The Gold Gloves were issued last week and I always end up scratching my head at these. Michael Young, God love him, of my Texas Rangers is not the best defensive shortstop in the American League. He has limited range and can make the “routine” play but I would not compare him to Ozzie Smith, Alan Trammell, Omar Visquel, or even Cal Ripken when he played short. Even A-Fraud was as good if not a better defensive shortstop. But I digress.

The best off season to me is baseball’s. They have action all the time and the hot stove boiling new deals all the time. The Halladay to Oakland deal got me jazzed. I am so ready for the free agents to start falling from the sky in massive numbers. Manny is gonna collect big bank. Tex is out there but I think he may be a little exposed for the above average 1B that he is. He hits well and is a switch hitter but the crop of firstbaseman is thick. He will probably land in Yankee-land and be overpaid just like the rest of the team.

As for the rangers, OY! Do they have issues they need to address and address NOW. Bringing Mike Maddux in as the pitching coach is a good move. I am still anxious for the move that is really needed to be made. JD has to go. Nolan needs to put his stamp on the team and start winning.

The Jake Peavy sweepstakes has me interested, the trickle down effect on this signing is huge. Many of the other free agent pitchers out there are going to have to deal around this signing. If they can get in before the signing, they can fill the void for teams that are not wanting to pay for Peavy. If they get signed after, their deals will be measured against it. The Nats Making a deal perplexes me. Are they positioning to get better now or in the future?

As i write this I am looking at MLB Trade rumors feed on my FeedDemon and I just got an update. And, as i had thought, the Rockies are not done. They are looking to dump payroll and get more youth by the sounds of it. They really didn’t show alot last year so get what you can now before they lose more value. Not a bad strategy.

Tags: Free Asgents, Gold Gloves, Hot Stove, trades