AGRI Biz

In the middle of trading barbs about payroll with New York Yankees president Randy (I am just along for the ride) Levine, Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio decided to use some of the money that Levine says he is giving the Brewers to lock up one of the best young pitchers in the game. Yesterday, the Brewers signed RHP Yovani Gallardo to a five-year, $31 million extension. Here is a breakdown of ...

It’s bad enough when a player heads to the disabled list, but it’s got to be 10 times worse for that player when his team and his manager rip him a new one for it. Texas Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia was placed on the 15-day DL yesterday because of upper back stiffness. Being hurt is nothing new for Saltalamacchia. Saltalamacchia was hurt twice during spring training, once for pain related to scar ...

The New York Mets got what they really didn’t need in their opening series against the Florida Marlins—a series loss. They desperately need to get off to a good start this season. If they don’t, their fans are going to turn on them rather quickly. There will be no patience at Citi Field this year. Let’s look at what else is going with the boys from Flushing and see if there is ...

It took only two games into season for Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz to blow a gasket at the media. Here is what Ortiz had to say after his 0-for-7 start. “Good,” he said, turning to face the reporters encircling him. “You guys wait ’til [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy."   Ortiz is not smiling at the Boston Media. “What’s ...

In any endeavor in life, the leap from the No. 2 person to being the No. 1 man or woman is tremendous. Until you go through it, you will never know how big the actual leap is. Going from a Director of Sales to a VP of Sales is a huge step. Coaches will tell you going from an assistant basketball coach to the head coach is the longest eight feet in ...

Unless an injury occurs or a trade happens, the Boston Red Sox will have four-fifths of their starting rotation set until 2014. That is because John Lackey, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, and now Josh Beckett are under team control until that year. Yesterday, the Red Sox signed Beckett to a four-year, $68 million contract extension. The deal will pay Beckett $15.7 million from 2011-2014. Beckett also received a $5 million signing ...

Update The Angels placed Kazmir on the 15-day DL yesterday. Kazmir pitched five innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, so this appears to be just a precaution. Kazmir will use the time he will miss to build stamina in his shoulder. He will make two minor league starts and if all goes well he will rejoin the Angels for their April 13th series against the New York Yankees. Matt Palmer will ...

The Oakland A’s are doing some last minute tinkering before Opening Day. Let’s look at what is going on.   A’s say goodbye to Jack Cust Cust re-signed with the A’s in January for $2.65 million and less than three months later, he is unemployed again. The A’s designated Cust for assignment yesterday. Cust is your classic “Moneyball” player. That means a guy who can’t play defense, hits a ton of home runs, ...

My “Key” player series concludes today with looking at the “Key” player for each American League West team. There are a lot of question marks in this division, so let’s take a look at who the “Key” player will be for each team. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – Scott Kazmir Kazmir is a great talent—there is no doubt about that, but he is always hurt. He will be entering his ...

Next up in the updated starting rotation series is the American League West. The West is a real interesting division in terms of starting rotations because there are so many young starting pitchers in this division. This division is filled with pitchers in their mid-to-late 20s. Pitchers like Felix Hernandez, Cliff Lee, Jered Weaver, and Brett Anderson make this division a nightmare for opposing batters. Here are the updated ...