The Yankees signed first round pick Slade Heathcott for $2.2 million. I don’t particularly care about that. I post this mostly to register my surprise that “Slade Heathcott” is a ballplayer’s name and not the name of, say, a rakish dandy with ulterior motives attempting to woo a wealthy widow in late Victorian England.

From Heyman, who says that the Nats have offered “at or above $12 million”: While the Nats are offering a contract above Prior’s record deal, Strasburg’s agent Scott Boras is said to be using Matsuzaka’s $52 million bonus as the baseline. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t come off that number. But it likely means they […]

No, wait. It’s just gas: Yankees Class AAA right-hander Russ Ortiz has exercised his right to become a free agent, according to his agent, John Boggs. Ortiz, 35, had the right to become a free agent if the Yankees did not promote him to the majors after three starts. No pushing, no shoving. Everyone gets […]

Royals 3, Tigers 2: A lot of people experience anxiety about taking a day off work. They check their email a lot, allow themselves to be preoccupied, and generally feel as though the office can’t get by without them. This is baloney, of course. The world goes on fine without you. No one is so […]

This morning I and some commentors fired a couple of missiles in the direction of Denny McLain. This evening, Denny — or someone claiming to be him, but I’m pretty sure it is him — fired back: it is amazing to me that some of you toss these missiles as though thoughtlessness is an art. […]

Unless this is just some sloppy writing, I’d say yes: Owner David Glass says planned to meet with other team officials to discuss why the Kansas City Royals are in last place in the AL Central . . . Manager Trey Hillman has come under fire from fans and the media. But Glass said Friday […]

Lugo, Renteria, Cora, Gonzalez, Lowrie, Green, Cabrera, Reese, Garciaparra, Crespo, Vazquez, Pedroia, Gutierrez, Bellhorn, Clayton and now, once again, Gonzalez: The Red Sox, who have had a revolving at shortstop in recent seasons, reacquired a familiar face this afternoon in attempt to help solve their ongoing problem. Alex Gonzalez, who was spectacular with the glove […]

Joe Posnanski in a post he put up last night: I don’t like that players took steroids and some certainly still do; but again … reality. Many elite athletes in an effort to succeed will push the boundaries of fair play. As Buck O’Neil always said: “The reason we didn’t do them is because we […]

Bronson Arroyo has been called on the carpet for his honesty yesterday. At times like these, it’s worth remembering that baseball is a part of corporate America, and that corporate America is not a big fan of honesty. The Wrigley beer-tosser has turned himself in. Our long national nightmare is over. Personally, I hope he […]

Definition of chutzpah: a man who blew his arm out in his 20s criticizing a manager for monitoring his young pitchers’ pitch counts. Definition of outrageous f*cking chutzpah: a man who did time for literally stealing millions from people criticizing a player for “stealing” millions by not playing up to the size of his contract. […]