Don't forget the Soriano for H. Ramirez deal. Bill Bavasi was, once again, FLEECED. Ugh.

Todd Jones did okay in Detroit, if I'm not mistaken. His contract may not make a whole lot of sense with Zumaya and Rodney waiting in the wings, but he performed well for the Tigers, all in all.

Just a quick quip, but a 96 ERA+ is league average for Starters, 100 ERA+ for all pitching in the league. Not that it makes the Meche signing any better though.

You really contradicted yourself by saying the Meche deal is the WORST signing and then saying that the Royals and teams like them have to pay more than contenders. Dayton Moore is trying to change a perception in baseball circles that the Royals are a player and can be dealt with! He also is signalling that the days of trading away the Beltrans, Damons, and Dyes because they can command serious money are over now and there's a new sheriff in town! Royals make the playoffs in 2 or 3 years you saw it here first.

Every time it seems like the Royals attempt to better themselves, someone pundit screams bloody murder about how stupid they are, wasteful, blah, blah, blah. "The Royals are such losers because . . . ." Enough of that. That team last year was a joke and Dayton Moore and the fans in Kansas City know as well as anybody that most of those players on that team should not even be in the major leagues. Moore is looking for professional, quality, players and he has been agressive in doing so. Anything has to be better than the stuff they were putting on the field last year. For a team that has had problems like the Royals, it has to be comforting to at least see moves like this, risky as they may be. Leave the Royals alone and while you're at it stop picking on the the elderly, two year olds, and the handicapped as well.

As a Phillies fan, i'm pretty excited about the Freddy Garcia deal. Gavin Floyd may turn out to be a great pitcher, but he is too much of a headcase for it to ever happen in Philadelphia. Garcia is a workhorse and should stay healthier than the chronically overweight and unfit Jon Lieber, who the Phils are trying to turn into bullpen help. Now if we can just find someone (anyone?) to take on Pat Burrell's unfortunate contract... Anyone have Isiah Thomas' number?

Here's where Kenny Williams is brilliant. Would you rather have Ted Lilly for $10M or Freddie Garcia for $8M? Freddie. Would you rather have Mark Buehrle for $7M, signed through 2007, or Jason Schmidt at $16M? Buehrle. Williams can sit back, wait for offers to come in for his free-agents-to-be, stock his team for 2009 and beyond and each of his current starters (except Brandon McCarthy, who isn't even arbitration eligible yet) HAS to pitch well in order to get the big money contracts out there. Spend the big money on hitting (can you say, Michael Young?) and leave the pitching to the coaches to develop, as the Sox have done brilliantly over the past five years.

The royals do have to pay more because you must convince a guy to come to a club that usually loses 90 games. I think that is is point. If they can get a few guys by overpaying, thereby getting respectable, it will be easier and cheaper to sign other guys. Royals in the series in 2-3 years? Not in that division!!!!!!

How bad is this year's free agent class. The Yankees resorted to the Rule V draft to try and fill their hole at first base by picking Josh Phelps. The last time the Yankees were participants in the Rule V draft was 1995.

I like Bengie Molina for that contract. Career: .277/.310/.407/.717 but the last two seasons his OPS has been .780+ and he's averaged about 15 HR the last four seasons. I'll take that in a good defensive catcher, especially in the NL in the 8th slot ahead of the pitcher.

It only took hours for Ted Lilly's contract to look decent, one year shorter than Meche's, decent WHIP (rising, but your's would rise too in the AL East) and doesn't hurt that Lilly's a lefty.

Schmidt at three years is a good move too, but doesn't offset the horrendous Pierre parry.

It's OK for KC to overpay for a lower-risk acquisition, but Meche's contract is a roster crippler if he tanks.

Excellent observations all around by Mr. JL. Kudos.

Oh come on. The Meche signing is worse than Juan Pierre making 8.8 mil or whatever he got? No way. The Gary Mathews Jr contract. Not even close.

Maybe the Yankees thought it was 1995 again and they were getting Ken Phelps.

