Hot Stove Roundup - Thoughts on the Winter Meetings

It was a crazy week, as pretty much every team and baseball agent was in Indianapolis for the MLB Winter Meetings:

Free Agency:
This seems like a great year for aging catchers! Hot on the heels of last weeks signing of Gregg Zaun comes the signings of Jason Kendall and Ivan Rodriguez to two-year deals. Both players are going to teams that haven't made the playoffs in years and expect to win. Rodriguez will most likely be a backup for the Nationals, but Kendall is expected to be the regular catcher for the Royals next year. Maybe the Royals are hoping he'll bounce back for them after he had a career low in batting average(.241) and slugging(.305). His 134 games played is also his lowest in 10 years. Well, at least the Royals are trying to do something in free agency for once.

Hot Stove Roundup - Rumors and Signings

Its been a week, and not much has happened in free agency. The high-profile players are still out there, but some needs are being filled:

Free Agency:
The Toronto Blue Jays signed SS Alex Gonzalez to a one-year deal with a club option for 2011. One has to wonder what exactly the Jays plans are with this signing. Compared to Marco Scutaro, their previous SS, Gonzalez is a downgrade. With Scutaro eligible to be a free agent but waiting on an arbitration offer, the Jays may not be expecting to get him back. This would be a huge blow for the organization, as Scutaro is coming off a year where he had career highs in almost every offensive category. The only real advantage Gonzalez has is age, as he is 2 years younger than Scutaro. With Gonzalez now signed and Scutaro expected to play elswhere, the Red Sox and Dodgers look like his most likely landing spots.

Friday Morning News - 11/20/09

NL CY Young Award: Tim Lincecum(SF) []agreed to a trade sending P Aaron Heilman to the Arizona Diamondbacks for prospects P Scott Maine and 1B Ryne White. [ESPN]

The Chicago Cubs

Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress has agreed to a contract extension that will keep him in Minnesota through 2013. [Minneapolis Star Tribune]

Milwaukee Bucks C Andrew Bogut will miss 2-4 weeks with a leg injury. [SI.com]

Tuesday Morning News - 11/17/09

MLB Rookie of the Year Awards: RP Andrew Bailey(OAK), OF Chris Coghlan(FLA) [MLB.com]

Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams has been fined $250,000 for an obscene gesture directed at the Buffalo Bills in the Titans 41-17 win. [Nashville City Paper]

ESPN is reporting the Cincinnati Bengals have signed Larry Johnson to a one-year deal. [ESPN]

The Golden State Warriors completed a four-player trade, sending Steven Jackson and Acie Law to the Charlotte Bobcats for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic. [ABC 7 News]

The Memphis Grizzlies and Allen Iverson have agreed to part ways. [Bloomberg]

Friday Morning News - 11/6/09

Bobby Abreu has agreed to a two-year deal to stay with the LA Angels. [LA Times]

The Boston Red Sox have agreed to a trade, sending two minor league pitcher to the Florida Marlins for OF Jeremy Hermida. [Boston.com]

Sacramento King Andres Nocioni has been arrested on DUI charges. [Sacramento Bee]

Oklahoma State's Dez Bryant is expected to turn pro after the appeal of his suspension was rejected by the NCAA. [Omaha.com]

The Brock Lesnar-Shane Carwin fight has again been postponed due to Lesnar contracting mono. [ESPN]

Monday Morning News - 10/19/09

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the LA Dodgers, 11-0, to take a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. Cliff Lee became the first pitcher in playoff history to allow no runs and no walks while striking out at least 10 batters. [Newsday]

Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford did not re-injure his throwing shoulder, but aggravated his previous injury. [Sporting News]

The Boston Bruins traded winger Chuck Kobasew to Minnesota for minor leaugue RW Craig Weller, the rights to Harvard freshman Alex Fallstrom, and a 2011 2nd round draft pick. [Yahoo Sports]

Saturday Morning News - 10/17/09

Baltimore Ravens LB Ray Lewis has been fined $25,000 for an illegal hit and kicking an opponent in last weeks game against Cincinnati. [ESPN]

The Chicago Bears traded a second round draft pick to Tampa Bay for Gaines Adams. [Chicago Tribune]

The NY Yankees beat the Angels 4-1 last night, and the LA Dodgers beat the Phillies, 2-1.

Wednesday Morning News - 9/30/09

The Boston Red Sox clinched the AL Wild Card when the LA Angels beat the Texas Rangers last night. [Boston Herald]

With Chad Pennington out for the season, the Miami Dolphins traded and undisclosed draft pick to the Kansas City Chiefs for QB Tyler Thigpen. [KansasCity.com]

The Philadelphia Eagles signed four-time Pro Bowl LB Jeremiah Trotter and cut QB Jeff Garcia yesterday. [MyFOXPhilly.com]

St Louis Ram David Vobora has been suspended by the NFL for violating the NFL policy on performance enhancing substances. [Missourinet]

The NBA has announced they are going ahead with replacement refs while they attempt to reach a labor deal with the NBRA. [USA Today]

The Yankees are expected to announce today Yankee Stadium will host a college bowl game beginning in 2010. [Newsday]

Magic Number Update: The Philadelphia Phillies and LA Dodgers numbers to clinch their divisions are at 1. The Phillies can clinch with a win tonight OR an Atlanta loss, and the Dodgers can clinch with a win tonight OR a Colorado loss. Colorado's number is at 3 over the Braves for the NL Wild Card.

Saturday Morning News

Boston Bruin Phil Kessel has finally been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The trade proves that NHL talent evalution is absurd, as Boston got two first-round picks and a second-round pick in return. Had Kessel been signed as an unrestricted free agent, Boston would have gotten a first-, second-, and third-round pick instead. [HockeyJournal.com]

Ichiro Suzuki led the Seattle Mariners to victory over the Yankees with his second consecutive walk-off hits. Mariano Rivera gave up the two-run homer for only his second blown save of the season. [YESNetwork.com]

Floyd Mayweather came in two pounds overweight for tonight's fight against Juan Manuel Marquez. ESPN is reporting that Mayweather will lose and Marquez will gain $300,000 for each pound Mayweather is over. [ESPN]

Michigan's James Mouton has been suspended one game for throwing a punch during last weeks game against Notre Dame. He will miss today's game against Eastern Michigan. [Bleacher Report]