-       Gary Mathews, after a career year in a hitters park in Texas, and having achieved notoriety for possibly the best defensive play by an outfielder EVER, signed a $50 million/5 year contract.  With a lifetime .263 average, and a mere 78 homeruns since 1999, his stock clearly went up and the Angels, in need of replacing a fragile Darrin Erstad, rolled the dice.  It remains unclear how this will work out, but other teams including the Giants were in the bidding mix, apparently offering the same money to bring back yet another son of one of their past players.  Will he perform up to his standard of last year (.313, 19 hr, 79rbi)?  That  is doubtful, but he will probably be a good player, just not as great as his stats from last year.

-       Gil Meche, with a career won/loss record of 55-44 signed for $55 million for five years.  Obviously this signing caught everyone by surprise, as this is a pitcher who has not distinguished himself to this degree.  Signed by the KC Royals who are desperate to achieve the status of a bona fide major league club in the eyes of fans and other potential free agents, his signing will probably turn out to be as ludicrous as the signing last year of AJ Burnett to similar money by the Blue Jays. Curiously his lifetime record is better than Burnett’s even though conventional wisdom deem Burnett to be a better pitcher.  Go figure.  The Royals also gave $5 mil to Octavio Dotel, a relief pitcher recovering from major arm surgery who threw all of 10 innings last year.  Clearly they are a very desperate franchise.

-       Ted Lilly, with a 59-58 career record signed for $40 for four years with the Cubs.  This is the pitcher who embarrassed himself, his manager and his team on national television when he refused to give up the ball as he was being replaced in a game last August against the A’s, having given up an 8-0 lead and still clinging to the idea that he had his game together.  A subsequent fist fight in the runway back to the clubhouse with the manager proved to be the real story on Sportscenter that night and his subsequent apology the next day.  Still, he broke the cardinal rule of baseball and it is a wonder that the Cubs, with the fiery Lou Piniella as their new manager, took a chance on signing this guy.  Being left handed counts for something, I am guessing.  Because there is not much else out there to convince someone this guy is worth that kind of money.

-       JD Drew bolted out of his comfortable contract with the Dodgers and was signed by the Red Sox for five years and $70 million.  Once again, Drew has proven himself to not be a team guy, to be a selfish but not unproductive player (100 rbi last season) but he really turned off the Dodgers by opting out of a $10 mil per year contract with three years remaining, and usually when baseball executives who are as respected as Ned Colletti are turned off that much, there are few ready to step and pick up the slack.  With his final contract signing still on hold, due to the results of a physical, I personally would not be surprised to see the Red Sox renege on it and seek help elsewhere, leaving Boras and his over priced client holding an empty bag.  But if they have no better prospects lined up, Drew will probably find himself in Fenway this summer.  Curiously, fan favorite Trot Nixon is still available, and if Drew is deemed to be damaged goods, it will not be a surprise if Nixon is re-signed.

-       Carlos Lee…$100,000,000 for six years?  A one dimensional player like him gets this much money??  I am guessing the Astros were really desperate to bolster their team, hoping that both Pettite and Clemens would find it attractive to stay.  Guess again guys…this signing may turn out to be the worst one in a winter of unprecedented madness.   He did have a good year last year, and his career has been on the upswing the past few years, but he is going to be 31 in June and his burgeoning weight issues and one dimensional status does not bode well for the long term.

-       Alfonso Soriano, on the other hand is a lean physically fit specimen.  Wiry, with quick wrists and no injury history, his signing, while pooh poohed by most, may turn out ok for the Cubs.  The money he gets per year was not the issue in the minds of many but rather the length of the contract (8 years).   He will find the friendly confines of Wrigley to be VERY friendly this year and for years to come.  Will his signing ensure a pennant in Chicago?  Don’t hold your breath…they still need pitching as Carlos Zambrano cannot pitch every day and Ted Lilly is in the rotation along with 16 game loser Jason Marquis ($21 mil, 3 years).

-       The signing of Barry Zito ($126 mil/7 years) by the Giants was surprise, a much needed move to bolster their own self esteem as well as provide hope to their fan base which saw the departure of Jason Schmidt, staff ace for the past four years, and the absence from the playoff picture for the past three years.  Still their closer role is the single biggest problem that still looms with Armando Benitez in that spot, unwelcome by the fans, his former manager (Felipe Alou) and many of his teammates from last season.  Zito will perform, his comfort zone has been maintained by merely moving across the bay from Oakland and his curve ball will baffle many hitters in the NL.

-       The signing of Barry Bonds was to be expected.  After all, where else could he play?  Who would have him?  The answer is nowhere, and no one, in spite of what he thinks or his agent was saying.  Even at this late date, his contract is not finalized as they work out details of whether he would still collect his salary if he is suspended from baseball.  Obviously the answer should be no, and if Barry does not agree, go find somewhere else to play.  It won’t happen and Barry will quietly acquiesce to the contractual details that the Giants are rightfully insisting upon.  Bond was playing much better in the second half of 2006, more mobile in the field and hitting with more confidence and power.  If he was only a sane person, he would be an asset to any major league team but only the Giants will put up with his madness and ego mania.

-       Daisuke Matsuzaka, at $52 mil for six years, will prove to be a good pick up for the Sox.  Forget the $51 mil his team had to pay merely to talk to him.  He proved himself last year in the World Baseball Classic (the MVP of the series) against world class competition including major league hitters.  He is the real deal and Theo Eptstein just had to get him, reportedly outbidding the Yankees by nearly $10 mil in the silent auction leading up to his arrival in the States.

Is it a surprise that McGwire did not get voted in?  Absolutely not.  Does he deserve to get on the basis of his numbers?  In my mind that is questionable as well, home run records or not.  His lifetime batting average of .263 does not impress me at all, and is more suited for a slick fielding shortstop, ie. Luis Aparicio (.262), rather than a run producing, slugging first baseman.   More than one third of McGwire’s total hits (1626) were home runs (583).  While he came into the league as a good fielding first baseman (Gold Glove award, 1990), he never achieved the consistency

over a career in the field, as he was hampered by injuries (possibly steroid related ailments) and lost his mobility in the field.  Examining the stats over his career, he becomes a one dimensional player in retrospect, the type of player who will probably never be elected to the Hall of Fame, regardless of public perception, recalcitrance before the Senate sub-committee or what is now a very tainted home run record.  Actually I welcome McGwire’s silence, better he just continue with his disappearing act and eventually people will forget who he is now.