Opinion

2009 was a disappointing year, once full of promise, but ended with drear.

Despite three consecutive seasons of winning ball, the Cubs once again failed to win it all.

Still we come out to Wrigley in record numbers, the fans cheering loudly while management slumbers.

Sweet Lou lived up to his name, that he seems so burned out is definitely a shame.

Randy Wells came out of nowhere to surprise, you could see the desire in his eyes.

Once washed up DLee was a sight for sore eyes, despite all the misguided Hoffpauir cries.

According to reports by FoxSports.com’s John Paul Morosi, the Twins are still looking for a middle infielder, which is hardly surprising considering just one member of Game 163 ’s infield (Michael Cuddyer, Nick Punto, Orlando Cabrera, and Matt Tolbert) is likely to be in the starting infield next season.

Sure, their projected 2010 infield (Justin Morneau, Alexi Casilla, J.J. Hardy, and Punto) is better in some places, but it’s weaker in others and not much better overall as a result.

As the old decade ends and a new one begins, let’s take a look back at the Red Sox “All-Decade Team” from 2000-09…in all cases, the choice was really pretty obvious.

Catcher: Jason Varitek
10 Seasons: .257 BA (1045 hits in 4060 AB); 148 HR; 596 RBI; 513 R
Best Season —2003: .273, 25 HR, 85 RBI, 63 R (.351 OBP, .863 OPS)

In the days before the arrival of Stephen Strasburg, there was already a pitching prospect considered good enough to be the team’s future No. 1 starter.

His name was Jordan Zimmermann.

With Juan Uribe on the verge of getting a new contract from the San Francisco Giants, the pressure is on for one current Giants player.

Edgar Renteria.

On New Year's Eve, almost exactly a year after Chicago last signed a free agent outfielder away from the Texas Rangers, the Cubs try again with Marlon Byrd.

The Cubs announced Thursday that they have agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal with Byrd.

Byrd's a nice complimentary player. As Danny Sisto will tell you, he'll play at least above average defense and will hit the ball fairly well. Last year in Texas, he hit 20 home runs and drove in 89 runs.

According to MLBTR , the Phillies have signed first baseman and corner outfielder Tagg Bozied.

Bozied batted .288/.360/.447 while hitting five home run and driving in 18 runs in 240 plate appearances last season playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, after starting the year in Taiwan.

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Bobby Crosby made $5.3 million at shortstop this past year for the Oakland A's, but the Pirates have signed him for $1 million plus incentives. One of the reasons was that they let go of Jack Wilson last summer for two question marks, Ronny Cedeno and Jeff Clement.

And how much was Jack Wilson re-signed for by the Seattle Mariners? $10 million for two years, plus a $600,000 buyout of his $8.4 million club option for 2010, or an average of the same $5.3 million per year, for two years.

It's unbelievable to me how quickly time flies.

I started writing here at Bleacher Report just before the 2008 MLB season started, in late March, and here we are, two days short of 2010.

A lot has happened in nearly two years. I wasn't even here for most of it--I was almost immediately hired by OaklandClubhouse.com (after 18 articles here) and took my work there, but decided to come back here when I was bored in July of 2009 after a 13-month layoff.

The San Francisco Giants' eternal search for a masher to pair with slugger Pablo Sandoval would end if they landed Russell Branyan, who is one of the best free agent first basemen on the market. 

Branyan has played on six teams over the last four years, bouncing from San Diego to Tampa Bay to Philly to St. Louis, back to San Diego, to Milwaukee, and then to Seattle.