So Long, Christopher!

The Twins announced that they had unconditionally released third-string catcher and perenially useless player Chris Heintz. In previous years, Heintz had taken up the 25th spot on the roster for no reason but Gardenhire's inane fear of catchers getting injuries. Finally, with the emergence of Jose Morales, there was no need to keep Heintz any longer. As a career .232/.267/.268 hitter (granted, in only 82 at bats) who went 1-14 in throwing runners out last season, he really added nothing to the team.

Down in the Arizona Fall League, Nick Blackburn has been quite impressive. Blackburn will start the championship game for the Phoenix Desert Dogs. With his improved play, there is also the slight possibility he will be a starter for the Twins next year. Although this is unlikely, he will be given a shot in Spring Training and at least has a decent shot to make the team as a long reliever.

In MLB news, Alex Rodriguez signed with the Yankees for $275 million over ten years, with incentives. So he didn't get $350 million and he didn't leave the Yankees. What was all this drama about? In the end, nothing really happened. He denied a 3-year, $81 extension, which is about $27 million per year, the same amount as his new contract. Really, he was just extended for seven years at the same amount. Did that really deserve all that attention?

The Oddities of Baseball

In the few days since the World Series was wrapped up by the Red Sox, I've seen more strange baseball headlines than I ever have in such a short span. Clearly, I had to give my thoughts on them. Some are not so weird, but still deserved to be mentioned because of their significance.

• It starts with Alex Rodriguez's announcement that he would opt out of the final three years of his contract. That was not surprising in itself, but the timing was. He, or rather his agent, Scott Boras, notified the Yankees sometime during Game 4 of the World Series so that the FOX announcers reported the news during the eighth inning. Sports analysts and writers everywhere piled on him for doing it then, and upon reading their points, I agree. It was a selfish thing for A-Rod to do, but I suppose that's nothing new for someone who is making $25 million each year.
• Joe Girardi was then officially introduced as the Yankees' new manager. Isn't he only like 43 years old? That wasn't a problem when he was managing the baby fish down in Florida, but don't you think some of the older guys won't respect him quite as much because they played at the same time as him? He later chose the number 27 for his jersey, as in I will get the Yankees their 27th championship. I hope not.
• Joe Torre was subsquently hired as the Dodgers' manager, replacing Grady Little. It will be interesting to see how Torre fares away from the Yankees.
  Since he will be a free agent, Curt Schilling issued a list of thirteen teams he would be willing to sign with only a day after the World Series ended. He said he is just looking for a one-year deal. To no surprise the Twins weren't on the list (not that they'd be at all interested anyways) and neither were the Yankees.
• The Tigers, who quickly got better by trading for Edgar Renteria, quickly got worse. Joel Zumaya may be out until midseason or more after injuring himself trying to remove items from his father's attic. The house is in California, just a few miles from the rampant fires burning right now, and Zumaya went to help his father, who had a broken leg, save some things. Instead, a box fell on his shoulder and he required surgery on it.
• Barry Bonds has decided that, although it doesn't matter to the Hall of Fame, it makes a difference to him whether or not his 756th home run ball is branded with an asterisk. He said he will not be associated with the Hall of Fame if it is displayed, including not attending his induction ceremony. Sounds good to me: an asterisked ball and no Barry Bonds. I don't want to see him there anyways. Bonds said, "You cannot give people the freedom, the right to alter history. You can't do it. There's no such thing as an asterisk in baseball." Yes there is, Barry- you put it there.
• And the funniest headline in a long time: the Toledo Mud Hens, a minor league affiliate of Detroit, have offered Alex Rodriguez a contract in response to a quip made by Hank Steinbrenner. In the contract, he would receive bonuses for hitting 75 home runs in a season or leading the team to ten straight league titles. But they already have the league MVP playing third base, so they asked in the letter, "Would your client be willing to play a different position?" I'm putting my money on him accepting and playing left field.

Boston Red Sox: 2007 World Series Champions

As you surely know, the Red Sox completed a sweep of the Colorado Rockies on Sunday night to win their 2nd World Series in the last four years. Jon Lester pitched 5 2/3 innings for the victory in the 4-3 Red Sox win. Mike Lowell was awarded the World Series MVP by going 6-15 with a home run and four RBIs in the fall classic. Overall, it was a very impressive series for the Red Sox and a very disappointing one for the Rockies, after such a great beginning to the postseason. Jonathan Papelbon and Josh Beckett were terrific throughout the postseason and all the Boston starters chipped in with good starts against the Rockies.

After Papelbon's strikeout of Seth Smith to end the game, the room was mixed with jubilation and sadness. Red Sox fans, such as McMatty, were cheering incessantly and jeering "Yankees Suck" towards Yankees fans, such as Generic MCKS, who was so upset he could only utter one word repeatedly: "bad". Yejikim, a major Manny Ramirez fan, was angry that Manny didn't get the MVP, while SheTanya, a resident of Colorado, was grief-stricken and couldn't stop sobbing. What made that especially surprising is that SheTanya barely knows what baseball is; a few days ago I had to explain to her what balls and strikes were. Personally, I had been rooting for the Rockies, if only to give them some needed support here in Red Sox Nation in Massachusetts.

In all, it was a series pretty devoid of excitement for those outside Red Sox Nation and Colorado. Although two games were decided by just a run, a sweep will invariably sweep almost all of the suspense from the World Series. Hopefully, next year it will be the Twins playing so I will be enthusiastically watching no matter what.

As a final note, Alex Rodriguez has announced that he will opt out of the remainder of his contract and will become a free agent. Recently, reports had surfaced that the Yankees would offer him a 5 year, $150 million deal, but it sounded like that would only be before he opted out. Peter Gammons commented on the timing of Rodriguez's announcement, saying that it was selfish and he was just looking to take some attention from the Red Sox, specifically "Pedroia and Jon Lester", on such a special day. It was very interesting to hear that from such a respected baseball analyst. Either way, the countdown has begun until A-Rod's, and everyone else's, free agency starts: 15 days remain.

Once again, congratulations to the Red Sox on their World Series championship!