A Little Hot Stove Spittle

MUSIC +++ FILM +++ SPORT +++ PHOTO +++ LINK +++ POORLY REASONED POLITICAL OPINION AND STUPID JOKE

SPRT
I guess I was wrong about Matt Morris. While teams line up to throw money at A.J. Burnett (49-50 career), Morris (101-62) is quietly fielding a modest three-year offer from a single National League team (a few AL teams are said to also be interested.) We all know Burnett's stuff is near tops in the game, not counting Seattle Superfreak Felix Hernandez. But I don't see Burnett going 52-12 on his new team to catch up to Morris.

In short: Matt Morris's beard -- which in football would only cost him fifteen yards, for unsportsmanlike conduct -- is now costing him millions of dollars.

Other MLB bargains to watch for:

Okay, at $24 million over the next two years, there's no way Javy Vazquez is a bargain... but he's officially on the block, just like he wanted. After a tale-of-two-halves 2004 with the Yankees, Vazquez was puzzlingly inconsistent again last year, mixing in a "gem" or two with a "bombed," and finishing 11-15, 4.42. But his peripheral numbers (a hit an inning and a 4-to-1 strikeout to walk ratio) remain strong, except for his homers (35) and won-lost record, both of which can largely be explained by looking at where he was pitching. Two hundred-plus innings six years running -- you can't imagine how highly teams value a number like that -- for a guy with command and strikeout ability.

Elsewhere on the rumor mill:

Kevin Mench for Corey Patterson: a good deal for both teams.

Milton Bradley to be non-tendered: another reason the Dodgers have no idea. It was a bad idea to bring him in, given the nutbags they already had -- and it's a worse one to let him go. Someone with a good clubhouse who can weather his tantrums -- say, the Braves -- is going to get a very good all-around player for cheap.

The Rockies say they want José Mesa to close for them: Oh, good Lord.

MR

QWTOFDY
"Why is it that nobody understands me, but everybody likes me?"
-Albert Einstein