Baseball Salary Caps and Revenue Sharing
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How hard is it to make the Major Leagues?  There are 30 teams with 25 players per team.  This makes for a total of 750 players in the major leagues.  In 2004 there were 20 minor leagues with 242 teams, which make for about 7,000 players.  There is triple "A", Double "A", three levels of Class "A" and Rookie leagues.  Within these leagues there are Independent leagues that aren't associated the MLB.  In the 1930's there were twice this many minor league teams.  But, in the 30's college players rarely went to the pros and the Negro leagues weren't part of the mix and finally, prior to the 1970's MLB didn't shop out side of the country for players.  As will be later described, the pool of talent is much larger today than it used to be because MLB looks all over the globe for players.

In addition to the minor league players that are struggling for a spot there are college players who are draft eligible and thus potential prospects.  For example USC has produced 94 major leaguers.  The University of Texas has produced 91 Major leaguers.  There are Division one, Division two, Division three, NAIA and Junior Colleges that produce players.  There are currently available rankings for the top 25 teams in each of those five categories.  This makes for a legitimate pool of another 4,000 players all fighting for that elusive spot on a big league team.  Finally, there are about 50 states with another, on average 25 teams with players that potentially could at a minimum get drafted.  If we include only seniors on these high school teams, this makes for another 12,500 players to vying for a spot.

Last year there were 50 rounds in the draft with 1,500 players being chosen.  We have no idea how many free agents there were but we doubt there were many given how many players are drafted.  Most free agents come from outside of the USA.  Based on an above described pool of roughly 23,500 players your chances of getting drafted are pretty slim.

As we all know the MLB talent pool isn't limited to the players in the USA.  We now are seeing the proliferation of Asian players in the Bigs.    There are 12 professional teams in the Japanese Major Leagues and each roster is huge carrying as many as 60 players so that is another 720 players to contend with. There are also many more minor league teams that play as well.   Please see this web site for more information, http://www.japanesebaseball.com/teams/index.jsp.  In addition to the Japanese league there are eight professional Korean teams with about 20 minor league teams.  This makes for another 800 or so players.

Then we go south of the border where in Mexico there are 41 professional baseball teams that over the years have produced 100 Big league ball players.  This makes for another 1200 players to throw in the mix.  We here in Colorado should not forget about Andres Galaragga and Venezuela.  There are ten professional teams in Venezuela so toss in another 300 players.  Don't forget about all of the players in Central America that are struggling to make teams as well.  I am guessing there are another 4,000 or so players in this area trying to make a big team league team.  Also, don't forget about the many excellent players in Castro's little Utopia of Cuba.  Finally, there is a Puerto Rican winter league, Dominican Winter league and a Caribbean league.

Hopefully, by now we've painted a picture that describes a huge pool of players that could potentially make it to at least the minor leagues.  In the above paragraphs we've detailed at least 24,000 players who could conceivably be drafted or invited to play on a minor or major league team.  To add more fuel to the fire, some groups estimate that there are 60 million people playing baseball worldwide.

We've discussed how difficult it is to get drafted but how hard is to make the big leagues after being drafted.  The draft was initiated in 1965 and in that year they drafted 813 players.  There were an unlimited number of rounds as the teams continued to pick players until all teams had decided they had enough.  Baseball America tracks each draft class with latest numbers covering 1965-1995. During that period, 64.9 percent of Round 1 selections eventually played at the big league level, 41.6 percent of second-rounders make the big leagues. Including sandwich picks between the opening two rounds, the combined figure is 53.5 percent.   Of this percentage a much smaller number are players you would recognize.  To demonstrate the difficulty of evaluating players, in 1965 the Orioles chose 70 players and only three eventually made their team.
Below are the Rockies first round picks.  Only five of these picks have gone on to be regular & reliable players and one will make the Hall of Fame.  We think you can guess who that player is.


                       2004 Christopher Nelson
                       2003 Ian Stewart
                       2002 Jeff Francis
                       2001 None
                       2000 Matt Harrington - debacle
                       1999 Jason Jennings
                       1998 Matt Roney
                       1997 Mark Mangum
                       1996 Jake Westbrook (pitching for Cleveland)
                       1995 Todd Helton
                       1994 Doug Million
                       1993 Jamey Wright
                       1992 John Burke


We looked at the Yankees first round picks and only two names pop up as having become regular day to day players and they are Derek Jeter and Thurman Munson.  Obviously the Yankees are good at buying players but not so good at drafting them.  On the flip side their two successful choices are Hall of Fame candidates.