I love the Piazza signing for Oakland. Had good numbers for the Padres last year while catching. Those numbers should improve considerably as he moves to DH, and gets to stay at home in CA.

Im hoping Kenny Wiliams isnt done yet. He plays everything so close to his vest, you never know. The Sox could use another arm in the bullpen. Branden McCarthy is a stud in waiting and his nice hard sinker is ideal for the cell. If they can get one more decent arm for the pen they are still as good as any team in baseball. It will be interesting to see what Don Cooper can do for Gavin Floyd. He has been somewhat of a miracle worker by making minor adjustments on guys like Floyd with great results. I know Philly fans booed Santa Claus, but they are going to like what they get with Garcia. A classy workhorse that comes up big in big games. He is a lunchbucket player that shows up every fifth day and pitches his butt off. And he shuts his mouth and leads by example.(An Aaron Rowand on the mound). Any Philly fans that can let me know more about Floyd in detail, it would be appreciated. Lets hope this is another win/win trade.

55 mil for an okay pitcher is too much for "respect". they will regret this deal after year 2. royals should look at Twins playbook...cultvate OWN talent...sign to an extension before he hit the market...see J.santana.

put me down as another phils fan who is pretty happy about getting The Rock-- i mean, Garcia- from Chicago. Floyd has a ton of talent, but needs someone to straighten out his head.

Burrell needs to go as well, even though given this market, his contact is starting to look like a bargain. It's too bad he doesn't feel like he needs to work; what a waste of talent.

we miss Placido in Philly.

Ridiculous to spend this much money on ANY player. Boycott baseball and hopefully they will lower the ticket prices so working people like myself can enjoy a game!

I thought 10 mil/yr was a little much for a guy who's pitching >4 ERA. However, that was in the AL east, which isn't exactly nice to pitchers. I guess we'll see what he can do in the "run manufacture" NL central.

As an M's fan im so disgusted with Bavasis desicions.
Even though Soriano is injury proned when hes healthy hes one of the AL's best.

Horacio ramirez is a number 4 starter. Who I dont think will have a great time in the A.L.

The worst decision of this or any year for the next three is J. Damon getting 4 years from the Yankees last offseason. He gave them one good year...now let's see the rest of them. He's an average centerfielder and not a great hitter by any stretch. If A-Rod weren't on the team, people would be lining up to take shots at this Average Johnny.

More K's than walks, .359 OBP (crappy old A-Rod was at .392, good for 18th in MLB; Damon was 67th), under 200 hits a year. What a great leadoff hitter...next to Juan Pierre.

Derek Jeter had more hits, doubles, and a far higher OBP. He'd make a great leadoff man. But of course, then Damon would be superfluous...

Hard to believe that JD Drew doesn't at least warrant a mention. Too many, "ifs" if you ask me. If he stays healthy. If he stays happy. If he can thrive in Boston.
Too much money, but not untypical of the Red Sox these days: throw money at it and maybe it will turn out okay.

So wrong. Juan Pierre is the worst deal by far. He's still getting paid for that World Series. Get off the Royals back. They have to overpay for a player that has any "upside". That's the only way they can even get moderate free agents. Plus, Sweeney will be gone in 2008 and he and his bad back will open up 11 million dollars. As for the guy who suggseted the Twins route of bringing up you own players.. genius. The Royals, Devil Rays, Pirates, Brewers and I forgot it was that simple. Look, the cupboard was bare with pitching when Dayton Moore arrived. Allard Baird left Moore with a few good bats (Alex Gordon, Billy Butler, Mark Teahen and David DeJesus). He also left him with one pitcher with any potential; Zach Greinke, and he's a basketcase. Moore has made some moves to rid the organization of prospects that weren't working. Mike MacDougal, Runelvys Hernandez, Kyle Snyder, Mike Wood, Ambiorix Burgos and Colt Griffin are all history. They have been replaced with Tyler Lumsden, Brian Bannister, Joakim Soria, Luke Hochevar, Jorge De La Rosa, Luke Hudson and yes, Gil Meche. Will this work? Who knows? Certainly not all of them. Maybe one, two or none of them will reach the next level. Who knew David Ortiz would be an MVP candidate when Boston traded for him? Certainly not the usually shrewd Twins. What about Jason Schmidt? When he left the Pirates, his era had never dipped below 4.06. Now he's the best pitcher signed in free agency. The Giants were a little fortunate he blossomed on that team. Give Moore a few years and then blast him for moves like this. At least a few people are starting to care in KC.

