Wait a Minute... How Did I Miss This?

Chin-lung Hu was traded to the Mets on Monday for Minor League pitcher Michael Antonini.

This is huge! This changes the face of the franchise. This might very well put them over the top finally.

Or not.

Ok, you may return back to your regularly scheduled programming. As you were...

A Day Late But...

Zach Greinke was finally traded. And no, it wasn't to the Dodgers, though reports say they were deeply involved in talks with Kansas City to the point they apparently brought a third team into the mix... until they ran out of time. Greinke was eventually traded to Milwaukee in the middle of the night early Sunday morning.

The return wasn't as good as I would have imagined, but the Royals did fairly well in getting two solid young kids from the Brewers in Lorenzo Cain and Alicedes Escobar.

Back to the Dodgers. I'm not sure how exactly a trade for Greinke would have worked for them. First, they already have six starters. Four of them just signed on as free agents (three were with the team at the end of the season). Greinke is owed about $13M each of the next two seasons, and the Blue would have had to unload salary (hence getting a third team involved?) to be able to fit that contract within the payroll budget. (It stands at roughly $110M now for 2011.) Plus, of the other two starters, Chad Billingsley would be the one starter they probably would have had to move to free up a spot in the rotation for Greinke. But even then, the logistics wouldn't have really added up.

So, Greinke wound up in Milwaukee. And this after he refused to waive his no-trade clause to go to Washington, who had a deal in place with the Royals for the righty. The Yankees and Rangers, among others, were also said to be interested, but neither team was apparently in deep enough talks with KC for Greinke's services.

In the end, Greinke joins a rotation that already has Yovani Gallardo, recently-acquired Shaun Marcum and Randy Wolf. And there's talk they might even be in on free agent Carl Pavano, too. Either way, you could make the argument that the Brewers now boast one of the top four rotations in the National League, behind Philadelphia (Halladay, Lee, Oswalt, Hamels), San Francisco (Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, Bumgarner, Zito) and the Dodgers (Kershaw, Billingsley, Lilly, Kuroda, Garland, Padilla). And with their lineup that includes Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Cory Hart and Chris McGehee, the Brewers have quickly made themselves serious contenders in the N.L. Central again and could battle the Phillies for best overall team in the N.L.

Let the fun begin already!

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Meanwhile, the Dodgers continue to lose out on left field options as players they have interest in continue to find other homes. Bill Hall recently signed with Houston to play second base. Austin Kearns returned to Cleveland today. And now rumor has it the Angels covet Scott Podsednik. (Frankly, they can have him!) So where might that leave the Dodgers?

Well they've been linked in recent days to Marcus Thames, though he's not very good defensively, and the Hairston Brothers, Scott and Jerry, Jr. And for whatever it's worth, neither of them should be everyday players either.

So, dare I say or ask this? Why not just bring back Manny for another year?! Ha!

Baseball Loses a Legend

Hall of Fame Indians pitcher Bob Feller passed away last night after battling various illnesses. Feller was a 266-game winner in 18 seasons with the Indians from 1936 to 1956, and was a 20-game winner six times in that span. He finished his long career with a 3.25 ERA. Feller also spent three years battling the front lines during World War II from 1942-1944. He was 92.

Winter Meetings Round-up and Thensome...

Let me just start off by saying the Winter Meetings this year were more or less no different than any other in recent years past: a whirlwind of rumors coming from every which direction of the hotel where the meetings were being held. There were several surprises, such as the aforementioned Jayson Werth signing with Washington, and there were a couple of obvious singings, such as Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter re-upping with the Yankees.

Two of the biggest surprises of the meetings though, without a doubt, involved the Red Sox. They had already lost free agent catcher Victor Martinez to Detroit, and it all but appeared as if they were going to lost third baseman Adrian Beltre to another team, as well. So it was no surprise that they needed to make a big splash and replace at least one of those bats. And having already been linked in the past couple of years to Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, it came as no surprise, really, that they finally acquired him for three minor leaguers to start the meetings. But they didn't stop there. A few days later, they ended the meetings in stunning fashion when they reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Carl Crawford on a monster seven-year deal. Crawford had been linked to the Angels and Yankees, so him ending up in Boston comes as a bit of surprise.

Another team that was busy at the meetings was the White Sox, who added free agent slugger Adam Dunn to their arsenal before re-signing free agents Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski. Dunn, who got a four-year deal, had been coveted by several teams, and it was almost certain he would sign with a National League team because he wanted to play in the field. But even with the very likelihood that Konerko, who got a new three-year deal, was going to be re-signed to playfirst base again, Dunn chose the A.L.'s White Sox, to be their DH.

Some other notable transactions during the meetings:

• First baseman Carlos Pena signed a one-year deal with the Cubs
• Starting pitcher Shawn Marcum was traded from Toronto to the Brewers
• The Orioles acquired third baseman Mark Reynolds from Arizona and shortstop J.J. Hardy from the Twins, and also re-signed free agent pitcher Koji Uehara
• The D-backs signed closer J.J. Putz and infielder Melvin Mora
• Infielder Ty Wigginton got a two-year deal from the Rockies

The biggest surprise of the entire off-season, however, came just two nights ago, four days after the Winter Meetings ended.

