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Baseball's Not So Average Joes

By Matt Snyder 2/04/2010 4:00 PM ET

Joe MauerFrom the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.

While they have a pretty solid franchise in place and several other stars (including former MVP Justin Morneau), Joe Mauer is the Minnesota Twins. He was born in St. Paul, Minn. His senior year, he was selected by USA Today as the National Player of the Year in both baseball and football for Cretin-Derham Hall High School (St. Paul), in addition to being an All-State basketball player. Then, in the 2001 MLB draft, Mauer was picked first overall by his hometown Twins over more ballyhooed prospects Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira.

It didn't take long for Mauer to reach the majors. He hit .308 in 2004 as a 21-year-old rookie. Since then, he's made three All-Star appearances and won two Gold Gloves and three Silver Sluggers all while racking up a .327 career batting average and .408 on-base percentage. He can run, handle the pitching staff and has added power to his repertoire. In 2009, he won his first AL MVP. And he's still only 26.

Simply put, Minnesota's favorite son is well on his way to a Hall of Fame career. What a shame it would be if he played part of it away from the Twin Cities, a possibility with free agency on the horizon. He's only under contract through 2010 and if the Twins can't lock him up long term before he hits the open market, they'll likely be buried in the bidding process by the Yankees or another large-market team.
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Rockies Reportedly Close to Bringing Jason Giambi Back

By Matt Snyder 1/24/2010 5:00 PM ET

Jason GiambiJason Giambi had a rough go in his return to Oakland last season, but seemed to find some rejuvenation once he joined the Colorado Rockies almost exclusively as a pinch-hitter. The Rockies are close to settling on a one-year deal for about $1.75 million, according to multiple outlets. The role for Giambi would be a pinch hitter and a fill-in (reportedly about once a week) at first base for the aging Todd Helton.

Giambi, 39, had 31 plate appearances in 19 games for the Rockies, putting up a .292 batting average with a 1.035 OPS. He also collected one hit in three at-bats in the playoffs. Granted, this is an incredibly small sample, but it's apparently enough to give both Giambi and the Rockies the idea that it's worth another go-round. Considering the size of the role and the contract, there's very little risk involved for what Giambi brings -- a feared left-handed power-hitter who doesn't mind coming off the bench.

Winter Meetings Wrap: NL West

By Jeff Fletcher 12/10/2009 1:15 PM ET

Edwin JacksonINDIANAPOLIS -- Picking a winner among the NL West teams is easy, since only one of them -- the Diamondbacks -- did anything of consequence this week. The rest of the teams sat quietly and left Indianapolis without much change to their rosters. Although the Giants, Rockies and Padres may simply have plans for later in the winter, it has become clear to baseball people that the Dodgers are hamstrung financially because of the looming divorce between owners Frank and Jamie McCourt.
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Odds and Ends From Wednesday in Indy

By Matt Snyder 12/09/2009 10:30 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS -- Wednesday afternoon at the annual Winter Meetings, the eight managers who had not yet given an interview session took the podium to field questions for a half-hour from in-house media. Eighteen others had already been there on the previous two days -- we posted about these sessions for both Monday and Tuesday -- and Joe Girardi, Joe Torre, Ron Gardenhire and Charlie Manuel were not present.

• Even if the Rockies let Jason Marquis walk -- which they probably will, though it's been reported they are open to bringing him back -- they are incredibly wealthy with starting pitching. Manager Jim Tracy discussed a strong five-man rotation of Ubaldo Jimenez, Jeff Francis, Aaron Cook, Jorge de la Rosa and Jason Hammel, but also mentioned the options they have in Esmil Rogers, Jhoulys Chacin, Samuel Deduno and Greg Smith. Smith in particular seemed to excite Tracy, in terms of how he'll come back healthy in 2010. Remember, the 24-year-old left-hander had a 4.16 ERA in 190 1/3 innings for Oakland in 2008. Simply put, there is absolutely no need to spend the money they'll have to in order to retain Marquis.
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Potential Winners, Losers as Arbitration Decisions Made

By Andrew Johnson 12/02/2009 8:00 AM ET

Placido PolancoWhen is a free agent truly free? When he's not John Lackey or Matt Holliday or Jason Bay or a few other elite members of the class, he's still designated a Type-A free agent by Elias and he's not offered arbitration by his 2009 club.

