Latest Mlb Inside Scoop Stories
Posted: Nov 18th 2009 11:58 PM ET by Frankie Piliere (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Braves, Red Sox, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop, Scout's Eye View

On the free-agent market, all the focus has been on
John Lackey. On the trade market, the talk has been about
Roy Halladay. The consolation prize for teams seeking a top-flight arm may come out of Atlanta.
The
Braves have two of their top starters on the block,
Derek Lowe and
Javier Vazquez, and there's little doubt that at least one of those two pitchers will be moved, according to multiple major league sources. With strong resumes for both, there should be teams lined up for their services.
One source said that the Braves intend to move one of the two pitchers, and who goes will depend on the offers they receive.
Posted: Nov 12th 2009 8:00 AM ET by Jeff Fletcher (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Blue Jays, Dodgers, Nationals, MLB Biz, MLB Inside Scoop

CHICAGO -- On a day this week when the stock market had one of the encouraging spikes investors have enjoyed more frequently over the past few months,
Kenny Williams let out a sarcastic cheer for what it meant to baseball.
"Let's go, let's party," he said. "We've got cash again."
Then, the
White Sox general manager quickly returned to reality, at least the version of reality that he and his colleagues have been describing this week at the GM Meetings.
"I don't think it works that way," he said. "We might need to see six months of recovery before we buy into that. We need an advertiser or a sponsor or two to come back to us."
Posted: Nov 10th 2009 9:48 PM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Angels, Blue Jays, Giants, Nationals, Red Sox, Reds, Tigers, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop
Editor's Note: FanHouse's Jeff Fletcher contributed to this report CHICAGO -- The
Reds' need to slash payroll, according to a major league source, could lead them to explore trading second baseman
Brandon Phillips as well as right-handers
Bronson Arroyo and
Aaron Harang.
Cincinnati's 2009 payroll was about $71 million. General manager Walt Jocketty said during a break Tuesday at the GM Meetings that he "might" have to move some high-salaried players to meet the 2010 goal.
"We're going to probably have less to spend this year than we have in the past," Jocketty told FanHouse. "It just depends on how [ticket] sales go this offseason."
Posted: Nov 10th 2009 9:02 PM ET by Jeff Fletcher (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Cardinals, Red Sox, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop

CHICAGO --
Matt Holliday's performance in Oakland last year might have given some American League general managers a reason to be reluctant before ponying up the big bucks for him, but
Scott Boras is ready with the answers.
Of course, Holliday's agent has to take that approach, because the two biggest suitors on the market -- the
Yankees and
Red Sox -- play in the American League.
Boras said the slow start had less to do with Oakland or the American League than it did with Holliday's own swing.
Posted: Nov 9th 2009 4:36 PM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Yankees, MLB Transactions, MLB Inside Scoop

CHICAGO -- The confetti from their championship parade not fully cleaned up, the
Yankees are not yet prepared to address their offseason moves.
"I don't see anything happening here in Chicago," general manager
Brian Cashman said Monday after checking in to the Hilton Chicago O'Hare Airport for baseball's GM Meetings. "I have the feeling we'll be a little bit more cautious than anxious."
And Cashman made it clear that just because
Hideki Matsui was MVP of the World Series does not make it more important for the Yankees to keep him. In fact, the Yankees probably prefer not to have a player who can only DH, as seems to be the case with Matsui because of his knee problems.
Posted: Oct 4th 2009 8:00 AM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Angels, Cardinals, Nationals, Phillies, Reds, Rockies, Royals, Tigers, Twins, MLB Awards, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Ron Gardenhire was asked how teams try to pitch
Joe Mauer.
"I can't give you all that information," Gardenhire, the
Twins manager, said of his No. 3 hitter. "You'll write it and then other people might figure it out."
So you know, Ron, how to get him out?
"Hell, no, I don't! That's why I don't want to say anything.
Posted: Sep 27th 2009 10:00 AM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Angels, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Nationals, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
MINNEAPOLIS --
Johan Santana had never seen the Metrodome before the
Twins took him from Single-A in the Rule 5 draft.
"When I first got there," Santana told
FanHouse, "my first impression was, 'How can you play baseball in a place like this?'
"I came from Single-A and from Venezuela, and we don't have any of that stuff. ... I couldn't figure it out. How could this thing [the roof] be up in the air? And then it feels like you're in a bubble. And then you play baseball."
Posted: Sep 13th 2009 10:00 AM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Angels, Athletics, Cardinals, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Orioles, Rays, Royals, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, MLB Awards, MLB Biz, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Cody Ross blames his mom.
"My dad was a really good athlete (Kenny Ross, who played safety at New Mexico in the late 1960s)," said Ross, the
Marlins' right fielder. "My dad was all right[-handed]. My mom's a lefty, so maybe I got that gene from her."
Ross and St. Louis'
Ryan Ludwick are the only two active position players who throw left and bat right. Just 14 such players in
baseball history have gotten as many as 1,000 at-bats -- and that list now includes a Hall of Famer, Rickey Henderson.
"He kind of put us on the map," Ross said.
Posted: Sep 6th 2009 10:00 AM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Angels, Athletics, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Giants, Padres, Rangers, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers, Twins, Yankees, MLB Inside Scoop, Baseball Brunch
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as
baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks,
Brad Penny and
John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said
Cubs manager
Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
At least he admits it.
Posted: Aug 28th 2009 9:05 PM ET by Ed Price (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Royals, FanHouse Exclusive, MLB Inside Scoop

A contract extension for Kansas City GM
Dayton Moore is "done," according to a major-league source.
Moore's original contract ran through 2010, and the source did not know how many years the extension would cover.
This will create much anguish for those who focus on Moore's moves the past year and their horrendous performance the past 3 1/2 months (31-67 after an 18-11 start).