RIP Doc Halladay

Like so many of you, I was shocked and saddened Tuesday by the sudden death of former Major Leaguer Roy Halladay.  Flashbacks to Thurman Munson and Corey Lidle came to mind when I heard that Halladay was killed while flying his Icon A5 amphibious light aircraft. He was just 40-years old.

Halladay loved flying his plane but something went terribly wrong on Tuesday when he crashed into the Gulf of Mexico. It wasn't immediately clear if any passengers were on board but no other bodies were found.

Halladay was the fiercest of fierce competitors. After a slow start with the Toronto Blue Jays, Halladay began to dominate American League hitters. And, he did it by putting batters away quickly. It's the reason he was able to pitch deep into games on so many occasions (he led baseball in complete games seven times). As Sports Illustrated writer/MLB Network commentator Tom Verducci pointed out, when Halladay put a hitter in an 0-2 hole, he didn't waste a pitch. He aggressively went after the hitter.

He was the type of pitcher that made you say "oh crap" (out loud) when you realized he would be facing your team that night. In 2002, his career began to take off when he led the AL in innings pitched and wins.

The Colorado native had precise control and led the AL and NL a combined five times in strikeout-to-walk ratio. In his 16 years in the bigs, he surrendered less than one home run per nine innings pitched. He was that good.

When the Blue Jays decided it was time to rebuild, Halladay accepted a trade to the Philadelphia Phillies prior to the 2010 season. He merely went out, won 21 games that year, led the NL in complete games and shutouts, and took home his second career Cy Young Award.

The 2010 season was highlighted by a perfect game on May 10 against the Miami Marlins. Then, in his first career postseason appearance, he no-hit the Cincinnati Reds in the Division Series. In doing so, he joined the Yankees' Don Larsen as the only pitchers to throw a no-hitter in the postseason.

A year later, Halladay won 19 games and pitched 233.2 innings. But, then his prized right arm started to get cranky. He pitched for two more years in Philly but made just 13 starts in 2013. He then retired to spend time with his family, flying, and coaching youth baseball.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his wife Brandy and their sons Ryan and Braden.

RIP Doc.

Phillies Fire Manuel, Hire Ryno

Philadelphia Phillies manager Charlie Manuel knows that the game of baseball is all about “what have you done for me lately?”. A World Series champion in 2008 and National League pennant winner in 2009, Manuel reportedly has been fired. The Phillies have a called a 2:30 pm EDT press conference. Reports have third base coach Ryne Sandberg as Manuel's replacement.

Manuel was the skipper for the Cleveland Indians from 2000 through the first 86 games of 2002. He led the Tribe to a division crown in 2001, but was fired a year later when the team was eight games under .500.

After a two year hiatus, Manuel took over the Phillies for the 2005 season. After two straight NL East runner-up finishes, Manuel led the Fightin' Phils to five straight division crowns. The 2008 squad won the first World Series for the first time since the 1980 team defeated Kansas City. The team lost the 2009 series to the Yankees in six games.

The Phillies won 102 games in 2011, but age, injuries, and bad contracts caught up with them. They finished in third place last year with a .500 record and are currently 53-67 and in fourth place in the NL East. The team's performance had led to speculation that the 69-year old Manuel would be let go at the end of the season.

Sandberg coached in the Chicago Cubs organization from 2007-2010, but was passed over for the manager's job when Lou Piniella retired toward the end of the 2010 season. He left the organization to join the Phillies, who had selected Sandberg in the 20th round of the 1978 MLB amateur draft. After one year he was dealt with veteran Larry Bowa to the Cubs for Ivan DeJesus. It was there he built a Hall of Fame career (inducted in 2005) before looking to become a Major League manager.

The 53-year old Sandberg managed the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs for two years before joining the big club as third base coach.

General Manager Ruben Amaro Jr. could be the next to go after some questionable free agent signings and contract extensions the last few years.