What about the best team of the last 15 years, the Braves.  This team has been only marginally better than the Yankees.  They have picked only four players what are names that anyone would readily recognize:  Chipper Jones, Kent Mercker, Bob Horner and Dale Murphy.

http://www.birdsinthebelfry.com/amateur_draft_part_four.htm - This is a nice web site that gave us a history of all first round draft picks.  As you can see only 5% of them will go on to be star players. Only 20% of them will become useful players who contribute.  40% of these first round draft picks won't even sniff the major leagues.  As you can see, even the best of the best have a brutally hard time making the "Show", can you imagine how hard it is to make a big league team if you fall lower in the draft.  Why do we only look at the first round?   Well, three reasons.  First, I don't want to bore you to death. Second, the first round of the draft represents each team's best effort, in terms of talent evaluation and its wish list.  Evaluating amateur baseball players is much more of an art than a science, but the fact remains that there is an excellent correlation between round of selection and ultimate big league success; the higher the round, the more likely a player is to make it to the big leagues and stay there.

Team         Picks  Years  #0 #1 #2 #3 #4   %0    %1    %2    %3    %#4  Useless  Useful
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anaheim       37     6.4    9  7  6 12  3  24.3% 18.9% 16.2% 32.4%  8.1%   59.5%   40.5%
Arizona        4      .5    3  2  0  0  0  75.0% 50.0%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  100.0%    0.0%
Atlanta       36     4.1   15  6  7  5  3  41.7% 16.7% 19.4% 13.9%  8.3%   77.8%   22.2%
Baltimore     37     3.2   21  4  4  5  3  56.8% 10.8% 10.8% 13.5%  8.1%   78.4%   21.6%
Boston        36     4.0   19  2  6  5  4  52.8%  5.6% 16.7% 13.9% 11.1%   75.0%   25.0%
Chicago (A)   39     4.8   14  7 10  5  3  35.9% 17.9% 25.6% 12.8%  7.7%   79.5%   20.5%
Chicago (N)   41     3.5   16 11  8  4  2  39.0% 26.8% 19.5%  9.8%  4.9%   85.4%   14.6%
Cincinnati    35     3.4   18  4  4  7  2  51.4% 11.4% 11.4% 20.0%  5.7%   74.3%   25.7%
Cleveland     37     4.8   17  3  7  9  1  45.9%  8.1% 18.9% 24.3%  2.7%   73.0%   27.0%
Colorado       9     1.8    4  3  1  0  1  44.4% 33.3% 11.1%  0.0% 11.1%   88.9%   11.1%
Detroit       37     3.6   17  7  7  4  2  45.9% 18.9% 18.9% 10.8%  5.4%   83.8%   16.2%
Florida        9     2.6    4  2  1  2  0  44.4% 22.2% 11.1% 22.2%  0.0%   77.8%   22.2%
Houston       35     3.6   14  8  5  4  4  40.0% 22.9% 14.3% 11.4% 11.4%   77.1%   22.9%
Kansas City   35     4.9   12  5 12  5  1  34.3% 14.3% 34.3% 14.3%  2.9%   82.9%   17.1%
Los Angeles   34     4.4   18  3  5  7  1  52.9%  8.8% 14.7% 20.6%  2.9%   76.5%   23.5%
Milwaukee     32     5.9   11  5  2 11  3  34.4% 15.6%  6.3% 34.4%  9.4%   56.3%   43.8%
Minnesota     38     4.1   13  6 12  6  1  34.2% 15.8% 31.6% 15.8%  2.6%   81.6%   18.4%
Montreal      34     4.5   17  2  4 11  0  50.0%  5.9% 11.8% 32.4%  0.0%   67.6%   32.4%
New York (A)  28     4.4   11  4  6  5  2  39.3% 14.3% 21.4% 17.9%  7.1%   75.0%   25.0%
New York (N)  42     4.7   16  9  5 10  2  38.1% 21.4% 11.9% 23.8%  4.8%   71.4%   28.6%
Oakland       39     5.4   14  4  9  7  5  35.9% 10.3% 23.1% 17.9% 12.8%   69.2%   30.8%
Philadelphia  35     4.0   14  4  8  8  1  40.0% 11.4% 22.9% 22.9%  2.9%   74.3%   25.7%
Pittsburgh    37     3.5   21  2  7  5  2  56.8%  5.4% 18.9% 13.5%  5.4%   81.1%   18.9%
San Diego     35     5.3   11  7  7  9  1  31.4% 20.0% 20.0% 25.7%  2.9%   71.4%   28.6%
San Francisco 41     4.4   14 11  9  5  2  34.1% 26.8% 22.0% 12.2%  4.9%   82.9%   17.1%
Seattle       25     6.3    5  4  5  9  2  20.0% 16.0% 20.0% 36.0%  8.0%   56.0%   44.0%
St. Louis     42     4.9   15  3 12 11  1  35.7%  7.1% 28.6% 26.2%  2.4%   71.4%   28.6%
Tampa Bay      5     0.0    5  0  0  0  0 100.0%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  0.0%  100.0%    0.0%
Texas         34     5.5   10  7 10  6  1  29.4% 20.6% 29.4% 17.6%  2.9%   79.4%   20.6%
Toronto       27     3.1   10  8  2  6  1  37.0% 29.6%  7.4% 22.2%  3.7%   74.1%   25.9%
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL        955     4.1 388(150)181 183 54  40.6% 15.7% 19.0% 19.2%  5.7%   75.3%   24.8%

