Denton Posts

Back in the old days, you couldn't swing a dead cat at a baseball game without hitting a player who was rockin' some sweet facial hair. A few of those "retro" 'staches are still out there. But, man, did anybody match the face-fur magic of Eddie Murray? He had discovered "manscaping" by the time this commercial was made, but you can still see shades of what used to be.

How does a small-market team compete in the AL East? Not by having a team payroll the same size as a single player's annual salary. In 2007, the Rays spent about $24 million in payroll, Alex Rodriguez swaggered to the bank with about $23 million. Close enough to make my point.

In 2008, the Rays look to spend over $40 million, a 70 percent increase. The St. Petersburg Times reports:

The Rays have more than $20-million committed to seven players (Carl Crawford, $5.25-million; Troy Percival, $4-million; Cliff Floyd, $2.75-million; Akinori Iwamura, $2.4-million; Al Reyes, $2.3-million; Rocco Baldelli, $2.25-million; Gary Glover $1.075-million); four players remaining in arbitration (Carlos Pena, Scott Kazmir, Dan Wheeler and Jonny Gomes) who could make $13-million to $14-million; 12 or 13 players who will get the $390,000 minimum or slightly more; and openings for a backup catcher, super-utility type and left-handed reliever. Plus millions in incentives.

The $40+ million blows away the 20% increase touted by principal owner Stuart Sternberg, but certainly solidifies a few key position players and bullpen arms. Assuming the arbitration cases are settled amicably, it might just be enough to get the team out of the basement.

A lot depends on the status of Rocco Baldelli. After a couple of big years in '03 and '04, Baldelli has spent most of the past three seasons on the DL. He missed all of 2005, half of 2006, and had just 137 at-bats last season. If he can return to form, the Rays might find themselves looking down on the Orioles come September.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: being an Orioles fan must really suck. This is the time of year, spring training just a month away, when most baseball fans begin to shrug off the winter doldrums and take an optimistic look at their favorite team. Which of the big Hot Stove deals and free agent signings will help the team? Which of the young prospects are going to make an impact this season?

But in Baltimore, hope does not spring eternal for even the most diehard of O's fan. The pilot was out on the stove and it never heated up. The biggest news was a departure, of their best position player no less, not an arrival. And the two biggest chips they had on the table in Bedard and Roberts remain there, probably to carry the team to yet another season where mediocrity would be an improvement.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun says it perfectly:

Will fan favorite and community leader Roberts be dealt to the Chicago Cubs? Will Bedard take his sarcastic sneer and blessed left arm to Seattle? Will the Orioles keep both players, and decide to play seven in the field because they don't have enough legitimate big leaguers to fill out a diamond?

With spring training looming, the 69-win Orioles have traded their most heralded player, shortstop Miguel Tejada, for five youngsters while signing an obscure backup catcher and a Rule 5 reliever.

That's it.

Sitting on the southeastern shores of Nova Scotia is a place called Halifax. Located in the Great White North, you might expect the few residents who aren't hockey fans to support a "local" baseball team in the Toronto Blue Jays. Not so. According to the Toronto Star, Halifax is officially part of Red Sox Nation.

On Tuesday, Red Sox club officials brought a special piece of hardware to the fans up north: the 2007 World Series Trophy. The trophy was on display for two days in order for thousands of Nova Scotia fans to photograph and touch the Commissioner's Trophy.

It took a little doing for the decentralized fans to get the attention of the ball club. But relentless efforts, including a massive letter-writing campaign, orchestrated by the Bluenose BoSox Brotherhood fan club eventually made it happen.

Darrell Corbett, a life-long Nova Scotia resident who started listening to Sox games as a child in the 1940's said:

"I thought I would be dead before I saw them win the World Series but now I've seen two," he said, his face breaking into a wide grin.

Corbett is now 73 and made the trek to see the trophy along with an oxygen tank to help him breathe.

Great story, unless you're a Blue Jays fan.

First of all: ouch!

The surgery was performed Thursday in Philadelphia and will sideline Aubrey Huff for four to six weeks. According to team prez Andy MacPhail he could start resuming some "baseball related" activities in four weeks, but most will take six. What about the things I like to call "non-baseball related" activities like taking a piss standing up, or having relations with a woman? Give me a pulled hammie any day.

Position players are scheduled to report to training camp on February 19th. If my math skills are correct, Huff will miss at least a few days of camp. And what kind of "baseball shape" will he be in at that point?

Huff is 31 years old and had a relatively quiet 2007 season: .280 average with 15 home runs and 72 RBI. But when you break it down, his second half was actually more like the Huff of old. He batted .309 with nine of his homers coming in the second half. He also posted a .508 slugging percentage and .897 OPS. He might just have a little something left in the tank.

Huff is expected to mainly DH for the Orioles but may get some starts at first, third or out in left field. He will most likely bat fifth behind Kevin Millar.

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Boston Red Sox are close to signing back-up catcher Doug Mirabelli to a one-year deal. To which I can only respond..."why?" If you recall, the personal catcher to Tim Wakefield arrived back at Fenway in a State Police car just minutes before he was to start a game against the Yankees in May of 2006. And that was pretty much the biggest highlight of his second tour of duty with the Sox.