Napoli, Victorino Join Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have plenty of money to burn after unloading Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez at the 2012 trade deadline, and they are quickly spending it.

The Red Sox have snatched up catcher/first baseman Mike Napoli and outfielder Shane Victorino at the start of the winter meetings.

Napoli will primarily be the Sox first baseman and could see occasional play backing up starting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Napoli spent his first five seasons with the Los Angeles Angels before he was dealt along with Juan Rivera to the Toronto Blue Jays in Jan., 2011 for Vernon Wells. Four days later, the Blue Jays moved Napoli to the Texas Rangers for reliever Frank Francisco. The deal proved to be a winner for Texas as Napoli helped propel them to their second straight World Series.

The then-29-year old produced career highs in home runs (30), RBI (75), and OPS (1.046). Though his numbers dipped last season he made his first All-Star team. On the face of it, the Red Sox overpaid for a player (3 years, $39MM) that has only played more than 115 games in a season once in his career, but his former manager Ron Washington says he worth it.

The Texas skipper sang Napoli's praises at the winter meetings in Nashville.“Tremendous character,” Rangers manager Ron Washington said. “He’s a winner. It’s unfortunate that things didn’t work out here, but we do wish him well in Boston.”¹

Victorino became a full-time player with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2006 and was an instrumental  part if the Phiilies back to back pennant winners in 2008 and 2009. With free agency looming, the Phils sent Victorino to the Dodgers at last season's trade deadline for reliever Josh Lindblom and a pair of minor leaguers.

The "Flying Hawaiian" turned 32 last Friday and had a significant drop off in production in 2012. Despite that, the Red Sox were willing to give Victorino a three year, $39MM contract. Just like Napoli, the amount of money per year is more than the player is worth. But also like Napoli, the Red Sox are getting a top character guy for a clubhouse that has been in disarray the last two years.

1 - Boston Herald

Yankees on MLB, Saturday at 1

After playing the Univ. of So. Florida on a Friday (an 11-0 win), the Yankees begin the exhibition season against the big boys today.

Ivan Nova will get the start as the Yankees face the Philadelphia Phillies at 1 pm ET on the MLB Network. Manny Banuelos, Dellin Betances, and David Phelps are all expected to pitch and half dozen regulars are expected to play.

YEAH!!!

Here's The Pitch

YES YES YES..no, not just the network..Yankees baseball begins today. Spring training games that is. The Yankees open a home and home series with the Philadelphia Phillies today at 1:00 ET. And YES, it will be televised on YES!

We'll get our first look at Bartolo Colon and find out if pinstripes really are slimming. David Phelps, one of the minor leaguers with a very outside shot of making the rotation will also pitch. Joba Chamberlain, David Robertson, Hector Noesi, and Eric Wordekemper will all take the hill as well.

Andrew Brackman is suffering a groin injury and has been shut down until Tuesday, putting a damper on his chances for one of the final two spots in the rotation.

Today's lineup courtesy of the Star-Ledger's Marc Carig:

Derek Jeter SS
Nick Swisher RF
Mark Teixeira 1B
Alex Rodriguez 3B
Robinson Cano 2B
Jorge Posada DH
Curtis Granderson CF
Francisco Cervelli C
Brett Gardner LF
Bartolo Colon P

BD Spring Training Report: It’s Just A Game | Baseball Digest

BD Spring Training Report: It’s Just A Game | Baseball Digest

Anyone who has followed Dallas Green’s managerial career knows he’s tough, that he doesn’t mince words, and he isn’t afraid to let his feelings be known to the media. This morning Dallas Green should have been enjoying the annual rite of spring training, of watching players stretch and play catch and take batting practice. But Dallas Green is still grieving a loss much more meaningful than any baseball game.

By now you all know that Green’s granddaughter, Christina-Taylor Green, died along with five others at the hands of a mentally ill individual last month in Arizona. A 9-yr old girl who was just beginning to learn of the wonders of the world. A girl who had big hopes and dreams; dreams and memories are all that are left now for her family.

