• E-mail
  • Save
30 Stories on Major League Baseball
Search this topic

SI.com: Ted Keith: Just how valuable is Joe Mauer? We'll likely find out next year

Joe Mauer didn't need to win the American League Most Valuable Player award on Monday to justify his historic season, just as he doesn't need that particular piece of hardware to reaffirm his status as the best catcher in baseball. But this latest honor is especially appropriate because it serves as a reminder that no player in baseball is more valuable to his town, his team or his franchise than the 26-year-old hometown hero with the perfectly manicured sideburns and the perfectly pleasant personality.

SI.com: Tim Marchman: The Pirates are one team that can get better, on a budget, this winter

The Pittsburgh Pirates have some things going for them. They may be one of the two least valuable teams in baseball, they may play in the sport's fifth-smallest market, and they may endure all the woes that come with holding the record for most consecutive losing seasons in a major American sport, but they don't spend a lot, and like all other low-end ball clubs they have the help of rich cousins.

SI.com: Jon Heyman: White Sox expected to sign veteran SS Vizquel

The Chicago White Sox are talking to veteran shortstop Omar Vizquel about a contract and a deal is expected in the coming days, sources confirm.

SI.com: Jon Heyman: Primer to the free-agent market, from Bay to Wagner

Free agency is finally here, less than a week before Thanksgiving. And the signings may not come so quick, either.

SI.com: Joe Posnanski: My Least Valuable Players, '09 'anti-award' winners

It's baseball awards time, which means it's also time for my own 2009 awards, starting with the Least Valuable Player (and American League fans, it's not who you think it is.) Following those are the Anti Cy Young Award (the Les Sweetland) and the not-so-great Manager of the Year Award (the John McCloskey). Enjoy.

CNNMoney: The CEO and the owner broke up. Now what?

The news that Los Angeles Dodgers owners Frank and Jamie McCourt are divorcing came with a bitter kick: Team chairman Frank's first move against his soon-to-be-ex was to fire her from her job as the Dodgers' chief executive.

SI.com: Diamondbacks acquire Heilman in trade with Cubs

The Diamondbacks announced that they acquired Aaron Heilman in a trade with the Cubs on Thursday in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers.

SI.com: Jon Heyman: Roy Halladay sweepstakes could be just another Yankees-Red Sox bout

The Yankees recently called the Blue Jays to express interest in superstar pitcher Roy Halladay. And while the Yankees made the very same call last summer with no hope of acquiring Halladay, this time they have a real reason to believe they may actually have a legitimate chance to make a blockbuster trade.

SI.com: Baseball America: Which rookies will have the biggest impact in 2010? Start with these 12

The Rising Stars game a couple weeks ago in the Arizona Fall League featured plenty of young talent, but it wasn't the prospect showcase that it could have been. Several of the truly elite players in the AFL this fall didn't play, including Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg (out with a mild neck strain), Braves outfielder Jason Heyward (gluteus muscle strain) and Marlins outfielder Mike Stanton (back pain). In fact, Heyward and Stanton were sent home from the AFL in October, but it doesn't significantly affect their blue-chip status.

SI.com: Jon Heyman: With only one new contract, cries of poverty ring throughout meetings

Inside the no-frills Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport for Major League Baseball's General Manager meeting, there were signs of tough times ahead for ballplayers. While agent Scott Boras -- who represents Matt Holliday, Johnny Damon and about a dozen other free agents -- went on the other night about how revenues spiked by nearly 600 percent from 1990 to 2009, he was standing in a lobby that was decorated sometime in the '80s, a sharp contrast to the opulence of past GM events.

Advertisement
Quick Job Search :
keyword(s):
enter city: