According to ESPN, the Phillies announced today that All-Star second baseman Chase Utley will undergo surgery to repair his hip, and should be sidelined until June of 09.

As posted on ESPN.com:

According to the Phillies, Utley would be able to resume baseball activities in three to four months -- meaning sometime during spring training, but possibly not until the week before opening day.

However, full recovery time is projected at between four and six months. That means the best-case scenario is a return in early April, but the worst-case scenario is late May or early June, depending on how long a rehab option the club feels he would need.

The Red Sox have reportedly sent centerfielder Coco Crisp to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for right handed reliever Ramon Ramirez.

Crsip's 2008 stats: .283 BA, 7 HR, 41 RBIs, 20 SB

Ramirez 2008 stats: 71 GP, 2.64 ERA, 71 1/3 innings, 3-2, 1 SV

According to multiple sources (MLB.com/ESPN.com) the Tigers and the Red Sox have been talking trade lately.

The Tigers are reportedly looking to deal for a new short stop, with their release of Edgar Renteria creating a void in their infield. The Red Sox are interested in dealing Julio Lugo, as he became expendable after missing nearly half the season due to a severely torn left quad.

The Red Sox are looking at either accepting Dontrelle Willis or Nate Robertson from the Tigers, two lefties who each had miserable seasons last year. Willis (0-2) posted a 9.38 era in eight games with the Tigers while Robertson (7-11) had an era of 6.35 in 32 games.

Today's the first day of the free agent frenzy that will become the 2009 Offseason, but teams around the league were already making big moves to acquire pieces to ensure a 2009 playoff run.

The Chicago Cubs picked up closer Kevin Gregg from the Marlins, all but ensuring that Kerry Wood will not return next season.

The Yankees traded away perennial swinger and misser Wilson Betemit to the White Sox in exchange for Nick Swisher. The deal is supposed to be a fall back plan in case the Yankees can't sign Teixeira, but it's already made one fan lose his mind (in a good way).

Randy Johnson and the Diamondbacks front office failed to come to terms on a new contract, forcing the Big Unit to file for free agency. Randy is just five wins shy of 300 for his career.

Congratulations to Tampa Bay's Joe Madden and Chicago's Lou Pinella, both were named Managers of the Year in their respective leagues.

Joe Madden's selection was all but guaranteed after leading the 2007 last place Rays to their first ever AL East and League crowns, as well as the franchises' first ever World Series appearance. Madden received all but one of the first place votes, with Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire receiving the solo vote.

Lou Pinella beat out Phillies manager Charlie Manuel to receive his third ever Manager of the Year Award. Pinella led the Cubs to another playoff appearance, but Manuel's Phillies went on to win the World Series.

2K Sports announced yesterday that NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum will appear on the cover of next year's version of the popular video game series, MLB 2K9.

In a press release obtained from MLB 2K9, project manager Mike Rhinehart said;

"We're pushing hard with our ability to capture the unique motions players have, whether it's a walkup or a delivery on the mound," Rhinehart said. "We mimic them to a point of being spot-on, and a good example is (Detroit left-hander) Dontrelle Willis. He has that unique delivery, and when he came down to our studios and saw how we had captured it, he flipped out."

Congratulations to Tim Lincecum, San Fransisco Giants starting pitcher, on winning the 2009 NL Cy Young Award.

Lincecum posted a 18-5 record with a 2.85 era. The hard throwing righty (who is only 5'11'') also struck out 265 batters this season.

Lincecum beat out Brendon Webb (finished second) and lefty CC Sabathia, who was acquired at the trade deadline to push the Brewers into the playoffs.

Yesterday was an unusually busy day in baseball, with some big names being shipped out of town, and a face of a franchise being let go.

Oakland and Colorado agreed in principle to trade Matt Holliday (.321, 25HR, 88RBI) for A's starter Greg Smith (7-16, 4.16 era), closer Huston Street, and outfielder Carlos Gonzalez.

