The First Of What Will Be Many White Sox/Adrian Gonzalez Trade Rumors

The White Sox haven't played an official Cactus League game yet, and already the rumor mill is churning in Glendale.  That's what tends to happen when a team has a general manager who is widely regarded as one of the most aggressive in the game, and is evidenced by the trade for Jake Peavy last summer.

Well, there are new rumors about a possible White Sox trade with the Padres, this one involving the Padres newest young talent soon to be too expensive for them, Adrian Gonzalez.  The catch is, according to Danny Knobler (via Midwest Sports Fans), Kenny is so enamored with Gonzalez and the idea of a lefty power bat in his lineup, that he may be willing to give up Gordon Beckham in the deal.

Jermaine Dye Is 'Shocked' He's Unsigned

It turns out former White Sox outfielder Jermaine Dye is in Arizona right now, but he's there to watch golf instead of getting ready for baseball season like he's used to doing at this time of year. Since Jermaine has all of this free time, he didn't have a problem sitting down with Chicago Sun-Times' White Sox beat reporter Joe Cowley for a nice little chat.

Jermaine shared quite a bit about what's been going on between him and teams this winter, and he admitted he's "shocked" that he's still a free agent. It turns out that Dye has had a few offers, but none of them have met his expectations, and haven't been worth it to him.

Kenny Williams Isn't a Fan of Ozzie Guillen's Twitter Page

There was quite a bit of buzz in the Twitterverse on Tuesday night when the world found out that Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen had started his very own Twitter account. Guillen has quickly picked up over 5,800 followers as I write this, and that number is likely to keep on growing.

That is, if Guillen's allowed to keep it.

White Sox general manager Kenny Williams was not informed of Guillen's plans beforehand, and had to find out from members of the media about his managers latest foray into the world of social media. Williams, who has always tried to keep the actions of the White Sox as close to the vest as possible, doesn't seem too pleased with his manager's decision...

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Jason Bay: Curling Expert

No doubt that if you've tuned into the Olympics at any point in the last few weeks, you've seen it. A group of men or women sliding stones down a long sheet of ice while others sweep in front of the stone hoping to guide it to a final resting place inside a group of colored circles.

It's called curling, and it's amazing. As a friend of mine so eloquently put it one afternoon while we were watching it, "It's like an incredibly boring car accident. I don't want to look at it, I don't understand what's happening, but for some reason, I just can't turn away." It's a feeling that a lot of Americans have no doubt had, but it's one that new Mets outfielder Jason Bay is very familiar with...

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Ozzie Guillen Is On Twitter

When I first joined Twitter I was somewhat skeptical about it's purpose, and whether or not I'd enjoy it.  My motivation for doing it was that I'd do it simply for Foul Balls and FanHouse as another vehicle for getting the things I wrote out to a larger audience, draw in more readers, and increase the advertising revenue.

Which Twitter did do.  I'm rich now.  It's awesome.

What I didn't anticipate, however, was how much I'd enjoy Twitter.  It gives me a chance to communicate directly with people that I'd likely have had a very hard time getting in touch with before Twitter came into existence, and it's just a great place to share ideas with others.

And it turns out you can get a lot more across in 140-character staccato bursts then you realize.

Well, as great as Twitter is, it just got a whole lot better on Tuesday night.  White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen started a Twitter account.

Royals Being Sued After Mascot Hits Fan In Eye With Hot Dog

Hot dogs: delicious ball park snack stuffed with various meats and nitrates of unknown origins that goes great with mustard and relish, or cleverly disguised weapon of mass destruction? It's a question that man has been asking for centuries, and a debate that seemingly cannot be solved.

Though one court room in Missouri will try. That's because John Coomer has filed a lawsuit against the Kansas City Royals and their mascot, Slugger the Lion, for an incident in which Coomer claims that the mascot basically poked his eye out with a flying hot dog...

