The Hall of Fame voting is in:
For the second straight year there are no inductees.
We made a decent-sized free-agent signing!
8 years ago we signed another international free agent reliever out of Japan and Kikuo Kawase was everything we hoped for and more, helping us to 5 World Series titles, being named Reliever of the Year 5 times, and going to the All-Star Game every year of his career. As he approaches his twilight and is only under contract for one more season, it's time to find his heir apparent. Here is what Sato looks like under the hood:
Like Kawase, he keeps the ball in the park while still being dominant. The deal is 4/32 but the final year is a team option with a $1.5M buyout in case he's ineffective or injured. For this year he'll be Kawase's primary setup guy and with Chris Williams, Ken Burgess and Ed Pretty, we'll have a lethal bullpen.
It's the guru storyline again:
16 years ago it was Alec Bohm who went to the same guy in India and came back disappointed.
January 9: Old friend Nate Schultz will break camp with his fourth team in as many year as Arizona dealt him to Milwaukee. Schultz, now 36, was 10-17, 4.83 with the Snakes last season.
Oh boy:
Good thing I didn't trade Pat Moyer.
February 4: Former Rays slugging star 1B Daniel Vasquez signed a 4/84 deal with the Phillies after spending the last couple of years in Colorado.
February 11: And there goes Jeff Baez, for 3/60.6 to the White Sox. Good luck and good health!