1. Royals' fans have their backs up about criticism. By the time the current run of White Sox, Twins, and Tigers rosters is over, Gil Meche will be 5 years older and gone, probably. You paid 11 million a year for a league average pitcher that won't see whatever competitive days lie somewhere in the future. Stupid. They should use that 11 million to build a better minor league system and follow the As model. What a waste.

2. Piazza is another brilliant As move. Billy Beane does it again.

3. To the guy who gets on the Johnny Damon deal....he had the highest OPS plus of his career last season, makes only slightly more than Gary Matthews, Jr. in this market, and may have proved to be the balance in the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry last season as the Yanks won the division and the Sox finished 3rd. If he has 3 league average years he'll be worth it, and that's predicting a decline that is unlikely to happen so rapidly.

Why was getting rid of Mike Macdougal such a good move? He's cheap.His White Sox stats:

1-1 W/L
29.0 IP
21 H
5 R
5 ER
6 BB
21 SO
1.55 ERA

Why was getting rid of MacDougal a good move? Oh let me count the ways...Ask any Royals fan or most Royals fans and they'll tell you that they'd take a good starting pitching prospect (Tyler Lumsden) anyday over the eternally, year after year, can't miss MacDougal who never realized his potential and who was incapable of ever getting a save without making his team sweat out a nailbiter. Believe me, anyone who knows the Royals calls the MacDougal trade a nice one, or at worst, a wash...Dayton Moore is going to turn this thing around mark my words!

It will be hard to top the Juan Pierre signing as the worst bang-for-the-buck deal of the century.

At least this time the yankees didn't give up a Buhner for a Phelps. Frank Costanza can rest easy, he won't have to give Steinbrenner grief over this one.

I hope this is not another white towel, Reinsdorf economics move. Freddie ate up innings and rested a less than average bullpen last year. What did we get in return? A guy who has been touted as a great arm. I hope it works out but I expect to see more of the same type of moves to make a payroll more desirable for J.R. Remember the BULLS? Try to get season tix for the SOX. Not only is there a waiting list but if you do have them there are no gaurantees for descent seats for the playoffs. I remember a lot of empty seats Jerry. I hope you remember too.

I love the guy who wonders why the MacDougal move was a good one. You're judging his stats after 29 innings pitched! He had good stretches with the Royals but never was consistant. He also has lost some velocity on his fastball and will have to be more clever with his pitches to be effective. As for the guy who thinks that the Tigers, White Sox and Twins have a dynasty of at least five more years cooking, maybe. If I remember correctly, that last few World Series champions have sure found it hard to get into the playoffs with any regularity lately. Parity exists and no one in KC expects playoffs every year to ever happen. KC fans would just like to be able to cheer for a team in the hunt when August rolls around. I also think the White Sox will regret trading Garcia. Their pitching was a disappointment last year and that's what cost them the playoffs. The Twins are impressive, but what about Radke (possibly) and Liriano being gone? Liriano may never reach his potential now. Santana is great but not enough. Wait until the Yankess set their sites on Joe Mauer in a few years when Posada isn't around. Nothing is for sure in baseball unless your team is the Yankees or Bo-Sox. The Royals are disappointing, but fans who don't stick around for their team to reemerge and then jump on the bandwagon are even more disappointing.

as a marlin fan I must add Ugueth Urbina to list of great one year closers for the Fish since he also parlayed his World Series ring into a big money deal

Does the Gil Meche deal remind anyone of Darren Dreifort?
As for the Horacio for Soriano deal, I think it's more of a credit to John Schuerholtz than a discredit to Bill Bavasi. This is the same gm who convinced Cleveland to give up Steve Reed and Steve Karsay for John Rocker.

