A bit of sanity does reign in major league baseball, as evidenced by the return of Bob Wickman and Trevor Hoffman to their respective teams.  San Diego, having retained Brian Giles as well, is showing itself to be a good place to play if the ‘fit’ is right, inspiring a bit loyalty in players who do not feel compelled to seek out the highest paycheck for their services in order to remain in what must be a good city in which to play and, more importantly, live.

The signing of Rafael Furcal, on the other hand is a bit mystifying.  While no one doubts his abilities, his apparent

stature as the second highest paid shortstop in the game is a bit incongruous for a speedy, average hitting, defensively gifted player.  Clearly he chased the dollars, and had no loyalty to a manager with whom he had established a good relationship and the organization, which had nurtured him from a teen phenom to a mature player.  Given the track record established by the Dodgers in recent years, it is a real gamble but he is a good player and let us see what else Ned Colletti can pull off in his first year as GM, acknowledging there are many more holes to fill on this roster he inherited from Paul DePodesta.  

AJ Burnett is worth five years at $55 million??  It is hard to believe a pitcher with a losing record over his career can command such a high salary.  Pundits believe the Blue Jays have made a grievous error in judgment, and I cannot disagree with them, given the fact Matt Morris is/was on the market (offered arbitration by the Cardinals at the last minute) and other proven starters (not all of whom come without some attached problems, ie. David Wells) are around.   Aside from a losing record, Burnett is perceived to have attitude problems, none of which hampered his ability to cash in big time this winter.  So what do I know?  I know only one thing, that I would have nothing to do with AJ Burnett if I was a general manager in the big leagues.   Additionally, there is a baseball website that rates players, offering comparisons and identifying similar players at the same time of their careers.  Needless to say, not one pitcher on that are truly memorable names with only Don Larsen

(noteworthy for his World Series perfect game, but nothing else) to be considered in a favorable light.  His signing is a joke of monumental proportions.

And WHAT are the Padres thinking about, trading away arguably their best player, Mark Loretta, for back up catcher with defensive skills and a notable lack of punch at the plate, Doug Mirabelli.  There has to be something more to this trade than meets my eyes, but I am mystified nevertheless.  Mirabelli is a nice player to have on a team but it is not a trade of equal value.  Certainly not in terms of money as Loretta makes $3 million and Mirabelli makes half that amount.  Perhaps they felt they had to unload salary to compensate for keeping Giles?  Who knows?  But Loretta has been considered the sparkplug of the Padres offense and their offense languished when he was on the DL last year.  In any case, with the NL West being arguably the worst division in baseball, seemingly every team in that division is trying their best NOT to win it.

So the Hot Stove League has suddenly become more interesting… put 32 general managers together in one hotel (uh. Excuse me.. 31 as Boston has yet to hire one) and anything is possible, akin to their collective psyches combining to form one Dr. Frankenstein who is bent on creating something out of nothing in their respective corners of the Wyndham Hotel in Dallas.  Only time will tell the story about the sagacity of their moves, but it is an interesting time for observers of the game.