The old adage says there’s no crying in baseball, but we know that isn’t true.  Baseball players are human beings, and they feel pain just like the rest of us.  So when Justin Smoak’s father passed away in late April, his performance on the baseball diamond took a big hit. It didn’t look like Smoak [...]

I did not see this one coming.  Cue Tim Brown: Cespedes signed a four-year deal worth $36 million. There’s a lot to dislike about this deal on the surface (provided you’re a Mariners fan, that is.  If you’re an A’s fan, you’re probably pretty psyched about this acquisition.  Why are you even reading this site?). [...]

As per ESPN: The Washington Nationals have reached an agreement on a one-year deal with free agent pitcher Edwin Jackson, who had also been targeted by the Boston Red Sox. From the looks of it, the Mariners are done with their meaningful offseason transactions.  With Jackson off the market, the M’s no longer have the option [...]

According to Jim Duquette, the right-hander is close to signing a deal with St. Louis.  Oswalt posted a 3.44 FIP and garnered 2.5 wins above replacement last season in 23 starts with the Phillies. This accordingly narrows the Mariners’ options on the pitching side of the free agent market.  With Jeff Francis off the market, [...]

The deal, according to sources, is worth 214 million dollars over 9 years. I would not have been comfortable with the Mariners giving Fielder a similar deal.  Fielder is guaranteed ~23 million per season until 2020, at which point he’ll be 37 years old.  There’s a chance that Prince craters after the first few years [...]

Here’s the quote: This confirms what I theorized last week.  Prince Fielder will probably be a Washington National in 2012, and he probably won’t be a Texas Ranger.  I’m happy to hear this. Rosenthal says nothing about the M’s, though.  The intrigue continues.

According to this article, the M’s have added Kevin Millwood.  Here’s what I said about Kevin Millwood several weeks ago: Millwood is 37 years old and right-handed.  He’s been a solid pitcher over the course of his career, hitting 3.3 WAR as recently as 2008 (which at this point isn’t very recent at all), and [...]

The market for Prince Fielder has been weird. Teams haven’t showered Fielder with gifts and ridiculous contract offers, which is probably a sign that the few remaining organizations who were behind the curve on player valuation finally get it. Not only that, but the pool of suitors for the 27-year-old has been smaller than anyone [...]