With arbitration hearings underway and Baseball just weeks away from pitchers and catchers reporting, things seems to be going just fine for a league troubled with the media frenzy that followed the release of the Mitchell Report.

Just fine that is, as long as you aren't Mike Lieberthal. Phillies and Dodger catcher of fourteen seasons decided to hang up his spikes saying " "There were a lot of reasons, the money was great as a backup, but I have made [enough] money in baseball. I just didn't want to go through what I have to go through with my body to play 20-25 games a year."
The Dodgers were obviously shaken up with Lieberthal's announcemen; they quickly signed backup catcher Gary Bennett to a one year deal.

The Dodgers also extended spring training invites to two left handed (Tom Martin and Mike Myers) relievers in attempts to solidify their bullpen.

In arbitration news, Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano signed a six year deal believed to be worth 56 million dollars, keeping him in pinstripes through the 2011 season (2012 and 13 are option years for the Yanks).

In what should be this off season's most exciting arbitration hearing, the Phillies have set a February 20th date to discuss Ryan Howard's current contract situation.

Its that time of year again when winter baseball begins to heat up. Many of the MLB's Latino stars head south to sharpen up their diamond skills.
Yankee second baseman, Robinson Cano, was playing in the Dominican League, batting .389 when his parent club put an end to his season.
Other notable MLBPers basking in a Caribbean Winter are Baltimore's Miguel Tejada, Tampa Rays' first baseman Carlos Pena and Red's third sacker Edwin Encarnacion. Along with the Dodgers speedster Rafael Frucal, Encarnacion and Tejada combine to power one of the Dominican league's best lineups.
usually a hesitation to let their stars play. In Cano's case, the Yankees have a lot vested in their young second baseman. Nursing a sore calf, Cano needs to consider resting until spring training. With today's multi-million dollar, guaranteed contracts, there's calf, Cano would be foolish to continue playing.
The Yankees, too, would be up a creek. Since it's late in the offseason, they would pay through the nose for a second rate second baseman, such as a Marcus Giles or Jose Valentin.
MLB 2K8 cover boy Jose Reyes is also playing winter ball in Santo Domingo. Hopefully the Gigantes have figured out a cure for laziness.