Dallas Green spoke to the media for 20 minutes this morning at the Phillies’ Clearwater, Florida complex. In doing so he showed far more courage than making any crucial World Series decision could ever come close to.

“Obviously, dealing with something like this is difficult enough for me and my wife, but it’s been a terrible thing on John and Roxanna and Little D (referring to his son, daughter-in-law and grandson, Dallas Jr.).

“You all know what has happened with Christina. I don’t think Sylvia (Dallas Green’s wife) nor I, in our wildest dreams as we were flying out to Tucson, realized that it would hit the nation and the community as hard as it did. We thought it was just our family and our neighborhood out in Tucson. But that little girl woke an awful lot of people up. We just miss the hell out of her.

“Obviously, I’m prejudiced, because she was my granddaughter. But she has become known to an awful lot of people in the country. Most of what has been written about her or said about her obviously is very true. She was really a special young lady, probably older than her years. She and her brother were very, very close. Christina was kind of the mom, as much as Roxanna was, to little Dallas. Made sure he got on the bus right, made sure he got to the karate classes on time. I was really blessed, John and Roxanna and Christina and Dallas came down to Providenciales (where the elder Greens have a winter home in the Caribbean) for Christmas, and we had some great quality time down there. She loved the water, she loved just being down in Providenciales with her Nana and Poppa. We had a great time.”

Green also spoke about the remarkable response the nation has had towards the tragedy and to his family in particular.

“It hit everybody,” he said. “The way it happened and the fact she was only nine years old obviously hit a lot of people hard. It brought up the gun business and the craziness the country seems to be going through at times. But she embodied what’s good about kids and what’s good about growing up in the United States.She wanted desperately just to be a little girl that loved doing what she did. Obviously her interest in politics and going to that function and being in the wrong place at the wrong time hit an awful lot of people hard.”

Green also praised the woman who had taken Christina to the event and then was wounded by three bullets as she tried to protect her. You can read those comments and more by checking out Larry Stone’s column in the Seattle Times.

News and Notes

Albert Pujols’ deadline has come and gone with no contract. If Prince Albert sticks to his guns there will be no further negotiations until after the 2011 season is completed.

BD Hot Stove: The Phab Phour | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: The Phab Phour | Baseball Digest

You could hear GMs around baseball shudder when they heard that Cliff Lee had signed a new free agent deal with the Philadelphia Phillies. Suddenly the team that gone to back to back World Series in 2008-2009 and had won four straight NL East titles had put together a new top of the line rotation. 2010 CY Young winner Roy Halladay, 2008 CY Young winner Lee, career 150 game winner Roy Oswalt, and the still on the rise Cole Hamels forn the “City of Brotherly Love” invastion. Number five for the moment is flabby, but not too shabby, Joe Blanton.

I will be the first to to tell you “that’s why the games are played”, “it doesn’t matter how a team looks on paper” and so on. But that’s a pretty intimidating rotation to go up against. With a very productive lineup and a bullpen that has the potential to be capable, the Phillies could go far in 2011. But that’s not why we’re gathered here today. It’s time to take a look at what each team’s rotation will look like entering spring training.

AL East

Baltimore – Since the departure of Mike Mussina after the 2000 season, the Orioles have been searching for a new number one. They thought possibly they had found one in Erik Bedard, Adam Loewen, Matt Riley…all prospects that did not pan out for one reason or another. But the O’s do have some bright spots in their current set of prospects. Left-hander Brian Matusz will be joined by veteran Jeremy Guthrie, and fellow youngsters Jake Arrieta, Brad Bergesen, and Chris Tillman. Top prospect Zach Britton could battle for the number five spot in the rotation.