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Baseball America Releases Its Top 100 Prospects List

With a new economic reality hitting the United States, it's impossible for the same problems not to affect the thirty teams in MLB, and evidence of this has been seen over the last few years.  The days of giving up a boatload of prospects for the high-priced, proven veteran player are gone.  These days teams are more intent to keep the young talent they have because it's just a whole hell of a lot more cheaper that way.

I mean, the Yankees are on a budget this season.  The Yankees.

So a team's minor league system is even more important than ever and stocking that system with top talent is a key.  Which could be good news for the White Sox and Cubs.

Baseball America released the complete list of the top 100 prospects in baseball on Tuesday.

News That Will Probably Scare A Few Baseball Players

As anyone who has been a reader at this site for a while no doubt knows by now, when it comes to steroids in the game of baseball, I'm somewhat apathetic.  I actually don't mind if the players are on steroids, or if they aren't, I just wish that baseball would have made a decision a lot sooner in banning them if they were going to.

It would have saved us all a lot of time.

Now we have reached a point in the game where everyone is supposed to believe that the players are clean once again.  Thanks to the steroid testing now in place, nobody would be foolish enough to still use steroids, right?  Well, no, dummy.  Not exactly.

I'd bet a lot of money that there are still quite a few players who are breaking the rules.

Cubs To Pay 80-85% Of Soriano's Salary

On Monday Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano told reporters that his knee was at 80-85%, and that he was going to be taking it easy this spring in hopes of getting healthy in time for opening day.  One person who was very happy to hear the news about Soriano's knee was the man who signed him to an 8-year $136 million contract back in November of 2006, general manager Jim Hendry.

"That's great to hear.  That means we're going to be able to cut $2.7 to $3.6 million off of the payroll this season.  Mr. Ricketts will be delighted."

When pressed for further explanation as to how exactly the Cubs would save the money, Hendry continued.

"Well, if he's only 80-85%, we're only going to pay him 80-85% of his $18 million salary in 2010, depending on just how healthy he gets.  Though if he starts giving 110%, we're still only going to pay him $18 million.  Money doesn't grow on bricks!  At least, not yet.  That's one of the many changes Mr. Ricketts is looking into in his plans to renovate Wrigley Field."

Hendry also went on to say that left field bleachers seats would be discounted along with Soriano's health, but only after the team charges a 50% surcharge for the privilege to stand in line in the cold outside Wrigley Field.

Spring Training Is Pretty Boring

I'm always excited when spring training begins, but only because it means that baseball season is close, not because of anything in particular that happens during spring training.  Especially when it comes to the White Sox this season.

When you think about it, the biggest drama surrounding the team going in to camp this year was who would be the opening day starter, and Ozzie put that one to rest on Sunday when he said it would be Mark Buehrle.

Other than that, the rotation is set, and there really are no position battles save for maybe Andruw Jones being impressive enough this spring to earn an everyday role in the outfield or at designated hitter.  Of course, with no games being played for the first ten days of camp, none of those competitions will be fought for a while.

Milton Bradley Reports To Mariners Camp, Clubhouse Doesn't Implode

Milton Bradley arrived in Peoria, Arizona on Monday to begin his first camp with the Seattle Mariners after being traded by the Cubs this winter, and the good news is that he hasn't caused any problems for the Mariners yet.

The clubhouse chemistry is fine, and he hasn't gotten into any verbal altercations with the Seattle media or manager Don Wakamatsu.

Of course, this is still the first morning so there's plenty of time for things to go wrong, but Bradley was kind enough to give the reporters in attendance for his first interview know exactly what he expects from them and his time in Seattle.

Carl Crawford Talks About His Impending Free Agency

One of the stories that will be following the Tampa Bay Rays this spring and all throughout the season is the future of left fielder Carl Crawford. Crawford is entering the final year of his contract and is scheduled to make $10 million this season, so the question is whether the Rays and Crawford will be able to work out an extension, or if Crawford will test the free agent waters next winter.

Crawford sat down with reporters following his first workout of the spring on Monday morning and talked about the situation, saying that his chances of staying with the Rays next season "could go either way" and that he's "hoping for the best"...