The Gil Meche deal is worse than the Juan Pierre deal because of the teams involved. LA will survive the crazy market. KC, on the other hand, just made #4 starters worth $11M/yr. ...the Royals can never again decry teams like the Yankees for making free agents unaffordable. Now they are outpricing themselves. Brilliant.

As a tried-and-true Royals fan, I must say I'm happy the Royals are making any kind of move.

Dayton Moore has to walk a thin line between total fan discontent (terrible pitching, another 100+ loss season) and frugal spending and counting on prospects.

While the price was high, I feel this falls in the middle of the two. It should bolster the rotation (can you be worse than Runelvys and company's 7+ ERA?) and should provide a short-term benefit.

I'd rather the contract have been a 3-year deal, but we'll take it.

And, btw, I'm not shedding any tears over the release of Hernandez or Burgos.

...and you have people from varying markets bandying about the idea of the Royals chances and/or future successes. coming from a bleeding loyal old school baseball fan who has watched some of the worst 100 loss teams stumble forth like a drunken Chicago-an off the El; the idea of a return to relevance or the fact that people are even talking about the Royals makes me smile! in addition - i'll give you the names Hochevar, Luke; Cota, Luis; Greinke, Zach; Buckner, Billy; Lumsden, Tyler; Bannister, Brian: all among sub-26 age and each with a chance to at least be the next round of Ted Lilly's and Gil Meche's. After Matt Garza, what do the Twins have in the pipeline?

All of the recent 'big' deals are terrible. The inflation of payroll is mind-boggling. It not only increases costs (which are passed on to the fans), but it also alienates those players who are producing substantially more and getting paid much less than these so called stars. It's cyclical, you drive up the price for a mediocre player this year and then in another few years when the market is thin again, the next batch of mediocre free agents inflate the market, again.

I can safely predict that if this type of spending continues, that MLB will end up collapsing. Either by spending themselves into oblivion or fan revolt.

$50 hotdog anyone?

I don't understand why people blast the Royals for not spending money in this era of the luxury tax, but when they do, they get blasted as well. The Royals didn't have to operate under a meager payroll the past decade, they chose to. When they were winning in 2003, they sold out games. Believe it or not, Kansas City was a great baseball town in the 70's and 80's and up to the strike. They lost an owner that would pony up the dough to be competitive in Ewing Kauffman and went years without an owner. This caused them to operate under a really low budget. This is also what created the perception of them being cheap. This Meche move signifies that things may change. david Glass (the chairman of Walmart, the biggest retailer in the world) is not going to change baseball by remaining frugal. The other owners are going to spend their money. Dayton Moore would have held out for a better team unless he was assured that the frugality was going to end. They're not out pricing themselves. You know that even if Meche is average, some team looking to bolster their rotation for the playoffs will come calling in a couple of years. Look, 11 million for an average pitcher might be the new trend. It's up to teams like the Dodgers, Cubs, Yankees and red Sox to stop overpaying. It seemed like that happened the last few years, until the White Sox and Marlins won the World Series, then the others got jealous and opened their wallets up again.

You, sir, are a complete idiot, and I have believed that from reading your column. I often read it to get a good laugh at how someone like you can have a job writing for a fairly prestigious outfit such as SI.

Look, the fact of the matter is that the Royals had to overpay and the fact of the matter is that Gil Meche may turn out to be Jason Schmidt as the stats suggest could happen. He could also turn out to be Brett Tomko, which certainly would not be worth $11 million annually. How he performs is less important than the message this signing sends. It shows Alex Gordon that the Royals will be players and maybe he'll want to stay after his six years. Maybe Billy Butler and Luke Hochever will want to build a dynasty with the Royals because they're seeing a team willing to part with some money for some talent.

On the free agent front, KC looks like a much more desirable destination. A new TV contract, a renovated stadium and now a renovated rotation. Things are looking way up, forgive me if I kick you on the head as I join them.

Sign Carl Pavano to an extension.At only $10 million per year for two years he's a better deal than either Lilly, Meche or Eaton.