Legend:
Picks:  Total number of first round picks in draft history; Years:  Average number of years (or partial years) in big leagues for first round picks; # 0:  Number of players not reaching major leagues; #1:  number of "cup of coffee" players; #2:  number of journeyman players; #3:  number of starting/contributing players; #4:  number of star players; % 0:  percentage first round picks not reaching majors; % 1: percentage "cup of coffee" first round picks; % 2:  percentage journeyman first round picks; % 3:  percentage starting/contributing first round picks; % 4:  percentage star first round picks; Useless:  percentage first round picks in categories 0-2; Useful:  percentage first round picks in categories 3-4

Making the big leagues is a tough proposition.  In 2002 the Seattle Mariners signed an 18 year old from the Dominican Republic named Fausto Carmona.  In his first year he played in the rookie Appalachian League.  He then played in the "A" level where he recorded a 17-3 record and had an ERA of 2.00.  He is now 22 years old and still isn't on the major league team but is still working at it and plays in winter leagues as well.

Making the Major leagues is though a virtual certainty when you are the very first player chosen and all of them have made the Major Leagues except one.  In 1966 New York Mets, picking first in the June free-agent draft, pass up Arizona State OF Reggie Jackson to select C Steve Chilcott. Chilcott will retire after six years in the minors and will be the only number-one pick to never play in the major leagues. The A's take Jackson with the 2nd pick.  Mr. Chilcott is rated by most to the be the worst draft pick in Major League history.

What about Rockies players, how has their road to the big leagues been?  Garrett Atkins has worked at it a little bit.  He was drafted by the Mets in the 10th round or the 300th pick in the 1997 draft.  He instead went to play at the University of CA-Irvine and was picked by the Rockies in the 5th round (137th pick) of the 2000 draft. Mr. Atkins is now 25 years old and looks like he is the Show to stay.  He played in Portland, then Salem, then Caroline, finally with the Sky Sox and he now looks be the Rockies third basemen to stay. 

For your interest a wonderful site called "The Baseball Cube", http://thebaseballcube.com/statistics/10_2000_R.shtml has everything you could need to know about every current player, either minor or major leagues.

31 year old Aaron Miles has had a tough time getting to the Rockies.  He was the 529th player chosen in the 19th round of the 1995 draft by the Houston Astros.  He has played for the GCL Astros, Quad City, Michigan, Kissimee, Birmingham, Charlotte, Chi White Sox, Sky Sox and now the Rockies.  He spent 10 years in the minors and we promise you that even though this man may have great will power, he will not be the Rockies 2nd basemen for more than a couple years.  He is too old to be a 2nd year pro.

26 year old Clint Barmes has had a road that is similar to Mr. Atkins.  He was the 287th pick in the 10th round of the 2000 draft.  He played five years in the minor leagues before he became the full time shortstop.  Only time will tell if he is really the shortstop of the future.

The Rockies have one player that we think has the best chance to be star and a potential five tool player and that is Brad Hawpe.  This guy has a great swing and a cannon for an arm.  He was drafted out of high school.  He was the 1344th player chosen in the 1997 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.  He went on the play at Louisiana State University and then he was chosen as the 317th player in the 2000 draft (11th round) by the Rockies.  2000 was a good year for the Dan O'Dowd.  He played five years in the Minor Leagues:  Portland, Asheville, Salem, Tulsa, Sky Sox and now the Rockies.

For endurance Preston Wilson gets a prize as he spent eight years in the minor leagues.  That is over half of his professional career.  He was a bit of disappointment as he was the 9th player chosen in the first round of the 1992 draft by the Mets.  This just proves what a dicey thing a draft pick is in baseball.

We will end our discussion with two more players who should get a prize for endurance.  The first is Scott Randall who is pitcher drafted in the 1995 draft by the Rockies.  He was the 291st player taken in the 11th round.  He has now spent 10 years in the Minors and has been shipped back and forth to 18 teams.  He has gotten to pitch part of a year in 2003 with the Reds.  Mr. Randall is now almost 30 years old and likely will never be a big leaguer. 

The final player can only be considered a failure as a pro-baseball player.  On the flip side I give him two thumbs up for effort and never giving up.  These virtues mean something and I can only say that Brian Buchanan has "the never die attitude".  In six weeks Mr. Buchanan will be 32 years old.  He was the 24th player chosen in the 1st round of the 1994 draft by the Yankees whom we've already proven don't know how to draft first round players.  He has spent all 12 of his years in professional baseball in the minor leagues.  He has spent parts of five seasons with five major league teams.    This outfielder at best can hope for a role as a pinch hitter but I doubt that he will ever make it in the major leagues.