Boston – The Red Sox have a formidable group of pitchers. The question will be whether or not some of them remain healthy and/or bounce back from a sub-par 2010. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, Clay Buchholz, and Daisuke Matsuzaka are the five for now with knuckleballer Tim Wakefield plugging in here and there. If they’re on, this could be one of the nastiest rotations in baseball.

New York – The Yankees are in a bit of a quandary right now as they await Andy Pettitte’s decision to retire or continue playing baseball. CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett are set. The final two spots are completely up in the air, with Sergio Mitre and prospect Ivan Nova pencilled in for now. If Pettitte returns and no other pitchers are brought in, the final spit will come down to Mitre, Nova, and any prospect who steps up.

Tampa Bay – With the departure of Matt Garza, the Rays have one less reliable starter they can count on. But this is still a highly competitive rotation anchored by stud David Price, who is in the midst of a meteoric rise in stature. James Shields, Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, and rookie Jeremy Hellickson round out the starting staff.

Toronto – The Blue Jays dealt their most reliable starter, Shaun Marcum, but have one of the top prospects in all of baseball in Kyle Drabek. With limited time spent in Triple-A though, Drabek may not yet be ready for prime time. He’ll have a chance to win a spot in a rotation that has Ricky Romero, Brandon Morrow, and Brett Cecil as the only sure things to start the season. Jesse Litsch, coming back from hip surgery and Mike Rzepcynski will fight for spots as well.

AL Central

Cleveland – Fausto Carmona trade rumors have been heard often during this hot stove, but for now he’ll open as the number one man in the Indians rotation. He’ll be joined by fellow veteran Justin Masterson and kid Carlos Carrasco. The final two spots will between Mitch Talbot, Jeanmar Gomez, Josh Tomlin, and anyone else who will toss their hat in the ring.

Chicago – Mark Buehrle, John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Edwin Jackson. Manager Ozzie Guillen has a solid four he can count on in 2011. Then there’s Jake Peavy coming back from a detatched latissmus dorsi muscle that cost him the second half of the season. It’s unsure when he’ll be ready to go, so for now highly touted Chris Sale will probably get a look in the staff’s final opening.

Detroit – When you’ve got a stud like Justin Verlander at the top of your rotation it can set the tone for the rest of the staff. Manager Jim Leyland is counting on continued growth from youngsters Max Scherzer and Rick Porcello, and they’ll benefit from some words of wisdom from recently signed veteran Brad Penny. One time starter, Phil Coke gets a chance to leave the bullpen and pitch every fifth day again.

Kansas City – It wasn’t that long ago that the Royals looked like they were building a nice starting staff. Now, Zack Greinke has been dealt away and Gil Meche suffered shoulder injuries and retired. That leaves one time prospects Luke Hochevar, Kyle Davies, and Jeff Francis to bolster the rotation. Recently re-signed Bruce Chen has a spot locked up, which leaves Sean O’Sullivan and Vin Mazzaro to vie for the final spot.

Minnesota – The Twins brought back Carl Pavano, who along with Francisco Liriano, and Scott Baker form a nice triumvirate. Nick Blackburn, Kevin Slowey, and Brian Duensing will pitch for the final two spots. No matter how it shakes out you know that this Ron Gardenhire led team will compete for the division crown.

AL West

Los Angeles – The Angels should be highly competitve in the west again now they have Dan Haren for a full season. He struggled for the Diamondbacks last year, but looked like his old self once he was sent northwest at the trade deadline. Jeff Weaver, Ervin Santana, and Joel Pineiro give the Halos a solid four to start the season. The Angels need to do something about the fifth spot though as Scott Kazmir has become unreliable. Hasinori Takahashi could be the guy to step up and take Kamzir’s spot in the rotation.

Oakland – The A’s have been about developing pitching under Billy Beane’s reign and the team has a nice collection of youngsters once again. Dallas Braden, Brett Anderson, Gio Gonzalez, and Trevor Cahill will be joined by veteran Rich Harden. With Harden’s propensity to be injured, the A’s could look to Brandon McCarthy and others to fill in.

