Mariano Rivera to Stay in New York

If you're a Yankees legend that is about to ink a two-year $30 million deal please step forward.

Not so fast Derek Jeter.

Sure, the Bronx Bombers are rumored to be closing in on a contract compromise with the legendary shortstop, but according to the New York Daily News...stud reliever Mariano Rivera looks to be back into the fold:


The Daily News also went on to report that Rivera had received a three-year deal and more money (believed to be upwards of $17 million per year) from another team.  No word on the team...and it is pretty likely we'll never know.

But who cares..."he wanted to stay loyal to the Yankees," the Daily News source said.

Rivera, who recently celebrated his 41st birthday, had yet another standout season this past year posted a 1.80 ERA and 33 saves in 38 chances.  After 16 pro seasons, the future Hall of Famer ranks second all-time in saves with 559 and carries a lifetime 2.23 ERA...best among all active players.

So, yeah, Enter Sandman...good job, Yankees. 

Now...get your captain back under contract.

According to a source familiar with the negotiations between the Yankees and future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera, the 41-year-old will sign a two-year deal believed to be worth $30 million by Friday night.

Breaking Down the 2011 Hall of Fame Ballot

On Monday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the 2011 Hall of Fame ballot.

All in all, there are 33 candidates (up from 26 last year)...19 newcomers and 14 holdovers. And while there are no shoe-ins...there are definitely some great storylines.

Last year, pitcher Bert Blyleven came five votes shy of induction. In this, his second-to-last time on the ballot, the Dutchman is looking to grow his 74.2% to the 75% necessary.

Also coming just short last year was Roberto Alomar. Along with Blyleven, he was one of two candidates that came within ten votes shy. With 397 votes (405 were needed), the second baseman received the most votes of any first-year candidate without being elected.

Two other players were named on more than half the ballots...pitcher Jack Morris (52.3%) and shortstop Barry Larkin (51.6%)

Other notable holdovers...Lee Smith (47.3%), Edgar Martinez (36.2%), Tim Raines (30.4%), Mark McGwire (23.7%), Alan Trammell (22.4%), Fred McGriff (21.5%), Don Mattingly (16.1%), Dale Murphy (11.7%) and Harold Baines (6.1%).

Dave Parker, who received 15.2% a year ago, will be appearing on his 15th and final ballot.

The most notable newcomer to this year's ballot is also, arguably, the most accomplished...Rafael Palmeiro.

Of course, the fact that Palmeiro is only one of four players with more than 3000 hits and 500 home runs (Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray are the others) is overshadowed by that pesky steroid suspension that was handed down in August 2005.

While his 1835 RBI is spectacular and his 5,388 total bases rank him tenth all-time, there isn’t a snowball’s chance that a guy who pointed his finger to Congress and proclaimed “I have never used steroids, period” gets in a mere six years after being found guilty of doing the opposite.

Another player under the "did he" or "didn't he" cloud of suspicion is two-time American League MVP Juan Gonzalez. With a lifetime .295 batting average, 434 home runs and 1404 RBI...he would fit in well in Cooperstown. The fact that it is unknown if he was clean or not will make him lucky to see his name pop up on a quarter of the ballots.

A guy that stands to get a bunch of love is Astros legend Jeff Bagwell. "Bagpipes" played the game right compiling 449 home runs, 1517 runs scored, 1529 RBI and a .297 batting average before calling it quits in 2005.

Seven-time Gold Glove winner Larry Walker is also on the ballot for the first time. With a career .313 batting average, 383 home runs and 1311 RBI, the 1997 National League MVP is looking to become only the second Canadian-born player in the Hall of Fame.

Reliever John Franco compiled a huge number of saves over his 21 year career. His 424 saves rank him fourth all-time behind Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera and Lee Smith. But until Smith gets the call...Franco won't get anywhere near Cooperstown.

Also on the ballot for the first time...Carlos Baerga, Bret Boone, Kevin Brown, Marquis Grissom, Lenny Harris, Bobby Higginson, Charles Johnson, Al Leiter, Tino Martinez, 1994 National League Rookie of the Year Raul Mondesi, John Olerud, Kirk Reuter, 1987 National League Rookie of the Year Benito Santiago, and B.J. Surhoff.

Players receiving votes on 75 percent of the ballots will garner an invite to the enshrinement ceremony July 24th in Cooperstown. Results of the vote will be announced January 5th and each day until then, The Hall of Very Good will be breaking now one of the 33 candidates.

Alright, so let's jump back to the beginning...there are no shoe-ins this year, but Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar look to be the two guys with the best chance of enshrinement. Rafael Palmeiro would have been looking at being named on nine out of ten ballots if not for the failed steroid test. But unfortuantely, he won't be seeing the inside walls of the Hall of Fame without first buying a ticket.

