There has been a lot of talk about Johnny Damon this offseason.

Nothing seems able to stop it: Not the Yankees replacing him in the lineup with Nick Johnson and signing Randy Winn, leaving no room in the outfield, or even Damon signing a contract with a different team could stop it.

When Damon says stuff like this, he becomes hard to ignore:

In June of '09 I wrote a story recapping Tommy Hanson's major league debut in Atlanta. In that article I talked about the Hansonmania that had taken Atlanta by storm in a losing effort.

In 2010, still days away from the first exhibition game of spring training, Heyward-Hype has made Hansonmania look like my seventh birthday party—the one when the clown didn't even show up.

Considering that baseball's spring training camps have just opened, and that this is Black History Month, it would be a mortal sin not to call attention to an institution that is a significant part of the game's lore.

This is a part of baseball history that's as big as Babe Ruth and Yankee Stadium, something that for the first half of the 20th century served a portion of America that was criminally excluded from Major League Baseball due to racial bigotry: the Negro Leagues.

The Minnesota Twins’ Spring Training is officially underway.

That means that the Twins’ incredible playoff run in 2009 is officially part of the past and it’s time to look forward to the season ahead.

The 2010 season figures to be an exciting campaign for a club that is definitely in transition.

After 28 years, the Twins will be leaving the antiquated Metrodome for state-of-the-art Target Field.

Additionally, the club has—for the first time in recent memory—made some significant offseason additions to address the club’s weaknesses.

Newsday ran down a list of Nick Johnson ’s injuries that he’s incurred over his career. I’m not going to copy that list word for word exactly, but they should get all the credit for this post.

After winning the AL central in 2008, the White Sox had high expectations going into the 2009 season.  Unfortunately for them, these high expectations turned into large disappointments after a third place finish. 

So what should we expect in 2010? 

Over the next month or two, stories about spring training will sprout up across the nation like grass on a freshly manicured Florida diamond.

Professional writers like Jayson Stark and Bill Gammons, as well as amateur bloggers and writers like myself, will begin to pen stories about the true meaning of spring training.

Wandy Rodriguez, no doubt, is in Houston Astros spring training with something to prove.

The 31-year-old, 5'11" left-hander recently lost his arbitration battle with the Astros, receiving $5 million in 2010 when he was asking $7 million.

According to the above linked article, Rodriguez is content about what happened in arbitration and is "...here to work hard and have another good year."

I mentioned yesterday the possibility of the White Sox signing A.J. Pierzynski to a one- or two-year deal to serve as a mentor/platoon partner for prospect Tyler Flowers.

Well, today, Pierzynski addressed that very question:

With Spring Training starting, the Blue Jays are more than unlikely to make another significant move, having already made a few under-the-radar moves and traded the face of the franchise. I will analyze all the players that have left the team and all the significant players that have arrived to play for Canada's largest city.

Coming To Toronto

Alex Gonzalez, signed one year, $2.75 million deal
This deal was to replace Marco Scutaro, who was destined to leave as a Free Agent, as after his breakout season would demand more money.