Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – The cleanup hitters in Thursday's game were Preston Wilson and Carl Everett. They have combined to play in more than 2,500 major-league games, hit 391 homers and make more than $80 million.
Wilson and Everett were on opposite sides in the 2003 All-Star Game in Chicago, but this night they were far, far away from U.S. Cellular Field. They were the DHs for the Long Island Ducks and Newark Bears of the Atlantic League, respectively.
And they weren't the only former big-leaguers on the field.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the... Most disappointing team of 2008. This goes for real and for fantasy. Nearly the entire team was a massive bust last year -- I said nearly, because the man in the picture to the right was immune in fantasy -- as the team finished in last place. They've made some changes, and the players coming back need to just play better.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Detroit Tigers.
A preseason favorite to win the pennant a year ago, the Tigers collapsed under the weight of unreal expectations. Trading for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis was supposed to put this team over the top, but in hindsight Detroit's lineup, while potent, was never as good as it looked on paper and the pitching and defense ranked among the worst in the league.
FanHouse continues its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Minnesota Twins.
Last year was supposed to be the season in which the Minnesota Twins finally had to deal with reality. They traded Johan Santana to the Mets because they couldn't afford him any longer, and the heart and soul of the team, Torii Hunter, left for the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles. Then the Twins went out and won 88 games and were one run shy of making the playoffs after losing to the White Sox in a one-game playoff for the Central title. This is just what the Twins do. They defy everyone's expectations but their own, and odds are they're going to do it again this season.
Just hours after announcing the Gerald Laird trade, the Tigers may have shored up another position of need: Ken Rosenthal reports that Adam Everett has been inked to a one-year, $1 million deal. This isn't a huge surprise -- we already knew the Tigers attended one of Everett's workouts -- and given the parameters, it's not a bad risk.
Everett played only 48 games for the Twins last season due to a balky shoulder but reportedly is back to full strength. That said, even a completely healthy Everett is a liability with the bat -- he's a career .246 hitter, which doesn't seem too bad until you realize he can't draw a walk to save his life (.298 OBP).
Everett will likely be given first chance to start, but he's not so expensive as to prevent Ramon Santiago from stealing a few at-bats, especially if Santiago's new-found patience at the plate (he had 22 walks in 124 at-bats last year) is for real.
Even though Everett doesn't bring much with his bat, his excellent fielding will help the pitching staff, which ranked 12th in the AL for runs allowed. I'm rarely a fan of all-glove, no-hit players, but at least he's cheap and didn't cost the team any players, unlike the previously rumored deal for Pittsburgh's Jack Wilson.
It seems that no matter how many times we see it, baseball fans just never learn. Every spring baseball fans and experts alike say that this is the year that the Minnesota Twins are going to finish below .500 and at the bottom of the AL Central. Then summer comes along a few months later, and there they are. Sitting on top, or near the top of the division while the rest of us scratch their heads.
Though it happens every season, it still catches us all by surprise, but this season has been the most baffling of all. There is just no way that the Twins should be sitting at 40-36, only a game and a half behind the first place White Sox. The obvious reasons for this are that the team said goodbye to both Johan Santana and Torii Hunter during the offseason, and that Francisco Liriano has spent his time on the disabled list.
Still, it's not exactly a new phenomenon that teams carry on and continue playing well after saying goodbye to their stars. The Athletics have been doing it for years along with the Twins, so we know it can be done. The difference between these Twins, though, and the Twins and Athletics teams of the past is how they're doing it.
The guys who were supposed to replace what was lost have been horrible so far, yet they're still winning.
There's a run on shortstops taking place today, as the Twins came to terms with Adam Everett, and now the Blue Jays have signed shortstop David Eckstein to a deal.
Maybe it's because both teams know that Everett and Eckstein's names aren't likely to show up in the Mitchell Report in a few hours. Though if their names are in the report, both men have been getting ripped off the last few years.
The Jays have reached a preliminary agreement with Eckstein on a 1-year, $4.5 million contract, according to a major-league source.
I hope he's getting that in Canadian currency.
It was a long wait for Eckstein as he saw potential suitor after potential suitor go in other directions at shortstop. The White Sox traded for Orlando Cabrera, and the Tigers chose Edgar Renteria instead. The only two teams still making an effort to sign Eckstein were the Jays and reportedly the Rockies.
