P

On to the MVP discussion. I know we've got to wait until Monday for it, but is there really any discussion when we all pretty much agree that Albert Pujols and Joe Mauer will win the MVP awards in their respective leagues.

Have we all voted on the This Year In Baseball awards for Oddity of the year. I called the birds in Center Field.

Okay, so Mauer won the AL MVP. Which dumbass voted Cabrera a first place, ahead of Mauer, Tex and Jeter? I want some answers!

So today, we confirm (yet again) the greatness of Prince Albert, as he carries on his inevitable march towards the Hall of Fame and the record books.

Pujols won!

Anyway, who gave Cabrera a first place vote?

At 11/24/09 02:55 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: Pujols won!

I never saw that one coming. Any bets being taken that he'll be a unanimous first vote hall of famer in 15-20 years time?

This guy must feel like a bigger ass than usual since two of the Red Sox best hitters in their recent championship years took some. Also one of the commenters disgraced Jack Bauer's name although Kiefer Sutherland's DUI kinda...you know.

Andruw to the White Sox - looks like they're putting together something for next year now - chances of them jumping into the Halladay mix, to compliment Peavy and Buehrle.

Who have they acquired now? Starting with last season's acquisitions of Jake Peavy and Alex Rios, they've also gotten their hands on Mark Teahen, Omar Vizquel and Jones this off season.

I'm liking the look of the side on paper at present, when you put in that nifty young double play combination of Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez. Could be some good things happening in the AL Central come April 2010.

At 11/25/09 10:00 PM, Idiot-Finder wrote: This guy must feel like a bigger ass than usual since two of the Red Sox best hitters in their recent championship years took some. Also one of the commenters disgraced Jack Bauer's name although Kiefer Sutherland's DUI kinda...you know.

Meh, there's always retarded fans out there. I just wish someone posted a video response with basically the same video, but with Ramirez and Ortiz names in there.

OMG some Yankees took steroids?! So what? Every team has probably 1 or 2 people that tries to circumvent the system for their own personal gain. It's just magnified 'cuz they were Yankees and the whole Red Sox/Yankees rivalry blows this out of proportion.

And on a bit of an aside, that video wasn't put together all that well. The song itself was annoying at best, and the visuals "editing" was piss poor too. Also, shouldn't Cartman be a Rockies fan?

Andruw Jones for $500,000 is a fucking bargain. Even if you get only last year's Jones you're getting more than what you paid for, and if he happens to regress into the overweight free-swinger of a couple years back, you cut him and lose almost nothing financially. Kudos on that move by Kenny Williams, especially given that Dye is gone, Fields was just traded, and Thome may or may not return after this signing.

Overall that team still looks pretty shaky. An outfield of Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios and Mark Kotsay could go either way.

In related news, former White Sox starter Jose Contreras is being courted by the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks of the Pacific League (Japan). Interesting road he's taken: Havana to the Bronx, the Bronx to the South Side of Chicago, South Side to Denver, Denver to Fukuoka?

Fred McGriff for HOF.

At 11/28/09 04:52 AM, Buddhist wrote: Andruw Jones for $500,000 is a fucking bargain. Even if you get only last year's Jones you're getting more than what you paid for, and if he happens to regress into the overweight free-swinger of a couple years back, you cut him and lose almost nothing financially. Kudos on that move by Kenny Williams, especially given that Dye is gone, Fields was just traded, and Thome may or may not return after this signing.

It's all a question of what young depth they've got in the outfield and the pitching question marks. Sure, they've got an ace and a gold glover who's pitched a perfect game, but they haven't got too much more behind them.

Overall that team still looks pretty shaky. An outfield of Carlos Quentin, Alex Rios and Mark Kotsay could go either way.

True, but factor in that Rios is away from Toronto. Perhaps drawing a line under that shaky season last year and he'll be resurgent. I'm still thinking bigger things for the White Sox next term.

At 11/27/09 04:04 PM, phileeguy wrote:

And on a bit of an aside, that video wasn't put together all that well. The song itself was annoying at best, and the visuals "editing" was piss poor too. Also, shouldn't Cartman be a Rockies fan?

Indeed, keep in mind those are the same people who would try to convince you that the Red Sox are a small market team and whine about the Yankees payroll while ignoring the fact that they spend plenty themselves as well.

Also another reason why I didn't trust the Mitchell Report since the list seemed to be shady for some reason...some times later Ortiz gets caught.

Oh yeah and Manny tries to get pregnant.

At 11/28/09 06:41 AM, Coop83 wrote: True, but factor in that Rios is away from Toronto. Perhaps drawing a line under that shaky season last year and he'll be resurgent. I'm still thinking bigger things for the White Sox next term.