So who do you think will make it this year? Let your voice be heard in the comments section!

Jamie Moyer's House is Back on the Market

And in other Jamie Moyer news (you can read about pending Tommy John surgery HERE), it appears that if you've got $7.8 million sitting around...you can buy his old house in Seattle.

But, according to real estate website Curbed.com...that's a cool million LESS than what you would have paid when it hit the market last year.

Read this:

Things aren't so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer, who has just re-injured his left elbow and whose Seattle home has been relisted at $7.8M, down from its initial Feb. 2009 ask of $8.9M. The 7,100-square-foot Tudor of the ex-Seattle Mariner, in a section of town genteelly named Magnolia, features deluxe details such as French marble flooring, vaulted ceilings, a wood-paneled dining room, an in-home theater, and an outdoor kitchen with a pizza oven. Just the granddaddy grandeur one would expect from someone who's played 24 seasons in the big leagues.

And, naturally, here's some history on the 80 year-old house courtesy of the Magnolia Voice. 

The 1933 Tudor home is 7,100 square feet with marble floors, a spacious family room, home theatre, outside entertainment patio, big screen TV, pizza oven, an outdoor kitchen and pool.  There are seven bedrooms and seven bathrooms and a 4 car garage. The two story house also has three fireplaces, a 1,500 bottle wine cellar and an athletic court.  The Moyers originally purchased the home $2.8 million.

It's a pretty nice place if you can grab it I suppose.  That said, my house has been on and off the market for the last two years.  Sure, it's only a fraction (and a small one at that) of what the Moyers are asking...but still...I feel their pain.

And if you want to see more on the house (theirs not mine), head on over to Zillow.com, check out the listing and peep one of the 27 pictures of the joint! 

Jamie Moyer to Have Tommy John Surgery

Buried among the Derek Jeter and the Yankees "will they" or "won't they" headlines is the news that fellow free agent Jamie Moyer is going under the knife Wednesday to repair his injured left elbow.

This...according to a post on The Moyer Foundation's Facebook page Monday night:

It's official - Jamie is having surgery Wednesday and we are cautiously optimistic superman will make a comeback! – Karen and Jamie

But here's the kicker, the 48-year-old is having Tommy John surgery and will, in all likelihood, be looking at sitting out the entire 2011 season.  Meaning...he'll be 49 when he suits up (assuming he finds a team) for Spring Training 2012!

And if/when he does make a comeback at age 49...he'll be only one of four pitchers (Satchell Paige, Jack Quinn and Hoyt Wilhelm were the others) to take the mound that close to the half century mark.

You'll remember that Moyer originally hurt his elbow this summer after leaving a game in July with elbow pain.  A couple days later, it was determined that the lefty had both a sprained ulnar collateral ligament and a strained flexor pronator tendon in his throwing elbow.

Earlier this month, while Moyer was attempting a comeback in the Dominican Winter League, he re-injured the same elbow.

Moyer went 9-9 with a 4.84 ERA in 19 starts this past season and it was unlikely that his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies were going to re-sign him.  For his career, he has compiled 267 wins...good for ninth all-time among left-handers.

Oh, in case you were wondering...the only other instance of a pitcher north of 40 coming back after Tommy John surgery was John Franco. 

The reliever was 42 when he returned from the procedure.  He pitched three more seasons, putting together a 2-11 record and a 4.63 ERA in 95 inning.

Dropping Links: November 29

It was a long holiday weekend, so as you emerge from a tryptophan coma and head back to whatever it is you do between Sunday and Saturday...here's Tony Arnoldine with some stuff you might have missed:


According to Bill Madden, Derek Jeter and the Yankees remain about $80 million apart in their current salary negotiations.  Jeter's agent, Casey Close, has since denied any truth to that report but it is certainly interesting offseason drama. It's hard to picture Jeter in any other uniform, but you never know.

Speaking of the Yankees, Javier Vazquez has reportedly agreed to a deal with the Florida Marlins. Vasquez was not very good during his second stint with the Yankees, but a change of scenery could do him good. His numbers in the National League have always been better than in the AL.

Justin Morneau says he'll be ready for spring training.

Several teams are reportedly interested in Miguel Tejada, including the Giants, Padres and Cardinals. Tejada finished the year with San Diego, although the team did not offer him arbitration.

Michael Baron of Mets Blog wonders if the Amazin's will hang on to John Maine. The team has until Thursday to offer him a contract or else he'll become a free agent. Maine is recovering from surgery.

The Los Angeles Times' Dodgers Blog has some news on the Dodgers targeting Juan Uribe, with intentions to play him at second base.

