Losers

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1. David Ortiz. He's still got Manny Ramirez to hit behind him. And he'll welcome in new No. 5 hitter Drew. Although there's one problem, Drew now makes more money. Assuming the Red Sox pick up the option on Ortiz's deal, which was completed only eight months ago, his is for $65 million over five years, or $5 million less than Drew will get in the same period.

2. Travis Hafner. Congrats to GM Mark Shapiro and his guys for locking up Hafner on what one agent called the "worst player contract in baseball.'' The fellow with perhaps the best numbers in the AL will make $4 million this year and $5 million next, making him underpaid by at least half.

3. Agent Greg Genske. He's the agent for Hafner. Not to mention for Manny, who still hasn't gotten his wish to leave Boston.

4. The Giants. Their attempt to put together a young team didn't quite come together.

5. Jon Garland. I guess some could argue that almost going to Houston is better than actually going to Houston (sorry, cheap joke). But he can't be too happy his bosses wanted him there for a while.

6. The Astros. Roy Oswalt's deal looks like a steal at $73 mil now, and Lee will help them by depositing a ton of homers into the Crawford box. But they got hit by bad luck on Friday, losing Andy Pettitte to the Yankees.

7. The Royals. What made them do it? Do they feel guilty for lining their pockets with the cash of big-market teams for years? And one more question: Rather than spend $60 million on Meche and Octavio Dotel, might it have been better to spend that money on draft choices and amateur free agents and shoot for 2010?

8. Cubs bookkeepers. Not all the Cubs' deals were over-the-top. Mark DeRosa ($13 million, four years), Kerry Wood ($1.75 million) and Lou Piniella ($10 million, three years) were bargains. But how do their actuaries keep up?

9. The Nationals. Their one goal was to trade fourth-outfielder type Ryan Church, and they couldn't get it done. They seemed to be dangling closer Chad Cordero, who won't have enough to do for Washington next year, for pitching help. As one NL exec put it, "They have only one [starting] pitcher. [John] Patterson, that's it.'' But alas, they do have 21 six-year free agents coming in.

Around the Majors

• Eric Gagne is primed to join the "winners' category. He's not going to have to undergo tryouts and will have a deal that could pay him close to $10 million (with incentives), with either the Red Sox, Indians or Rangers. While Texas has Akinori Otsuka to close, they're willing to bet on a comeback for Gagne, who'd take over the closing duties if acquired.

• The Royals may still be trying to land Miguel Batista (perhaps for $25 million over three years) after spending $60 million Thursday on Meche and Dotel.

• Dotel had two- and three-year offers but preferred to prove himself first, then go back onto the market. Good for him.

• The Yankees are willing to give Shea Hillenbrand $5 million on a one-year deal but Hillenbrand reportedly has two-year options elsewhere. Maybe the Yankees should ditch their idea to get a righthanded hitter for first base and try to reacquire Nick Johnson. Just an idea: How about Humberto Sanchez for Johnson?

• Interesting last-day lobby scene: Jerry Krause, who's now a Mets scout, chatting it up with White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf. I didn't give in to my wish to eavesdrop. But I bet they were reminiscing about the good old days, when they had Michael Jordan under contract for far less than Meche is getting.