Gertie

From ESPN.com's rumor mill: Feb. 2 - Jeromy Burnitz and the Cubs have neared an agreement on a one-year contract with a mutual option for 2006, The Associated Press reports. The deal won't be finalized until the Sammy Sosa trade is completed. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, the Cubs outbid the Pirates by giving the 35-year-old outfielder a guaranteed $5 million. Burnitz will make $4.5 million this season and get a $500,000 buyout for 2006 if the Cubs decline a $7 million option. The Pirates' best offer was believed to be for one-year and $3.75 million, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. The Diamondbacks have taken a serious look at Burnitz as a center-field solution, Insider's Jerry Crasnick reports. Arizona GM Joe Garagiola, who has also been involved in trade talks for Oakland's Eric Byrnes and the Mets' Mike Cameron, spoke twice recently with Burnitz's agent.

Ouch. OK, OK, you know what I meant. *shakes fist* Damn you Zenny, always proving me wrong!

Like it'll ever be any different? Jeez. How many years in a row has the AL East finished in the same order?

From MLB.com: SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds, who has lamented his "80-year-old knees," underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee on Monday to address minor arthritis and repair a small meniscus tear. The 40-year-old outfielder underwent a similar operation on his left knee on Oct. 12, but the club reported that he should be at full strength for the start of the 2005 season. Monday's 25-minute procedure was performed by Dr. Art Ting at the Fremont Surgery Center. "This was a minor cleanup procedure and, in fact, the arthritis under Barry's kneecap was not as bad as we expected," said Stan Conte, the Giants' head athletic trainer. "He will start his rehabilitation tomorrow, and we expect him to be competitive in six weeks and be at full strength by Opening Day." The Giants announced that the slugger -- who was noticeably limping during the final weeks of last season -- felt pain and swelling in his right knee during his normal offseason workouts. Despite playing 19 Major League seasons, Bonds has never suffered a major injury and has been on the disabled list only twice -- in 1999, after surgery to remove a bone spur and repair a damaged triceps tendon in his left arm, and in 1992, after straining a muscle in his right side. From 1993 to 1998, Bonds played in 888 of 908 regular-season games. In 1996, after aggravating his left hamstring, he sat out a game against Montreal, snapping a franchise-record 357-game playing streak. At the time it was baseball's second-longest streak, behind that of Cal Ripken, Jr. Bonds faced the most medical challenges in 1999, when he played a career-low 102 games. That season he sustained an injury to his left arm; had a damaged right knee, which required surgery; and dealt with groin problems. Chronic back spasms have flared up occasionally, and Bonds missed a handful of Spring Training contests last year in Scottsdale because of them. Bonds also had a stress fracture in his right thumb in 2000, underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone chip in his right elbow in 1994 and had surgery on his left knee in 1988.

Yeah, definitely worth getting.

I didn't mind the red jerseys either. Blatant marketing scheme? Yep. But they looked fine. Oh well.

The Sox sent cash considerations and Doug to the Mets.

Can't hurt to have another flamethrower in the pen. Yet another low-risk, high-reward contract made by Theo.

I doubt Theo would get Javy. Too expensive, and he'd probably have to give up too much. Instead, I'd expect him to deal Payton for maybe another OF (bench player) and a prospect or two. It's not like Payton's that valuable, regardless of how much Arizona wants him. Although this offseason has made me doubt it some, I still think Joe Jr. (Arizona GM) isn't a complete retard, and wouldn't overpay for Payton.

I would rather have Mink on the 2005 Sox. He can hit .300, and I think a full spring training with Papa Jack can bring him back to that. I've told people, I'm willing to put money down that if Mink stays with the Sox, he'll hit .300 next season. Millar is a streaky hitter, and doesn't have as much pop as people give him credit for. In my view, I think Mink's defense will save more runs than the difference between their bats would create. On the chemistry front, I agree that I'm not sure he's still the most popular guy. Last year he took a back seat to Manny, Ortiz, and the whole "Latin connection" thing they had going on. Also, the media's turned on Millar, always an important issue in Boston.

It was worth going to. Thanks again for the tickets, by the way.

Does anyone else find it ironic that he used the term unenglish? EDIT: Damn, Zenny beat me to it.

According to ESPN.com, the deal is almost done, but not yet. They're about 4 or 5 million apart. The deal will probably be done by later today. I have to say, though, that the Mets are going out and spending a whole lot of money this offseason. All you Mets fans better hope something finally comes of it...

In the Globe this morning (apparently on WEEI yesterday) Mink said that Shaughnessy completely misrepresented him. His "retirement fund" comment was intended to be a joke, and that Shaughnessy clew the issue completely out of proportion. Just another reason why I hate Shaughessy more than any other writer.

I don't trust him. I still don't see how a pitcher can be good when he has trouble even seeing the entire strike zone. Seriously, though, now that you bring it up, it's because his velocity literally dropped 10 MPH last year. He's not getting any younger, and has lost his control of the strike zone. I doubt he'd get offered much above the league minimum. Most pitchers decline rapidly once they're older than 35 or so (excluding the few obvious exceptions) and he's showing the signs already.

I wouldn't bet against it, I just always have reservations until I see some trustworthy confirmation.

We've all seen it happen before...

I don't necessarily trust a forum (no offense to you guys ). I'll wait until I see it on a more reliable source until I start praising the Mets.

Looks good to me. If he's even more healthy this year... all I can think is WOW.

The only college sport I care about at all is hockey. I enjoy it when BC does well in other stuff, but I generally just can't bring myself to give a crap.

Ghey's MY word! You word-stealer!

That was a pretty cool article. I wonder who leaked all that info to Hohler?

How's the book? I'm thinking of getting it.

The NESN one's better, but both are excellent. Still don't compare to the NFL Films productions, though.

HAHAHAHAHA! Check out my custom user title. Yep, that's right, God has 550 posts.