Los Angeles Angels

Francisco Rodriguez is a great closer, there's no question about that, but there are already a ton of miles on his shoulder, and some teams may be shying away from the guy because of that. At the minimum they would like to drop his value a tad before signing.

So the "drop in velocity" rumors have started making the rounds, so much so that his agent has had to come out and defend the guy, in arguably his greatest season yet.

The Mets are of course the heavy favorite for Rodriguez's services, and their was even a story from a Venezuelan newspaper yesterday, that Francisco Rodriguez wass on his way to New York for a physical exam, in advance of signing a contract with the Mets. But a person within the Mets organization tonight said "it's not true."

Give it a week or two. He will be a Met.

Robothols latest ..

Ken Rosenthal Angels will avoid long negotiations for Teixeira

Boras contends that teams frequently take a wrongheaded view with franchise players such as Teixeira and Ramirez, talking not about how they add revenue, but how they subtract from available payroll.

Consider Boras' take on Ramirez:

"We've got an exact model," Boras said. "We've seen the player in the market produce 5, 6, 7 million dollars a month for the franchise. That's additional revenue to their team. Certainly that's a rare player. And his impact obviously can be measured as well by the millions more they made in the postseason."

Teixeira, 28, isn't the same type of attraction, but he's eight years younger, far better defensively and a more consistent personality. If the Angels pass on him, the Red Sox, Yankees and other clubs almost certainly will jump. The issue for the Angels is not the player; it's the pace of the negotiations.

"A lot of it depends upon how quickly you get the information the player wants to hear," Boras said. "Sometimes the player wants to meet personally with teams. Sometimes he's very happy with where he is. If clubs come forward and meet what the needs are, it can move forward and operate pretty fluidly and quickly."

as of November 4th 2008, 1:40pm est, Jacob Peavy is still a padre.

todays Kevin Towers radio show, here

Rosenthal Peavy could be the friars Opening Day starter

The best guess on Jake Peavy is that the Padres eventually will trade him to the Braves, who appear to be the most attractive suitor of Peavy's preferred teams. The Cubs seemingly lack the inventory to make such a deal work, but the Padres might need to turn creative if the Braves balk at their price. Dodgers GM Ned Colletti all but acknowledged that he is unlikely to acquire Peavy from a division rival, and two of Peavy's other preferred clubs — the Cardinals and Astros — are not factors in the discussions.

Peavy has the right to veto any trade, and Padres GM Kevin Towers acknowledged that the pitcher still could be the team's Opening Day starter. Such a scenario, however, is unlikely. The Padres want to purge the remaining four years and $63 million remaining on Peavy's contract.

The Angels will be busy this off season, no doubt about that, but I still think Garrett Anderson comes back to Anaheim. It may not be as an everyday player, maybe he will find himself in a platoon with a rookie, but thats where Anderson will end up. Just for a little less money, thats all.

a poll i hoped i would never see.

From the streets of Caracas to the Major League summit, Francisco Rodriguez is the new king of saves in a single season, his 58th successful rescue job removing Bobby Thigpen from the record book after an 18-year run.

I had never planned on these chatters becoming a regular item, like say a daily or weekly article. They were more designed to be something when I was motivated to write I guess. Content basically. I usually have so many little dumb projects going on, in any number of different leagues, that I cannot always find the time to sit down and pen something up. Hence the chatter.

after much deliberation,[none] I'll predict that the MVP will be Fransisco Rodriguez.

Dustin Pedroia's name will get the most play by the world wide leader of course, and they will host an hour long special on why he didn't win, but Fransisco has earned this hardware.

MVP for Fransisco, and then give the CY young to Cliff Lee, just to toss everybody for a loop.

If you had that on your scorecard in April, you are a liar.

Cleveland Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach is 28 years old already. I find that some what shocking. I guess he has always had his career path blocked by two of the best in the game, Victor Martinez, and Jason Varitek, so I don't know if it is fair to say that Kelly Shoppach is a late bloomer or not, but it is sure a beautiful flower isn't it.

I snagged Shoppach up in two leagues when Victor Martinez went down. I'd even say that Shppoach is the reason for my rebound in the H2HWS. On that same Inglewood team, I also own Victor Martinez, who is currently residing on the DL with zero homeruns on the year. Martinez is going to have to show me a little something, once healthy, just to get a ride at utility. No way I am moving Shoppach. Eric Wedge could bench Kelly Shoppach, and I am not moving him.

this guy is made of glass