1. Well, who does have any money these days? (Although I thought Dustin made an excellent point last night about agents and car salesmen.)
2. Edinson Vólquez has Reds fans and the front office a little worried. For what it's worth, my take on the situation: They were shooting a music video and having a little fun. No one was threatened. The gun may very well have been a prop. The car as well. Maceo spends the whole video talking about what good friends he and "Vol" are, that Vol is the best pitcher and he is the best mambo singer, and that the gun is for those who are "talking s***." (When he holds it up to his mouth, he's making a "shhhh" gesture.) It looked to me like it was just a couple of guys goofing off. The slang is pretty heavy, but overall they just seem to be playing around. Guns are not toys, but I think maybe the whole issue has been blown just the slightest bit out of proportion. You know!?
(Oh, and I learned some fun new dominican slang! Yay!)
3. Manny, Manny, Manny. $25 million for a one-year deal? I hope for his sake there's some realistic possibility of someone offering better than that, but my common sense won't believe it 'til we see it. Seriously, though, why not take the one-year deal and then fish around for another deal next year? Is there some fairy godmother waiting to turn him back into a pumpkin when the clock strikes 2010? Sheesh.
4. Ankiel's arb hearing is set for February 12, and Ludwick's is the 17th. Super-duper. I still haven't decided how I want this to go. Guess it's a good thing they aren't waiting for my input, eh?
5. Finally, Pitchers Hit Eighth spent what must have been waaaay too much time working on his how-the-Cardinals-stack-up-against-the-run-game project, and it is awesome. He breaks down everything from stolen base percentages to how the catchers influence attempts. It is definitely worth a read. If you haven't already, be sure to head over and have a look.
Well, that's about it. We're in the single-digits until pitchers and catchers report! Bring on the exhibition baseball, mang!