In the end I could make similar arguments for the difficulty in making any professional sport, particularly, Hockey, football and basketball.  Baseball is unique in that it is the most global of all sports so the pool of talent that the Major Leagues can cull from is huge.  I also think the global nature of baseball is even bigger than basketball.  I also think that (with some exceptions) basketball is a unique sport in that it is limited to people over six feet tall.  Another fact that is unique to baseball is that young men at the ages of 28 - 30 years old are still struggling to make a MLB team.  Again, with exceptions this isn't true in the other pro sports.  Hockey has minor leagues but those leagues aren’t nearly as extensive.

In closing, I think the men that make the Big Leagues are mentally & physically much tougher than they are given credit for.  They've had to climb a bigger hill than their peers in other pro leagues and have earned every penny they make when they finally do make the Majors.  The truth is that Major League baseball players are great athletes who every day go to the park to give the game their best and if they don't some else is waiting in the wings to take their spot.

                        Opening                                                       Nation Wide
   RoxHead.com                 Day        Baseball     CBS                      Baseball   Total Power   Overall
                  (Last Rank)  Ranking       Weekly   Sportsline  FOXSports.com  Prospectus    Points        Rank
1. St. Louis Cardinals (7)     3         -         -           -           -          -          -
2. Detroit Tigers (3)         27         -         -           -           -          -          -
3. New York Mets (2)          12         -         -           -           -          -          -
4. Oakland Athletics (6)      11         -         -           -           -          -          -
5. New York Yankees (1)        4         -         -           -           -          -          -
6. Minnesota Twins (5)        10         -         -           -           -          -          -
7. Chicago White Sox (4)       1         -         -           -           -          -          -
8. Los Angeles Dodgers (10)   15         -         -           -           -          -          -
9. San Diego Padres (14)      17         -         -           -           -          -          -
10. Boston Red Sox (7)         7         -         -           -           -          -          -
11. Toronto Blue Jays (8)      8         -         -           -           -          -          -
12. Los Angeles Angels (11)    2         -         -           -           -          -          -
13. Philadelphia Phillies(18) 14         -         -           -           -          -          -
14. Houston Astros (15)        9         -         -           -           -          -          -
15. Texas Rangers (12)        16         -         -           -           -          -          -
16. Cincinnati Reds (13)      28         -         -           -           -          -          -
17. San Francisco Giants (16) 13         -         -           -           -          -          -
18. Florida Marlins (17)      30         -         -           -           -          -          -
19. Seattle Mariners (19)     19         -         -           -           -          -          -
20. Milwaukee Brewers (20)    21         -         -           -           -          -          -
21. Colorado Rockies (21)     24         -        -           -           -          -          -
22. Atlanta Braves (22)        6         -         -           -           -          -          -
23. Cleveland Indians (23)     5         -         -           -           -          -          -
24. Arizona Diamondbacks (24) 25         -         -           -           -          -          -
25. Baltimore Orioles (25)    20         -         -           -           -          -          -
26. Washington Nationals (26) 22         -         -           -           -          -          -
27. Chicago Cubs (27)         18         -         -           -           -          -          -
28. Tampa Bay Devil Rays (28) 29         -         -           -           -          -          -
29. Pittsburgh Pirates (29)   23         -         -           -           -          -          -
30. Kansas City Royals (30)   26         -         -           -           -          -          -

MLB News
Mostly concerning ex-Rockies

12/12/06
St. Petersburg Times: "Last year, the Rays made what turned out to be a tremendous signing when they plucked Ty Wigginton off the nontender pile for $675,000. Players reportedly under consideration to be nontendered include second baseman Marcus Giles (Braves), first baseman Ben Broussard (Mariners), ex-Rays catcher Toby Hall (Dodgers), reliever Chris Reitsma (Braves) and starters Shawn Chacon (Pirates), ex-Ray Mark Hendrickson (Dodgers), Rodrigo Lopez (Orioles) and Joel Pineiro (Mariners)."

12/11/06
Detroit Free Press: "ESPN.com reported Sunday night that the Tigers and right-handed relief pitcher Jose Mesa have agreed to a one-year, $2.5-million contract, pending a physical exam."

12/9/06
Baltimore Sun: "The Orioles' monthlong quest to acquire a starting left fielder apparently has come to an end. According to an industry source, the Orioles have reached an oral agreement on a two-year deal with Oakland Athletics free agent Jay Payton, who will become the team's only right-handed-hitting outfielder."