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Khalil Greene Is Not Reporting To Camp With The Rangers

The Texas Rangers signed Khalil Greene to be their reserve infielder in January, and it appears that the team is going to have to move to a backup plan for their backup plan. The Rangers announced on Monday that Greene will not be joining the team or reporting to the team's spring training camp in Surprise, Arizona. No exact reason was given, though general manager Jon Daniels did allude to a medical issue being the cause.

"The Rangers fully support Khalil's decision to address this private matter," said Daniels. "Per club policy, we will not comment on his medical situation. We have agreed to leave the door open for a continued relationship, if both Khalil and the team desire that in the future...

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Yankees to Sign Chan Ho Park

The New York Yankees may not have been willing to go over their budget for the 2010 season with Johnny Damon, who signed with the Tigers over the weekend, but it appears they're going to make an exception for Chan Ho Park. The Yankees came to an agreement with the reliever on Sunday night that will pay Park $1.2 million with another possible $300,000 in incentives.

The deal will not be formally announced by the team for a few days because Park still has to undergo a physical, and is currently home in South Korea, so he won't be reporting to camp right away. The reason the Yankees made an exception for Park was that his price had come so far down -- Park turned down $3.25 million from the Phillies this winter -- that the team felt he was well worth the price...

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Mark Buehrle Rides a Mule

No reason for posting this picture that Mark Teahen posted on his Twitter page other than I found it funny.  It's also ironic seeing as how Mark Buehrle has been the mule of the White Sox starting rotation for a long time now, and Ozzie Guillen announced that he would be starting his franchise-record eighth Opening Day in April.

Carlos Delgado Has Hip Surgery, Out Four Months

After missing most of the 2009 season following surgery on his hip in May of last year, free agent first baseman Carlos Delgado was hoping he'd be able to get a new contract somewhere and chase after 500 home runs. Delgado had been playing in the Puerto Rico winter league this year in an effort to show potential suitors that he could still play.

Delgado didn't get any offers from interested teams, and it appears that his career total of 473 home runs is going to stay put for quite a while, as Delgado had to have another surgery on his hip on Wednesday and he's going to be out at least another four months...

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Report: Johnny Damon to Sign With the Detroit Tigers

It appears that the long wait is finally over, and that Johnny Damon finally has a new home. According to Yahoo's Tim Brown, after a long and well documented courtship, Damon has finally decided to sign with the Detroit Tigers. The deal is apparently a one-year deal without an option for a second season, and will pay Damon $8 million for the 2010 season.

Whether any of that money is deferred or not, is unknown at this time. What is known is that the Tigers original offer reportedly included deferred money in the deal, and that Damon and Scott Boras didn't want any of it to be. Still, considering that the White Sox reportedly pulled their offer for Damon on Friday, it's hard to imagine Boras and Damon having much leverage to get that done the last twenty-four hours...

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Ryan Theriot Isn't As Valuable As He Thought He Was

For the first time since Jim Hendry took the job as Cubs general manager, the Chicago Cubs had to go to an arbitration hearing with one of their players on Friday.  After failing to negotiate a new contract, the Cubs and Ryan Theriot went to arbitration after the Cubs offered Theriot $2.6 million for the 2010 season, and Theriot countered with $3.4 million.

Well, on Saturday morning, Ryan Theriot learned something that just about every Cubs fan already knew.  He's a nice shortstop, not spectacular, but not bad either.  A solid player that the team can count on to show up every day and do his job.

Oh, and a shortstop that just isn't worth $3.4 million a season.

Eric Gagne Returns To The Dodgers

The best years of Eric Gagne's career in baseball were no doubt the seasons he spent as a Los Angeles Dodger. From 2002 through 2004 Gagne was nearly untouchable as the Dodgers' closer, and set a record with 84 consecutive saves and won the NL Cy Young in 2003. Since leaving Los Angeles, Gagne's career has gone downhill faster than Lindsey Vonn, and he was out of MLB last season, instead pitching for the Quebec Capitales in the Can-Am League.