For the White Sox fan who wanted to know more about Floyd. He has aton of potential, a deadly curve, with some other good pitches, but he looks afraid on the mound. He doesn't seem to handle adversity well. I hope he turns it around because he seems like a great kid and has the talent.

I did not mean to imply MacDougal was Warren Spahn, but what I saw was a guy with a live arm that could really bring it. Now I must admit I missed all the nationally televised Royals games, so I didnt see much of him before he got to the Sox. But I have a hard time understanding how a team with many guys that dont seem at all like real major leaguers could give away this kind of arm. Im also hoping that his excellent 29 innings with the Sox can also be attributed to Don Cooper and his nack for getting guys with good arms that are underachieving and making minor adjustments that bring great results. You also mentioned his velocity was down, but he was consistenly hitting 96-97 on the gun. Maybe the royals will turn it around, which I think KC fans deserve, but right now they are a minor league team.

All I know is I don't want to hear people complain about how much the Yankees payroll is or how "bankrupt" all teams are.

Boston shells out 50 mil just to talk to a pitcher. Ted Lilly gets 40 mil and the "small market" Royals give 55 mil to someone who on most teams would be the 3rd starter (at best).

Moore has done a great job since taking over in KC. They had to overpay for Meche to even get him to consider KC. They have up and coming talent in the minors. If they had any kind of pitching this past season it would have given them around 15-20 more wins. Give Moore time and hopefully he will do what he was a part of in Atlanta

Most scatalogical comment of this thread is the one about "the royals pricing themselves out of the market." That's so counterintuitive it's difficult to even bash it. Non-participation in the free agent market by a team with little money does not drive down the cost of signing said free agents . . .

Re: 9:52 AM, December 08, 2006 by Anonymous

Dear Mr. Doom-and-Gloom,

We heard similiar predictions of dire outcomes back in the mid-70s when owners handed out seemingly ridiculous contracts like Wayne Garland's 10-year, $2.3 million monster. Thirty years later baseball has not collapsed.

However, baseball should be concerned that its revenue stream isn't being well-cultivated for replenishment. The eroding television ratings (Bosox and Yanks excepted) and U.S. youths' disaffectation for baseball are what truly doesn't bode well for baseball.

Economics 101 would seem to indicate that if owners want to keep player's salaries more in check, they should make free-agency MORE accessible and allow the player market to be (in relative terms) FLOODed with players. Does Gil Meche get that contract from KC if there's more to choose from than him and Ted Lilly?

El Lay Dave

P.S. Wayne Garland didn't work out because the Indians blew out his 26-year old arm with 38 starts, 21 CGs and 282 innings (trying to get their money's worth in the first year?), but if he been a serviceable starter of any kind, he'd have been a bargain in the later stages of that contract.

I'm a die-hard ChiSox fan that used to live in KC and I still go to opening weekend every year to see the royals. I think its great that Moore is making these moves. Did he overpay for Meche? Of course he did because you cant pay someone peanuts to play on a 100-loss team. The point is that he's improving the team. KC has some young bats in the line-up but they really needed some pitching and I think they have addressed that. Things are changing in KC and hopefully they can develop these young guys and keep them around for a few years longer than they did Damon, Beltran and Dye(But thank god he plays for Chitown now.) I love the optimism some posters have thrown up about KC making the playoffs in a couple years but the division is just too tough to expect that. I still wish them good luck and I'll be at the K, watching them sweep Detroit that first weekend in April.

On to the Sox, yeah, Garcia had a pretty good season but they missed the playoffs because the rotation stunk it up pretty much all season. They have some young arms now and if Williams picks up one more big bat, say Michael Young, and somone to replace Brian Anderson in center, maybe with a deal from Houston, that line-up will be nothing short of unstopable.

The worst signing this year, unless the Red Sox sign Matsuzaka. is the JD Drew deal. are you freaking kidding me? $14 mil a year for a guy who is going to get hurt. Dont lie to yourselves Red Sox fans. Drew WILL get hurt. Your team is about to spend $100+ mil on a guy who has never even pitched in the majors. Give it a few more years and they will have a bigger payroll than the Yankees.

