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For a while it seemed that the Brewers and Prince Fielder were going to be heading to arbitration to hammer out a deal for Fielder in 2009. Fielder wanted $8 million, the Brewers were willing to go to $6 million, and in between the two Scott Boras sat like Mr. Burns tapping his fingers together while plotting evil schemes to block out the sun in Milwaukee until Prince got his money.

While there was also some talk that the Brewers may trade Fielder -- he could help fill some other needs the team has -- general manager Doug Melvin denied any chance of that happening, and now the chances of a trade seem even more remote. That's because according to Jon Heyman at SI.com, the two sides are on the verge of agreeing to a two-year deal.

It must really suck to be Oakland Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby this morning. After having to deal with all the rumors that the Athletics were going to sign -- and thought they had signed -- free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal, the deal fell through and Furcal went back to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Crosby probably felt relief knowing that he was going to be keeping his job, and just when he started to feel good about himself again, the A's kick him when he's down.

Since the team missed out on Furcal, they've decided to turn their attention elsewhere and now, according to Jon Heyman, elsewhere would be Orlando Cabrera. It's not hard to blame Oakland for wanting to find a replacement for Crosby, as Bobby does have a tendency to go on the disabled list every time the wind changes direction, and he did put up an unimpressive line of .237/.296/.349 last season in 145 games. He also had the second worst season of his career defensively, committing 17 errors and seeing his range factor drop to a career low of 4.17.

In Cabrera the Athletics would not only be getting a Gold Glove shortstop, but also an improved offensive player, even if he is getting up there in age, at 34 years old. Not to mention, thanks to the many years he spent with the Angels he has a good knowledge of the teams in the AL West.

What confuses me about all of this, though, is the direction the Athletics are taking. Remember the good old days when the Athletics would trade their soon-to-be rich players for a truck full of prospects? Now the team is doing nothing but bringing in high-priced veterans. Sure, the Furcal deal fell through, but the team still managed to get Matt Holliday from the Rockies, brought Jason Giambi back, and now they're going after Cabrera. What's next? Andy Pettitte?

It's as if the bad economy is actually helping the A's compete on the open market.

Don't believe me? Read the headline, chumps!

Here's the formidable Opening Night talent roster: studio hosts Greg Amsinger, Victor Rojas and Matt Vasgersian, reporters Trenni Kusnierek and Hazel Mae, insider Jon Heyman and studio analysts Barry Larkin, Al Leiter, Joe Magrane, Dan Plesac, Harold Reynolds and Mitch Williams.

Yep. Jon Heyman. If you're not familiar with Mr. Heyman, this should fill you in.

This afternoon's Dugout is after the jump.

Yesterday, the artist formerly known as Willie Balls and currently called Will Brinson told you about a report from SI's Jon Heyman saying the Dodgers were thinking of giving Manny Ramirez an offer of two years at about $27.5 million a year. In other words: A-Rod money. There was also a report in the New York Post on Friday that the Dodgers had already offered Manny a deal for two years and $60 million.

Unfortunately, nobody has told Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti about any of this yet. According to Ned the Dodgers haven't even begun figuring out what they want to offer Manny, and he laughs at all your silly rumors.

Now that Ken Griffey Jr. has surpassed the 600 home run milestone, and the Reds are sitting in last place in the NL Central (though they're only three games under), if there's ever going to be a time when Cincinnati would trade Junior, this is it. Griffey has already gone on record as saying that he expects to be traded this season, but since he has a no-trade clause, he's going to have a say in where he's going.

One of those places Junior would consider? According to SI's Jon Heyman, Tampa is looking nice this time of year.

Now Griffey, a longtime resident of the Orlando, Fla., area, is telling friends he's monitoring the surprising Tampa Bay Rays as a possible destination for him, should the Reds decide to deal him.

Griffey, 39, has a no-trade clause but has told intimates that if the Rays stay in the race, he'd consider waiving his veto power to go home. Or close to home, anyway. Tampa is much nearer his Orlando-area residence than any other big-league city. Griffey's tony Isleworth community is about an hour from St. Petersburg, where the Rays play.

Tampa would be a good place for Junior since they are in the race, and they are located near Junior's home in Orlando, so he can be close with his family. It would also work for the Reds because they need pitching, and the Rays are an organization with a lot of young pitching they can move in such a deal.

As for the Rays, while I could understand their motive in bringing Junior to Florida, I'm not sure he'll be enough to help the team overcome Boston in the AL East this season. By making this deal the Rays may just end up giving up the young arms that can help them overcome Boston in the future for a three month rental at DH that's not going to be enough.

