ANOTHER FEUD BREWING?

***JOSH HAMILTON SIGNS WITH THE ANGELS***
Not the Red Sox, not the Mariners, not the Phillies. Not even the Yankees, who were probably being mentioned just out of habit. No, Josh went to the Angels, the worst possible resting place as far as Texas was concerned. To add fuel to the fire, Hamilton had supposedly told the Rangers GM that he would have the last shot before he signed. Instead, the phone call was, "I've signed," not, "Can you match this."  It was rumored that Texas was willing to go 5 years at $25 million per year, just what the Angels gave him.
Anyone feel sorry for Texas? MLBNetwork analysts, Harold Reynolds and Larry Bowa have no sympathy for the Rangers. According to them, Texas had all year to close a deal, but preferred to let it hang to see if they could get away cheaper. I can't wait to see the scowl on Nolan Ryan's face the first time the Angels come to town, which will be the first weekend of the season. In fact, Ryan may offer to pitch the first inning, just to knock Hamilton down.
Trout, Pujols, Hamilton - LA has quite a lineup now. If they only had somebody who could throw the ball.

***...AND MEANWHILE, BACK IN YANKEE-LAND***
 It's interesting that the headlines that come out of New York are different from other teams.
Jeter -- I'll be ready to start the season (Broken Ankle)
Rivera -- I'll be ready to pitch the first game (Torn up knee)
Pettitte -- I've been working out. I'll be ready (broken leg and just old)
A-Rod -- Can I have your phone number, Honey?  (It's really a hip replacement, isn't it?)
So Youkilis is now officially on board. I have a feeling the big delay occurred because of the intense negotiations on how much of his facial hair he was going to have to shave off.
Ichiro is also signed, but for just one year. At one point, there was talk that the Yanks may go for two years in the hopes that Suzuki would get his 3000th hit in pinstripes. He's 394 hits away. Doing that in two years is quite a stretch, so cooler (and stingier) heads prevailed.

***AROUND THE LEAGUE***
There appears to be a snag in the signing of Mike Napoli by the Red Sox. There's a rumor that there is some kind of physical problem. Not much is going right for the Sox these days. Awwww.

Don Mattingly, manager of the Los Angeles Yank...er Dodgers, says that it's not fair to have such high expectations for his team, just because their payroll will top out at $230 million. For the record, NY's payroll is $209 million. Mattingly played a lot of years and also coached all those years in NY, but I never heard him say anything like that when he was there. It's called pressure, Donnie, get used to it. Don't forget, the sabermetric people  have this WAR thing that predicts 122 wins for the Dodgers next season.

The Cubs are so anxious to get rid of Alphonso Soriano, that they are willing to pick up $26 million of the remaining $36 million on his contract. Take my outfielder. Please!

On a similar note, Boston is sending the Dodgers $11.7 million as part of their mid-summer blockbuster trade. Good, that means hots dogs will still be $9 next season. The roll is extra.

ESPN has picked the top 125 baseball players of all time, some of whom are still playing. As you might imagine, Babe Ruth is #1, but some choices boggle the mind: Joe Morgan ahead of Joe DiMaggio? Roger Clemens ahead of Stan Musial? For the record, Mickey Mantle is #9.

***THEY SAID IT***
" New Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni told a reporter “You’re starting to piss me off.” Funny, that’s exactly what Los Angeles fans are thinking about the team."  -- Janice Hough
"According to the Toronto Star, the movie The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey might cause viewers nausea. Who says nothing can replace the Maple Leafs"  -- RJ Currie
"The Lakers are so bad, when Mitt Romney talks about the 47 percent, he means Dwight Howard's free throw shooting."  -- Jay Leno
" Lakers star Kobe Bryant has now surpassed 30,000 career points. He knows without his teammates, he could only guess where he might be. Maybe 60,000 career points."  -- Alan Ray
"Robin Yount accidentally hit a former teammate, Cubs manager Dale Sveum, in the back and ear with buckshot while the two were quail hunting in Arizona. Alert statisticians immediately credited Yount with the offseason's first pickoff play."  -- Dwight Perry
"Bo Jackson recently turned 50. I'm thinking Bo knows Metamucil. --  Bill Littlejohn
"Alex Rodriquez just underwent hip surgery. Doctors advised him to take it easy and not exert himself.  The told him, "Just pretend it's the playoffs."  -- Brad Dickson

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