I can safely say as a baseball fan that all the deals this year have been questionable. Except the Yankees getting rid of Gary Sheffiled but that may be just a personal feeling because I never liked him. Juan Pierre, please. Gil Meche, talk about going for the $$$ go have fun in KC. Mets signing back someone for 2 years that just got a 50 game suspension last night, great! Ted Lily 10 million a year thats 5 million too much each year. There are a few others that I havent mentioned but that goes to show you, there is a problem here. O wait I forgot that the RedSox fan just paid $51.1 to talk to a guy who has never heard of Fenway Park. . .. JUST MANNY BEING MANNY

I understand people saying that the Meche signing is important because it signals the Royals as a player in free agency and a turnaround in their organizational mindset. I still think that it's a bad decision. It's a lot of money for a long period of time, and I think it will hurt them in the long run. They're a young team and they need to develop that youth. They can't expect to contend for a while in their division, given the recent success of the Twins, Tigers, White Sox and Indians. While they are developing their youth and building a contender, are they going to be cramped for money because of the Meche deal? I think they could have invested the money more wisely. Go with more youth and let them develop and grow up. Get pitchers who will eat up innings and be good mentors to the younger kids. Get position players who play the game the right way, and show the other players pride, hustle, and other winning attributes. These veterans can be low cost, but make a tremendous impact on the development of the meaningful generation of Royals players. I also think that this years market wasn't that great, and the prices outrageous. You don't have to spend money just because it's there. Save it for something more meaningful, even if it means waiting longer to get it. The rewards could be better.

After this off-season, the Jays look pretty good having Roy Halladay locked up at $13M-per and A.J. Burnett at $11M-per.

Gil Meche is overpaid, but he is immediately the best pitcher on the Royals staff. He's not an "ace" in the truest sense, but he will become the #1 pitcher in the organization. Like it was mentioned earlier, the Royals have to overpay to get ANY talent to come to Kansas City - and I would rather see if Gil Meche will work out rather than see if Hernandez can stay under the 320-pound weight limit.

A good decision - in Dayton Moore I trust.

With all of the money the Yankees have to spend, you'd think at somepoint they'd spend money on brain power at the GM level and get someone who would realize you can't win with old and tired pitching.

I hope they get Andy Pettitt and we know the outcome will be de'javu all over again.

Go Sox!

TO THE GUY WHO WANTS TO KNOW ABOUT FLOYD (and also mentioned the booing of Santa Claus)

Floyd is a decent pitcher. I think that the coaching staff in Philly has been pretty bad. Of course, the pitchers themselves haven't been great and the ballpark is a bit small (but not nearly as bad as everyone thinks). Floyd throws hard and if he doesn't get injured from overuse (he was handled carefully here in Philly, although if he had been more consistent he'd have probably been burned out by the end of the year), he'll be good. I think he's probably a no 2 at best. It's a shame, for we philly fans, that he wasn't traded during the Wade tenure, when his stock was higher. Oh well.

As for the booing of Santa Claus -- he was booed because he was nothing more than a thin man with a crappy beard in a santa suit. He was a poor looking santa, and that's why he was booed. Unfortunately, fans also threw snowballs at him. Which I can't defend. But I remember snowballs being thrown at Giants stadium as well. (the batteries at JD Drew was also a low point in Philly).

listen, writers like you don't pay attention to the royals anyway so why start now. So we paid more for Meche than the dodgers did for a "former" all-star on the down hill slide of his career. Oh and red sox just gave away half the royals pay salary for a guy who is hurt 75% of the year.

