Cheech Tremendous

Remember last offseason when the Houston Astros were trying to get Josh Beckett for Brad Lidge? Looks like they missed their opportunity to sell high on him. It's hard to evaluate Costanzo strictly from his numbers. Scouts say that he has plus power and the tools to play third base but he's rough around the edges. There is an apparent hitch in his swing and he's a little impatient at the plate. I guess if Houston's scouts/coaches think his problems are fixable, he could be an asset at third. If not, he's just a AAAA type. Great move for Philly. They kill two birds with one stone by upgrading at closer and adding an elite starting pitcher to a thin rotation. I don't know how Lidge's gopher ball problems will play in Citizens, but he still has all the talent in the world. A rotation of Hamels/Meyers/Moyer/Kendrick/Eaton will definitely play in the National League.

Owen will never make the WON HOF. I'm not really sure the WWE will either, considering the circumstances of his death.

Sting hardly receives any support from the voters. I think it has to do with the fact that he spent his entire career in one territory and was never really the focal point of the promotion. Although I think you can point to periods where he drew money, the concensus is that he was more of a supporting part. Rude doesn't have much of a case and Murdoch seems the be the gatekeeper to the Hall. Everybody better than him is in and everyone worse isn't. Moolah is a historical figure, but most find her career to be a detriment to women's wrestling in America, not a positive. I suspect she'll eventually get in.

Brian Cashman met with Larry Beinfest last night regarding a possible trade for Miguel Cabrera. According to reports, Cashman said that Hughes, Chamberlain and Kennedy (ha!) were all untouchable. He suggested a deal revolving around Alan Horne, Ross Ohlendorf or Humberto Sanchez (double ha!). Whoa boy. It's one thing to want to keep your young talent instead of trading for marginal players on the downside of their career, but refusing to give up a low upside guy like Kennedy for a possible HOFer is patently ridiculous. Congratulations Yanks fans, you now have Bill Stoneman running your team. Just for perspective, Buster Olney reported that the Dodgers could be willing to give up LaRoche, Kershaw and Kemp for Cabrera, each of whom are probably superior to any of the Yankees young players.

Vampiro As for Rey Rey taking all of his work together and maybe having selective amnesia over some of his work in WWE, I think we have a strong candidate IMHO Actually the WWE work will probably seal his acceptance in the future. His run as Smackdown's top babyface helped the crossover appeal of American wrestling to the Hispanic audience. He wasn't a major draw, but what he did do will be looked upon fondly in the future.

Chris Jericho received 13% of the vote, so he was very close to being dropped from the ballot entirely. There aren't any interesting candidates coming up next year, so he should be able to gain a little steam, especially if his comeback yields any positive results.

Tough list this year. They are a few guys from that list that should be no-brainers, in my opinion: Volk Han Konnan Rey Mysterio Rock & Roll Express Midnight Express Don Owen Villano III

I have Sirius in my car and home and it was the best purchase I ever made. I can't even listen to terrestial radio anymore. Embrace the future, Czech.

Check this quote from an interview with new Pirates GM Neal Huntington (Courtesy: FJM)

I gave up on pot years ago. I never really had much fun with it. Seemed like I was more interested in eating and falling asleep on the couch than doing anything worthwhile.

More thoughts: -Placido Polanco has nothing on Aaron Hill at 2B. It's hard to complain of the choice because Polanco did go errorless this season, but he's not in the same league defensively -Same thing sort of applies to Youkilis over Kotchman at first, although that's much closer -Sizemore in the outfield is sort of pathetic. Winning over deserving candidates like Crisp, Granderson and Alex Rios is just wrong on many levels -Orlando Cabrera is beyond mediocre at short, but anything is better than Jeter at this point. McDonald should have been the run away winner, but playing only 123 games hurt him -David Wright is great defender at third, but surprised to see him win over Pedro Feliz, Chipper, Rolen and Zimmerman. Not that he didn't deserve it, but there were some strong defenders that went overlooked. -Lee is not in the same class as Pujols. Fat Albert is good on the defensive side as he is with the bat -Rowand wins based on his Sportscenter highlights. Don't see how you can argue for him ove Eric Byrnes

I've always considered Derrek Lee to be a fairly average defensive first basemen and the numbers seem to bear that out.

No, no he's not. Andruw Jones is still an awesome defensive outfielder. He's as good now as he's ever been because his reads are so good. Losing a step has done nothing to affect his ability to play the position. This whole "Andruw has lost a step" thing started with Jayson Stark's stupid book and it's become way too accepted amongst fans.

Francouer's fairly awesome in right field, but he doesn't even belong in the same conversation as Jones or Beltran. As for Rowand, I guess this is his reward for smashing into the wall a year ago. Derrek Lee is an odd choice at first with Pujols out there. The rest look good.

Really? I know some of the more advanced defensive systems rate him highly, but he seems to have an awful defensive reputation amongst media types. Kind of like a Julio Lugo. They're far above average on most plays, but their mistakes are usually the type that get old-timers to groan. The only player off the top of my head that got screwed was Coco Crisp. He was quite clearly one of the best three outfielders in the game.

The Dolphins should get an asterisk for only playing 14 games.

Rawlings Gold Glove winners (announced on espnews): AL C- Pudge 1B- Youks 2B- Polanco 3B- Beltre SS- O-Cab OF- Ichiro, Hunter, Sizemore P- Johan

Schilling's contract: $8 million in base salary $3 million in incentives for IP $2 million for keeping weight down to predetermined level - measured six times over season (Shockingly, it was Schilling who insisted this be included in the deal. He felt he made a mistake by showing up to Spring Training out of shape last year.) $1 million if he receives a Cy Young vote Totals $14 million if all incentives are met.

The general managers have voted 25-5 in favor of adding instant replay for disputed home run calls. Where this goes from here is unclear, but the first steps have been taken in changing the way the game is officiated.

Pats/Colts was the highest rated Sunday game in 20 years.

I know Schilling's first choice was returning to Boston, but he really took a massive paycut to stay. I know that a lot of teams would have jumped on a one year deal at $13 million. But $8 million? I'm glad to have him back, but that almost seems insulting.

Not only do I not watch Benoit matches, I don't watch any wrestling anymore. At all... as in I haven't seen a second of professional wrestling since the murders. I may peruse these threads a little bit, but other than that I am completely done with wrestling. It wasn't just Benoit that completely ruined me. I was already very down on the business, but this whole mess was just enough to do it for good. Thanks Chris!

So does Yi Jianlian end up starting the All-Star game because of the Chinese vote? I heard that there were about 100 million people in China who watched the Bucks-Bulls game.

So I guess Joe Torre to LA is now official: 3 years, $13 million. Also, the Pirates announced they have hired John Russell as their new manager. He comes from the Phillies minor league system, but previously worked as the Pirates third base coach. I know little to nothing about him.

This was the first Isiah trade that I didn't kill, but the more I think about it the more I wonder how Randolph and Curry will co-exist on the front line. Neither guy can play defense worth a lick and they both love having the ball in their hands.