With the Manny market ready to bust into the limelight as soon as the likely overpaid Mark Teixeira finds himself a new home, this Bill Simmons article serves a great read:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=manny

In other news, this is my first post since the summer.  I am thinking of narrowing down the focus of this blog so that I can keep myself centered and provide more than just some BS to pass the time, or read from iPhones and iPod Touches while sitting on the throne (they both have definitely surpassed magazines as the most-have accessory while on the toilet).

Not that anyone still reads this, but if someone does, should I focus solely on baseball (something I actually know a lot about) or sports in general?  It’s likely it will take only 1 vote to win this poll, so choose wisely.

Seattle has until a week before the 2009 Draft to come to terms with Josh Fields because he was a college senior, and there’s a 90% chance that he signs on the dotted line in the next few days. However, the Nationals failure to sign Aaron Crow over a gap of less than an extra $1 million in bonus demands is inexcusable.

It is equally as bad for the New York Yankees to have lost Gerrit Cole, although no one saw this coming. The tall right-handed pitcher from California evidently had a change in heart and was unwilling to sign for any amount of money, as he wanted to attend UCLA this fall. Unfortunately for the Yankees, Cole made this decision just days before the signing deadline, rather than in early June.

In the next couple of days I’ll sort through the names and see what team had the best draft, and what team had the worst.

Even though Rich Harden has been mowing down batters in the NL, Billy Beane may have done it again. Stay tuned.

Mark Shapiro continues to amaze me. He is as smart as Ned Colletti is dumb. While Cleveland hoped to be in a pennant race, they are not, but that doesn’t mean their front office is just going to stand-pat. Having already obtained one of the best bats in all of the minor leagues in Matt LaPorta, Mark Shapiro went at it again this weekend.

The Indians shipped off Casey Blake and Luis Perdoma, a minor league relief pitcher. Perdoma brought Anthony Reyes over from the Cardinals, who was once a top pitching prospect but never quite put it all together in St Louis. A change in scenery may be all he needs. However, the real coup was the deal involving Casey Blake.

Blake went to the Dodgers in exchange for Carlos Santana (explaining my obscure post title) and Jonathan Meloan. Carlos Santana is a young catching prospect signed as an IFA back in ’04. He has the arm strength to remain at the all important catcher position, just needs to improve his receiving skills. If he can remain a catcher, this is a great acquisition because he can absolutely rake. He currently sports a .323/.431/.563/.993 line at Advanced Single-A.

Then there’s Mr. Meloan. He’s been the single best reliever in the minors over the last couple seasons, however his interest is in a starting role. His control has been suspect, so many have doubts about his ability to be a starting pitcher at the major league level. It remains to be seen how the Indians will want to use him, but if they wanted to he could end up with the 9th inning role as early as September this year. Meloan sports an electric fastball, with two above average breaking pitches: a mid 80s slider and a pitch I’d classify as a knuckle-curve of sorts that sits in the high 70s. An absolute gem of an arm, providing further evidence of Ned Colletti’s stupidity.

Mark Shapiro on the other hand, is nothing short of brilliant.

Indian fans, you have a lot to look forward to.