Hot Stove League

The Major League Baseball off season is one of the most captivating off season's in sports. On the very first day of NFL free agency, virtually every big name signed. Not in baseball. We are ten days into the free agent market and thus far none of the big names are even reportedly close to signing. The intricacies of the MLB regulations are quite confusing. Here is a crash course in everything you could possibly wonder about baseball's off season.

Free Agency
Players are eligible for free agency after they have accumulated six years of Major League service, provided they have not signed a contract.

Arbitration
Players are eligible for salary arbitration after three years of Major League service. Before three years, organizations can renew a contract of a player for any amount they see fit, provided it is at least the league minimum.

Any player with an expiring contract who is unable to reach a new deal can be offered arbitration by their current organization. If the player accepts, the team and player will exchange salary figures until a deal is reached or taken to a hearing. If the player declines arbitration, the team will receive draft pick compensation from the team who signs the player. Two draft picks are awarded for Type A free agents and one draft pick is awarded for Type B free agents.

Rule 5 Draft
Any player signed at the age of 19 or older has four years to be placed on a Major League 40-Man roster. Any player signed at the age of 18 or younger has five years to be placed on a Major League 40-Man roster. If the player is not on a 40-Man roster at this point, they are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft. The draft order is determined by the previous season's standings, with the team with the worst record selecting first.

If a team selects a player in the Rule 5 Draft, they must keep them on their Major League roster for the entire season or return the player back to the team they selected them from. It costs $50,000 to select a player in the Rule 5 Draft.

Japanese Posting System
Any player under contract in the Nippon Professional Baseball league wishing to play in the MLB must following the Posting process. The Japanese league team will notify the Commissioner who then notifies all 30 MLB teams. Teams then submit sealed bids to the Commissioner. The Commissioner then notifies the NPB of the highest bid, without revealing which team has submitted it. The NPB team has four days to accept or reject the bid. If accepted, the MLB team then has 30 days to negotiate exclusively with the player's representatives. If a contract is reached the posting fee is paid directly to the NPB team. If a contract is not reached, no money is paid to the NPB team.

So there it is. Without a salary cap, baseball organizations have always seemed simple to run, however you can see how complicated it can get. Any questions or further clarifications needed? Comment on this post and I'll be glad to further explain any of the above.

Stop It! Stop It Now! Just Stop It!

I've bitten my tongue long enough. I can no longer sit in silence while this travesty takes place around me. The most over used and wrongly used phrase in sports has been taken to an entirely new level of wrong.

After last night's Monday Night Football game saw the Arizona Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers by stopping Michael Robinson from the 2 yard line as time expired, the ill forsaken phrase was uttered, "Walk-Off Goal Line Stand".

Come on. Really? That's the best you could come up with?

It's the second time in a week where the infamous "Walk-Off" phrase was uttered when it shouldn't have even entered the mind of the play-by-play man. Last week, when Brandon Roy of the Portland Trailblazers hit a 30 footer at the buzzer to sink the Houston Rockets, it was described as a "Walk-off three pointer".

Two years ago, the NHL issued statements to networks covering the NHL (yup, all both of them) to address any goal scored in the sudden-death overtime period as "skate-off goals". This is by far the most asinine thing I have heard since Mike Tyson's farewell to boxing speech.

I won't single out individual broadcasters because it is poor taste and everyone is doing it. This epidemic needs to stop. It's not cool and you're not cool for saying it.

There is one sport and one sport only which can use this phrase and it is baseball. They coined it first and it fits the sport. Baseball would never describe a low-scoring game as a defensive struggle because they have their own terms, like pitcher's duel.

I understand the meaning they are trying to convey, but be a little more creative and let baseball have this phrase. The sport is suffering enough through suspended title clinching games, horrid weather delays and lower ratings than Who's The Boss reruns. ESPN does a tremendous job filling the public's thirst for sports information but their on air personalities are becoming too cute while trying to become celebrities. Report the news and move on.

I'm glad we had this talk. Now don't do it again

PS. An apology to Phillies fans for the Joe Carter photo, but let's be honest, you've gotten a little too smug over the last week. Just bringing you back to reality.

Didn't See That One Coming

Buckey Dent and Aaron Boone move over.

Chase Utley joined an elite club of Major League Baseball players yesterday. What club you ask? The infamous middle name club. Order the new social security card, because Chase Cameron Utley no longer exists. From this point forward, he will forever be known as Chase F. Utley.

During the Philadelphia Phillies 2008 World Series Champion parade and subsequent ceremony at Citizens Bank Park, Utley was given the microphone by Hall of Fame voice of the Phillies Harry Kalas.

Chase matter of factly proclaimed, "World Champions". After pausing a second and looking at his teammates behind him, he shouted, "World F@%king Champions". The stadium erupted in cheers while parents everywhere turned as white as Casper the Ghost on this Halloween Day.

Many have criticized the Phils' second baseman for his remarks. Last time I checked this was America, where the freedom of speech is a right everyone has.

As a role model in the city of Philadelphia, should he have chose his words more carefully? Perhaps. There's no reason to use that type of language with thousands of children present and millions more watching live on television, where censors were caught unprepared for the atomic f-bomb, letting it air on virtually every news channel in Philadelphia. The crazy thing is that Chase Utley was the one who said it. Had those words come from Pat Burrell's mouth no one would have even blinked.

I hate to break it you but anyone who has ever attended a sporting event in Philadelphia has heard a thousand times worse language from every mean and rotten fan guzzling down beer after beer. Utley epitomizes the true Philadelphian. He's a bring your lunch pale to work kinda guy. He's got long hair, facial hair and ain't afraid to get dirty. Just because you speak one way doesn't mean that's who you are. Language has evolved in the 21st century and Utley's remarks weren't all that horrible.

Rugged on the outside, Utley, like so many Philadelphians, has a sincere and genuine inside. He works wonders in the community and has donated more money to various charitable organizations than most of us combined. We all have our faults and no one is perfect, but for the city of Philadelphia, Chase is the perfect representation of this city.