Mirabelli hit just .193 in 161 at-bats in '06 and .202 in 114 at-bats last season. Not very compelling statistics to merit another season. But it has been Dougie's work behind the plate trying to tame Wake's knuckleball, not his prowess holding a bat, that has been his saving grace. But in his best offensive year in Boston (2004), he also led the league in passed balls (15) while throwing out just eight of the 46 attempted steals, a not-so-blistering 17%.

When you consider Wakefield's age, his injury last season, and the strength of the arms in Boston's farm system, it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense to keep Mirabelli around. Throw in the fact that Varitek is getting a bit long-in-the-tooth for an everyday catcher - meaning the back-up might see more than every fifth-day duty - and it makes less sense. Is it really so important to block a few errant knucklers that it is worth putting an almost guaranteed out in the batting order? I think not.

The Red Sox will likely explore options going forward and the Mirabelli signing may just be an insurance policy. The free agent market for catchers is pretty weak, however. And even with the depth of the Red Sox minor league teams, a suitable back-up catcher isn't in the mix. Get used to Doug, Boston, at least every five days.

If your baseball team was growing roots in fourth place, wouldn't you do something to get better? If your baseball team brought more opposing fans to home games than those there to root for your team, wouldn't you try to get better? Evidently not if you're Peter Angelos and Andy MacPhail, and your team is the Baltimore Orioles.

Last week, the O's pulled off a trade that sent one of the game's star players (after a relatively bad season) on their way out of Baltimore in return for a crop of young prospects. The deal was widely supported by Oriole fans and could have been the start of a rebuilding process: as much for the team as for regaining some fan loyalty. But on the heels of that trade, the Orioles have returned to form.

Late Saturday evening, the O's issued an enigmatic statement regarding the findings in the Mitchell Report. With the inclusion of Brian Roberts in the report, seemingly based on nothing more than a single passing comment, the O's had every reason to stand up and criticize the report. And they did, sort of. From their statement:

"The Orioles support Major League Baseball's efforts to institute the most comprehensive testing program of any professional sport and one that strives to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs from all of baseball.

"As to the information and allegations contained in the Mitchell Report, the Orioles caution observers to resist the temptation to accept collective judgments based upon unsubstantiated allegations."

Paul Quantrill spent 14 years playing Major League baseball, his prime years with the Toronto Blue Jays. But it is his younger days, much younger, that Quantrill says provided his favorite memories. The Toronto Star reports:

"I probably have more memories playing ball as a kid than I do of any big-league games," said Quantrill. "When you're 13 and 14, baseball's all and everything."

Quantrill's love of the game has not faded. And he is now giving back to the youth leagues that he played in long before his big league career. Quantrill has been named as honorary chairman for next summer's Canadian peewee championships.

"This is something right up my alley," said Quantrill, coaching the peewee team – and son, Cal – in hometown Port Hope. "I do want to give something back.

"I never got the opportunity to play in something like this but I guarantee you, 13-year-old kids will absolutely never forget it."

This is a story that we just don't see often enough. Too many ex-athletes take their millions and fade into oblivion, or try to make more money in the coaching or broadcasting arena. Guys like Quantrill that give back to the next generation are far more important to the game than guys that hit home runs.

Boston.com is reporting that Red Sox centerfielder and trade bait extraordinaire has dropped agent Joe Urbon and signed on with Scott Boras. For Red Sox fans, and probably many front office execs, that's barely a step above being a Yankee.

Ellsbury has been named on and off in the potential deal-in-the-works for the Red Sox to acquire Johan Santana. Hometown fans were outraged to hear Ellsbury's name as part of the trade and were lighting up the local sports radio show phone lines to express themselves. After just 33 games in the majors, the Boston court of public opinion has deemed Ellsbury untouchable.

Boras is not held in high regard in the Boston area, thanks to his hardball negotiating techniques with several current and former players. Many people thought Theo Epstein bested him last off-season in pulling off the Daisuke Matsuzaka deal. Perhaps Boras saw this as a chance to strike back. It may be a blessing in disguise for the Red Sox, as the Twins will not want a Scott Boras client on their roster when the big pay day comes in a few years.

No doubt, there is much more to come on the Santana deal. Stay tuned.

For countless years, fans at Fenway Park have been serenaded by Neil Diamond crooning "Sweet Caroline" in the eighth inning. The tradition began about 10 years ago when the Red Sox played it as a tribute to an employee who had just had a baby and named her Caroline. The fans loved it, although after enjoying eight innings worth of over-priced beer, they probably would have gotten into The Brady Bunch theme with equal enthusiasm. In 2003, the Sox began playing it at every game.

Almost 40 years after the song was released, Neil Diamond broke his silence about who Caroline is. I, like many others, would have guessed it was an old lover. Maybe his mother? Wrong. The truth is now out there: Caroline Kennedy.From Boston.com:

"I've never discussed it with anybody before - intentionally," the celebrated singer told the Associated Press this week. "I thought maybe I would tell it to Caroline when I met her someday."

Diamond finally got his chance when he performed via satellite last week at the former first daughter's 50th birthday party.

Now, if we could only get them to stop doing "the wave" at Fenway...