12/7/06
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "The Brewers already have $2.8 million committed to Counsell for next season, and their offer to Jeff Cirillo is believed to be for $1.2 million, plus incentives. Cirillo, who also has offers from Minnesota and Cincinnati, is worried about how much playing time he'd get with Counsell and Graffanino on the roster."

12/6/06
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: "General manager Dave Littlefield declined to say whether the team will offer arbitration to all seven of its eligible players. His deadline is Dec. 12. The biggest decision is what to do about starter Shawn Chacon, who made $3.6 million last season."

12/5/06
Chicago Sun-Times: "Ken Williams said the club has been 'revisiting' the backup catcher role, but stressed it wasn't a top priority. While the GM wouldn't go into details on what 'revisiting' meant, it likely involved the possibility of re-signing free-agent catcher Sandy Alomar Jr."

12/3/06
South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "The Marlins haven't closed the door on Joe Borowski, but even pitcher with a history of shoulder trouble coming off a 36-save season should command more on a one-year deal than what the Marlins have allocated for a closer. Though Jose Mesa is a Miramar resident, the Marlins aren't interested in him. "

12/2/06
Providence Journal: "The Boston Red Sox last night chose to offer salary arbitration to just one of their five eligible free agents. Reliever Keith Foulke was the only Sox free agent offered arbitration. The Sox chose not to offer arbitration to catcher Doug Mirabelli, infielder Mark Loretta and outfielders Trot Nixon and Gabe Kapler."
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Tampa Bay signed former Rockies outfielder Dustan Mohr to a minor-league contract. Post

11/28/06
Baltimore Sun: "A third could be coming shortly as the Orioles are in the process of finalizing a three-year deal with New York Mets right-handed reliever Chad Bradford... The club has been in touch with the representatives of free-agent outfielders Jay Payton, Cliff Floyd, Trot Nixon, Aubrey Huff and Jose Guillen among others, but at this point, the Orioles haven't made a concrete offer to any of them, according to industry sources."
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More on the Juan Pierre silliness from FOXSports.com:

The Juan Pierre deal remains a head-scratcher, but a set of unusual circumstances help explain the Dodgers' signing of the free-agent center fielder to a five-year contract worth approximately $44 million.

The Dodgers originally offered Pierre four years and $36 million, according to a major-league source, and went to five years only after getting told that another club - believed to be the Giants - had made a similar four-year proposal.

At the time, Andre Ethier was the Dodgers' only everyday outfielder. The team had lost out on Soriano, wasn't getting Lee, and was lukewarm on Gary Matthews Jr. A trade for the Devil Rays' Baldelli or Blue Jays' Vernon Wells hardly seemed likely.

If it turns out that the Dodgers land Ramirez, G.M. Ned Colletti will look wiser for holding onto his prospects until he could make the most attractive deal.

11/27/06
Kansas City Star: "The Royals have no interest in trading David DeJesus, Mark Teahen or Ryan Shealy. Gordon and Butler are out, and it would take a can’t-refuse offer to part with prospects such as Luke Hochevar, Tyler Lumsden, Billy Buckner, Ryan Braun and Carlos Rosa."

11/23/06
Orange County Register columnist Steve Bisheff: "There have been persistent rumors of a possible Chone Figgins trade to the White Sox for third baseman Joe Crede, whose 30 home runs and 94 RBIs would give the Angels the power guy they're looking for to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup..."

11/20/06
The Dodgers are close to signing free-agent center fielder Juan Pierre, possibly paving the way for free-agent outfielder Dave Roberts to sign with the Giants, Brewers or Rangers, FOXSports.com has learned.

11/17/06
Daily Herald: "Despite reports the Phillies are hot after free-agent outfielder Alfonso Soriano, expect the Cubs to make a hard push soon. Hendry has a good relationship with Soriano’s representatives. The Cubs also are interested in Cleveland pitcher Jake Westbrook and free-agent pitchers Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis"

11/4/06
Cincinnati Post: "(Reds GM Wayne Krivsky) could simultaneously address center field and the top of the order with the likes of Juan Pierre, Dave Roberts, Darin Erstad or Gary Matthews Jr. He could, in the most spectacular scenario, replace Dunn with Carlos Lee. He could power-up first base with Shea Hillenbrand or even Nomar Garciaparra."

10/25/06
Washington Post: "Former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi, considered for weeks the favorite to become the next manager of the Washington Nationals, took his name out of consideration for the job yesterday, saying it was a decision based on keeping his young family together but simultaneously saying he could still end up on a baseball field next season."