Now Gagne will be returning to the Dodgers in hopes of getting a bit of that magic back. The Dodgers have signed Gagne to a minor league deal with an invite to camp for a shot to earn a place in the team's bullpen this season...


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White Sox Front Office to Star in MLB Network Reality Series

For years people have said that Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen should have his own reality television show. Now Guillen and the rest of the White Sox front office will have one, as the MLB Network announced on Friday a new reality series that will debut this summer called "The Club" that will feature the White Sox front office.

From spring training through the trade deadline this July 31, a camera crew will follow Guillen, general manager Kenny Williams and owner Jerry Reinsdorf around to give baseball fans an inside look at what actually goes on within a baseball organization during a season...

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Geovany Soto Wasn't On Roids, He Was Just Fat

Today's a wonderful day for baseball fans like you and I, as teams have finally begun reporting to camp, including the Chicago Cubs.  One of those Cubs who has made his way to Mesa is catcher Geovany Soto, and he looks a bit different.

Soto has lost about 40 pounds since last season, and as is usually the case given what we know about baseball players and their vitamins these days, there's some speculation now that Soto had to have been on steroids.  Though if you saw Soto play last season, I'm not sure how you could think he was on performance enhancers.

Which is a sentiment echoed by Soto himself, as he wants everybody to know that he wasn't on steroids.  He's just a fatty.

The White Sox Are Courting Johnny Damon On The Golf Course

So apparently Johnny Damon signing with the Detroit Tigers may not be as foregone a conclusion as I had thought.  It appears that the White Sox interest in Damon is very real and that they're even pulling out all the stops in convincing Damon to choose the White Sox over the Tigers.

According to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal, Damon was out on the golf course with some old friends on Monday: A.J. Pierzynski and Hawk Harrelson.

Jair Jurrjens' Shoulder Is Just Fine

Take a deep breath, Braves fans, everything is going to be just fine. The Braves got the results of Jair Jurrjens' MRI back on Wednesday morning, and it turns out the discomfort he was feeling in his shoulder after reporting to camp is just some mild inflammation. They'll give him some anti-inflammatories and Jurrjens will be all right.

The young pitcher had the MRI performed on his shoulder on Tuesday afternoon, and though it caused somewhat of a scare amongst Braves fans -- you never like to hear that one of the young centerpieces of your rotation has discomfort anywhere, let alone his shoulder -- general manager Frank Wren said it was only precautionary and he was never that worried...

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Joel Zumaya's On His 'Last String'

When Joel Zumaya first burst onto the scene for the Detroit Tigers in 2006 his fastball was leaving a vapor trail across American League ballparks. Zumaya appeared in 62 games that year, striking out 97 hitters in 83 1/3 innings with a 1.94 ERA, and was a big reason why the Tigers reached the World Series that season. Since then, though, Zumaya has flamed out.

Thanks to injuries the flame-thrower hasn't been able to pitch more than 34 innings in any of the last three seasons and has seen his velocity and strikeout numbers decrease while watching his ERA rise. So Zumaya is entering the 2010 season with a lot to prove to not only his team, but to himself, as he admits that this is likely his last shot to get the job done...

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Matsuzaka Has a Mild Back Strain

The 2010 season is a big one for Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka who is hoping to bounce back from a 2009 campaign that derailed by injuries and poor performance on the field. Well, according to Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein, the new year isn't off to the best start, though it's not something to be worried about.

Epstein talked to a group of reporters at the Red Sox spring training facilities in Fort Myers, Florida on Wednesday morning and informed them that Matsuzaka has a mild back strain. Matsuzaka suffered the strain on Friday, and though it's a setback, Epstein doesn't believe it will slow his pitcher's preparation for the season...

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Are You Ready For WSOX FM?

While many sports leagues and teams have started their own television networks in the last few years, like the MLB Network or the Yankees' YES Network, there really haven't been any forays into the radio business that I can think of off the top of my head.  So I guess that would make the White Sox pioneers.