Seattle – The Mariners have the “King” of all baseball. Well, Felix “The King” Hernandez will be the incumbent AL CY Young winner entering the 2011 season. Unfortunately, after Hernandez the rest of the Mariners starting staff is a crap shoot. Jason Vargos and Doug Fister had decent seasons in 2010. The Mariners hope to finally get something out of Erik Bedard other than medical bills. Top prospect Michael Pineda, and journeymen David Pauley and Luke French will all get a shot at a starting spot.

Texas – They Rangers gave up a top hitting prospect in Justin Smoak to get Cliff Lee at the trade deadline and now have neither. What they do have is a rotation that manager Ron Washington hopes can replicate or better their 2010 performance. C.J. Wilson steps up to the number one spot with Lee gone, followed by Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter, and Derek Holland. Also in there? One time NL CY Young winner Brandon Webb, whom the Rangers hope is healthy and can recapture (most of) his glory.

NL East

You’ve heard enough about the Phillies already. Time to look at the competition.

Atlanta – The Braves are a team that have been developing top pitchers since the early 1990s. Times have changed and so have the Braves. Their top three – Tim Hudson, Derek Lowe, and Jair Jurrjens all came from other organizations. Youngster Tommy Hanson has a spot and top 10 prospects Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, and Bobby Beachy should all get a shot at the final opening.

Florida – The Marlins have a bonafide stud in Josh Johnson, but the rest of the staff is patchwork. The team brought back Ricky Nolasco and signed free agent Javier Vazquez to join Anabel Sanchez, who had a career high 13 wins last year. Chris Volstad is the number five guy.

New York – The Mets staff is in disarray with Johan Santana not ready for opening day and Oliver Perez’s career in near complete demise. Mike Pelfrey reached his potential last year and will be the ace of the staff on opening day. The Mets also have plenty of promise in Jon Niese and hope that R.A. Dickey can repeat his remarkable 2010 season. Newly signed Chris Young, if healthy will get a spot with Jenrry Mejia, Chris Capuano, and Dillon Gee all getting long looks for the final spot out of spring training.

Washington – The prospect’s prospect Stephen Strasburg will be spending 2011 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Until then the Nationals will count on Livan Hernandez, Jason Marquis, and Jordan Zimmerman to hold down the fort. The Nats hope Chien-Ming Wang has fully recovered from shoulder surgery that made him miss all of last year. Luis Atilano, John Lannan, and Yunesky Maya are among those who will vie for the back of the rotation.

NL Central

Chicago – The city of big shoulders needs to control the big shoulders of Carlos Zambrano. The man who may be certifiable settled down late in the season and the Cubbies need that trend to continue. Ryan Dempster and newly acquired Matt Garza are the two most consistent starters on the roster. Randy Wells and Carlos Silva will have the final spots for now with recently acquired prospect Chris Archer possibly having a second half impact.

Cincinnati – The Reds won’t surprise anyone this year, but with a staff of Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Edinson Volquez, Homer Bailey, Travis Wood, and Mike Leake they’ll do just fine. The latter three will compete for the final two openings.

Houston – The days of Oswalt, Clemens, and Pettitte are now long gone. Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers, and J.A. Happ are a competitive top three on a team that won’t be too competitive. Bud Norris, Nelson Figueroa, Aneury Rodriguez, and Lance Pendleton will all get a look for the final two spots available.

Milwaukee - The Brewers have their best pitching rotation since CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets teamed for a short time in 2008. Holdover Yovani Gallardo is joined by trade acquisitions Shaun Marcum (TOR) and Zack Greinke (MIL) to form a super top three. Veteran Randy Wolf and journeyman Chris Narveson round things out. Top pitching prospect Mark Rogers could have an impact if his shoulder is healthy enough.