Lastly, The Cubs are apparently interested in Carlos Pena. The move would make sense, adding a strong defensive first basemen and slugger to the lineup. But get ready for plenty of strikeouts with Alfonso Soriano and Pena in the same lineup.

Do you have a story you'd like to point out to Tony?  Drop him a line over at tdine05@yahoo.com. Also, be sure to follow him on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook to get your daily fix!

Rest in Peace "Monday Morning Link Dump"...We Hardly Knew You

It might not be the wisest move, just hours after putting up a post about the passing of Leslie Nielsen, to post an "in memoriam" of a weekly feature once found here at The Hall of Very Good.

But it's warranted.

A few months back, an attempt (albeit a feeble one) was made to bring you, the loyal soldiers of The Hall, a weekly link dump that would keep you up to date on what is catching the collective eye of us here at the home office.

Well...it has run its course.

That said...The Hall of Very Good is proud to announce to addition of someone that specializes in scouring the interwebs to find the stories that should be of interest to you and relevent to this site.

Lady and gents...Tony Arnoldine is now calling The Hall home every Monday.

"Every Monday I'll be bringing you links from around the baseball blogosphere for you to peruse as you settle back into your work week, and it's a pleasure to be doing so," Tony told me to tell you via email earlier tonight.

Tony has been a fan of this site for some time, can grow a far better beard than me and has been a fixture on the internet for a while now, having been writing in some capacity for more than ten years. He's got his own site, the appriopriately named tonyblogs.net and you should check that out as well.

Oh, yeah...one last thing.

His weekly feature "Dropping Links" will debut here at The Hall today at 12pm EST (11am CST) and EVERY Monday at 9am EST (8am CST) thereafter.

And lastly, for no reason...here's a picture of him as a kid that I swiped off his Facebook page!

Welcome aboard, Tony!

Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010)

Who will protect the Queen from Reggie Jackson now?

Because sometimes it is easier to copy and paste something rather than re-hash what has already been written hundreds of times...here's what TMZ posted about the passing of comedic actor Leslie Nielsen.

Legendary funny man Leslie Nielsen died today of complications of pneumonia in a hospital near his home in Fort Lauderdale, this according to his agent. He was 84. His agent tells TMZ Nielsen passed surrounded by his wife and friends at about 5:34 PM ET.  Nielsen was best known for his roles in "Airplane" and the "Naked Gun" series.

And speaking of the "Naked Gun" series...here's a classic clip of Leslie Nielsen as Frank Drebin as an umpire.



And as Enrico Pallazzo.

Manny the Blue Jay? Not So Fast

Will anyone sign Manny Ramirez?

The other day, the question was asked and right now...close to 60% of you think someone will.  Now, we're a long way from the start of the 2011 season, but if you pay any attention to the Hot Stove chatter, there appears to be really only one option for the 38-year old slugger.

The Toronto Blue Jays.

And why the Blue Jays...because HE said he'd play there.  It wasn't the other way around.

“You have to weigh each case by itself," Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos told the Toronto Sun the other day when asked about the prospect of the team inking Ramirez.  "If it’s the right player, the right fit, the right talent at the right price, you’ve got to be open to it.”

So, yeah, basically Anthopoulos said he wouldn't be scared off by the idea of inking Ramirez, but, by no means, does that suggest that they are going to go out and try to sign the guy.

And before I see any more stories about how much Ramirez likes new Toronto skipper John Farrell...it isn't like they spent THAT much time together.  Farrell landed his gig in Boston following the 2006 season and Ramirez was shown the door a season and a half later.

Oh, and I'm not certain, but do you really think the superstar outfielder spent a second hanging out with the team's pitching coach?  Plus, didn't he say the same thing about Joe Torre in 2008 when he was shipped to Los Angeles (yes) and last season when he agreed to join Ozzie Guillen and the White Sox (another yes)?

Ramirez is doing what he does best...giving reporters the proper lip service to makes headlines.  It's classic "Manny Being Manny" and, subsequently, Anthopoulos is being Anthopoulos.

But, as long as agent Scott Boras (and, yes, he does represent Ramirez) is involved...it doesn't matter who is being who.

I'm inclined to think that Ramirez is going to attempt to pull off what Pedro Martinez did in the 2009 campaign (which was essentially what Roger Clemens had done in the past)...wait it out to see how the smoke settles, then show up in time to take the prettiest girl to the dance.

That said, we all saw how effective Martinez was with that strategy last season considering the last time he toed a rubber was two Octobers ago.

So, where is Manny Ramirez going to take his traveling circus to next?  Who knows.  But the bigger question might be this...does anyone care?