The White Sox don't need their own television network right now since they're part owners of Comcast Sports Net Chicago, which televises the majority of their games along with the Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks in Chicago (though rumors that the Cubs plan to start their own network in the coming years persist).

Still, television isn't the only place where sports fans turn to get their fix.  Radio is another media outlet for fans, and Chicago's two sports talk stations -- ESPN 1000 and The Score 670 -- have been doing pretty well lately.

Which may be why Jerry Reinsdorf and the White Sox are looking into the possibility of starting their own radio station after the team's current contract with The Score expires after this season.

Jim Leyland Will Have To Cut Down On Smoke Breaks

Managing a baseball team for eight months a year can't be the easiest job in the world.  When you think of all the personalities and egos you have to keep in check while trying to put your team in the best position to win, and then having to talk to the media every day whether you win or lose can probably get pretty stressful.

Which, no doubt, is a big reason why Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland loves to relieve some of that stress everyday with a Marlboro here and there.  Leyland often takes smoke breaks during a game, and has been for a very long time.

Unfortunately for Leyland, it looks as though that's going to change in 2010.  When the Tigers leave their spring training home in Florida for Detroit, Leyland is going to have about a month left of smoking in the tunnel before a new Michigan law banning smoking in public areas takes effect in May.

Victor Martinez Wants To Stay In Boston

When Victor Martinez was traded to the Boston Red Sox last summer he was leaving the only baseball home he had ever known. He signed with the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1996 and spent thirteen years with the organization before the trade, and now that he's in Boston, Martinez sounds like a man that doesn't want to pack his things and move again.

Martinez is in the final year of an extension he signed with Cleveland back in 2005 and will make $7.7 million this season before becoming a free agent next winter. Though listening to Martinez talk about the situation, it's obvious he would prefer not to hit the open market next year...

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The Cubs Will Gladly Scalp You Some of Their Own Tickets

On Monday morning at 10am central time the Chicago Cubs began giving their loyal fans a chance to start buying tickets to regular season games early, but there is a catch. It's the Inaugural Mastercard First-Chance Presale of seats for the 2010 season, giving fans a chance to buy tickets before they officially go on sale on Friday February 19.

The catch is that the tickets are marked up 20%. So while you can wait until Friday to pay $54 for a bleacher seat to see a game at Wrigley against the hated St. Louis Cardinals, they may already be gone if you don't take advantage of your opportunity to pay $64.80 for that same ticket on Monday morning.

Though if you use a Mastercard to buy that ticket, it'll only cost you $61.56 thanks to that 5% discount after the 20% markup!

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Jermaine Dye Talked About Retiring With Frank Thomas

On Friday afternoon, one of my favorite White Sox players of all time announced his retirement from the game of baseball.  Then that player shared some surprising news about one of my favorite White Sox players of the last few years.

According to Frank Thomas, Jermaine Dye may be following Thomas in the retirement game.

Thomas did an interview with CSNChicago's Chuck Garfien following his retirement press conference on Friday, and said that while talking with Dye last week in Las Vegas, Dye told him he's seriously considering retirement right now.

Remembering The Big Hurt

Though I already wrote about Frank Thomas' retirement on FanHouse Thursday night, I didn't really get to share how I really felt about The Big Hurt.  I do have to maintain some semblance of partisanship when writing at FanHouse, though there are no such rules here!

To put it simply, Frank Thomas was baseball to me growing up.  He may not have been the White Sox player I often named as my favorite while growing up, that spot was held by Robin Ventura since I spent the majority of my time at third base as a little leaguer, there was never any doubt as to who the best player on the team was.

And that was Frank Thomas.  Hands down.

After all, Ventura may have been my favorite player, but it wasn't his batting stance that I mirrored mine after.

That was Frank Thomas.

Frank Thomas To Retire On Friday

For much of the 90s, Frank Thomas was the preeminent right handed hitter in the game of Major League Baseball, and on Thursday night, after a year out of baseball, he finally announced his retirement.

