Merry Christmas, Baseballers

Sincerely and truly,

The Department of Baseball

Marlins Add Mark Buehrle To Their Cart

The only thing more colorful than his new uniform will be each day at work.  Enjoy your manager Ozzie Guillen, wacky closer Heath Bell, newly-signed long-time underachiever Jose Reyes, and overpaid slacker mental case and soon-to-be-displaced-at-his-position Hanley Ramirez, along with the rest of the nutty troupe.

Ryan Braun Tests Positive For PED

And has thus been awarded a 50-game suspension. 

Braun and his management and legal team is expected to blather some incoherent alibis and defenses and appeal the automatic punishment.

What's worse is that Braun's 2011 NL batting championship trophy may now go to Jose Reyes, who took himself out of the final game after his first at-bat so that he could mathematically clinch the top spot.

The cream definitely rises to the top in major league baseball.





Absolutely no reason

Angels Sign Albert Pujols And CJ Wilson

Hall Of Fame Twists The Knife

Ron Santo was an All Star third baseman for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 to 1973 and after a year with the White Sox, retired in 1974 at the age of 34.

In 1980, his first year of eligibility for the hall of fame, he received 1.9% of the vote and his final year for consideration in 1998 yielded him his best showing, 43%. 

Santo wanted two things -- a World Series for the Cubbies and no posthumous induction into the hall of fame. 

Ron Santo died of complications from his life-long battle with diabetes in December 2010.

Today, almost exactly a year after his death and almost forty years after he retired from baseball, the veteran's committee voted Ron Santo into baseball's hall of fame. 

We're out of corn flakes.

Florida Marlins Stay Hot, Sign Jose Reyes

The Marlins apparently found value in an ex-Met shortstop who has not played a full season in three years and chose to win the NL batting crown in 2011 by benching himself after his first at-bat in the last game of the season.  Reyes' statistics include the Mets' infamous collapse of 2007 and all the other lesser-known Met chokes of the last several years.

For this the Marlins have rewarded him with a 6-year, $106M contract.

Somebody's drinking it

Heath Bell Is No Longer A Padre

Leaving the San Diego Padres more quietly than he took the mound in the 2011 All Star Game, closer Heath Bell was signed by the Florida Marlins to a 3-year, $27M contract.

Averaging 40 saves a year with a 2.88 ERA, Bell is a bargain compared to Jonathan Papelbon's 4-year, $50M contract, minus postseason experience.

Interestingly, incoming executive Omar Minaya traded Bell to the Padres back when Minaya was the GM for the New York Mets. 

Apparently Bell has not forgotten and is saving Minaya the trouble by going to where they know how to make it rain.

Hundred dolla' bills, y'all

Omar Minaya Is Now A Padre

Omar Minaya, former general manager for the New York Mets and before that the Montreal Expos and dead-ringer for The Ladies Man guy's father, has been hired by the San Diego Padres as Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations. 

He will still be based at his East coast home but will travel extensively for player scouting.

"That ith dithguthding"

Manaya's highlights for the Mets (2005 - 2010):

-  signed:  Johan Santana, Moises Alou, Francisco Rodriguez,  JJ Putz, Jason Bay, Jerry Manuel, Oliver Perez, Paul LoDuca, Jose Valentin, Billy Wagner

-  dealt away:  Heath Bell, Kaz Matsui

"We love it!"

-  fired manager Willie Randolph after winning the first game of a road trip

-  went bananas on New York Daily News writer Adam Rubin at a 2009 press conference



Buena suerte, Padres!