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MLB 2010 hotstove

SAN FRANCISCO -- Randy Johnson looked so awkward on the mound early in his career, that shaggy hair dangling down his neck as he fired a blazing fastball in every direction but the strike zone.

Now, after 22 major league seasons, The Big Unit is walking away from baseball as one of the game's greatest pitchers.

The 6-foot-10 Johnson announced his retirement on a conference call Tuesday, a decision that had been expected from the overpowering left-hander who reached 300 wins last June.

"I really wanted to go out on my terms," Johnson said. "I just feel like there's not a lot more for me to do in this game. I just think it's a natural progression when you play this long. Eventually you have to say it's time."

A five-time Cy Young Award winner, the 46-year-old Johnson accomplished just about everything in his remarkable career that a player hopes for in baseball.

He owns a World Series ring and co-MVP honors, and was a 10-time All-Star. He threw two no-hitters, including a perfect game, and ranks second on the career strikeout list.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4799462
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Matt Holliday has chosen the St. Louis Cardinals.

Matt Holliday explains why he has decided to re-sign with the Cardinals. Holliday also describes the structure of his contract, the free-agency process and the factors that influenced his decision.

On Tuesday, the free-agent slugger announced on The Doug Gottlieb Show on ESPN Radio that he is re-signing with the Cardinals.

"Well, I think first of all going into free agency I had in the back of my mind that I really liked my time in St. Louis and felt it was a good fit for me and my family," Holliday said on the show.

He added: "At the end of the day we decided that was best for us."

Holliday said that the deal was for seven years and between $119 million and $120 million with a team option at the end of the contract. He also said the deal is pending a physical.

General manager John Mozeliak said in a text message to The Associated Press that he planned to address the media Thursday once Holliday passes the physical.
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4799313
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Wow, the HOF voters just lost mega credibility for not voting in Alomar...:eek:

Also, apparently Randy wants to go into the HoF wearing a Seattle cap :) Works for me. (He had a bad falling out with the Diamondbacks, and it's pretty obvious that he has to go in as one or the other...he was only an Astro for a year, and wasn't in NYY for very long/at his best. Since he stayed the longest in Seattle (10yrs vs 8), won his first Cy Young there, and was a giant in the '95 playoffs, I think he can make his case to the Hall people for why he shouldn't go in with an Arizona cap--even though he did win more awards etc. there. Sadly, it's not the player's call, though
 
sysiphus said:
Wow, the HOF voters just lost mega credibility for not voting in Alomar...:eek:

Also, apparently Randy wants to go into the HoF wearing a Seattle cap :) Works for me. (He had a bad falling out with the Diamondbacks, and it's pretty obvious that he has to go in as one or the other...he was only an Astro for a year, and wasn't in NYY for very long/at his best. Since he stayed the longest in Seattle (10yrs vs 8), won his first Cy Young there, and was a giant in the '95 playoffs, I think he can make his case to the Hall people for why he shouldn't go in with an Arizona cap--even though he did win more awards etc. there. Sadly, it's not the player's call, though
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hopefully it's a giants cap :D

but in all honesty, being a giants fan, i hated him during his days with the dbacks, but after last year and the effect he had on our pitching staff, theres no hard feelings towards him anymore...

ok maybe a little still, but he made cain, sanchez, lincecum, and even zito realize their pitches.
 
Johnny Damon is....not a Yankee anymore.
The New York Yankees have agreed to terms with free agent outfielder Randy Winn on a one-year contract, pending a physical, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.

The contract is worth in the neighborhood of $2 million.

The deal, in all likelihood, ends any chance that Johnny Damon will return to the Yankees. The Yankees now seem set with their outfield for the 2010 season.

The 36-year-old Winn hit .262 in 149 games last season for San Francisco.

Damon and his agent Scott Boras are trying to engage the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds as possible alternatives, a baseball source told ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.

Boras has been successful placing many of his clients in Detroit, and the addition of Damon in left field would allow the Tigers to give Carlos Guillen more at-bats at DH.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4863701
 
How much do you want to bet Damon will have a deal that is less then the 2 years/$14 million the Yankees offered him? Seriously, he was being greedy as hell. I guess having Boras as your agent does that to you.....
 
quagmire said:
How much do you want to bet Damon will have a deal that is less then the 2 years/$14 million the Yankees offered him? Seriously, he was being greedy as hell. I guess having Boras as your agent does that to you.....
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I guess he didn't want to be a Yankee that badly.
 
I just hope they resign Wang. He'll be a great #5 starter so Hughes and Joba can both be in the bullpen. And if he pitches well( like his '06 and '07, and pre-injury '08) he'll probably become the #2 or #3 starter when Andy retires after the 2010 season most likely.
 
This is the best place to put this since I don't think it deserves its own thread.....

Found a video of Yankee Stadium during its renovation....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPwsl8YtxqQ&


Here is renderings of the proposed second renovation of the stadium restoring the exterior to Pre-Renovation design. The only thing I don't like about this design is the glass encasing the escalators and the finger lights. I quite like the wrap around lighting of the '76 renovation that did make it over to the new stadium.

http://www.stadiumpage.com/stpages/yankeereno.html
 
A lot of those renderings made its way into the new stadium. The great hall being the big one.

One thing you realize is how much of the stadium was gutted during renovations. The main structure might still be the same but the innards are new. It will be interesting to see the original core once they start demolishing the main structure.
 
MacNut said:
A lot of those renderings made its way into the new stadium. The great hall being the big one.

