Free Agency Begins
-Dexter Sports
8:06 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox
Beyond snowfall and coffee, this is what I love about winter the most. The trades are already taking place. We see the Yankees add a Nick Swisher, hoping he will improve upon a horrid '08 campaign, that saw him hit .219 in more than 500 at bats. The Cubs have snipped veteran Kerry Wood from returning home. He is seeking a four year deal? The reliever must have forgotten his injury history. And I am sure that some team will forget as well.
Alot of the talk this last week in sports radio has been about the economy, and it's affect on sports. The NFL has slashed Super Bowl tickets. The New Jersey Nets have a wonderful promotion for the jobless in New Jersey. It will be interesting to see if we see this trend fall in free agency. We saw this trend start a bit last year. Owners are starting to take less risk, and go with home-grown talent (See Tampa Bay Rays). Even the Tigers, who had the second highest payroll in baseball, is expected to slice payroll, and start developing talent from within. I won't be surprised if a guy like Ben Sheets wont get the money he demands, or at least the amount of years. Owners (beyond The Boss) are not willing to take those chances. It's why Sabathia will end up a Yankee. Nobody will be able to match the price tag they put up.
In Other News:
8:06 AM
Dexter-Sports Inbox
Beyond snowfall and coffee, this is what I love about winter the most. The trades are already taking place. We see the Yankees add a Nick Swisher, hoping he will improve upon a horrid '08 campaign, that saw him hit .219 in more than 500 at bats. The Cubs have snipped veteran Kerry Wood from returning home. He is seeking a four year deal? The reliever must have forgotten his injury history. And I am sure that some team will forget as well.
Alot of the talk this last week in sports radio has been about the economy, and it's affect on sports. The NFL has slashed Super Bowl tickets. The New Jersey Nets have a wonderful promotion for the jobless in New Jersey. It will be interesting to see if we see this trend fall in free agency. We saw this trend start a bit last year. Owners are starting to take less risk, and go with home-grown talent (See Tampa Bay Rays). Even the Tigers, who had the second highest payroll in baseball, is expected to slice payroll, and start developing talent from within. I won't be surprised if a guy like Ben Sheets wont get the money he demands, or at least the amount of years. Owners (beyond The Boss) are not willing to take those chances. It's why Sabathia will end up a Yankee. Nobody will be able to match the price tag they put up.
In Other News:
- Trevor Hoffman's agent expects to hear from the Tigers soon, according to John Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press.
- The Reds have hired Jamie Quirk as professional scout. A wise move on the organization's part.
- According to the Baltimore Sun, every official of the team has denied the rumors that they are interested in signing Manny Ramirez. Makes complete sense to me. Notice how they haven't denied going after Tex at first. I really think he is their goal, beyond A.J. Burnett.
