FanHouse Al West

From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

Just because something is corny, doesn't mean it can't be done. Saying what you are thankful for on Thanksgiving is an American tradition. Sure, it may be a bit played out -- and some would even say lame -- to write a column about things we're thankful for in a given sport. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna spit in the face of all the great Americans before me who began the tradition and kept it alive for all these years. So, let's do it, baseball-style.

According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, both L.A.-area teams are in pursuit of Blue Jays' ace Roy Halladay via trade. The report cites sources familiar with talks from both teams and places the chances of the Dodgers getting the right-hander a "long shot," but it sounds like the Angels have a realistic chance at acquiring Halladay.

Reportedly, Halladay would cost the Angels a young starting pitcher, such as Jered Weaver or Ervin Santana, in addition to a prospect. New Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopolous is also said to be willing to allow a potential trading partner to negotiate a contract extension with Halladay before any deal is finalized.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

For the Texas Rangers, 2009 was a rousing success of a transition year. The team who used to simply try to outscore you altered their mindset. They put more of an emphasis on pitching and defense, and it paid off. They dropped down from first to seventh in runs scored in the AL, but the team ERA climbed from last (14th) to eighth. Their defense went from one of the worst in baseball to being considered one of the best.

The result was a huge step forward in the one stat that really matters for Ron Washington and his troops: they won 87 games, which was the most for the Rangers since 2004. Expect the growth to continue as the Rangers are loaded with young talent. The only problems could be money (more on that later) and the fact that their division is going to be really strong for the foreseeable future. But, hey, to be the best, you gotta beat the best.

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Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

After a disastrous 2008 season that claimed two managers (one interim) and a general manager, the Mariners returned to respectability in 2009. General manager Jack Zduriencik placed an emphasis on bargain players -- Franklin Gutierrez, Russell Branyan, David Aardsma -- while manager don Wakamatsu stressed fundamentals. The result was the Mariners finding a way to 85 wins despite being outscored by 52 runs over the course of the season.

A major factor was how good the defense made the pitching look. Despite injury woes for Erik Bedard and the loss of Jarrod Washburn in a trade at the deadline, the Mariners had an AL-best 3.87 ERA (and it wasn't close, as the White Sox checked in at second with a 4.14). According to most advanced metrics, Seattle had the best defense in baseball thanks to Gutierrez, Ichiro, Jose Lopez and company. Of course, they'll be looking for some firepower as they move to 2010. Last season, only the Padres and Pirates crossed home plate fewer times than Seattle.

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Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

Take your hat off to the Angels for the way they weathered the dual gut punches of Nick Adenhart's death and a raft of early-season injuries to advance all the way to the ALCS this year. The biggest reason why was an offense that defied its reputation for playing small ball all the way to a franchise-record 883 runs. That, in turn, led to a much better than expected record and helped hide the fact that their pitching staff was fairly average.

That makes two straight years where the Angels wildly outperformed expectations, and general manager Tony Reagins will be hard-pressed to put together a team that does it a third time. Chone Figgins, Vladimir Guerrero and John Lackey are all free agents who figure to have a lot of callers in a weak year for free talent, which means that the team will likely be dealing with at least one significant change to their core group.

With the Rangers on the rise, the AL West could be ripe for a changing of the guard in 2010.

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Former major league closer and current Seattle Mariners bullpen coach John Wetteland was taken to a Texas hospital on Thursday with what is being described as a "mental issue," according to news reports. It seems that police arrived at Wetteland's house shortly after receiving a phone call around 1:30 PM ET about a "possibly suicidal person."

After police arrived at the home Wetteland apparently came out of his house with both arms in the air and told police that he "needed help." Wetteland was then taken to Denton Regional Medical Center outside Dallas.

Ken Griffey Jr. is returning to Seattle for at least one more season.

The story was originally reported by ESPN and confirmed in a statement by the team Wednesday afternoon.

The future Hall of Famer agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the Mariners that's similar to the one he signed prior to the 2009 season. Griffey returned to the city he became a star in last year after spending nearly a decade in Cincinnati and hit .214/.324/.411 with 19 homers over 117 game for the Mariners.

The Mariners built their 24-win improvement in 2009 on both a renewed focus on defense and finding contributions from cheap, unexpected players. With that in mind, it's no surprise that they approached both Jack Wilson and Russell Branyan about contract extensions, a little more than a week before both players hit the open market.

The offer to Wilson was reportedly a multi-year deal that would presumably be for less money per year than the $8.4 million team option that the M's hold on the shortstop. The offer to Branyan was apparently a one-year deal that the slugger has already turned down in hopes of milking a two-year deal out of someone, though he says he'd prefer to remain in Seattle.

Just a few days after announcing that he won't return to the Seattle Mariners in 2010, Kenji Johjima has signed a four-year deal with the Hanshin Tigers of the Japanese Central League. NPB Tracker says the deal is a four-year deal worth the equivalent of $27.25 million, which is a pretty nice deal for him after opting out of the $16 million owed to him by the Mariners.

Johjima spent the first nine seasons of his career with the team currently known as the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in NPB's Pacific League, and there he was a 30-homer player between 2001 and 2004 before hopping across the Pacific to the Mariners. After struggling with the Mariners the past two years, the decision to move back to NPB clearly makes a ton of sense; he'll make more money, he'll be back home, and the smaller parks may give him a chance to regain his power stroke.

The Seattle Mariners announced on Monday that catcher Kenji Johjima has opted out of his current contract so that he can return to Japan and finish out his career there. Johjima signed a three-year contract extension with the Mariners in April of 2008, but used a clause that allowed him to opt out of the final two years of his deal.

The 33-year-old catcher came to Seattle in November of 2005 after playing 11 seasons in the Japanese Pacific League and was the first Japanese-born player to ever catch in the major leagues. In his four seasons as a Mariner, Johjima hit .268 with 48 home runs and 198 RBI.