Was Meche overpaid, of course!! Is every pro athlete overpaid, of course!! Now, what did the Royals really get?? Someone who's stuff is coming on (check his strikeouts and walk/K ratio last year), just turned 28 and a guy who WANTS to be a Royal. With what could potentially be one of the top offenses in MLB within the next two years (with DeJesus, Teahan, Shealy, Gordon, Butler, and Maier) if this team has some pitching, they can be the next Twins, A's or whichever organization supposedly has all the answers. Will Meche be an ace? Who knows, but he is better than anything they had on the mound last year. Plus, Moore has been trading away the trash (i.e. MacDougal, Stairs, Burgos) and picking up arms for the future. If that isn't a good model, picking up arms to support the oncoming of a great young offense, I don't know what is. Stop bashing the Royals for trying, they'll be the organization everyone envies very soon.

I'm with the fan who named JD Drew. He's essentially a more talented, less motivated Trot Nixon - so why not just keep Nixon for half the price? (For that matter, why not simply keep Dave Roberts?) Especially since they've also wasted a ton of money on Julio Lugo.

At this point the Red Sox seem like they're run like a baseball simulator: make deals just for the heck of it, since you can always hit "reset" - and Drew's Contact and Speed numbers are like, totally in the mid-80s, and that's hard to find! Then when the real guy kills the clubhouse, alienates the fans, and only plays 100 half-hearted games for you, and there is no reset button... what do you do? I mean, Manny's an odd duck, but he hits 45 homers a year and protects Papi in the lineup - how are people going to react to a bigger jerk when he only hits 18 and protects the shady part of the dugout fifty times a year?

Pirates are the worst organization in baseball. Why do the spend the airplane fair to join the winter meetings ? The could have saved the $300 dollars and bought a few urinal pills for the smelly stadium

"Garcia is a workhorse and should stay healthier than the chronically overweight and unfit Jon Lieber, who the Phils are trying to turn into bullpen help."

Just to preface this, I am a die hard Sox fan. Wait until you catch a glimpse of Freddy's 87 MPH fastball! He's a fat, overweight slob who will make Jon Lieber look like a body builder when it's all said and done. He has poor work ethic and only pitches when it matters! He may be good in the postseason, but he won't help you get there! Sweaty Freddy!!!

The Meche signing actually looks pretty good if one simply took a little time to consider that (1)Meche is only 28, (2)has good stuff, (3) he had a winning won/loss record on a mediocre team,and (4)he has better ERA, win/loss, K and BB stats than Jason Schmidt or Chris Chamberline at the same age.

The point with the Royals is this: did they make their team better? Yes. That's it. Did they overpay? Most likely. But, they just signed a 10 year tv deal with Fox and they are getting more money then ever before. Why not take a shot? First time in over 10 years that they signed a free agent that wasn't a leftover (Knoblach, Juan Gon, etc.). And, with the Dotel signing today, they have now outbid the Blue Jays, Cubs, and Red Sox for players in back to back days. It's not as if they are battling the Devil Rays here. They are trying to make things happen, and that includes taking risks to get better. I cannot be critical whatsoever for what Moore has done. Will the Royals win next year? Probably not, but they have a very solid, young core of players coming up in 2008-09, have the number 2 pick next year, and now are adding some players that other teams want. Sounds great to me.

Meche for $55 mil a bad deal. Maybe, but holding on to Mike Sweeney ($11 mill per year while he sits at home) is a worse deal.

I am so relieved that JP managed to miss out on both Lilly and Meche. Lilly is a head case who only won games when the Jays were out of it and Meche would have an ERA approaching 6.00 pitching in the Rogers Centre! Can anyone say, Josh Towers?
Maybe we can now devote some money to a couple of pitchers to help Doc and AJ because we have enough offence! Go Jays!

Sure, the Pierre, Matthews, Meche and Lilly signings are terrible. But nothing compares to the deal the Red Sox gave J.D. Drew. He is an injury waiting to happen, a cancer in the clubhouse, and underachieving whiner with no class. They'll be lucky to get a total of three decent years out of him if you put all his partial seasons together. Boston had better build a few more rows of seats behind the Green Monster, because they're going to need to be able to pay for another outfielder.

Anything Bill Bavasi touches will automatically become the worst signing of the offseason. I can not believe he was given another opportunity to muck up the offseason. What a bum.