Kind of.

Thomas was in Chicago for the Comcast Sports Net Sports Awards on Thursday night to receive a lifetime achievement award, and before the ceremony started The Big Hurt informed everybody that he is done with baseball, though the word "retire" never did come out of his mouth...

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Now The White Sox Are In On Johnny Damon

I know I've made fun of Scott Boras here over the last few days because of the ongoing saga that is Johnny Damon's free agency, but I really do have to give the man credit.  He's an evil genius.  Only Boras can create a market that doesn't actually exist for one of his clients.  He's done it time and time again, and now it seems he's done it with Damon.

A couple of days ago it seemed the Detroit Tigers were the only team with real interest in adding Damon, and now it seems that there could be as many as four teams.  One of whom appears to be the Chicago White Sox.

According to Fox Sports the south siders have gotten in on the bidding.

Play Foul Balls Fantasy Baseball

Pitchers and catchers will be reporting before you know it which means that the start of the 2010 season is closer than you think.  It also means that fantasy baseball season is coming up as well, and since I'm just as big a fan of fantasy baseball as I am the real world kind, I thought I'd start a Yahoo league for Foul Balls readers.

Interested in joining?  Here's what you need to do/know:

• If you want to play send an email to tomfornelli@yahoo.com.
• Make sure you put Foul Balls Fantasy Baseball in the subject line of that email so that I can easily find it amongst all those Nigerian princes and opportunities to make my penis bigger.
• Include your email address and whether or not you are a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan.  This will be needed for divisional purposes.
• There is no fee to join, but there will be a prize for the league winner.  There may be other prizes for other teams as well depending on what I can get my hands on.
• The league will have a live draft that is scheduled for Monday March 29th at 7pm Central time.  If you're going to join the league, I'd appreciate it if you can participate in the draft.
• The league will be daily, not weekly.  So if you want to join be prepared to be active.  It doesn't take that much time to set a lineup each day.
• Entries will be taken on a first come, first serve basis.  The league is set at 16 teams, so if you want in, act fast.  If there's enough interest to warrant a second league, I will start one.

Any other questions, send me an email or leave a comment.  I'll answer them.

Houston's Brandon Lyon Has Minor Shoulder Surgery

New Houston Astros closer Brandon Lyon had to have minor surgery to drain a cyst that was found in his throwing shoulder. The procedure took place two weeks ago, but the team doesn't believe it will keep Lyon from being ready for spring training, though he may be around ten days behind schedule in his throwing program.

The Astros signed Lyon to a three-year $15 million deal to replace Jose Valverde at the back of their bullpen in December, and the team noticed the cyst in his shoulder when performing a physical on him then. According to general manager Ed Wade, the team brought Lyon in for another MRI on the shoulder, and after seeing the results they decided to move forward with the surgery...

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Jake Peavy Is 'Chomping At The Bit'

One of the things about the upcoming White Sox season I'm more excited about than other aspects of the team is the team's starting rotation.  More specifically, I want to see a full season of Jake Peavy and what he can do for the team.  I was excited about the deal that brought Peavy to Chicago last July, but I was also somewhat skeptical.

Peavy was hurt and I was wondering how he would adjust to the American League.  Considering that Peavy turned down a chance to come to Chicago in May of last season, you have to think he had his own doubts as well.

Peavy was able to return from his ankle injury last season in time to make three starts for the White Sox, and what a three starts they were.  In those three games (two against Detroit and one against Kansas City) Peavy struck out 18, had a WHIP of 0.85 and an ERA of 1.35 while pitching 20 innings.

Johnny Damon Is Cheating On Detroit

Over the last week Johnny Damon's agent Scott Boras has been telling people about how much Damon loves the city of Detroit.  It's the apple of his eye, and he's constantly getting in trouble with his wife when he calls out "Motown" in bed.  In fact, she got so mad at Johnny that she hasn't cooked him any octopus in weeks.

Well, it looks like Detroit is about to get mad at Damon as well, for she's not the only city that Johnny is expressing his love for.