10/20/06
Umpires for the World Series (MLB.com)
  Name                  Previous postseason assignments
-----------------------------------------------------
Randy Marsh (Chief)   5 DS ('98-99, '01, '03, '06);
                      7 LCS ('89, '92, '95, '00, '02, '04-05);
                      4 WS ('90, '97, '99, '03)

Alfonso Marquez       4 DS ('01-02, '05-06);
                      1 LCS ('03)

Wally Bell            5 DS ('98-99, '03-04, '06);
                      3 LCS ('00-01, '05)

Mike Winters          6 DS ('98-02, '06);
                      2 LCS ('97, '04);
                      1 WS ('02)

John Hirschbeck       7 DS ('95, '98-99, '01, '03, '05-06);
                      4 LCS ('90, '97, '00, '04);
                      1 WS ('95)

Tim McClelland        5 DS ('97, '00, '02, '04, '06);
                      7 LCS ('88, '95, '99, '01, '03, '05);
                      3 WS ('93, '00, '02)

10/17/06
PhillyBurbs.com: "By hiring three former major league managers in bench coach Jimy Williams, third base coach Art Howe and first base coach Davey Lopes, immediate speculation sprung that the Phils may have Manuel's eventual successor on payroll."

10/15/06
Daily Southtown: "Hmm, an MVP-caliber right fielder for $6 million? The only way the Sox won't pick this up is if they work out a long-term deal with Dye... Sweeney and Owens are also possibilities to end up starting here, but free-agents-to-be Gary Matthews Jr., Jay Payton, Juan Pierre and Shannon Stewart could also be options."

10/13/06
Washington Times columnist Thom Loverro: " Here's a name that hasn't come up yet, but should be on the Nationals list of candidates to talk to -- someone with major league managing experience, who had worked with young players and has commanded as much respect in the game as anyone who has ever walked into a major league clubhouse. Don Baylor. "

10/8/06
Daily Southtown: "They love his glove, however, and that will probably keep Juan Uribe around for 2007. But don't be surprised if the team moves one of its starting pitchers for another shortstop. Also, free-agent-to-be Alex Gonzalez is one of Guillen's favorite shortstops."

Info..
A player with a total of three or more years of major league service but with less than six years of major league service is eligible for arbitration.

9/30/06
Chicago Sun-Times: "Juan Pierre will test free agency after the season. 'I'm not ruling out anywhere,' Pierre said, but he will be influenced by whom is chosen to manage the Cubs."
---------
Denver Post: "Pierre, who is part of a lyrical verse in Beyonce's hit 'Déjà vu,' is expected to ask for $8 million annually, with the crosstown White Sox among those likely to express interest."
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Daily Herald: "In as candid an interview as he's given all season, Williams addressed the status of three players who head into the off-season with uncertain futures: left fielder Scott Podsednik, shortstop Juan Uribe and center fielder Brian Anderson."

9/22/06
Joe Girardi, who guided the surprising Marlins into playoff contention despite baseball's lowest payroll, will soon be out as manager after just one season. On a scale of 1 to 10, Girardi's chances of returning next year are "zero," according to a source who has spoken with the Marlins' front office. "I don't think there is any chance," the source said. With two years left on his contract, Girardi would be owed an estimated $1.5 million if no other club picks him up. The Cubs, expected to fire Dusty Baker, have been mentioned as a possible destination. FOXSports.com

9/20/06
Kansas City Royals manager Buddy Bell is taking a leave of absence to treat a growth discovered near his left tonsil.

The Royals announced the move during the ninth inning of their game against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday night, a game Bell managed.

The 55-year-old Bell will seek a second opinion at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona on Thursday at the direction of his doctor, who found the growth during a routine examination Tuesday. AP

9/12/06
Los Angeles Daily News: "Chone Figgins could be part of a package to land White Sox third baseman Joe Crede, who is arbitration eligible after this season and is in the middle of a breakout season after a standout postseason."

8/27/06
Chicago Tribune: "Greg Norton, a terrific pinch-hitter for the Devil Rays who plays everywhere, should be picked up by some contender before Thursday's deadline to set postseason rosters."
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New York Post: "A well-embedded Rumble mole tells us that Joe Girardi will be fired as Marlins manager at the end of the season. His likely replacement will be Braves third-base coach Fredi Gonzalez... Girardi, a former Cubs catcher, has his eyes on the Chicago job when Dusty Baker is likely canned after the season."

8/25/06
The Phillies are talking to the Orioles about a deal for Jeff Conine, who can play both infield and outfield corners.

The stumbling block is that Conine, 40, needs just 38 plate appearances to guarantee his $2 million option for next season. The Orioles, however, are willing to include cash to facilitate a deal.

The Phillies, who on Monday acquired infielder/outfielder Jose Hernandez from the Pirates in exchange for cash, still need bench help. FOXSports.com

8/20/06
AP: The Detroit Tigers acquired Neifi Perez from the Chicago Cubs on Sunday for a minor leaguer, adding infield depth less than a week after losing second baseman Placido Polanco because of a shoulder injury.

8/13/06
Houston Chronicle: "Preston Wilson, the Astros' biggest offseason acquisition, was designated for assignment prior to Saturday's game, meaning the Astros have 10 days to trade or release the outfielder... Purpura said he had talks with several clubs in recent days about trading Wilson and was hopeful he could get a deal."

