On weight loss...

Pablo Sandoval has supposedly lost 20 lbs. this winter, which doesn't sound nearly as impressive when you learn the Rangers' Colby Lewis took up cycling to keep his lower half in shape and lost 25 lbs:

Mitch Moreland and Colby Lewis ready to go. Lewis has dropped 25 pounds cycling. pic.twitter.com/omjqImHiiK

— Anthony Andro (@aandro) January 22, 2016

One should note that Pablo Sandoval is a 5'11" third baseman "listed" at 245 lbs. and Colby Lewis is a 6'4" pitcher "listed" at 240 lbs.  In 2015, Pablo was probably closer to 325 and Lewis was probably around 275.

Posted by: Ben at 07:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Davis gets paid...

News is breaking all over that former Rangers 1B and current top power hitter Chris Davis won't leave Baltimore, as they have agreed to a $161 million contract.  Considering Davis has been a premium hitter two of his four years in Baltimore, and wasn't exactly awful the other two years, it's not surprising he's getting the big bucks.  What's surprising is that it's Baltimore who agreed to the deal, not New York or one of the other big-spending clubs.  Baltimore had allegedly made an earlier offer to Davis not too far under this amount, but no one took it seriously...the Orioles just don't have the financial base to deal in nine-figure contracts.  Supposedly.

I wouldn't think, at this point, Davis would have had too much trouble getting more...so I wonder how much impact his spotty batting history had on teams' assessment of his value.  He surely had two great years in the past three, but his big league story outside of those two years is largely one of failure.  There has to still be some question concerning what happens if he loses his grip on his particular batting mechanics that have finally allowed him to succeed in Baltimore.  As happened in 2014, when he turned in a dismal half-season before returning to acceptable levels.

There's also a minor question regarding drug use...he's been on the periphery of steroid and HGH allegations before, and was popped for amphetamine use in late 2014.  Drug-use rumors of any kind haven't dampened teams' analysis of other players, though; so I doubt that had much impact.

Anyway, congratulations to Chris, the last of a long line of 1B that the Rangers never could figure out and traded away.

Posted by: Ben at 09:31 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Cardinals guilty!

Posted by: Ben at 09:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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