Not exactly prospect material...

What a Joke

The New York Yankees this week made a mockery of the game baseball by signing 60-year-old comedian Billy Crystal to a one day contract. By giving Crystal one at-bat, the Yankees chose to not let a young minor leaguer get his chance to prove he has what it takes to make in the big leagues.  Just because a millionaire is having a mid-life crisis does not mean that he can just take away an opportunity from a youngster to make his millions

Cards Lay an Egg

The St. Louis Cardinals and free agent pitcher Kyle Lohse agreed to a one-year deal worth $4.25 million. The Cards are unsure if Matt Clement and Joel Piñeiro will be ready for the start of the season. Even if Clement and Piñeiro are unable to start the season in the rotation, the Cardinals did not have to go out and sign a pitcher that is average at best, and then give him a deal that could be worth more than $5 million. Lohse last season was 9-12 with a 4.62 ERA. If the Cards are looking for a pitcher to only win 28% of his start they found him. Watch for Lohse to start the season in the rotation, and get either released or traded to a team that is desperate for starting pitching to just eat up innings win or lose.

About Time…

The Boston Red Sox have finally released knuckleball catcher Doug Mirabelli. Since Mirabelli had a career year in 2004, he has hit .201 with 17 home runs and 59 RBI. The Red Sox will likely have Kevin Cash start catching for knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield. Cash is seven years younger, but he not the fan favorite that Mirabelli is in Boston. Now that the Red Sox have released some dead weight, there is only one question – will the Red Sox keep Tim Wakefield? Wakefield is 41 and he has had some back problems in the last couple of seasons as well. If Bartolo Colon and Clay Buchholz have good seasons, watch for the Sox to let Wakefield go at the end of the season.

Ponson

The Texas Rangers and veteran pitcher Sidney Ponson have agreed to a minor league deal. Ponson last season was 2-5 with a 6.93 ERA. Last season, the Twins tried to give the troublesome pitcher another chance at the big leagues. However, it was not his off field issues but his on the field problems that led to his release. In 37 2/3 innings, he allowed 74 runners and allowed 31 of them score. The Rangers have needed solid starting pitching for a long time, and all they really found was a pitcher who has had some difficulties in his career. If Ponson can stay sober, and find the stuff he had in 2003, he will win the Comeback Player of Year. Ponson is very risky, but if he his pitching well come May, he could be a steal.

No Go for Now

The fact that Coco Crisp is on the trade block is common knowledge; the fact that he needs to be healthy for a team to trade for him is also common knowledge. What should be common knowledge is that what is keeping him in Boston is his being overrated.

Crisp has been in the big leagues for six years and has had only two years of quality play. Crisp is a very good defender, but the Red Sox traded for him for the offense that he put up in 2004 and 2005. Since arriving in Boston, his batting average has plummeted and his run production has dropped.

The only way the Red Sox will be able to dump Crisp is if they dump him on a team that has found that their center field prospect is not ready. There are a few teams interested, but none of them will make a serious offer until they see him play pain-free.

Cubs Make Respectable Offer, Finally

I know that I said I would not talk about this trade until it happens, but the Cubs have stepped up their offers once again to the Orioles for Brian Roberts, with the latest offer being Jose Ceda, Ronny Cedeno, Sean Gallagher, and Donnie Veal. The trade is likely to occur before the start of the season, but it could go through as soon as Tuesday in my opinion.

Ceda is a 21-year-old pitching prospect with lots of promise. In two seasons in the minor leagues, Ceda has posted a 5-2 record with a 3.28 ERA. Ceda has the ability to rack up strikeouts and he has a career 1.06 WHIP.

While he disappointed last year in the minors, the steal here might be Veal, who was one of the better arms in the minors before his mediocre 2007 campaign. If the Orioles could straighten him out, this could be a steal.

Noteworthy News

• The San Francisco Giants are one of the only teams interested in Joe Crede and Brandon Inge, but their trade offers to both teams were considered insulting by both teams.
• The Washington Nationals were thinking about signing free agent pitcher Jeff Weaver, but made the better decision and decided to leave him unemployed.
• The New York Yankees have shown interested in trading for set-up man Brian Fuentes, but the Rockies have said that they are unwilling to deal him at this time.
• The Arizona Diamondbacks have claimed infielder Josh Whitesell off waivers from the Washington Nationals.
• The Boston Red Sox have signed pitcher Lincoln Holdzkom.
• The Cleveland Indians have released pitcher Juan Lara and signed him to a minor league contract.