8/11/06
Joe Girardi has had friends making it known in Chicago that he would like the Cubs job. The Cubs, however, aren't interested. Rocky

8/10/06
New York Daily News: "Howard Johnson is facing the possibility of losing his job - and possibly all ties with his former organization - after he left his position as hitting coach of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides without permission to attend a tournament that his son was playing in last week."

8/9/06
New York Times: "If Cliff Floyd's injury does not warrant a stay on the disabled list, the Mets are likely to release Eli Marrero, who has 15 strikeouts in 33 at-bats since being acquired from Colorado for Kazuo Matsui on June 9."
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Miami Herald: "Joe Girardi doesn't understand what all the fuss is about. Not only did Girardi dismiss the suggestion of a growing rift between him and Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, but also said that he plans on remaining the team's manager for the duration of his contract."

and

Chicago Sun-Times: "Speculation about Dusty Baker's future with the Cubs is reaching Florida, where rookie manager Joe Girardi is dealing with his own rumors about feuding with team owner Jeffrey Loria and eyeing a move north to his old team."

8/6/06
Chicago Tribune: "The Cubs' decision not to shop Juan Pierre appears to be a sign they want to keep him for 2007 or longer."
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St. Petersburg Times: "Travis Lee, Greg Norton and Tomas Perez are among the Rays believed to have cleared waivers and eligible to be traded in August."
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Cleveland Plain Dealer: "GM Mark Shapiro and manager Eric Wedge aren't ready to say if they'll have to trade or sign a second baseman for next year to replace Ronnie Belliard."

7/26/06
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: "Like if the Rangers trade for, say, Indians pitcher Jake Westbrook, he arrives with another year at $5 million due him. Daniels explained this may hamper them in trying to re-sign Eaton, Vicente Padilla, Gary Matthews Jr. and Mark DeRosa."
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer: "Talk continues to fly that the Mariners have an interest in veteran left-handed hitter Todd Walker... Texas is another team rumored to be in the hunt for his services."
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Baltimore Sun: "The Orioles could have a tough decision on their hands in the coming weeks regarding the future of Jeff Conine, who signed a one-year, $1.7 million deal in December with an option for a second season... The St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners are among the teams that are interested in Conine, who would likely bring a mid-level prospect in return."

7/25/06
Things that make you go Hmmmmmm:

Harold Reynolds, who served as an analyst on Baseball Tonight for 11 years, was fired by ESPN.  When asked for a reason, ESPN vice president Josh Krulewitz refused to comment.

7/23/06
Cleveland Plain Dealer: "Indians General Manager Mark Shapiro says the team will make a serious effort to re-sign second baseman Ronnie Belliard, a potential free agent."

7/21/06
Pittsburgh Tribune Review: "The Pirates can buy out Jeromy Burnitz for $700,000 at the conclusion of this season. Of course, they will try to trade him before that -- preferably before the July 31 non-tender deadline."
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Rocky Mountain News: "The Cubs are looking at unloading so they can get ready for a winter of revamping. Among the names being shopped are right-handers Greg Maddux and Scott Williamson, lefties Glendon Rusch and Will Ohman, second baseman Todd Walker, center fielder Juan Pierre and first baseman Phil Nevin."

7/17/06
Indians right-hander Jake Westbrook, owner of the majors' fifth-best groundball-to-flyball ratio, is as logical a target for the Diamondbacks as he was for the Rangers, but the only way the Tribe will move him is if a trade partner overpays. The Indians plan to exercise Westbrook's $5.6 million option for next season, figuring they can't get a comparable pitcher on the free-agent market for a similar price. FOXSports.com

7/15/06
New York Post: "The Yankees have talked with Oakland about acquiring outfielder Jay Payton, The Post has learned."
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New York Daily News: "A little over a week ago, the Pirates approached the Yankees with a deal that would have sent Melky Cabrera and a prospect to Pittsburgh in exchange for Jeromy Burnitz, Craig Wilson and Salomon Torres, according to sources. The Yankees flatly rejected the proposal, mostly because they believe in Cabrera. "

7/7/06
New York Daily News: "Shawn Chacon will be the Yanks' long reliever, for now. The Yankees have held internal discussions about what to do with Chacon and have considered designating him for assignment, which means that any other team could claim him off waivers."
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New York Post : "According to several industry sources there is a possibility the Yankees will send the slumping Chacon to the Mariners for right-hander Joel Pineiro."
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Newsday: "It will also allow you to wonder: Could Joe Girardi be the man to replace Joe Torre, whenever the Yankees manager either leaves or is told to leave? ...Lou Piniella would be a slam dunk, if he were available when the time comes."

