Doesn't exactly nail it, but at least it's a start.

When he does hit the ball, it's not with the same authority. There's a stat called BABIP (Batting Average Balls In Play). It's what you hit when you hit a fair ball. For Choo, his number from 2008 to '10 was .357. This season, it's .298 -- an indication he's simply not hitting the ball with the same authority.

The folks over at SBN's "Bless You Boys" don't think the Tribe will hang around. And seem to have beer goggles regarding some of their team's own flaws. The very last sentence of the entire piece, though, is the clincher. Enjoy.

Somehow, this is Cheapiro's fault. Fire Wedge!

I don't know why, but I'm surprised there aren't more 80s players left in MLB. Maybe it's because I have yet to come to grips with my own age. I still have the Topps card shown in the story, btw.

Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Congrats to Castro. He deserves it.

For anyone who hasn't had a chance to catch this one yet. The Onion nails the nation's probable lack of interest in this year's series.

This piece is actually less about Peralta and more about Dombrowski's strategy in the wake of their recent spate of injuries. But after all of the (somewhat) fond reminiscing of "Good Jhonny," this passage stood out as a symbol of ... I don't know. How far he's fallen? What might have been? Good riddance? The thing is, it's actually meant as a positive. Any way you slice it, ouch.

And they at least got a stop-gap player, who has seen seven years of big-league pitching, and who can swing a bat, and most times, hit the ball somewhere.

Ocker, surprisingly, is out in front on something.

Cabrera, who led off before suffering a fractured forearm, will hit second, behind Michael Brantley; Choo (sprained thumb) will return to the third spot; and Carlos Santana, who has been batting third, will move down a notch and hit cleanup.

There's some other stuff about being unsure what to do with Donald/Nix, too.

Snip from the SF Chronicle.

I checked in with another of the A's remaining unsigned free agents, infielder Adam Kennedy, today, and he said that he's still talking to Cleveland and Washinghton, but it seems as everything is on hold until Orlando Hudson decides where he's going.

"Something should happen once he figures it out," Kennedy said.

I believe this might be "Insider" content. If so, there's nothing really new: Good stable of future solid, if unspectacular, major leaguers with the exception of Santana and Chisenhall, whom he describes as "impact prospects." like I said, nothing new, but at least he doesn't talk about which San Diego restaurant has the best foie gras. For what it's worth:: Royals #9, Twins #13, Tigers #17, Chicago # deadlast.

What am I missing here? Won't he come more expensive and (if they're smart) for way fewer years than they had Granderson for? Are they failing on their New Year's resolution to get younger and cheaper with more payroll flexibility already? This seems like another Sheffield-type situation. We've heard of him, he's not cheap...let's get him!

You'll have to fill in your top five (at the minimum) to view the results. Shapiro sits atop the lower third.

He trots out some unbelievably flawed logic to support his not voting for Robbie Alomar as a first ballot HOFer. The highlight: Even Mark Shapiro agrees he was a jerk and traded him as his first order of business as GM, ushering into Cleveland the "character guy" era.