The hammer is supposed to come down in Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini today in the FIFA ethics investigation and there's a rumor that out-of-favor Chelsea striker Radamel Falcao is heading to the States . . .oh wait. That's the headline for MLS Bullets. So sorry. I got confused. Too much egg nog.
- Jonah Keri looks at the Cubs signing Jason Heyward in the context of free agent signings over the last ten years to examine how the free agent market has changed in the way it pays for defense.
- Speaking of Heyward, Cardinals manager Mike Matheny objected to what Heyward said were his reasons for signing with the Cubs, in particular that they were a "young" team.
- Patrick Redford thinks Matheny just comes off looking bad.
- David Brown thinks Matheny is trying to create controversy where there isn't any to try to fire up the Redbirds.
- The Nationals have apparently failed in their attempt to convince Brandon Phillips to waive his no-trade rights and have moved on to other options.
- Terence Moore is thrilled to see Bartolo Colon still playing next season at age 43.
- Steven Goldman admires the way Colon has held back the sands of time for as long as he has.
- The Player's Tribune has an excellent photo essay of MLB's Goodwill Tour of Cuba.
- And The Player's Tribune has more photos here. Good not just for baseball, but if you're a fan of cars of the 1950s, check it out.
- Several members of the tour went to Havana's Central Park and had a Q and A session with fans at the "Hot Corner."
- Cliff Corcoran writes that losing free agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma was just the latest development in what has been a terrible offseason for the Dodgers.
- Or second-to-latest. The Dodgers were handed a bill for $43.6 million for going over the luxury cap threshold.
- Grant Brisbee says that the Dodgers may be down, but they aren't out and they're probably still the favorites in the NL West. There's also a lot of offseason left.
- Jon Heyman hands out midterm grades for the offseason though.
- Ken Rosenthal tries to come up with reasons why so many free agents haven't signed yet.
- Even though the Orioles have pulled their offer to Chris Davis, the two sides are still talking.
- The Blue Jays claimed Junior Lake off waivers. Make him a pitcher!
- The Athletics are pursuing free agent pitcher Scott Kazmir.
- The A's also signed free agent pitcher Henderson Alvarez. Pending a physical, which probably isn't a slam dunk with Alvarez.
- The Rockies signed reliever Adam Ottavino to a three-year extension. Ottavino is recovering from Tommy John surgery.
- The Phillies traded Dan Otero to the Indians.
- Peter Gammons looks at how Dave Dombrowski is changing (and not changing) the way the Red Sox operate.
- David Lauria talks to several unnamed front office executives about how the role of GM is changing in baseball, and how a team changes when it hires a new chief.
- Craig Calcaterra thinks commissioner Rob Manfred's negative comments about opt-outs are a warning shot towards the new CBA negotiations.
- David Schoenfield weighs in on the upcoming blockbuster free agent class of 2018.
- Here's something I never thought I'd type. Former number one draft pick Matt Bush is out of prison and has signed with the Rangers on a minor league deal. Bush says he's sober and a changed person now.
- Joe Nocera thinks the new baseball policy on netting behind the plate doesn't go far enough. Nor does the netting.
- Peter Keating makes the Hall of Fame case for Tim Raines. Keating says a vote for Raines is a vote for sabermetrics.
- And speaking of sabermetrics, three contestants on Jeopardy! were asked "This word for the science of baseball analytics comes from the name of a research society." All three of the contestants were stumped by the clue for the question "What is sabermetrics?" What's even more ironic, the three contestants were Dave Stewart, Ruben Amaro Jr. and Don Mattingly! (rimshot)
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.