AGRI Biz

Bert Blyleven belongs in the Hall of Fame.   In fact, he’s belonged in the Hall of Fame for 12 years.   Yet, for 12 years in a row, the Baseball Writers Association of American has erred by leaving him out in the cold when the voting results are announced.   Now in his 13th year of eligibility, Blyleven is down to his final three strikes.   Blyleven’s inability to get inducted has never been a case of ...

Alex Gonzalez will be taking his slick defense up north next summer.   Gonzalez, 32, signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Blue Jays on Thursday.   The contract includes a $2.5 million option for 2011.   The deal comes just one day after the club re-signed utility man John McDonald to a two-year contract , leading to speculation that he would be the club’s starting shortstop.   With both Gonzalez and McDonald under contract, this should ...

Shelley Duncan is finally free. After nine years of indentured servitude in the New York Yankees’ farm system, Duncan is a free agent for the first time. Unfortunately, Duncan is no longer the long-ball hitting prospect who was drafted in the second-round of the 2001 draft. He’s now a 30-year-old with just 68 games and 146 at-bats in the big leagues on his resume. Duncan, the son of St. Louis pitching coach Dave Duncan, ...

Thanksgiving is upon us once again. We all know that Thanksgiving is supposed to be about families and turkeys and a rapidly-depleting supply of shopping days until Christmas, butùin the minds of baseball fansùThanksgiving is just a pit stop between the end of awards season and the beginning of the Winter Meetings. IÆve decided to combine the more traditional Thanksgiving festivities with my burning need for more baseball. In doing so, IÆve created ...

Joe Mauer can now add American League Most Valuable Player to his already imposing resume. Mauer received 27 out of 28 first-place votes to runaway with the award. Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera received the other first-place vote but the first baseman finished fourth overall. Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees finished second and third, respectively. Mauer finished with 327 total points, well ahead of Teixeira, 225, and Jeter, ...

Once a cheap team, always a cheap team. á The Florida Marlins have reportedly "reached an impasse ö with ace Josh Johnson regarding a proposed four-year contract extension. á Matt Sosnick, JohnsonÆs agent, was reportedly seeking a deal very similar to the four-year, $38 million deal that Zack Greinke signed a year ago. á The notoriously stingy Marlins, however, were only willing to guarantee the 25-year-old right-hander three years. á The proposed deal would have bought out JohnsonÆs ...

The Boston Red Sox are considering acquiring a marquee first baseman. The club is reportedly interested in San DiegoÆs Adrian Gonzalez and DetroitÆs Miguel Cabrera. If either one is acquired in a trade, the Red Sox would move incumbent first baseman Kevin Youkilis to third base on a permanent basis. Sound familiar? It certainly does to Mike Lowell. á ôI figure I am no stranger to trade rumors,ö ...

On Thursday afternoon the Baseball Writers Association of America will announce who theyÆve voted as this yearÆs National League Cy Young Award winner. Unlike the American League Cy Young, there is no single front-runner for the award. Rather, there were many impressive performances in the NL this season, leading many to wonder who will be crowned the winner. A compelling argument could be made for a number of different NL hurlers, but in ...

Ron Gardenhire has long been considered one of baseballÆs best managers. á In 2009, he proved his mettle once again by leading the Minnesota Twins to yet another division title in the American League Central. á The pennant marked his fifth division title in eight seasons as the TwinsÆ skipper. á It very well could have been the sixth, but Minnesota lost to the Chicago White Sox in a one-game playoff to determine the division champion ...

ôMiguel Tejada signs with the Minnesota Twins.ö á Reading that headline wouldnÆt elicit the excitement it would have five years ago, but itÆs still an intriguing proposition. á Five years ago, Tejada was one of baseballÆs best players and had recently signed a massive six-year, $72 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles. á In the five years since, he has suffered through multiple steroid allegations at the hands of former teammates, inclusion in the Mitchell Report, ...