Have you ever wanted to do something so badly you end up doing it in less than favorable conditions? For example, have you ever wanted to play a game of pick up basketball so badly that, against your better judgment, you brave the cold and hop a bus to the Y, only to end up playing two-on-two with three 12-year-old kids? But hey, at least you're playing, right?

Mike Piazza feels you. (And by "you," I mean "me.") SI's Jon Heyman reports that Piazza wants to play baseball so much he's already contacting baseball teams in Japan in case he can't find a job stateside in '08:

Word is, Mike Piazza has been looking east again for job possibilities. Sources indicate that in the event he fails to land work in the majors, he's begun sending out feelers all over Japan's Pacific League (the one with the DH).

Piazza, 39, is only a year removed from a very productive year in San Diego, but off his injury-plagued '07 season, one AL exec isn't surprised that Piazza is considering becoming the first Hall-of-Fame caliber player to make that switch. "No way he gets guaranteed money in the big leagues,'' that exec predicted.

Piazza is already well-known in Japan as Hideo Nomo's first catcher, more so than for being the greatest hitting catcher of all-time.

Really, who can fault Piazza? For the last 15 years, Piazza has been paid handsomely to play a game he (presumably) enjoys; the longer he can continue that, regardless of the environment, the more power to him. And Japanese baseball is no longer baseball's version of the YMCA. The product is genuinely good, and if you play your cards right, you might become a star. Just ask Bobby V.

Just the other day, I lamented SI.com writer Jon Heyman's willingness to totally dismiss VORP and runs created in favor of a nonsensical "wins created" concept, which was basically just an expression of Heyman's desire to tell advanced baseball metrics and their proponents to eff off. It's sad, really, when a baseball writer for the nation's most prestigious sports magazine decides to take a stubborn, ignorant stance. It's also, unfortunately, pretty common.

But a breath of fresh air exists: Tom Verducci, SI's head baseball guy, takes a question from someone far too angry about sabermetrics and answers in a reasoned, thoughtful fashion. Is that so much to ask?

I get the feeling that the stats geeks would prefer not to play the games at all, just crank it through the computer, prove their point that Team A is best, and crown them champs, and then let the blogosphere and Internet argue it out, maybe use it for 10 or 12 more Top 10 lists. Maybe if y'all would put down the Bill James and actually watch a bleeping game you'd have a bleeping clue ... [The Diamondbacks and Mariners] play together, play smart, never give up an out, have exceptional closers, and win most of the games that they have a chance to win. It ain't rocket science; it's as old as when the only stats were wins, losses, batting average and ERA. -- Jon DeMent, St. Cloud, Minn.

Here's the way I look at it: It's not an either/or proposition. Stats can enhance your understanding and passion for the game; and your understanding and passion of the game should keep the stats in their proper context. What I find really interesting is when stats challenge some time-honored baseball "traditions" or conventions. But I still think one of the best things about baseball is -- despite the wealth of information we have about past performance -- its unpredictability. No matter how much we know about baseball, that will always be true.

First of all, Jon in St. Cloud ... wow. Just, wow.

Second: Eureka! See, Heyman? See, Joe Morgan? It's not an ugly war between two diametrically opposed sides; it's a mutually beneficial search for the most accurate, telling baseball knowledge. It doesn't make the game any less fun. Promise.

And it's working. If you consider yourself a fan of both Jon Heyman and VORP, well, you're going to have a tough decision to make today. Because Heyman is being dismissive of intelligent baseball thought, and he's not even being polite about it:

Yes, the Marlins are not in playoff contention, but it's hard to ignore Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera, especially considering they're first and second, respectively, in the NL in VORP, and rank in the top three in Runs Created. [...]
-- Carolyn, Boca Raton, Fla.

Actually, you're right. That's exactly what I did, and how I came up with Prince Fielder as my NL MVP leader. His "good'' year is actually more than good, and the Brewers are right in the thick of the playoff race. While I understand your sentiments, I am more interested in "wins created'' than runs created. And the day I consider VORP is the day I get out of the business. The idea of the MVP is to honor the player who has had the biggest positive impact on the pennant races. [...]

"Wins created" and runs created ... nope, those have nothing to do with each other at all, do they? I mean, it's not like baseball is a game solely determined by how many runs you score while preventing the other team from scoring. Nope, the amount of runs you score has nothing to do with wins. Nothing interrelated there, not at all.

And man, you don't have to like VORP, but at least present an alternative viewpoint. Explain why you think a team's success should factor into MVP voting; that's something most people could get behind, even if it does dismiss more "valuable" performances for non-contending teams. The point is: don't just dismiss it out of hand. As Rex Grossman might say, that's ignorant. And we don't want writers for the nation's leading, most respected sports magazine coming across as ignorant, now do we?