Opinion

Mickey Mantle's last solid season was 1964, although he did fairly well in 1966.

In 1964, Mickey hit .303 with 35 home runs, 111 RBI, and a .423 on base average. The 1966 season was not as good, when Mickey hit .288 with 23 home runs, and that was followed by two sub par seasons, after which Mickey retired.

There is a tendency to excuse or even disregard Mickey's last few seasons, which has resulted in Mickey being ranked higher among baseball's greats today than when he played.

If you haven't heard, Alex Gonzalez signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Fair or foul? Safe or out? Home run or in play? These are some of the critical questions that umpires in Major League Baseball are faced with several times in a game, all season long. Over the past few seasons, much had been made about implementing a video replay review in baseball (similar to the NFL and NHL).

In the summer of 2008, the leaders of MLB deemed it acceptable to have instant replay in the game, but only to determine whether a ball was hit out of the park, or if it was still in play.  And so far, it has been pretty successful, I think.

This is the sixth installment of the grading of the starters for the Cincinnati Reds' 2009 performances.

Willy Taveras is my biggest disappointment of the Reds' acquisitions last season. He came in as the reigning National League stolen base champ with 68.

This season, he "tentatively" stole only 25 bases and finished a dismal ninth in the league. Michael Bourn of the Houston Astros was the league's most prolific thief this year with 61.

The free-agent market officially opened last week, ushered in by a flurry of important signings that could truly change the game. Or a general malaise, one of the two, I forget which.

Anyone who studies market trends in baseball can tell you that a high volume of deals get done as the windows are closing, not opening.

The San Diego Padres need a change of style in their television booth, a name that could bring the team more notoriety and bring fans back to the team .

According to Tim Sullivan of the San Diego Union Tribune, that name could be Hall of Fame announcer, and San Diego resident, Dick Enberg.

Sullivan writes in his article that Enberg had coffee back in August with Padres President Tom Garfinkel at Harry's Coffee Shop in La Jolla.

I do not share the current fascination with acquiring Adrian Gonzalez or Roy Halladay, or for signing free agent Matt Holliday for that matter. For the life of me, I don’t understand the reason most fans, media members and pundits are drinking the Steinbrenner Kool-Aid.

Memo to Red Sox Nation: Got milk? Good. Then drink it, and leave the Kool-Aid alone.

With the Winter Meetings just around the corner, the San Diego Padres are in a position to possibly make a few moves to turn this team into a contender in the National League's West Division.

The payroll may not reach more than $40 million next season, but new general manager Jed Hoyer admitted that they may have some wiggle room to sign one or two free agents.

Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, and Larry Walker. Three players, one amazing double-play combo, one excellent hitter.

Alex Gonzalez will be taking his slick defense up north next summer.

Gonzalez, 32, signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Blue Jays on Thursday.