Lower-tier Type As face an agonizing choice when they are offered arbitration: Accept and go into 2010 with a one-year deal, likely at a time in their life when they are looking for long-term security, or decline and watch their stock drop on the open market as clubs shrink away because of the prospect of losing a first-round draft pick as compensation for signing him.

The teams face a similarly difficult decision-making process before offering arbitration to their free agents. If they miscalculate in one direction or another, they could wind up stuck with an expensive, superfluous player or miss out on a valuable draft pick.
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Footprints in the Snow: Rockies

By Matt Snyder 11/21/2009 9:00 AM ET

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

After an awful start to 2009, the Rockies fired Clint Hurdle, promoted Jim Tracy and proceeded to play like the best team in the National League for the rest of the regular season. They lost an exciting playoff series to the eventual NL champion Phillies, but there is no reason to think the Rockies are going away with all their young talent.

In fact, the Rockies are in position to make themselves a candidate to be a dynasty. Seriously. They can move forward with a starting lineup of Todd Helton, Clint Barmes and six proven guys who are 27 or younger. The pitching staff and minor-league talent are equally as impressive. Now it's simply a matter of cultivating their young talent while making sure they don't halt any momentum.
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Rockies Near Extension With Jim Tracy

By Pat Lackey 10/28/2009 8:45 PM ET

Jim TracyThe Rockies and manager Jim Tracy are nearing a three-year extension, the Denver Post is reporting, though an official announcement on an extension will likely wait until after the World Series. Tracy took over for Clint Hurdle after Hurdle was fired on May 27 and led the Rockies to a 74-42 record and the wild-card berth in the National League playoffs.

When Tracy took over, the Rockies were 18-28 and 14 games behind the Dodgers in the NL West. Under Tracy, they challenged L.A. for the division title. That sprint to the playoffs makes this extension more or less a foregone conclusion. What team in their right mind wouldn't extend the interim manager that had his team playing at a 103-win pace over a large chunk of the season?
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The Dugout: Common Ground

By B. Thompson Stroud 10/22/2009 4:15 PM ET

The playoffs are almost over and the stage is set for the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies to face the dreadnought New York Yankees ... or the Los Angeles Angels Angels, pending a dead Christopher Lloyd-style miracle.

The bottom line is this: the World Series is like one block to our left, and we're going to have to start buckling down and making some declarative statements. Before we do that, though, today's Dugout features some pre-ALCS decision arguing and some sad realities.
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Playoff Pulse: Goats, Car-Go and a Dream Final Foursome

By Andrew Johnson 10/13/2009 6:00 AM ET

Huston StreetPlayoff Pulse is our morning rundown of the night that was and the night that will be during the MLB postseason.

Looking Forward ...

Let's keep this section short, since there will be plenty of looking ahead here over the next few days. TBS took a hit in the first round of the postseason, with three sweeps robbing the network of a more dramatic finish to the Division Series.

The League Championship Series ought to make up for it.
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Here's the 'Nitty-Gritty': Phils Onto NLCS

By Chris Tomasson 10/13/2009 1:08 AM ET

Jayson WerthDENVER -- How the Philadelphia Phillies were able to sneak all those cases of Bud Light into Coors Field is another story. But it was quite evident what the beverage of choice was following the team's scintillating playoff-clinching win Monday over the Colorado Rockies.

Sure, champagne was sprayed at the start. But, other than shortstop Jimmy Rollins walking around with a bottle of Domaine Michelle, eventually nearly every Phillies player was content to be chugging a jumbo can of suds.

"It's definitely more of a beer team, no doubt about it,'' said Philadelphia reliever Brad Lidge. "Champagne tastes great for celebrating and when it's in your face. But after that it's beer.''

The Phillies are a gritty team from a hard-working town, so it's only appropriate in beer they trust.
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