It was an uncharacteristically quiet winter for Brian Cashman and the New York Yankees. The Yankees winter was best epitomized by who they didn’t go after. They were never in on Zack Greinke or Josh Hamilton, the two premier names on the free agent market. They weren’t even in on the second tier of free agents like Michael Bourn or Ryan Dempster. They even let...

Gary Armida

The 2012 Baltimore Orioles were one of the best stories in the game. It seems like every season there is a team that surprises. The Orioles were that team, even more so than the Oakland A’s because the A’s at least had promising young pitchers to build around. The Orioles entered the 2012 season as the least talented team in the division and a virtual lock to finish in...

Gary Armida

For the second time this winter, the Cleveland Indians swooped in and signed one of the premium names on the market. This newly found penchant for getting premium names has indeed opened a new era for the Indians as they have spent much of the past two decades scouring the wire for value signings and drafting and developing talent. While they are still very much a draft and...

Gary Armida

For a baseball fan, this is one of the best days of the year. It’s a day that only takes three words to summarize: pitchers and catchers. As teams begin to filter on to the fields of Florida and Arizona, there is a feeling of hope. Every organization, even the ones we all “know” will fail have dreams of becoming that surprise team. They will all point to the Orioles and A’s of 2012 and say...

Gary Armida

Let’s get it out of the way right now. A seven year commitment is risky. It is especially risky to make such a commitment to a starting pitcher. The industry has no clue how to keep pitchers healthy and why some pitchers can maintain and why others get hurt often. Even the most healthy pitcher in his 20’s can become an injury-prone 30-something pitcher. The risk is...

Gary Armida