MLB Bullets Has Some 'Splaining To Do

After that explosion of stories last last week, things cooled down again over the weekend, except in Seattle, where I almost expect someone to take the PA microphone at Safeco Field and announce "Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives."

• The Mariners have been the big story so far this past week, and that continued over the weekend, although not in a good way. This Seattle Times article by Geoff Baker absolutely eviscerates Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik. Just to give you a taste, former manager Eric Wedge said "I work hard to do the right thing. And what's happened here is wrong. What's happened to the players and coaches is wrong. What's happened to this organization is wrong. It's so wrong. I can't put it any better than that." Wedge isn't the only source to go on the record with his criticism of the way Zduriencik runs the Mariners, either. The team president and CEO get blasted as well. It's really a must read about how a once-proud organization has been run into the ground.
• Most of the rest of the Mariners news has to do with Robinson Cano, of course. In a more optimistic piece on the team, Peter Gammons says that the inking of Cano is a step towards restoring value to the franchise by juicing local interest in the team, even if Cano can't make the Mariners win by himself.
• Emma Span thinks signing Cano was a great move by Seattle--as long as they surround him with enough good players to win. Otherwise. . .
• Jim Caple traces the decline of the Mariners in the Seattle area from "the" team to the afterthought they've been lately and says the Cano signing was a way to reverse that trend.
• Tracy Ringolsby thinks the combination of the Mariners recent haplessness and low payroll made signing Cano a sane decision.
• Ken Woolums shows how Cano's approach at the plate shows that he should be able to thrive at Safeco Field.
• Grant Brisbee argues that the Mariners made a really great deal signing Cano for three years. Oh, he signed for ten years? OK, we'll just ignore that for now.
• There had been a lot of leaking out of the Yankees camp during the negotiations between them and Cano. But now from Cano's camp comes word that Cano "didn't want to play for" Joe Girardi. No one is arguing that's why he didn't re-sign with the Yankees, however.
• One of those rumors coming out of Yankees camp was that the Reds were looking to trade Brandon Phillips. At least that's what Reds GM Walt Jocketty is claiming, saying that the Phillips trade rumors were all a negotiating tactic by the Yankees.
• In a wonderful case of sour grapes, Wallace Matthews argues that the Yankees are better off not keeping Cano so they can spend the money on pitching.
• Rob Neyer wonders if the Yankees will still be a contender without Cano. While he finds a lot of troubling statistics, in the end, he thinks they'll be OK.
• Jerry Crasnick asks the important question that we've all been asking: "What does this all mean for Jay-Z?" Crasnick also notes, and I've read this elsewhere, that while Jay-Z got all the attention, the actual preparations and negotiations were done by experienced baseball agents at CAA.
• David Ortiz says Cano signing with Seattle is "great news" for the Red Sox and that the Yankees lost "the face" of their franchise.
• Sports Illustrated will announce their Sportsman of the Year this week. Tom Verducci explains why his choice is David Ortiz.
• Just remember: The Yankees don't rebuild. They reload. (Got that cliche out of the way) So they signed Carlos Beltran to a three year, $45 million deal.
• The Yankees beat out the Royals for Beltran, and I guess no one saw that coming. Now the Royals and the Yankees are both trying to land Omar Infante. Let's see if KC does any better this time.
• Court documents in the San Jose lawsuit against MLB show that last June, commissioner Bud Selig rejected a proposal for the Athletics to move to San Jose and that it was his "final decision." However, MLB sources are saying the "final decision" referred only to the specifics of that particular plan and wouldn't apply to a future proposal.
• The winter meetings start today and Matt Snyder has some storylines to watch out for.
• Richard Justice explains that it's the small moves at the Winter Meetings that end up making a big difference.
• Ken Rosenthal provides an overview of all the craziness of the Hot Stove League on Friday.
• The Rakuten Golden Eagles are pretty upset about the new posting system and that has some wondering if they will post Masahiro Tanaka.
• A scouting report on Cuban defector Erisbel Arruebarruena says "good glove, no hit." A scout says there will be limited interest in the shortstop because of that, but that someone will bite.
• You've probably seen this sign at Murphy's Bleachers already. But if you haven't, they've apologized already.
• Here's a really smart article going over all the ways we can evaluate defensive ability these days. Don't worry, it keeps the math to a minimum.
• Here are a couple of chilling photographs of the Juan Marichal-John Roseboro bat-swinging brawl of 1965.
• Finally, baseball reacts to the death of Nelson Mandela. Not included in that article is the reaction of the Cubs own minor league South African pitcher, Tayler Scott.