MLB Bullets Is Ready To Pitch

I'm really getting tired of free agents deciding where to sign at 11 pm Pacific Time.

• James Shields has reportedly agreed to a four-year deal with the Padres. The deal is for a reported $72-76 million with a team option for a fifth year.
• Shields, for his part, said that he never rejected a $110 million offer as was previously reported.
• No word on any movement on the Phillies attempts to trade Cole Hamels, but they are reportedly considering trading Cliff Lee before the season starts. Of course, Lee would have to demonstrate he was healthy.
• The Phillies decision to not give a non-roster invitation to Aaron Nola, their first-round pick from last year, has CJ Nitkowski scratching his head. He's not the only one. Nitkowski also recalls that he didn't get to go to spring training the year after he was drafted in the first round (because of the strike) and he thinks it hurt him his first year in the majors.
• Max Scherzer gave a pragmatic explanation as to why he signed with the Nationals: It's just business.
• Reds GM Walt Jocketty did not sound optimistic when asked about the team's chances to sign Johnny Cueto to a long-term extension. Cueto can be a free agent after the 2015 season.
• Marlins GM Dan Jennings said that his ace, Jose Fernandez, could return to the majors in June or July.
• Joe Frisaro thinks the Marlins should sign Francisco Rodriguez.
• Despite losing two players in the tournament by defection, Cuba won the Caribbean Series by beating Mexico 11-4.
• Jon Paul Morosi thinks that MLB stadiums could use the kind of atmosphere they have in the Caribbean Series.
• In an ESPN Insider article, Buster Olney thinks the Dodgers are the team that makes the most sense in signing Yoan Moncada.
• Andrew Simon has an all-star team of players who never made Baseball America's Top 100 Prospects list. It should be noted that almost all of these guys were prospects, just not in the Top 100 for one reason or another. Robinson Cano may have just missed the Top 100, but he was the Yankees second-ranked prospect in 2004. I think the only one on this list who really wasn't on the prospect radar is Mark Buehrle.
• Shahadev Sharma looks at baseball's "one-hit wonders," by which he means players who had one good rookie season and then never did much of anything after that.
• Peter Gammons talks with Drew Hansen about the curse of heavy expectations and not living up to the hype. For Hansen, it was in two sports.
• Anthony Castrovince examines changing roles in the bullpen and how teams are slowly starting to appreciate relief pitching in innings other than the ninth.
• Jonah Keri presents his annual list of the worst contracts in baseball.
• Speaking of worst contracts, Yankees GM Brian Cashman says he will meet with Alex Rodriguez before spring training to "clear the air."
• Julio Franco, now 56, is going to Japan to be a player-manager of a semi-pro team. Hey, don't quit until they rip the uniform off your back.
• David Schoenfield continues his series by asking "Who's Better? Cardinals or Royals?" Answer: Cardinals.
• Ben Strauss in the New York Times has a view of the Wrigley renovations and how the neighborhood is reacting to it.
• The Blue Jays are researching how to convert the Rogers Centre to natural grass.
• Jeff Sullivan tries to see if the "Coors Field Hangover" actually exists. That is, do teams hit worse after leaving Colorado?
• In retirement, Chipper Jones traded his batting helmet for one made out of tin foil. The next day he came to his senses and apologized.
• And finally, I don't praise the Diamondbacks for much, but in this case I'm going to give them a standing ovation. The Diamondbacks graduated their first five members of their Dominican academy with the Dominican equivalent of a GED. The Diamondbacks have made a commitment to offer an education to any of their Dominican players who want one. All teams should do this.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.