AGRI Biz

After 11 years of injuries and being considered a bench player/pinch-hitter, Russell Branyan finally got everything he wanted in 2009. For the first time in his major league career, Branyan got an opportunity to be an everyday player. In 2009 with the Seattle Mariners, Branyan played in a career high 116 games and had a career high 505 ABs. In those 116 games, Branyan hit .251 with 31 home runs and an ...

When the Boston Red Sox signed third baseman Adrian Beltre a couple of days ago, it meant that someone was expendable on BostonÆs roster. That person was Casey Kotchman. Kotchman has been rumored to be traded to the Seattle Mariners since Beltre was signed. Today, those rumors turned into reality as Shannon Drayer of ESPN 710 radio in Seattle is reporting Kotchman was officially traded to the Mariners. The Red Sox will be ...

Never hesitant to expand the game of baseball globally, Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig is working with Japanese baseball commissioner Ryozo Kato to play a Global World Series. The idea is that the World Series winner from Major League Baseball would play the Japanese baseball champions in a Global World Series. When and where these games would be played is still up for debate, but Selig and Kato met ...

At 47-years old, you have to start wondering how much more Philadelphia PhilliesÆ LHP Jamie Moyer can put his body through. On October 2, Moyer underwent surgery to repair three muscle tears in his groin and lower abdomen. Almost two months later, Moyer underwent another surgery after an MRI exam showed a small blood collection that could have been infected. Now, Moyer is scheduled to undergo another surgeryûthis time on his ...

When the San Francisco Giants re-signed Juan Uribe to a one-year, $3.25 million contract last week, many envisioned Uribe becoming a super-utility player for the Giants in 2010. As the great Lee Corso always says, ôNot so fast, my friends.ö In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News , GiantsÆ GM Brian Sabean suggested that Uribe could be the GiantsÆ starting third baseman in 2010. The move would allow the newly ...

Perhaps one of the benefits of being unemployed, is that I get to see things happen live right before my eyes during the day. Take today for example. Today, it was announced who the Baseball WriterÆs Association of America voted into the 2010 class of BaseballÆs Hall of Fame. The announcement was made at 2:00 pm ET. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately depending on how you look at it, I was around to watch ...

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Not that Austin Kearns was ever really mighty, but he was once one of the top prospects in the game. Now, 10 years later, he is barely hanging on. Today, Kearns signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians. I have to admit, I was a big Kearns fan back in the day. A charter member of Kearns’ bandwagon in the early 2000’s. I, along with the Cincinnati ...

Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire got some very encouraging news about one of his pitchers yesterday. Francisco Liriano is reportedly throwing pellets in winter ball. ôI just got a report that heÆs throwing the living fire out of the ball down in the Dominican (Republic),ö the Twins manager said through the St. Paul Pioneer Press . ôHe threw eight innings the other day, and his fastball was 92 to 94 (mph) and ...

Tired of haggling over contract specifics with Yorvit Torrealba, the Colorado Rockies decided to move in another direction to fill their need for a catcher. According to Thomas Harding of MLB.com, the Rockies have signed former Kansas City RoyalsÆ catcher Miguel Olivo to a one-year, $2 million contract. The Rockies also have a club option for $2.5 million for 2011. Olivo will replace Torrealba in Colorado The Olivo signing means that Torrealba ...

Theo Epstein looked at the defensive statistics and saw his team was one of the worstûif not the worst defensive team in baseball last season. His goal this offseasonùto improve the Boston Red Sox overall defense. First he added Marco Scutaro to play short, then he added Mike Cameron to play left and now he has added another superior defensive player. According to Peter Gammons via Twitter , the Red Sox have ...