It had been quite obvious for weeks that the Cliff Lee sweepstakes were going to come down to two teams: the Texas Rangers, with whom Lee pitched for after being acquired from Seattle in June and then led to the World Series, and the Yankees, a team with a lot of money to spend. For four days during the meetings, we heard all the rumors of the offers he received from both clubs. Then it was reported over the weekend that there was a mystery team that was suddenly involved, though speculation was Lee was leaning towards returning to Texas. The rumors even went as far as suggesting there never even being a "mystery team" involved at all, that maybe it was just a ploy by Lee's agent to get the Rangers or Yankees to up their offers and maybe get into a bidding war. But neither budged, and boy, were a lot of us all wrong!

Cliff Lee stunned the baseball world when reports surfaced late Monday night that he was returning to Philadelphia to pitch for the team he helped lead to the World Series in 2009. He essentially took less money from Philly so he could play where he wanted to play. And it wasn't that he didn't like Texas or didn't want to go back to the Rangers, because he made it clear how much he loved it there. Nor was it because he didn't want to pitch in New York or because Yankee fans were unruly to Lee's wife during a Rangers visit to Yankee Stadium during the season. It was just simply that he really loved pitching in Philadelphia, and his heart was set on going back there.

Now here's where this all gets even more crazy. Lee will be joining a rotation that already includes this year's N.L. Cy Young Award winner, Roy Halladay, who pitched a perfect game during the season, and then pitched a no-hitter in his first ever post-season start this year, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels. Now, I don't know about anyone else, but this has to arguably be one of the greatest starting rotations ever assembled. And that includes the comparisons to the 1954 Indians rotation, the 1969-1971 Orioles rotations, and the mid-1990's Braves rotation which included three future Hall of Famers in Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine. And keep in mind, even though the Phillies lost Werth to a division rival, they still have a very strong lineup with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins and Raul Ibanez.

I guess it wouldn't be too far off to predict a Red Sox-Phillies 2011 World Series right now, would it?! Well, we'll see. Everyone still has to play 162 games first, and then two of the eight playoff teams have to win seven more post-season games to get to the World Series. And who knows, one of them could be the Dodgers!

Speaking of the Blue, they were no strangers at the meetings and thereafter either, keeping busy themselves, as well, and moreso than usual.

First, they re-signed starting pitcher Vicente Padilla to a one-year deal. Padilla will be a "utility pitcher" for the Dodgers in 2011, doing some spot-starting, long-relieving, closing, whatever it is they need him to do. His versatility and willingness to be that "utility" pitcher was attractive to the Dodgers.

The Blue then signed free agent outfielder Tony Gwynn, Jr., who was non-tendered by the Padres, to a one-year deal. He too, will be a utility player for the Dodgers, in the outfield. They also signed a former Dodger, catcher Dioner Navarro, non-tendered by the Rays, to duke it out with A.J. Ellis for the right to platoon with Rod Barajas, though I can't imagine Ellis beating out Navarro. The signing all but ended Russell Martin's tenure with the Dodgers, who eventually signed a one-year deal today with the Yankees to be their primary catcher.

If you remember, with Martin already in the Dodgers system, then-General Manager Paul Depodesta acquired Navarro from the Yankees via the Diamondbacks prior to the 2005 season as part of a three-team trade that sent Shawn Green to Arizona and Randy Johnson from Arizona to the Yankees. Dodger scouts loved Martin, but Depodesta liked Navarro and his upside and he was eventually called up from Triple-A in the middle of the '05 season. He then started the 2006 season as the starting catcher ahead of Martin, but got hurt early in the season. Martin was called up to take his spot and did so well he was given the starting the job even after Navarro recovered from his injury. Navarro was eventually traded by current GM Ned Colletti in the middle of the 2006 season near the trade deadline to Tampa Bay along with Jae Wong Seo and eventually Justin Ruggiero in exchange for Toby Hall and Mark Hendrickson.

Today the team beefed up its bullpen by coming to an agreement with free agent reliever Matt Guerrier on a three-year deal. Guerrier pitched for the Twins the past six seasons.

And with all that, the off-season is still young! Top free agents such as Beltre, Carl Pavano, Andy Pettitte, Rafael Soriano, Derrek Lee, Magglio Ordonez, Manny Ramirez, and Vladimir Guerrero are still available. (Hideki Matsui signed a one-year deal today with Oakland.) And the Dodgers are still trying to lock up one more outfielder, and they've narrowed their search down to four reported finalists: Scott Podsednik, Bill Hall, Austin Kearns and Lastings Milledge.

And believe it or not, Christmas is still more than one week away! Still plenty of Christmas gifts to be handed in the form of free agents.

