SweetSpot Roundup 12/10

Capitol Avenue Club (Braves): Transaction Analysis: George Sherrill
Peter isn't excited about Sherrill (or writing about him). He was on my wish list for the Twins, so I'm not sure how to feel about this (I guess I wouldn't have wanted them to pay $1.2 million for him, though).

View from the Bleachers (Cubs): Chet's Corner: 5 Random Thoughts...
Thoughts on the Winter Meetings and Ron Santo.

Redleg Nation: Robby is an Old 30* and Vida Blue becomes a Red*
Yesterday was the 45th anniversary of probably the most famous and possibly the worst trade in baseball history. Surprised we didn't hear more about that.

Dodger Thoughts: Love for Sale?
Steve Garvey is trying to buy the Dodgers? I'm no fan of Garvey, but still, that seems kind of awesome.

Mets Today: Mets Sign Boof Bonser
Did you know Boof is his real name? He was born John, but legally changed his name to Boof. The tremendous Bat Girl used to refer to him as Boof "John" Bonser. Cracked me up.

Crashburn Alley (Phillies): Paul Hagen on Protection, RBI
Bill highlights a good, saber-friendly mainstream media article.  I heartily approve of this.

Ducksnorts (Padres): Rule V Draft: Padres Add Kontos, Lose Chalk
Not too thrilled about the former, not broken up about the latter, but worth reading as always.

Bay City Ball (Giants): Giants Looking at Andrew Miller
Musings on the possibility of the Giants picking up the former #6 overall pick.

Nationals Baseball: This shocks me more than the Werth deal
"The overpay for Werth (also a Boras client), the constant praise we heard of Pena from sources on the team, the actual mutual interest, the 'Carlos 4 eva' homemade tattoo across Rizzo's chest... How could the Nats not get Pena?"

Ghostrunner on First (Blue Jays): And Far Away...
"Watching the internet grab hold of an idea, shaking it until death, really is a sight to behold. A current meme among Blue Jays fans which continuously irks is the "Move Aaron Hill to Third Base" movement. The arrival of [Brett Lawrie] this week seems to say, to most people, that Aaron Hill should shuffle his out-making bones to the hot corner because, well, Brett Lawrie is shinier and newer."

ProBall NW (Mariners): Olivo Back in Seattle
Damning with faint praise: "Considering the free agent catching crop this year, the M’s could have done a lot worse."


Baseball Time in Arlington (Rangers): The Michael Young Trade Rumor
Does trading "the face of your franchise" make any kind of sense?  Only when that face is roughly the fourth or fifth best player on your team, and is still paid like the face of the franchise.  Which kind of describes this situation perfectly, actually.
 
The Ray Area: A Spade is a Spade
Rationalizing: "Now that he has gone, we can finally admit the dirty secret Rays fans have agreed to overlook since CC arrived: he is  great but not irreplaceable."
 
Fire Brand of the American League (Red Sox): Carl Crawford and the Unstoppable Sox
"The acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez and signing of Carl Crawford have done wonders for the depth of the Red Sox lineup. Both are signed to long term deals and while the years of each contract are significant, I’m not ready to look that far just yet, though I should. Not now, not today. There is too much optimism, too much excitement, too much dreaming going on inside my head."
 
Royals Authority: The End of the Winter Meetings is Only Just the Beginning
"Dayton Moore to free agent outfielders is much the same as my wife at Famous Footwear.   Why buy just one when you can get the second pair (or second outfielder) for half off?   Thus, we have Francoeur and Cabrera when probably just one – and I don’t really care which one – would be enough."
 
The Daily Fungo (Tigers): Monday Mankowskis, Winter Meetings Edition
The Tigers are running out of players to sign.  So what do they do now?
 
Nick's Twins Blog: Hardy Trade Cripples Infield Depth
"I've come to have a lot of respect for Smith's judgment as a general manager, so I'm going to go ahead and assume his statements were only meant to mask a fact that would not be well received by the public: the Twins have hit a financial wall."


Sox Machine (White Sox): Donkey Kong a front-office smash
"The Sox jumped over plenty of barrels, retaining their captain and solving the DH problem under difficult emotional circumstances and the return of open wallets all around baseball. And with Pierzynski back in the fold for a third of his 2010 cost, the Sox worked out three problems efficiently for 2011."
 
It's About the Money Stupid (Yankees): The bloom is off the Jeter rose
"If Jeter is really as angry as he showed us yesterday, that’s a good thing for the team. An angry Jeter is a super-motivated Jeter. He wants to prove to everyone that he is still the player from 2009. I hope he’s up to the task."