The latest from around MLB...
- Larry "Chipper" Jones is calling it a career ... after 2012, which makes for one of the lamest retirements ever, since there is no immediacy. The soon-to-be 40-year-old will take a tour of the bigs this year before hangin' 'em up as one of the best third basemen in the game. According to MLB.com, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Stan Musial and Lou Gehrig are the only other players in Major League history to record a career .300 batting average and at least 450 homers, 500 doubles, 1,400 walks, a .400 OBP and a .500 slugging percentage. As much as I disliked Chipper for reasons I'm not sure I could articulate, he was certainly quite good at baseball.
- If the Los Angeles Angels wanted to sign 20-year-old super prospect Mike Trout to a 20-year contract right now, how much would it reasonably cost them? Beyond the Box Score took a stab at that hypothetical question and came up with a very specific figure: $274 million. Yo.
- When it comes to Ryan Howard and his achilles injury, the Phillies are left having to feel good about the possibility that he *might* return in May. That's not encouraging.
- Padres' CEO Jeff Moorad will be CEO no more, as he's stepping down from the post after unsuccessfully trying to secure a majority ownership interest in the organization. Ultimately, it became clear that Moorad was not going to be able to secure the support (and votes) necessary to take over the Padres, so he gave up the ghost.
- Since 2006, Wandy Rodriguez has a 7.44 Spring ERA, which proves either that Spring statistics are meaningless, or that Wandy Rodriguez is a terrible pitcher.
- Ken Rosenthal takes a stab at pegging the 2012 individual player awards, and, among other awards, he lands on Miguel Cabrera as the AL MVP, and Hanley Ramirez as the NL MVP. Each selection is a reminder that these articles are written not to be a prescient take on the way things will play out, but instead to be a buzzy talking point for discussions like the the one that is likely to follow.
Brett Taylor is the Lead Writer at Bleacher Nation, and a Contributor here at Bleed Cubbie Blue.