7/6/06
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "Neither Jeromy Burnitz nor Joe Randa has asked the Pirates for a trade. But neither sounds as if he would be terribly troubled if one were to happen."

7/3/06
Chicago Sun-Times: "Internet reports out of Los Angeles said the Sox were interested in acquiring Angels infielder/outfielder Chone Figgins, while nationally, Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones' name has been thrown around."

7/1/06
July 2 is the start date for international free agent signings.

Rockies:
Garrett Atkins.. Jeff Blank
Jamey Carroll.. Jonathan Mauer
Aaron Cook... Joe Bick
Josh Fogg.. Danny Horwits
Jeff Francis... Jim Lindell
LaTroy Hawkins... Larry Reynolds
Matt Holliday.. Scott Boras
Jason Jennings.. Casey Close
Byung-Hyun Kim... Victor Lee
Tom Martin.. Mike Maas

Other teams:
Bronson Arroyo... Gregg Clifton
Pedro Astacio... Steve Schneider
Rich Aurilia... Barry Axelrod
Rod Barajas.. Dan Lozano
Miguel Batista.. Martin Arburua
Carlos Beltran.. Scott Boras
Craig Biggio... Barry Axelrod
Jeremy Bonderman.. Greg Genske
Barry Bonds... Jeff Borris
Joe Borowski.. Ron Shapiro and Michael Maas
Gary Carter (Managerial)... Paul Cohen
Shawn Chacon... Dan Horwits
Roger Clemens... Alan and Randy Hendricks
Joe Crede.. Scott Boras
Johnny Damon.. Scott Boras
Zach Day.. Brian Goldberg
David Dellucci.. Joe Longo
JD Drew.. Scott Boras
Damion Easley.. Paul Cohen
Adam Eaton.. Jim Lindell
Jim Edmonds.. Paul Cohen
Pedro Feliz.. Mike Arias
Jim Fregosi (Managerial).. Alan Meersand
Eric Gagne.. Scott Boras
Nomar Garciaparra.. Arn Tellem
Tom Glavin.. Gregg Clifton
Luis Gonzalez.. Gregg Clifton, Terry Bross
Jason Grimsley.. Joe Bick
Toby Hall.. Seth Leverson
Richard Hidalgo.. Peter Greenberg
Shea Hillenbrand.. Dan Lozano
Luke Hochevar.. Scott Boras
Akinori Iwamura.. Alan Nero
Andruw Jones.. Scott Boras
Adam Kennedy.. Paul Cohen
Sunny Kim.. Scott Boras
Dan Kolb.. Damon Lapa
Carlos Lee.. Reich, Katz, Landis
Derrek Lee... Casey Close
Ted Lilly.. Larry O'Brian
Kyle Lohse.. Scott Boras
Javy Lopez.. Chuck Berry
Mark Loretta.. Bob Garber
Greg Maddux.. Scott Boras
Pedro Martinez.. Fernando Cuza
Gary Matthews Jr.. Scott Leventhal
Daisuke Matzusaka.. Scott Boras
Brian Meadows.. Danny Horwits
Gil Meche.. Greg Landry
Kevin Millwood.. Scott Boras
Ben Molina... Alan Nero
Mark Mulder.. Greg Clifton
Mike Mussina.. Arn Tellem
Russ Ortiz.. John Boggs
Roy Oswalt.. Bob Garber
Vicente Padilla.. Paul Kinzer
Carlos Pena.. Scott Boras
Johnny Peralta.. Bill Rego
Andy Pettitte.. Alan and Randy Hendricks
Mike Piazza.. Dan Lozano
Lou Piniella (Managerial).. Alan Nero
Aramis Ramirez.. Paul Kinzer
Manny Ramirez.. Greg Genske
Pokie Reese.. Mike Nicotera
Dave Roberts.. John Boggs
Kenny Rodgers.. Scott Boras
Alex Rodriguez.. Scott Boras
Freddy Sanchez.. Matt Sosnick
Gary Sheffield.. Himself
Scott Schoeneweis.. Scott Boras
Grady Sizemore... Joe Urban
JT Snow.. Danny Horwits
Alfonso Soriano... Diego Bentz, Pat Rooney
Sammy Sosa.. Reich, Katz, Landis
Justin Speier.. Chris Arnold
Ichiro Suzuki.. Tony Attanasio
Frank Thomas.. Arn Tellem
Juan Uribe.. Martin Arburua
Jose Valentin.. Dave Elston
Ron Villone.. Scott Boras
Jeff Weaver.. Scott Boras
David Wells... Greg Clifton
Bernie Williams.. Scott Boras
Woody Williams... Barry Meister
Greg Zaun.. TR Lewis
Barry Zito.. Scott Boras
Julio Zuleta.. Mike Nicotera

Growth Hormones
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Divisional Winners based on Team Salaries
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The Owners
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