Opinion

Joe Mauer ran away with the MVP this season.

It was only the second time a Catcher has won this award in the last 32 seasons, and there are only 10 catchers* to win it since the writers began deciding the winner in 1931.

*The only multi-year winners were: Roy Campanella (3), Yogi Berra (3) & Johnny Bench (2)...quite a list!

The fact is, there are few Catchers that stand out among their peers.  The physical toll of receiving 150 baseballs each of the 162 games eventually wears down the most prospective of talent.

As I discussed right after the trade went down, the Yankees have acquired Curtis Granderson from the Tigers. Granderson's past few seasons have been very interesting. He peaked in 2007 with a 7.4(!) WAR season and has since regressed to seasons of 3.8 and 3.4 WAR in '08 and '09, respectively.

Like many MLB rumor-mongers, I have been staring almost non-stop at my Twitter feed today (much to the chagrin of my retinas) to soak in the up-to-the-minute Twins updates.

This wasn't the kind of breaking news I anticipated at baseball's Winter Meetings.

It was announced today, in somewhat stunning fashion, that ESPN baseball analyst and Baseball Hall of Famer Peter Gammons would be leaving the sports media empire, effective immediately after baseball's winter meetings wrap up this week.

From 2008-2009, the San Francisco Giants had their starting catcher Bengie Molina hit cleanup. Now despite being the most lackluster everyday cleanup hitter in the entire league, Molina was San Francisco's most productive offensive threat during that time frame.

However, with the emergence of Pablo Sandoval and a lineup featuring veterans like Freddy Sanchez, Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand, and hopefully another year of Juan Uribe; Buster Posey would not be forced into a situation where the spotlight is entirely on him.

When a baseball team drafts a player who rejects a full-ride scholarship to play wide receiver for a major college football team, it's safe to assume the kid is fast. 

When that football team is from the best conference in the country (SEC), it's safe to say the kid can flat-out boot scoot as well as any major leaguer. 

That's exactly what the Cincinnati Reds did with their second round (57th overall) selection in 2009.

So far this offseason, no team has been the subject of more attention than the Boston Red Sox.

Will they re-sign Bay or go after Holliday? Was signing Scutaro inevitable or should Dustin Pedroia have been pushed to shortstop? Will Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera, or Roy Halladay be playing at Fenway on Opening Day 2010?

These questions have been posed and answered by countless analysts, writers, and idiots with keyboards since the Red Sox’s season ended two months ago.

With the dust still settling from the acquisition of Curtis Granderson in New York, the Yankees have some decisions to make about their 2010 outfield.

What happens to Melky Cabrera? Do they entertain the idea of bringing back Johnny Damon or Hideki Matsui? Are they done adding outfielders?

This might be the perfect time for the Chicago Cubs to give the Bronx Bombers a call and ask about Nick Swisher's availability.

The morning of day two of baseball's winter meetings has been quiet for the San Diego Padres.

There had been news that the Padres were possibly looking to deal Heath Bell , but there has been no further developments since it came out.

Now news comes out that the Padres are possibly talking to the San Francisco Giants about possibly sending third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Bay Area.