Pittsburgh – The Pirates have to get by on the cheap and 2011 is no different. James McDonald, Paul Maholm, Kevin Correia, Ross Ohlendorf, Charlie Morton, and Scott Olsen are the six pitchers for five spots.

St. Louis – Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter. Not a bad way to kick off a season. They’ll be joined by second year man Jaime Garcia and veterans Jake Westbrook and Kyle Lohse. It’s the rotation that will compete with the Brewers and Reds for the tops in the division.

NL West

Arizona – The Diamondbacks are in a rebuilding phase and it shows looking in their selection of starters. Their top pitcher is veteran Joe Saunders, acquired in last season’s Dan Haren deal. Youngsters Ian Kennedy and Daniel Hudson were both acquired over the past two seasons in deals for veterans as well. Barry Enright, who had a suprise rookie season, and one time Pirates prospect Zach Duke complete the party of five.

Colorado - Ubaldo Jiminez and Jorge de la Rosa gives the team a rocky mountain high to face opponents. After that things aren’t quite so clear. Aaron Cook hopes to recapture his 2008 form while Jhoulys Chacin, Jason Hammel, Felipe Paulino, and Esmil Rogers try to figure the rest out.

Los Angeles – The Dodgers have assembled a six man rotation that can compete with the majority of teams in baseball. Who will be the odd man out among Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, Ted Lilly, John Garland, Hiroki Kuroda, and Vincente Padilla remains to be seen.

San Diego – The Padres pitching staff helped carry them for most of the season and they came oh so close to a division title. Mat Latos was the clear top gun last year, but can he repeat his success? Clayton Richard, Tim Stauffer, Wade LeBlanc, and newly acquired Aaron Harang fill out the rest of the squad.

San Francisco – Pitching wins and the Giants pitching won the World Series last year. Ace Tim Lincecum hit some bumps in the road, but Matt Cain was as steady as can be. Lefty Jonathan Sanchez still has plenty of potential to achieve and second year man Madison Bumgarner comes in with a rotation spot sewn up for the first time. Even Barry Zito, much maligned since signing with the Giants prior to the 2007 season, showed glimpses last year of his prior greatness.

So there you have it. With veterans Freddy Garcia, Kevin Millwood, Jeremy Bonderman, Justin Duchscherer, Mark Hendrickson, and Shawn Hill all still available things could still change. And every year one or two prospects busts out of spring training and heads north as a member of a 25-man squad. Who will it be this year? Stay tuned.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

The Reds and Johnny Cueto agreed to a four year, $27M extension. The team is said to be now discussing an extension with Edinson Volquez.

The Cardinals signed utility man Nick Punto to a one year deal.

Johnny Damon and the Rays are in talks, but the two sides are reportedly not close to a deal.

Texas Rangers beat man T.R. Sullivan hears the team is going after Manny Ramirez to be their new DH.

Dirk Hayhurst is popular on Twitter and has a best selling book. Now he’s employed again, signed by the Rays to a minor league deal.

The Mets signed pitcher Tim Byrdak to a minor league deal.

BD Hot Stove: The Repercussions of Phil Lee

BD Hot Stove: The Repercussions of Phil Lee

The fallout from Cliff Lee signing with Philadelphia can be heard today from Texas to New York to Boston and everywhere in between. Lee left up to $50M on the table to play back in Philly, where he spent the latter half of 2009. You can go home again, and much to the dismay of the player’s association, you don’t have to take the most moneyed contract to do so.

In New York, Yankees fans cried, whined, and sighed. And Met fans applauded that the Yankees lost out on Lee. Apparently it hasn’t sunk in yet that the Mets will have to face the Phillies rotation 19 times a year.

In Arlington, Ron Washington’s gut is in hiding. After all, it was Washington’s gut that told him Lee was coming back to Texas. And the Rangers are back where they were before last season’s trade deadline; with a huge hole in their rotation.