On the whole I think setting the bar for next year you would go with 80 wins, about this year's record. I think it's a high 80 though, in that they could very well win 85-87 games. Alexei Ramirez had a classic sophomore slump year this past season, so he should bounce back, if not move forward. Gordon Beckham was streaky in his limited time this year, but looks legit nonetheless

They traded Josh Fields for Mark Teahen, which improves defense at 3rd (or in right) and improves them in the lineup. Fields was a more dangerous hitter as a power threat, but he showed that at best, he's in old Russell Branyan territory (.240-250 average with good power), but he hasn't even hit that yet. At this stage he's a .230ish hitter with power but no real chance of getting on base regularly. Basically a 3rd base version of Mike Jacobs, which sucks for the Royals (but I'll get to that later). Teahen has a higher OBP and is an upgrade average-wise, though you're sacrificing a deec amount of power (12 HRs last year, career-high 18).

Omar Vizquel was a great pickup to mentor both Gordon Beckham and Alexei Ramirez at playing short. One of the best defensive shortstops ever, if not the best.

Pierzynski should continue to hover around .280-300, 10-15 HRs, 50-60 RBI, solid game-calling and defense. Konerko had his best year since '06 last season, so he could be an anomaly. Realistically though I think you have to assume he hits .250-260 with the usual 20-30 HRs and 75-90 RBI.

If Danks keeps the HRs down, his ERA will go back down to the low 3s instead of the 3.77 last year; his peripherals were otherwise the same as the prior season. It's hard to judge Gavin Floyd at this point; he's always had a high pedigree, but he could be the 11-11 pitcher of last year more than the 17-8 pitcher of the prior year. I think he's due to rebound somewhat though; settle in around 10-13 wins and a 3.50ish ERA.

Buerhle is who he is, and Peavy was just as dominant as he was in SD in his 3 starts with the ChiSox last year (3-0, 1.35 ERA/0.85 WHIP, 18:6 K:BB, .162 BAA). I think despite the move from Petco to US Cellular he'll fall in around a 2.90-3.00 ERA with the same general peripherals but a better W/L simply because it's not the Padres. If he can't keep it in the park though, you're looking at a 4.00+ ERA year.

Freddy Garcia, you expect a 4.50-range ERA with about as many Ls as Ws, high walk rate, low Ks, fairly high amount of HRs. Anything better is just money.

The question marks fall on the outfield. Carlos Quentin at his best is an MVP-level outfielder, but he's ALWAYS dogged by injuries. Year in and year out; that's how he ended up getting traded from Arizona to Chicago in the first place. Really gotta just hope for the best there. Same with Andruw Jones.

And of course, Rios. There's a lot to worry about, not even in terms of dollars and cents. He was way worse in Chicago last year (.199/.229/301, 29:6 K:BB, 3 HRs, 9 RBIs, 5 SB, 2 CS) than in Toronto (.263/.317/.427, 78:31 K:BB, 14 HRs, 62 RBIs, 19 SB, 3 CS).

Delving deeper and looking at the career trends don't help either:

In Toronto: .291/.346/.489, 287:120 K:BB, 54 HRs, 213 RBIs, 62 SB, 16 CS)
Away from Toronto: .271/.315/.402, 309:110 K:BB, 30 HRs, 191 RBIs, 55 SB, 19 CS)

So right there you see a 20-point difference in average, 30-point difference in on-base percentage, and nearly a 90-point discrepancy in slugging. There's a solid increase in Ks and a downturn in walks, along with a precipitous drop in power and an increase in times caught stealing.

Just gotta hope Jordan Danks matures a lot this year or maybe gets a callup, and that maybe Brandon Allen gets a run at DH time a la Adam Lind in Toronto.

Kinda surprised we signed Brian Schneider to a two-year deal to be the team's backup. I mean...why not Jose Molina? Schneider is awful offensively whereas Molina is a little below average, but Molina calls just as good of a game and is even better at throwing out runners, and we prolly could have gotten him for the same price (2yrs, $2.25 mil). Sometimes Amaro confuses me with his signings, but we'll see how it goes.

Also, Cleveland traded Kelly Shoppach to Tampa. If he gets a starting job in TB, you're looking at a good offensive player and potential fantasy sleeper. He's got more offensive skills than Dioner Navarro, but Navarro calls a better game. We'll see how it goes.

This means that Lou Marson, former Phillie prospect, will most likely start next season as the Indians' starting catcher; Carlos Santana is still in Triple-A and they'll prolly bring him up midseason, unless Marson struggles out of the gate and Santana tears it up in the minors.

Old Reliable will be missed.

WB Placido!

Three years, $18 million, and a man to cover the hot corner.

"I always wanted to be here, I never wanted to leave," Polanco said. "One of the reasons I wanted to come back is because it's pretty obvious the team is committed to winning. And I want to win. That's it. They asked me if I was willing to play another position and I was like, 'Sure.' I can play third base. I played in college, in St. Louis and I also played some third here. I feel pretty confident about it."

"The Phillies were always my first choice," he said. "I played here, I know most of the guys here, I know the city. And they have a pretty good team that's committed to win. I thank all of the other teams that expressed interest in me, but the Phillies were always my first choice."

Polanco batted .285 for the Tigers last season with 31 doubles, 10 homers and 72 RBIs. He hit .341 and made the All-Star team in 2007.

The NL champions also agreed to a one-year contract with infielder Juan Castro, who hit .277 with one home run and nine RBIs in 57 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.

Found one!