Somebody call Tommy Lee Jones and tell him he can stop searching every warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in the Chicagoland area for missing White Sox pitcher Bartolo Colon has been found. Of course, had he started his search at a Waffle House it probably wouldn't have taken nearly as long to find him....
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You can be sure that Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon had the best night of sleep he's had in a while last night. With all the fuss about whether or not he messed up in making qualifying offers to the Blackhawks restricted free agents during the last week, there was always the chance that if the team lost key players because of this, Tallon may have had to fall on his sword.
Thankfully for Tallon and the Hawks, all of the team's RFAs want to be in Chicago -- my how things have changed -- and re-signed with the team anyway. The final signature came last night when Kris Versteeg agreed to a three-year deal with the Hawks, foregoing the chance to hit the open market.
The Blackhawks have signed winger Kris Versteeg has signed a three-year contract worth a reported $9.25 million.Now some speculated that had Versteeg hit the open market he may have been able to get around $5 million a year. So by signing with the Hawks now instead of awaiting word on the outcome of the NHLPA's grievance, it's possible that Versteeg has left $6 million or more on the table.
“Kris’ tremendous rookie season was a big reason the team was able to go as far as it did,” Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said in a statement. “He is part of a core of young players that is going to make this franchise successful for a long time."
Earlier today I wrote over at FanHouse about the fact that the Toronto Blue Jays are once again willing to listen to offers on Roy Halladay. Now while Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal seems to think that Halladay is "as good as gone" from Toronto, I'm a bit skeptical about it myself.
This isn't the first time that J.P. Ricciardi has said he's willing to listen to offers on Roy Halladay, just as any general manager in the history of sports has been willing to listen to offers on any player. It's their job after all.
Still, just because I'm not convinced that the Jays are going to move Halladay by the end of the month, that doesn't mean I don't think both Jim Hendry and Kenny Williams should be hitting up Ricciardi's cell. That is their job after all.
Now I have no doubt that both the Sox and Cubs would be incredibly interested in adding Halladay to their rosters. I mean, the guy is 141-68 with a 3.47 ERA in his career and has struck out 3.17 batters for every one he's walked (1385 Ks vs 437 walks). Oh, and he's won a Cy Young back in 2003.
Should they go after him though? If so, can they even get him?
I'll start with the Cubs. Here's what Rosenthal has to say about that scenario.
They were all over Peavy at the winter meetings, and the impending completion of their sale should remove any restrictions for GM Jim Hendry.Still, the Cubs could not satisfy the Padres even after they tried to involve a third club, and their best chip — third baseman Josh Vitters — is still at Class A.
Very good points. Yes the Cubs would like him, but what would they give up for him? Now I floated the idea of sending Carlos Zambrano to Toronto for Halladay because while Zambrano has the stuff to be an ace, Halladay actually is one. The problem there is that Zambrano makes a lot of money. He's owed $17.875 million in 2010 and 2011, and then bumps up to $18 million in 2012 with a $19.25 option for 2013.
There's no way Toronto takes on that contract because the only reason they'd even consider moving Halladay is for financial relief. It sure as hell isn't to make the team better. So we know that whoever the Cubs would send to Toronto, they'd have to come cheap.
So maybe they can put together a package with Vitters, another prospect and maybe Sean Marshall and Randy Wells. Now, personally, I wouldn't want to move Wells. I really like what I've seen from him this season and I could see him being a solid #3 or #4 in the Cubs rotation for years to come, and do so pretty cheaply. Something we can't discount with new ownership getting ready to take charge.
Plus, at the end of the day, is another starting pitcher really what the Cubs need at this point? They're already fourth in the National League with a 3.85 ERA, so it's not like they're hurting.
So while I don't think it would hurt the Cubs to give Toronto a call, I don't think they should overspend for him either. It just wouldn't be worth it.
Now how about the White Sox? Here's what Rosenthal has to say about that.
Ken Williams arranged a deal for Jake Peavy; why wouldn't he act on Halladay?