The Red Sox fans joy is twofold. 1) The Yankees didn’t get Lee and 2) The Yankees didn’t get a top left-hander to negate their lefty-laden lineup.

Meanwhile, Yankees GM Brian Cashman has to go to plan ‘B’. He told area beat writers this morning, via a conference call, that means “patience”. For now the Yankees have just three definite spots in their rotation- CC Sabathia, Phil Hughes, and A.J. Burnett. So the next logical step will be to see what Andy Pettitte’s status is. With no Lee in NY, Pettitte will probably ask for a higher amount of money than had the Yankees landed Lee. I can see a $15M asking price, though the Yankees will want the figure to be closer to $10M. Incentives can make both sides happy.

Another winner in the Cliff Lee sweepstakes is his agent Darek Braunecker, who is now a household name.

Rumors, News, and Transactions

Former Yankee Hideki Matsui finalized his one year deal with the Oakland A’s. It’s worth $4.25M. Good job by Billy Beane.

The Yankees may not have gotten Lee, but they did get the catcher they wanted. Russell Martin, recently non-tendered by the Dodgers, has agreed to a one year deal.

Lyle Overbay has agreed to a one year, $5M deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Overbay had a nice offensive year in 2010, but it’s not his norm. Still you would think there would be some upper echelon teams interested in him.

The Nationals have signed pinch-hitter extraordinaire Matt Stairs to a minor league deal.

One of the Rangers plan ‘B’ options is apparently Chien-Ming Wang. The former Yankee missed all of 2010 after undergoing shoulder surgery and was non-tendered by the Nationals. Nolan Ryan and company are reportedly also looking at Carl Pavano.

The Cardinals have agreed to a deal with Gerald Laird as a backup catcher to Yadier Molina. Laird will receive $1M for one year.

According to the Kansas City Star’s Terez Paylor, the Royals are still shopping Zack Greinke and looking for the best fit.

The Rays have re-signed lefty J.P. Howell to a one year deal. Howell, who had torn labrum surgery in May, will miss the start of the season and his exact return is in question.

The Mariners, looking for parts, inked Royce Ring, Ryan Langerhans, Denny Bautista, and Chris Giminez to minor league pacts.

BD Hot Stove Breaking News: Lee Going Back To Philly | Baseball Digest

Cliff Lee is going back to the land of cheesesteaks.

BD Hot Stove Breaking News: Lee Going Back To Philly | Baseball Digest

BD Hot Stove: Mystery Never Repeats | Baseball Digest

The Phillies emerge as the mystery team for Cliff Lee. Hideki Matsui close to new team.

BD Hot Stove: Mystery Never Repeats | Baseball Digest

Halladay and CY Young Are Synonymous

No surprise earlier today when Roy Halladay was named the overwhelming winner of the CY Young award. Halladay received all 32 first places votes, outdistancing runner-up Adam Wainwright by 102 points.

Halladay threw a perfect game during the regular season, a no-hitter in the post-season, topped 20 wins (21) for the third time in his career, and led the league in complete games, shutouts, innings pitched, fewest walks per nine innings, and strikeout to walk ratio.

PITCHER	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	PTS
Roy Halladay, Phillies	32	-	-	-	-	224
Adam Wainwright, Cardinals	-	28	3	-	1	122
Ubaldo Jimenez, Rockies	-	4	19	8	1	90
Tim Hudson, Braves	-	-	3	13	4	39
Josh Johnson, Marlins	-	-	5	5	9	34
Roy Oswalt, Astros/Phillies	-	-	1	3	5	14
Brian Wilson, Giants	-	-	-	1	5	7
Heath Bell, Padres	-	-	1	-	1	4
Mat Latos, Padres	-	-	-	1	2	4
Brett Myers, Astros	-	-	-	1	-	2
Tim Lincecum, Giants	-	-	-	-	2	2
Bronson Arroyo, Reds	-	-	-	-	1	1
Matt Cain, Giants	-	-	-	-	1	1