Dodgers Stay Busy

The Winter Meetings haven't even started yet but the Dodgers continue to stay busy. Very busy. Here's a run-down of what's transpired over the last couple of weeks since the team re-signed Hiroki Kuroda:

• The Dodgers finally announced their coaching staff for 2011, bringing back former Dodger great Davey Lopes as their new first base coach. Lopes was part of the great Dodger infield of the mid- to late-70s and early-80's that included Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and Ron Cey. Also joining new manager Don Mattingly's staff is former Royals manager Trey Hillman as bench coach, former Dodger Tim Wallach as the third base coach, former Dodger pinch-hitting specialist Dave Hansen as hitting instructor, and carry-overs Jeff Pentland, promoted from hitting instructor to primary hitting coach, Rick Honeycutt as pitching coach, Ken Howell as bullpen coach and Manny Mota as assistant coach.
• One day after Thanksgiving, the Dodgers reached a deal with free agent pitcher Jon Garland and signed him to a one-year deal worth $5M plus incentives with a vesting option for $8M for 2012 based on pitching 190 innings in 2011. Garland will slide into the fifth spot in the Dodgers rotation, which now looks as good and as deep as any in the majors. He pitched briefly for the Dodgers at the end of the 2009 season when they acquired him from Arizona at the waiver trade deadline at the end of August.
• Three days later, the Dodgers "stole" World Series hero Juan Uribe away from the Giants, and inked him to a three-year, $21M deal to take over the everyday second base duties. While the years and money might be a bit much, the Dodgers were vying for Uribe's services with several other teams, including the Giants, so they stepped up to get the deal done. This has to be a double-whammy for the Giants and their fans. Uribe solidifies the middle-infield defense and gives them a little more power in the middle of the lineup. He'll likely slide over to third base in 2012 after Casey Blake's current three-year contract expires after this coming season.
• As a result of the Uribe signing, the Dodgers turned around and traded incumbent second baseman Ryan Theriot to St. Louis for reliever Blake Hawksworth. Theriot was a non-tender candidate for the Dodgers, so the Dodgers did well getting something in return for him.
• The Dodgers then did non-tender three players, including reliever George Sherrill and catcher Russell Martin. The Sherrill move came as no surprise, but non-tendering Martin came as a bit of a surprise for a number of reasons, and yet it didn't for several reasons, as well. Martin will be just 28 at the start of next season, but he's regressed steadily over the past three seasons since 2007, in large part because he's probably fatigued from having caught the most games in the majors during that span. He was due a hefty pay raise through arbitration and the Dodgers had some reservations about him receiving a raise. To complicate matters, Martin had a freak hip injury last season that ended his season when he landed awkwardly on home plate trying to score on a base hit. There were concerns he might have torn his labrum but fortunately it was just a fracture. Still, the Dodgers had every reason to be hesitant. They tried to iron out a deal with him, and the Martin camp made an offer of $5M plus $1M in incentives, but the Dodgers were only willing to go as high as $4.2M plus the $1M, just $120k more than $4.04M the Dodgers would have had to pay Martin had they gone to arbitration with him and won. In other words, they haggled over a measly (by baseball standards) $800k. They also attempted to trade him, and six teams showed an interest in Martin to a point where the Dodgers almost sent him to the Yankees for catcher Francisco Cervelli. But eventually that fell through, and the Dodgers opted to non-tender Martin, making him a free agent. The Dodgers still want Martin back in the fold, but in a different role. They'd like him to platoon behind the plate, and play some third base, second base and left field. The interest is mutual, and they continue to talk. But now the Dodgers have competition from those same six teams who called them about a possible trade before they non-tendered him.
• In light of the whole Martin thing, the Dodgers protected themselves, and turned around and re-signed another catcher, Rod Barajas, to a one-year, $3.25M deal. That's a lot for an aging 35-year old catcher who really only had two good weeks all last year, both coming after he was sent to the Dodgers from the Mets in late August after making just $500k from the Mets last season. I'm not sure that really justifies a raise, but the Dodgers wanted to make sure they were covered at the position. And if the Dodgers are able to re-sign Martin, as well, he and Barajas would platoon behind the plate, making Barajas' contract look even worse being that he would be just a part-time player. You would think, despite his regression the last three years and his hip injury last year, that Martin at 28 is more deserving of a $5M deal compared to a 35-year old catcher getting a $2.75M raise based on two weeks.

This gets us caught up and brings us to the Winter Meetings, which officially get underway tomorrow. The Dodgers still have a little work to do, such as solidifying the catching situation, finding a suitable right-handed platoon partner for Jay Gibbons in left field (Matt Diaz comes to mind, though bringing back Adrian Beltre to play third base again and moving Casey Blake to left to platoon with Gibbons sounds juicier!) and filling out the bullpen. They had been rumored to be interested in free agent Jesse Crain.

Stay tuned. More to come as the Winter Meetings get closer (though apparently they already have started tonight as former Dodger outfielder Jayson Werth has signed a seven-year, $126M deal with the Washington Nationals).