Vernon Wells Already Loves LA!

Let's not kid ourselves, the American League East has dominated the headlines this offseason.

Sure, sure...the Cliff Lee-to-the-Philadelphia Phillies story is a big one, but the AL East saw the Boston Red Sox make some serious upgrades, the Tampa Bay Rays enlisted some former Sox and the New York Yankees piece together last decade's best fantasy league team.

Hell...even the Baltimore Orioles look to be getting into the mix by potentially taking a chance on Vlad Guerrero.

Not to be left out, the Toronto Blue Jays have decided to, for the second straight winter, trade away their marquee name.

Last season, it was Roy Halladay.

On Friday...Vernon Wells was dealt to the Los Angeles Angels.

You've gotta give Wells credit.  Immediately he took to the Twitters and posted this:

My 1st public comments go to the people that deserve it..the Toronto fans! Thx 4 the memories. I am forever grateful!!

But within minutes...

To my new home...LA! Winning is all that matters!! Let's do this!!

So suck it, Toronto...Vernon Wells says so. 

Well...basically.

With Wells, the Angels get themselves a three-time Gold Glove winner who, last season, hit .273 with 31 home runs and 88 RBI.

Tampa Bay Enlists Damon and Ramirez

Last month, stories started circulating that Johnny Damon was looking to play closer to his Orlando home and sign with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Also part of that story...Gary Sheffield.

Well, here we are, a month later, and the Damon story has come to a close.  According to numerous sources, the 37-year-old outfielder has agreed to a $5.25 million dollar deal (plus incentives) to suit up for the Rays this upcoming season.

And while the Sheffield part of the afore mentioned story didn't pan out...the "Damon to the Rays" headline doesn't end there.

Joining Damon in Tampa Bay...his former Boston Red Sox teammate Manny Ramirez.

That's right.  The Rays, who have been losing players left and right this offseason, opened up the checkbook and inked both Damon and Ramirez.

There's a zillion punchlines to be made here...but I think Jonah Keri summed it up best.

Throw in Kevin Millar, Dave Roberts, and Pedro's little person, and les jeux d'idiots sont fait.

Last season with the Detroit Tigers, Damon hit .271 in 145 games. For his career, he is a .287 hitter and is sixth among active players with 2571 hits...two behind Ramirez and his 2573.

And speaking of Damon's teammate with the 2004 World Champion BoSox...he hit .298 with nine home runs in just 90 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox.  With 555 home runs, the 12 time All-Star is third (behind only Alex Rodriguez and Jim Thome) among active players.

Kevin Millwood to the Bronx? Why?!?

Alright, gang...raise your hand if you're getting a little tired of the daily "which All-Star from a decade ago is heading to the Yankees now" stories.

All of you?

Well...here comes another.

According to ESPN New York, the Bronx Bombers are now setting their sites on Kevin Millwood.

According to a baseball source, (agent Scott) Boras has pitched 36-year-old right-hander Kevin Millwood as a possible rotation stopgap in the event Andy Pettitte doesn't come back -- and the Yankees have at least listened.

Now, are you ready for the major wrinkle in the story? 

Millwood is also being linked to his 2010 team, the Baltimore Orioles.  MASNSports.com reports that the 1999 All-Star has been playing golf with Orioles manager Buck Showalter this offseason.

Scandalous!

Alright, I'll be the one that says it...who cares?

This is the same dude that went 4-16 last season with a 5.10 ERA...all the while leading the league in losses. 

So let's be honest with one another...Kevin Millwood, Yankees?  Seriously?!?

Yankees to Andy Pettitte: "Don’t Favre Us"

With Mark Prior and Andruw Jones in the fold and rumors of adding Kevin Millwood and/or Freddy Garcia popping up across the interwebs...does it seem out of place that the New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman was addressing a Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce breakfast earlier in the week?

Seriously, Cashman...a New Jersey Chamber of Commerce breakfast? 

I've been to a number of those things and while I always pretend to be interested to learn the new, exciting goings on of local "officials"...they're pretty boring.

But then, according to The Trentonian.

Wait...Trenton's newspaper is actually called The Trentonian?

Anyway...according to The Trentonian, the former wunderkind dropped the following:

“Andy has talking about being home for years,” said Cashman. “Being from Texas and having to be in New York for six months out of the year can be hard because he has kids and he’s missing important time with them. He’s opting not to play right now but that might change it might not. I told him don’t ‘Brett Favre’ us. You got to be all in and fully dedicated to play. Do I need him? I need him, but I don’t want him to play if his heart’s not in it.”