Williams' offer for Peavy, centered around left-handers Aaron Poreda and Clayton Richard, probably would not be enough. But if the White Sox were willing to move superstar-in-waiting Gordon Beckham, look out.
Okay, you lost me at Gordon Beckham. I'm not moving that kid for anybody right now. And I say this even though I've been longing for Halladay in a Sox uniform for years now. Now if they could package Poreda, Richard and a couple of other players -- maybe Tyler Flowers? -- I'd be totally down with that.
The question there is whether or not the Sox would want to commit to the $30 million Halladay has coming to him in the next year and a half. While they were willing to spend that money on Peavy, he's only 28. Halladay is 32.
Which brings me to my other concern about Doc. He's not only on the wrong side of 30, but he has had some injuries in recent years, and during his eleven full seasons he's only managed to make 30 starts in a year six times. Granted, when he has made those starts he's been amazing, but as he gets older it only becomes more likely he's hurt again.
So I guess that while getting Halladay to Chicago for either side looks like a wonderful idea, in execution, it may not make that much sense. Of course if news breaks that the Sox get him that won't stop me from wetting my pants in excitement.
Adding him to either rotation in this city immediately vaults that team to playoff force.
I watched the Cubs game on the ESPN feed last night just because I like to hear the thoughts of people outside Chicago once in a while, and after hearing about the interview with Erik Estrada after he sang the seventh inning stretch, I wish I hadn't.
The entire interview is below, but aside from talking about Ron Jeremy's junk Estrada also threw this out there.
"I've seen my fair share of child pornography, and I want to do something about it."
Five glorious minutes await you.
The trade deadline is but a few weeks away and as is normally the case, there are plenty of teams around the Majors looking to make a deal, and just about all of them could use some pitching help for the stretch run. During the offseason the pitcher most teams seemed to be after was San Diego's Jake Peavy, and the thought was that he'd command a pretty penny come the deadline, but of course his ankle injury has derailed those plans....
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While it was announced earlier today that the Blackhawks signed restricted free agents Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, and Colin Fraser there are still problems for the team stemming from last week's botched contract offers.
The NHL was fine with the Blackhawks and Dale Tallon's story of what happened and then sent the case to the NHLPA and now word has come down through the Twitters that the NHLPA has filed a grievance on behalf of both Kris Versteeg and Cam Barker.
"In response to various media inquiries, the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) confirms today that it has filed a grievance regarding the failure of the Chicago Blackhawks to submit Qualifying Offers to its 2009 Restricted Free Agents prior to the deadline stipulated in the CBA. The NHLPA will make no further comment on the matter, which is now pending before the Impartial Arbitrator," said Jonathan Weatherdon, NHLPA Spokesperson.What that means is that it's now possible that both Versteeg and Barker could become unrestricted free agents, which means the Hawks will have to pay market value to keep both in Chicago. Which could really throw a wrench in the plans to keep the core of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith in Chicago next season when all three of them become restricted free agents.
Well this should put a damper on your Fourth of July festivities.
Former Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Steve McNair has been found dead.
Former Titans quarterback Steve McNair has been killed. Police said McNair suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head in downtown Nashville.It was first reported that McNair's wife was the other victim in the shooting, but that report has since been pulled.
The incident happened near 2nd South & Lea Avenue. A female victim was also found dead.
According to Don Aaron with the Metro Nashville Police Department, no suspects have been taken into custody. Several people were being taken to police headquarters for questioning.
There have been plenty of moments in baseball involving steroids and other performance enhancers that stand out in our memories, but one that's always stuck in the back of my mind was Rafael Palmeiro sitting in front of Congress back in March 2005. There he was wagging his finger at Congress and saying "I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that...."
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Back in 2001 the Chicago Bears had a restricted free agent on their roster whom I believe was D'Wayne Bates. Honestly, I don't know for sure because it wasn't any player of real importance and his name isn't important, but I believe it was Bates.