He's got a city on the side.

Southpaw Wants To Help You Get Some

Listen up, ladies and gentleman.  Valentine's Day is going to be here before you know it, so if you haven't gotten that special somebody in your life a gift yet, you may want to get on that.

Nobody wants to end up like Scott Boras sitting in that bar all by himself.

Still, you don't just say that your significant other is someone special, you truly think they are special, and want to get them a gift that is equally as unique as they are.  Some flowers and chocolates aren't good enough for your girl (or guy, we don't judge).  You need something that will let them know just how special they are to you.

Something like a man in a giant furry green suit.

Scott Boras Is Just Making Stuff Up Now

Scott Boras is the guy at the bar right now, who after already being turned down by the hottest girl in the joint, is just determined to go home with somebody.  He's found his target, she's not gorgeous by any means, but she's there and she'll have to do.

It's nearly last call, so if he's going to get this done, he's going to have to work quickly.

"You like Project Runway?  OH.  MY.  GOD.  So do I!  In fact, and I haven't told many people this, but I just feel a real connection with you, when I was a kid, I wanted to grow up to be a fashion designer.  Seriously, I still sometimes think about just dropping everything to chase the dream, you know?"

Right now that girl is the Detroit Tigers, his bedroom is Johnny Damon, and Boras is pulling out all the stops to put those two together.

No Extensions For Jeter, Rivera or Girardi

The New York Yankees are coming off a season in which they won 103 games in the regular season, and capped it off with the 27th World Series title in franchise history. Normally that's a recipe that leads to a whole lot of contract extensions, and with three key components like Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Joe Girardi all in the final year of their contracts, you'd expect all three to sign new deals shortly.

They won't be.

According to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, all three will have to play out the final year of their deal before the team sits down to talk...

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Cliff Lee Has Surgery On His Left Foot

So far this winter there has been a love affair between the city of Seattle and the new Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik.  Aside from bringing in Chone Figgins through free agency, Zduriencik also pulled the trigger on a deal that brought Cliff Lee from Philadelphia to join Felix Hernandez in the team's starting rotation.

Though now it's possible that Lee may not be available for the start of the season.

The Mariners issued a press release on Monday evening announcing that Lee had to have surgery to remove a spur that had broken loose in his left foot.  Lee will not need to wear a cast on the foot, but won't be able to resume full baseball activities for another two to three weeks.

Bud Selig to Be Honored With Statue at Miller Park

The Milwaukee Brewers announced on Monday that they will be honoring the team's former owner and present MLB commissioner Bud Selig with a statue that will be displayed at Miller Park's Home Plate Plaza. The Selig statue will join current statues of Milwaukee greats Robin Yount and Hank Aaron, both of whom have been there since Miller Park opened in 2001.

"We are proud to honor Commissioner Selig for all of his efforts on behalf of the Milwaukee Brewers and Major League Baseball," said Brewers Owner Mark Attanasio. "The Brewers and Miller Park are in this city because of the Commissioner's vision and dedicated efforts. Just as importantly, he has remained a prominent and highly philanthropic member of our community while effectively leading Major League Baseball during his tenure as baseball's top executive."

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Cleveland Keeping An Eye On Jermaine Dye

Though Jermaine Dye won't be back with the White Sox in 2010, there was still a chance that his former teammates would be seeing plenty of their old friend when rumors were swirling that the Cubs were interested in signing him.  Well, Dye rejected the Cubs' offer of a one-year deal for $3.3 million, and instead the team signed Xavier Nady to serve as their fourth outfielder.

That doesn't mean the White Sox won't be seeing Dye pretty often, though.

Dye is still unsigned and looking for work, and the closer the calendar gets to pitchers and catchers reporting for spring training, the lower Dye's price is likely to go.  So it's no surprise that the Cleveland Indians are keeping an eye on the right-fielder.