Holliday moving to Oakland is a Fantasy Baseball owner's worst nightmare; shifting from hitter friendly Coors Field to a pitcher's dream in Oakland. ESPN.com projected Holliday's stats, based on the change in venue:

Category In Colorado In Oakland
Avg. .321 .311
HR 25 24
RBI 88 75
OPS .947 .921

The Washington Nationals acquired catcher Josh Willingham and left handed starter Scott Olsen from Florida in exchange for Emilio Bonifacio and two minor leaguers.

The traded begs to ask the question "How much did Florida cut off in payroll with this move?"

Acquiring Bonifacio might indicate that Dan Ulga just became available to teams interested in trading for him.

Finally, San Diego withdrew their contract offer to longtime franchise face Trevor Hoffman, all but severering ties with their old closer. They were believed to had offered Hoffman $4 million (Hoffman earned $7 million last season).

Now with Hoffman on the market, the closer free agent pool gets a little deeper this offseason. The All-Time leader in saves will join Fransisco Rodriquez and Brian Fuentes in the search for a new team.

According to ESPN.com and several news services, the Colorado Rockies and Oakland Athletics appear to have a deal in place that will send Matt Holliday to the A's.

ESPN.com reports that:

Final details are being finalized, though the teams have agreed to terms, a baseball source told Olney. The source said the deal may not be finalized for up to 48 hours.

The deal is also pending completion of physical exams.

Although the package coming back to Colorado has yet to be determined, it's believed that pitcher Greg Smith was one of the players under discussion.

David Forst, Oakland's assistant general manager, declined to comment on the trade.

Congratulations to Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria and Chicago Cubs catcher Geovany Soto; both won their respective League's Rookie of the Year Award today.

Soto and Longoria each helped propel their teams to playoff appearances, with Longoria's Rays advancing all the way to the World Series before they were eliminated by the Phillies.

Soto batted .285 with 23 home runs and 86 rbis while playing in 141 games for the Cubs.

Longoria batted .272 with 27 home runs and 85 rbis while playing in only 122 games for the Rays. Longoria started the season in the minors, and spent a few weeks on the DL late in the season.

All's quiet on the western front, a front that's holding the General Managers meetings. It was a relatively subdued meeting, with the normal free agent filings going as expected.

The big news out of the meeting was the talk of Peavy leaving San Diego. Outside of the Manny Sweepstakes, CC's eventual bidding war, and AJ Burnett opting out of his contract, very little noise was made.

Andy Pettitte filed for free agency, as expected.

Cardinal fans shouldn't get their hopes up, as a deal to acquire Matt Holiday is all but dead.

The Padres made an odd move, for a team that's touting its fire sale and cost cutting moves, picking up Brian Giles $9 million option for next season.

The Rangers picked up Hank Blalock's option, either hoping to trade him or have him play a full season without getting injured.

And, in closing, our big shocker; according to Scott Boras, the Dodger's offer to Manny fell a bit short.

Carlos Pena leads this year's class of Gold Glove winners, predicting that his selection (the first in Rays franchise history) will be the first of many to come for the organization.

Ichiro and Torri Hunter added their eighth consecutive gold glove, while Michael Young became the first player to ever win a Gold Glove award while playing on the worst defensive team in the league.

Baseball officials announced the winner of the 2008 Gold Glove Awards, which are handed out to the best defensive players around the league.

Notable names on the list include Greg Maddux, who captured his 18th career Gold Glove. There were five first time award winners making the list this season, as the World Champion Phillies had two of their own bring home hardware.

Now that the election is over with, we can start focusing on the future; namely the future of a handful of ball players around baseball.

Jake Peavy, after getting countless Yankee fans way too excited and hundreds more making room for another World Series Championship Trophy, has decided that there are three teams that he'd be willing to accept a trade to. And they're all in the National League.

So, barring an organizational shift to the NL, Peavy will almost not be wearing pinstripes next season. He's previously mentioned the Cardinals, Cubs, Braves, Astros, and Dodgers as team's he'd be willing to get shipped to.

Continuing with Yankee news, GM Brian Cashman bought out both Jason Giambi and Carl Pavano, saving the team almost $28 million. He's also to have said that he'd consider bringing either back next season, but at reduced price tag.

Blue Jays' starter AJ Burnett will opt out of the two remaining years left on his contract, forefiting the remaining $24 million he had coming to him. Burnett's arrival on the free agent scene will make this offseason arms race all the more interesting.