Anyway, Bates was a restricted free agent and the Bears messed up on some paper work when making him a qualifying offer. Because of this mistake, when the Minnesota Vikings signed Bates, the Bears didn't get a draft pick in return which is what usually happens when a restricted free agent leaves.
Now this wasn't a big deal for the Bears because Bates wasn't a key player on the team, and they just moved on. But just imagine if the Bears had made mistakes on the qualifying offers of six free agents that season. Why that would be enough to devastate a team.
Which is why I'm rather terrified of the consequences of an apparent mistake that Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon may have made.
Sources tell TSN the NHL and the NHLPA are investigating what might have been an enormous mistake by the Chicago Blackhawks.According to Tallon he mailed the qualifying offers to the players on June 29th but that because of the holiday in Canada on July 1st -- it was Canada Day which is the Canadian version of Independence Day except there are less fireworks and more Canadians -- they may not have gotten them in the mail in time.
Chicago tendered qualifying offers to several key players this week, including Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Aaron Johnson and Troy Brouwer, however the investigation underway is to determine whether the qualifying offers were filed correctly.
If not, there is the remote possibility the qualifying offers could be ruled invalid and the players listed above, conceivably, could be deemed unrestricted free agents because of the blunder.
There are few details, but one source says the players involved didn't receive the necessary notification of the offers.
The Texas Rangers were a popular darkhorse pick to win the AL West this season, and for a time they were leading the division. Unfortunately over the last few weeks they've seen their lead on the Angels disappear and are a game back going into Friday night's action. In fact, if you were so inclined, you could say that the Rangers division lead has gone in the red....
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Tonight is the night that many a Dodgers fan has been waiting for. After serving his fifty-game suspension, the home run-hitting, fertility drug-taking wonder that is Manny Ramirez will be back in the lineup as the Dodgers take on the Padres in San Diego. Now if your wondering what to make of all this I invite you to give our latest Basecast a listen as Prez and Fletch have already broken it down for you...
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I had to work on Wednesday night so I wasn't around when it was announced that the Detroit Pistons had come to terms with now former Bulls guard Ben Gordon so I apologize that this post is a day late. Still, the fact that it's a day late also kind of describes my feelings towards the fact that Gordon is now gone.
While most of the talk surrounding this involves whether or not the Bulls ever even offered a contract to Gordon -- they did by the way, each of the last two summers -- I don't really care myself. I never had a clear opinion on whether or not I wanted him back in Chicago anyway. I could see pros and cons of having him here, and much like Ben's defense did to his offensive output, both sides seemed to even the other out.
Of course neither my opinion nor yours matters anymore. Gordon is gone, and to the Pistons of all teams.
The only thing I wonder now is how this will affect the Bulls. Are they going to miss Gordon's point production and big shots? Yes, I believe they will for at least the first month or two of the season as they try to find somebody else to step into his role.
Still, even though this will be tough on Derrick Rose as he needs to learn how to play alongside another guard next season, I think this will be better for Rose in the long run. And if it's better for Derrick Rose, then it's better for the Chicago Bulls.
I don't want to say anything bad about Gordon because during his five years as a Bull he was never anything but a professional. He showed up everyday, played through injuries, and never got into any trouble off the court. Plus from all the accounts I've heard of people meeting him in and around the city, he was a very nice and quiet guy.
That being said, his absence could be a blessing for Rose. Rose needs to run the Bulls offense and in order to do that, he needs the ball in his hands. With Gordon on the court with him there were too many times in which BG would get the ball and that would be the last anybody saw of it until he fired up a shot.
At times it seemed that while the Bulls were trying to run a play, Gordon would be running his own just to get his shot. Now while some freelancing is expected in the NBA, it's nice to actually run the play that's drawn up once in a while as well.
Plus with Gordon gone that means somebody has to make up for his point production, and hopefully that will force Derrick to be more aggressive on the offensive end which will only make him that much better in the long run.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that while Gordon leaving doesn't make the Bulls a better team by any means, I don't really think it's going to hurt all that much either.
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