Apparently Eckstein saw more opportunity in Toronto than he did with the defending National League champs. Of course, the Rockies were more interested in turning Eckstein into a second baseman to replace Kaz Matsui, which probably had something to do with his choice to go to Toronto.
Well, Adam Everett wasn't out of a job for very long, was he?
When the Astros traded for Miguel Tejada yesterday, it was a roundabout way of informing Everett he no longer had a job. When they didn't tender him a contract before Wednesday's deadline, it became official. Now here we are just a few hours later, and Everett has reached a deal with the Minnesota Twins.
One day after losing his job with the Houston Astros to Miguel Tejada, shortstop Adam Everett has agreed to a one-year, contract with the Minnesota Twins, according to major-league sources.
Details of the contract haven't been disclosed yet.
Everett has never exactly been a force at the plate in his career, but it's not his career .248 average, or that career OBP of .299 that the Twins are signing him for. Everett has long been considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, and defense is something Ron Gardenhire and the Twins like to pride themselves on.
Everett is coming off of a season though in which he missed three months due to a broken leg, but it shouldn't have much of an impact on his performance next season.
The Astros have been linked to Miguel Tejada for a while now, and it seems the rumor does have some merit: Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports that the teams have discussed a trade but aren't yet close to pulling the trigger:
The Astros apparently believed a trade was possible Wednesday night, telling at least two other clubs that they were on the verge of a major deal. It is not clear whether their focus was Tejada.
Astros officials said Thursday morning that nothing was imminent, suggesting perhaps that the talks had faded. Other sources also indicated that the discussions were not in an advanced phase.
A Houston radio station reported Thursday that the Astros were close to acquiring Tejada for shortstop Adam Everett, second baseman Chris Burke and a pitcher.
If Everett and Burke are really the main cogs in the package offered to Baltimore, it's not hard to see why a deal is not yet in place. Tejada's home run tally and slugging percentage have declined each of his four years in Baltimore, but he's still an enormous upgrade over a guy like Everett, who hasn't had an OBP over .290 each of the last three seasons and has tallied all of 34 home runs in seven years. Yes, he's a fine, fine fielder, but he's truly awful at the plate and has no business playing every day. I think Burke might actually have some potential, but he's 28 years old and has never been a full-time starter, which has to count for something. Unless the Astros decide to get serious and offer some real talent, don't expect anything to come from this.
Say you're the GM of a 40-55 team that's found themselves in last place of what is arguably the worst division in baseball. Do you think admitting that you have no idea why your team sucks is a good idea? Because for some reason, Tim Purpura does. From the Houston Chronicle:
"It's totally unexpected," he said while working the phones from Houston. "In some ways, you can't believe that we are where we are given the kind of talent that's on the club."
[...]
"Even at the All-Star Game," Purpura said, "a number of people from other clubs said, 'Don't give up because you're a lot better than you're showing,' and they point to the fact we swept Seattle and they went back and got in the race.
Why are the Astros bad this year? Hmm. It could have something to do with losing Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte and somehow thinking Woody Williams and Jason Jennings would replace them, putting Craig Biggio's run at 3,000 hits before the team's success, starting the season with Hunter Pence in AAA, Lance Berkman getting older, Mike Lamb and Mark Loretta not having regular positions while Morgan Ensberg and Adam Everett (when he's healthy) do, and having a crappy bullpen. Or it might just be really bad luck that no one could've ever seen coming. Really, it could be either or. I'm on the fence myself.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
Just hours after 
It seems that no matter how many times we see it, baseball fans just never learn. Every spring baseball fans and experts alike say that this is the year that the Minnesota Twins are going to finish below .500 and at the bottom of the AL Central. Then summer comes along a few months later, and there they are. Sitting on top, or near the top of the division while the rest of us scratch their heads.
There's a run on shortstops taking place today, as the Twins came to terms with Adam Everett, and now the Blue Jays have signed shortstop 
Say you're the GM of a 40-55 team that's found themselves in last place of what is arguably the worst division in baseball. Do you think admitting that you have no idea why your team sucks is a good idea? Because for some reason, 