Interesting that Cashman dropped a "Favre" into conversation given it was Pettitte's former best friend Roger Clemens who used to jerk the Yankees around every offseason.  I dunno...asking Pettitte to not be a "Clemens" would seem to be more apt.

Now, this is the point where most sites would go the route of a Brett Favre dong reference...but The Hall will refrain.

Instead, it needs to be pointed out that if/when Pettitte returns, his 240 wins will rank him second behind Jamie Moyer (267 wins) on the active list.  Additionally, with 2251 strikeouts, the lefty is third behind Moyer (2405) and Javier Vazquez (2374) among active hurlers.

Andruw Jones Finally Joins the Yankees

Following the 2007 season, it wouldn't have been out of place for the New York Yankees to have gone after a 30-year-old outfielder who had just brought home his tenth straight Gold Glove.

Instead...they opted to stick with their rotation of Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Bobby Abreu and Melky Cabrera. All they did was combine for a .287 batting average, 54 home runs, 253 RBI and 60 stolen bases.

Andruw Jones, the afore mentioned 30-year-old outfielder, went on to become a shadow of his former self.

Well, here we are, three full seasons later and the Yankees have come around to do what The Hall told you they were looking to do a few weeks ago...ink the former Atlanta Braves superstar to a one-year, $2 million contract Thursday.

Last season with the Chicago White Sox, the five-time All Star batted .230 with 19 home runs in 328 plate appearances.

For his career, Jones is a respectable .256 hitter with 407 home runs and 1222...but dude is a long, long way away from the guy who finished second in MVP voting in 2005.

Dropping Links: January 17

After watching four teams advance to their respective conference finals in the NFL and Ricky Gervais hosting the Golden Globes (can he just host ALL awards shows, please?)...it finally occurred to me.  We are officially well into the new year.

So what else is going on in this, the third week of 2011?  Tony Arnoldine is dropping links!

Albert Pujols is giving the Cardinals an ultimatum. But the birds can't really let him get away can they?

The A's are close to signing Brian Fuentes, according to sources.

Baseball Analysts compare Bobby Jenks and Kyle Farnsworth, two relievers who have new homes. Farnsworth's agent somehow persuaded the Rays to give him $3.5 million for one year.

The Rangers and Angels are among the lead suitors for Manny Ramirez now that Jim Thome is off the market. I keep scratching my head seeing the Rangers tied to all these DH types, when they just pushed Michael Young to that spot.

When you're the Mets, potentially signing Willie Harris to a minor league deal is big happenings.

With Rafael Soriano in the fold, the Yankees might consider trading Joba Chamberlain for a starter, according to Jon Heyman.

And since I mentioned it off the top...here's the video of Gervais' opening monologue from Sunday's Golden Globes.  There's not a mention of baseball, but enjoy nonetheless!



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!

Source: Manny to the Angels

Figuring out where Manny Ramirez is going to land for this upcoming season seems to be dependant on who you ask last.

As late as Friday, ESPNDeportes.com's Enrique Rojas had the Angels, Twins, Rangers, Rays and Blue Jays all still in the conversation.

Now, MLBBlogBuzz.com is coming out and saying that the Angels have all but locked up the slugger.

The reason...wigs!

Really?!?

There is a completely unsubstantiated rumor from someone close to the Angels organization that the Angels received a huge shipment of Manny Ramirez wigs last night. According to a source there were six crates worth. This could mean that the Angels are close to signing Manny.

Now, if Ramirez ends up back in Los Angeles (albeit this time with the Angels) to succeed Hideki Matsui as their DH, this wig thing looks genius. 

But if he doesn't...it's probable that the "unsubstantiated rumor" was nothing more than another in a long line of hoaxes.

Now Making Headlines...OZZIE Canseco!

Given his brother is (now, officially) on the latest installment of "Celebrity Apprentice", I'm pretty sure the hackneyed lead for what follows should include references "Celebrity Rehab" or "COPS".

But I'll refrain.

According to TMZ...Ozzie Canseco, former slugger Jose Canseco's twin brother, was arrested early Saturday morning for DUI.

Canseco was busted at 2:13 AM in Tampa, FL by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. According to the arrest report, Canseco had a blood alcohol level of .109/.108 ... slightly above the legal limit of .08%. According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office website, Canseco is still in custody and being held on $500 bond.

The Cansecos combined for 462 career home runs in their collective careers with Jose accounted for, well...all of them. In 24 Major League games, Ozzie amassed 13 big league hits...good for a .200 career batting average.