Chris Carpenter became the second Cardinal to undergo surgery to transpose a nerve in his throwing elbow. Carpenter had the surgery on Tuesday, a month after Albert Pujols had the same procedure done.

If what MLB.com writer Mike Scarr indicates is true, the Padres are apparently looking to overhaul their franchise in the offseason.

Padres GM Kevin Towers has acknowledged that moving shortstop Khalil Greene is definitely an offseason possibility; with the Tigers, Orioles, and Reds as possible landing spots for the right hand hitting shortstop.

Towers has said in previous interviews that if starter Jake Peavy is traded to the Braves, the Padres would be asking for shortstop Yunel Escobar as one of the players in return. Adding Escobar would likely indicate that Greene has spent his last season with the Padres.

According to Adam McCalvy, writer at MLB.com. the Brewers have make their first offer to CC Sabathia, one that's believed to be in the $100 million range.

GM Doug Melvin, however, refused to shed any further light on the contract talks. The Brewers have until November 13th to exclusively negotiate with the left hander.

No news is no news in the case of free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez, who has yet to receive an offer from the LA Dodgers. Early reports out of the General Manager meetings had indicated that Dodger GM Ned Colletti offered the dread sporting left fielder a 2 year, $60 million deal.

Padres GM Kevin Towers acknowledged that Jake Peavy has added two more teams to the list of places he's willing to waive his no-trade clause; Anaheim (Angels) and New York (Yankees). Towers also reminded everyone that Peavy's preference is to stay in the NL and that he won't come cheap.

Fransisco Rodriquez filed for free agency on Monday, as the free agent pool increased to 149 players. Other big names to file for free agency include Rafael Frucal, Edgar Renteria, Kyle Farnseworth, and Paul Byrd.

In what may be considered around the league as a major head scratching roster transaction, the Brew Crew picked up outfielder Mike Cameron's $10 million team option, bringing him back for the 2009 campaign.

According to ESPN.com News Services, even Cameron was a bit surprised;

"I didn't think my option would get picked up," Cameron told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "This was a surprise, to be honest with you."

Cameron, after being suspended for the first 25 games last season, went on to hit 25 home runs, drive in 70 runs, and bat a meager .243.

Despite GM Doug Melvin's insistence that Cameron is the sixth best centerfielder in the majors (according to Sabermetrics), this was not a move the Brewers needed to make. Melvin even admits that the Brewers are right handed heavy, and with the possibility of Coco Crisp being put on the trading block, the Brewers may have lost out on a chance to get a speedy left handed bat at the top of their order.

108 Red Stitches Rating:

Phillies second baseman Chase Utley let lose on the big stage, dropping the F-Bomb on Phillies fans everywhere.



World Effing Champions from meech.one on Vimeo.

The Mets looked to solidify at least one of their roster spots for the upcoming '09 season, picking up Carlos Delgado's $12 million option.

Delgado was primed to be let go by the Mets in the offseason, following a horrific start to the season. His late season offensive outburst leading to a .271 BA, 38 HR and 115 RBIs season, made the Mets decision to keep him much easier.

In other Mets news, Pedro Martinez, outfielder Moises Alou, second baseman Ramon Martinez and pitchers Tony Armas Jr., Luis Ayala and Ricardo Rincon all filed for free agency.

108 Red Stitches Rating:

Only a few days after the Phillies clinched the Commissioner's Trophy, baseball players around the league began filling for free agency, looking to strike offseason gold.

Couldn't they have at least waited until the bodies were cold?

The Red Sox, as expected, picked up their team option on knuckle-baller Tim Wakefield, a move which cost them $4 million. Wakefield finished the season with a 10-11 record and posted a 4.13 era.

Two other Boston pitchers, Curt Shilling and Bartolo Colon, filed for free agency. Shilling has mentioned that if he doesn't retire, he'd be interested in returning to pitch half a season next year. (He is recovering from shoulder surgery).

Other big names that filed around the league include John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, Bobby Abreu, Hank Blalock, Eric Gagne, Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Maddux, Mark Prior, Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeirra.

Big names could move as early as next week, as the first round of general managers meetings take place next week.