Olsen, 28, signed with the Pirates last offseason, but he had shoulder problems and they released him in May. He was a serviceable starter for the Marlins from 2006-08, when he posted a 4.65 ERA with 6.6 K/9 and 3.7 BB/9 in 559 innings as a starter.

A few of the players in the bullpen turned their backs to the field to fixate on the man in white, while others watched the stadium's radar gun. As soon as each pitch was thrown, those watching the man would call out what they thought he was signaling, and those focused on the radar gun would confirm his signal. Sure enough, the man in white was raising his arms above his head before every off-speed pitch and doing nothing when the pitch being called was a fastball.

Per linear weights, this lone pitch was worth -0.35 runs — that is, it cost the Yankees that much.

Qumar exposes the embarrassment of the Fielders front office and talks about nearly everyone associated with the Fielders not receiving a paycheck. He even throws in the Murrow slash Olbermannesque "good night and good luck" to close on a high note. The awkward applause in the booth ends his on air resignation perfectly. Where's Crash Davis when you need him.

"CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler says that players are open to it because they are not happy about AL West teams having a 25 percent chance of making the playoffs, the NL Central just 18 percent and the rest all at 20 percent."

Thanks to the recruiting influence of White Sox lefty Matt Thornton, as well as the small matter of $3 million, the club announced on Friday that right-handed reliever J.J. Putz was headed to the South Side for the 2010 season.

Greg Walker knows the reality of it.
Hal McRae, Carney Lansford, Von Joshua - just the latest casualties of a career that has the life expectancy slightly better than that of an adult mayfly.
No, make no mistake about it, hitting coach and job security will rarely be found in the same sentence.

If the White Sox sign an expensive free agent this off-season, it could be due in part to a new iPhone application for the Southeastern Conference.

It may sound absurd, but it's all part of a new way of operating on the South Side.

Crain'shas learned that on Monday, the White Sox will officially announce the launch of a new business operation that has nothing to do with baseball. The team has created Silver Chalice Ventures, a subsidiary that will focus initially on developing digital platforms for clients but ultimately could branch out into almost anything, according to Brooks Boyer, Sox chief marketing officer.

I dunno if this has been shared before, but what the hell else are you going to do today? just watch it.

Jenks is not a happy man, and it has nothing to do with another offseason beginning with trade rumors. Instead, during a weekend chat with MLB.com, Jenks took umbrage with the White Sox once again calling out his conditioning at the end of the 2009 season.

notable type b's

matsui, figgins, nick johnson

I cannot tell you how many times through the years I have sat next to Blowers during a game and he has told me exactly what was about to happen. This however, was unbelievable.

i dunno if its the call of the year, but its a pretty good one. from a mariners game on sunday

Minutes after Williams spoke, a source confirmed that all of the coaches that had contracts up after this season - specifically hitting coach Greg Walker, pitching coach Don Cooper, bench coach Joey Cora and first base coach Harold Baines - had or were in the process of signing extensions thought to take the staff through 2011.

unrelated: Jenks popped his calf muscle in stretch and is now out for the season.

Mark Buerhle joined one of baseball's most elite clubs on Thursday afternoon in Chicago -- the Zeros-Only Gang of 18 whose members have each put together 27 consecutive outs in a winning ballgame (sorry, Harvey Haddix). It's an elite club, but not limited to elite pitchers. In fact, Buerhle, a good-but-not-great hurler, slots fairly neatly into the middle ranks of the roster of perfectos.

i was surprised to see randy johnson so high