One thing you realize is how much of the stadium was gutted during renovations. The main structure might still be the same but the innards are new. It will be interesting to see the original core once they start demolishing the main structure.
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I know the renovation gutted a lot of the innards, but it is still the original 1923 stadium. The one thing I don't like about the renovation was tearing down Gate 4 and put that pod to act as the new Gate 4.

Yankee-Stadium-Memorie(2).jpg


vs

yankee-stadium.jpg


I am happy that the original Gate 4 is back at the new Yankee Stadium.

But, I am not happy about new Yankee Stadium. They should have just done another renovation. The stadium was structurally sound. It isn't falling apart like Wrigley is. This is why I will hate Steinbrenner forever for. He wanted a bigger source of revenue. Ever since 1996 or so he was making threats and looking to ditch Yankee Stadium. There was no reason besides money to replace Yankee Stadium. The new stadium looks to be a great stadium( have not been there yet) and the old one was hell to get out of when the game was over, but I wouldn't trade space to walk in over the history that is at Yankee Stadium( not matter how many people want to claim the renovation ruined it).

At least we didn't get the retractable roof Yankee Stadium Mr. Rudy Giuliani proposed.....
 
I haven't been to the new place either but I do like how they brought back the look of the 1923 stadium. I don't blame George for wanting a new place. The old stadium was cramped and out of date. I would love to see them save part of the old place as a monument or a landmark. For those diehards Wrigley and Fenway won't last forever. In 50 years Im sure they will have to have new places to play. You can't stop time. Eventually things will fall apart. If Yankee stadium didn't have the history behind it I don't think it would have lasted as long as it did.
 
MacNut said:
I haven't been to the new place either but I do like how they brought back the look of the 1923 stadium. I don't blame George for wanting a new place. The old stadium was cramped and out of date. I would love to see them save part of the old place as a monument or a landmark. For those diehards Wrigley and Fenway won't last forever. In 50 years Im sure they will have to have new places to play. You can't stop time. Eventually things will fall apart. If Yankee stadium didn't have the history behind it I don't think it would have lasted as long as it did.
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It could have used another renovation to bring it up to date like the '76 renovation did, but it didn't need to be replaced.

George wanted a new stadium because the old one didn't have enough luxury boxes. It was purely a money decision. If Yankee Stadium was crumbling to the point of a renovation costing a ridiculous amount of money, fine I could justify it. But, it wasn't crumbling. It was structurally sound.

There is a movement to save Gate 2 which was the least touched part of the renovation. It would make more sense for Gate 4 to be saved if they kept it the same instead of the ugly pod there...... There was also talk of a partial demolition, but the community whined which led to the total demo.

It still doesn't make sense for me to have NYS. $150 million to renovate the old one is considerably cheaper then the $1.1 billion for building the new one...... If the renovation of OYS was to cost $400 million dollars, then that would be a bit too high for a simple renovation. But, $150 million is not that bad for one, IMHO.
 
Damon's still looking for work
Pitchers are catchers are less than two weeks away, however Johnny Damon is still looking for a job and there doesn't appear to be many teams willing to bring him on board. FoxSports.com's Jon Paul Morosi says the Braves and Tigers are definitely among the clubs interested in Damon, though Atlanta has taken a more passive approach. They'd be happy to take him if he "fell into their lap" according to the Fox scribe, which translates to "if his price comes way down."

Meanwhile, Lynn Henning of The Detroit News says the Tigers need to add a hitter after the Twins added Orlando Hudson, but he cautions that Damon isn't "a perfect answer or player." This certainly isn't the first time we've seen these two teams connected to the former Yankee left fielder.

Bobby Abreu didn't sign until February 12th last year, so Damon still has some time before meeting his former teammate's mark.
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As probably one of the last bits of information to this thread.
The Johnny Damon Sweepstakes appeared to be nearing the finish line Thursday, as Damon tries to choose from several offers far less than the two-year, $20 million deal he and agent Scott Boras have been seeking.

Two sources told ESPN.com that the Detroit Tigers have made the largest offer, amid speculation around the industry that that bid is in the range of one year, $7 million. There were indications the sides were still discussing a possible two-year deal. But even the Tigers' one-year offer appears to be the biggest offer on the table.

The Atlanta Braves and Tampa Bay Rays have also remained in the bidding, with both teams talking about one-year contracts for fewer total dollars than the Tigers' offer. MLB.com reported that the Braves' offer was for less than $4 million. The Chicago White Sox also have expressed interest, as ESPNChicago.com reported late last month.

At this point, if Damon landed with any team other than the Tigers or Braves, it would be a surprise. He and Boras have been publicly expressing their admiration for both teams. And both, conveniently, hold spring training close to Damon's home in Orlando.

Officials of both the Tigers and Braves declined to characterize their offers or the state of their negotiations Thursday. However, speculation in the industry, from people who have spoken with various principals, is that Damon will make a decision by the end of the week.
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http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4905884
 
They oddly demolished a strip of the upper deck exposing 1923-1973 original catwalk.

zzzynk3.jpg
 
If the Twins stay healthy and Liriano comes back to shape like he is supposedly doing now, Twins are going to DESTROY. Great offense and defense, decent bullpen and rotation.

Bad < Below Average < Average < Above Average < Good < Gold Glove

Defense:

CF - Denard Span: Above Average
2B - Orlando Hudson: Good
C - Joe Mauer: Gold Glove
1B - Justin Morneau - Good
RF - Michael Cuddyer - Average
DH - Kubel/Thome
SS - JJ Hardy - Above Average
LF - Delmon Young - Average
3B - Brendan Harris - Below Average
 
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