Despite the Seattle Mariners' desparate need for starting pitching, never in a million years would I have traded away Raffy Soriano. He's one of the best setup guys in baseball; Bavasi made a poor deal here. And while I'm at it - I'm an M's lifer, let me do this - Jose Guillen? Why not just ask Carl Everett to come back? I'm 27 years old. All I want is a World Championship in Seattle before I die. It ain't happening in '07.

Please - those who are complaining about high salaries and how they are preventing the poor working fan from going to games - shut up and stop sounding so ignorant.

Ticket prices are driven by demand for tickets - nothing more, nothing less. If the Yankees' payroll was a combined $50.00, they would still charge the same amount to buy tickets. Why? Because they can!

And because demand is so high, MLB teams are making money hand over fist. When players see how much richer their teams are, they demand their share - which equals the exact amount the market will bear.

If you can't afford to see a game it's because everyone else wants to - and because you are either cheap or broke.

I'd have loved the White Sox's moves if they had done the Hirsh deal with Houston.

I jumped the gun a bit here, but Kenny Williams still has the smarts and guts to keep stagnancy at bay.

Maybe Drayton Moore is following suit in KC.

I love the idea most people are putting out, that Meche only signed for money, seeing as how he signed with those darn perennial 100-loss Royals. Because the Royals can never be winners, right? Adding better players means nothing about improving the team, obviously.

Sure, we now have to compete in the AL Central. Remember way back before last year, when the Tigers were a joke? Two years ago, when the Tigers and White Sox were also-rans? A couple years before, when the Twins were really awful *and* going to be contracted?

Give the Royals their due: Dayton Moore is completely destructing this team, and rebuilding it with more promise than this team has seen in quite some time. But, of course, Gil Meche is a failure before he's ever pitched an inning in Royal blue..

The Royals only glaring weakness is pitching. They were pretty much a 500 team after the all star break. They had the second highest batting average in the American League after the all star break. Besides pitching, Berroa and Bucks production is a concern but Moore has options if they do not perform. The farm system has major league prospects which other organizations can only dream about.
I watched them sweep my Tigers at the end of the season. They beat up on the Red Sox and Yankees as well. Give this team some average pitching and they could win the AL east. Unfortuneately, they cannot play the Red Sox and Yankees enough. (O'h yea don't forget about those powerful Blue Jays and their classy front office.

The guy that complains about Freddy Garcia's 87mph fastball claims to be a Sox fan? If so he didnt watch any Sox games after the all star break. The first half he was slow on the gun. This may be attributed to the huge workload the year before and the world baseball classic. He added a cutter to his arsenal to stay afloat when his velocity was down. Near the end of the year is velocity was back at 93-94 and he was VERY effective. He now throws that hard and added the cutter. The guy that made that post is an idiot or a cub fan. (I know, flub fans are idiots by definition)As a Sox fan I can say that was a great trade for Phil, especially if they can sign him to an extension.

Holding on to Mike Sweeney may not be the best baseball deal, but when is the last time someone said they wanted to spend their whole career with the Royals? George Brett? To entice free agents, you also have to show that loyalty will be rewarded over the long haul. Get off Sweeney's back (and pardon the pun). I'm just glad that there is hope in KC for a change. It's been a long, long, long time.

I watched Molina last year (I'm a Jays fan) and his defense seems to have gone downhill. He's slow, gives up lots of passed balls, and his throwing was very weak. He can still hit, though with a low OBP.

The Giants might well regret this contract.

Did anyone notice that the Royal's Rule 5 pick just pitched a perfect game yesterday? Granted, it wasn't in the majors or even A,AA or AAA ball, but this is the kind of noise you want your prospects to make in the off-season. Especially ones just picked up less than a week ago. Way to go Dayton Moore. You're not an idiot like all of the professional sports writers are making you out to be just because you work for KC.

The Royals trying to out-spend the Yankees? BRILLIANT!!! The big market teams can eat stupid free agent contracts. The Royals can't. And I wonder how much Meche will regret this in August when he's 2-10 and the fans come out for no other reason then to boo him off the mound.

But what a