White Sox To Un-Retire Aparicio's Number For Omar Vizquel

Luis Aparicio is one of the legends of Chicago White Sox baseball.  He spent two stints covering ten seasons with the White Sox, and was the AL Rookie of the Year 1956, finished second in the MVP voting as a member of the Go-Go White Sox in 1959, was a ten-time All-Star and won nine Gold Gloves.

All of which resulted in Little Louie's Hall of Fame induction in 1984.

That same year the White Sox retired Aparicio's number 11, which hasn't been worn by a White Sox player since.  Well, until this year.

Chicago Cubs To Build All-Inclusive Club at Wrigley Field

When Tom Ricketts bought the Chicago Cubs from the Tribune Company for around $740 million last October, it wasn't just the team he was buying. He also got Wrigley Field in the deal. Wrigley may be an icon in and of itself, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of areas in which the 96-year old stadium could us an upgrade.

Ricketts has plenty of plans to improve the park, but up first he'd like to make some changes to the luxury suites. While he's renovating two of the luxury boxes in the park into one large ownership suite, there are also plans to build an all-inclusive club for season ticket holders...

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Ricketts To Beef Up Wrigley, Literally

The Ricketts family is planning on making some changes at Wrigley Field, and they're bound to be ones appreciated by both the players and the fans.  According to Bruce Levine, there be a brand new players lounge for the team which will be built where the weight room and cardio room used to be.  The weight room will be moved to the old umpires dressing room, and the umpires will now be forced to get dressed in their car (or in a storage closet near the visitor's clubhouse).

There are also plans to build a mirrored opening of the right field wall on Sheffield Avenue that will allow fans outside to park watch the team take some batting practice beneath the stands.

That will be a part of the new Sheffield Grill, which will be open to fans before and after the game, because, you know, there just aren't enough bars around Wrigley Field right now.  Still, if you go to Murphy's Bleachers and order buffalo wings, you'll be getting chicken.

If you order buffalo at the Sheffield Grill, well, you'll be getting buffalo.

Kevin Millar Cares Not For Your Curses

The Cubs may have only signed Kevin Millar to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training and a chance to earn his way on the team, but I can assure you that there are plenty of people in the city of Chicago who want Millar to make the Cubs roster.

These people are called the media.

You see, reporters and local sports radio are always looking for that one player who can always deliver a soundbite or do an interview, and the last few years that player on the Cubs was Mark DeRosa and Jake Fox.  Neither are in Chicago any longer.

So the media needs a replacement -- Ryan Dempster's too Canadian -- and Millar would be that guy.  He's never been one to shy away from the microphone, and today he was on Waddle and Silvy to take on that damned curse.

Twins Sign Orlando Hudson

I'm starting to notice a theme going on around baseball lately, and I have to be honest here, I'm not a big fan of it.  First it was me writing about how I would have liked the White Sox to re-sign Jim Thome to be their DH this season.

They didn't.

Instead he signed with the Twins.

Well, I also said that I thought signing Orlando Hudson would be a nice move for the Cubs, both in their lineup, and on defense.  They didn't.

Guess where Hudson signed.

Cardinals And Pujols Working On An Extension?

Much like fans in Minnesota when it comes to Joe Mauer and waiting for the Twins to sign their franchise player to a contract extension, the biggest question in St. Louis is when the Cardinals will sign their franchise, Albert Pujols, to his own extension.

Pujols isn't scheduled to become a free agent until after the 2011 season, but as far as the fans are concerned, it's never too early to come to an agreement.  Now while there has been no word publicly from either the team or Pujols about the two sides negotiating a deal, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss, that doesn't mean they aren't going on.

In fact, he said they are during a question and answer session on the newspaper's website on Tuesday.

Justin Verlander Is Rich

Two weeks ago the Seattle Mariners gave Felix Hernandez a five-year $78 million extension.  When the deal was signed a lot of people expected the Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander to use the deal as an excellent starting point in their own negotiations.

On Tuesday night it showed.

Reports out of Detroit say that Verlander has agreed to a five-year extension of his own, but his will be worth $80 million.  So Felix already feels as though he's underpaid.