Jon Heyman grades the offseasons of each of the Major League teams. How does our favorite division, the NLC, do? Not good.

The Cubs are the top of the division’s class at number 9 on Heyman’s list, due largely to the signing of Japanese import Kosuke Fukodome. I don’t know. I’ll believe that’s a good signing once I see him play.

The rest of the division was in the bottom third. The Brewers and Reds were numbers 20 and 21 respectively, with the Cardinals close behind at number 24.

The big news, I think is that the Pirates weren’t last in something. No, they were ranked 28th. The last place finish goes to the Houston Astros.

30. Astros. How does anyone get Tejada just hours before Mitchell takes the podium? Good grief. F

Good grief, indeed.

This week on the podcast, the Crack Technical Staff and I were feeling very mellow. Our smart alecry sounds a little weird in our Perry Como voices.

This week we talk to Reds history buff Jim Farmer about how some of the most widely held ideas about Reds history are false.

But before that, we discuss the little tidbits of news going on around the NLC.

Minor League Contract with Invite to Spring Training:

• Cardinals – OF Juan Gonzalez
• Pirates – Doug Mientkiewicz
• Astros – C Joshua Johnson
• Reds – Craig Wilson AND Kent Mercker

Also, the Brewers Picked Up Manager Ned Yost’s 2009 Option. w00t!

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Yes, you read that right: MLCWSTI. I told you last Sunday that there would be a quiz on this. No, it’s not a date in Roman numerals, or the bottom line on the chart you have to read when you renew your drivers’ license. It’s an acronym I invented specifically for RHM, and it stands for Minor League Contract With Spring Training Invitation. This is what major league teams do with a veteran player they want to sign on the cheap and have him join them in Arizona or Florida so the staff can see if he’s still got enough left in the tank to at least help the AAA team, or for a kid from the minors who they want to have hang around, act like a prospect, and chase down the fly balls that are hit by the real prospects.

Since it’s time for another look back at the NLC player transactions for the past week, I thought I’d just remind you what a MLCWSTI is before getting started. And now, let’s go to the tape…

The Cardinals kicked things off on Monday (2/04/08) by signing RHP Cliff Politte (a former Cardinal, born in old Saint Lou and now back home again after spending several years bouncing around with three other clubs), C Gabe Johnson, C Matt Pagnozzi (nephew of longtime Cardinal Tom Pagnozzi) and OF Juan Gonzalez to MLCWSTIs. Minor leaguers LHP Jaime Garcia, RHP Clayton Mortensen, RHP Adam Ottavino, RHP Chris Perez, RHP P.J. Walters, C Bryan Anderson (not the same Bryan Anderson the Reds had in the minors a few years back), C David Carpenter, C Nick Derba, C Brandon Yarbrough, 3B David Freese, OF Amaury Marti, OF Colby Rasmus and OF Nick Stavinoha were also invited to spring training.

For those of you who are keeping score at home, Leatherpants Vampire signed two more former Reds on Tuesday. Rob Bell was among several players signed to MLCWSTIs by the Nationals, as was former Reds farmhand Charlie Manning. Also on Tuesday:

• The Pirates inked IF Freddy Sanchez to a two-year contract with a club option for the 2010 season that could be worth about $19 million over those three years.
• The Brewers signed RHP Dave Bush to a one-year, $2.55 million contract, avoiding arbitration.
• The Reds signed veteran free agent RHP Mike Lincoln (a former Pirate and Cardinal) to a MLCWSTI.

On Wednesday, the Pirates first outrighted LHP Sean Burnett to Triple-A Indianapolis, and then signed him to a MLCWSTI.

On Thursday, the Astros signed C Joshua Johnson to a MLCWSTI.

On Friday, the Reds signed free agent LHP Kent Mercker to a MLCWSTI, and the Brewers (as previously reported here by my RHM colleague, Zeldink) in all likelihood extended their continuing also-ran status in the division for another year by exercising a club option on manager Ned Yost for the 2009 season.

Finally, the Reds provided the NLC transaction action for the weekend – and incidentally, insured that we could save the best for last this time around – with the signing of OF Craig Wilson (a former Pirate) to a MLCWSTI on Saturday. While some have interpreted this move as an indication that Joey Votto is soon to be gone in a rumored trade involving pitcher Joe Blanton of the Oakland A’s, I’m inclined to agree with what my RHM colleague BubbaFan opined here when first reporting the deal, namely, insurance. In case Votto struggles or gets hurt, Wilson becomes this year’s Jeff Conine, a righthanded hitter to provide power off the bench and platoon with Scott Hatteberg at first base. The only thing concerning this move about which I disagree with BF is that I was expecting this deal – last year!!!

🙄

There’s not a lot to say on the baseball front this week, but we’re very pleased to see the Patriots lose and the end of the football season.

We did, however, get together 15 minutes together about:

• Pirates signed Freddy Sanchez to 2 year deal with option for 3rd. He’s getting $4.3 M in 2008.
• Reds signed Matt Belisle to $1.25 M. And how much are they offering Phillips again?
• Astros have 2 arbitration eligible players, INF Mark Loretta and Closer Jose Valverde.
• Nobody in the central landed Johan Santana

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Yes, it’s Super Bowl Sunday, and I’m writing about baseball. But I suppose I should take a moment to acknowledge the NFL’s premier weekend and the matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants. I’ll qualify my remarks by stating for the record that the opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent those of Red Hot Mama (the person or the blog).

My opinion of this year’s Super Bowl is pretty much summed up by the included graphic, which should appear at left if I’ve done my editing properly.

I was not born in time to catch Russ Hodges’ legendary 1951 “The Giants Win The Pennant!” call, but if you happen to talk with Bill Belicheat today, you can tell him I have the sound clip cued up on my other computer and hope to be able to make good use of it some time around 9:30 EST tonight.

Now, back to baseball. That’s what you came here for, right? Amanda (coincidentally, the song with that name, recorded eons ago by the group Boston, is playing on the radio here as I type this) has already reported two of the major items for this week’s recap of player transactions in the National League Central, namely that Ray Olmedo (better known as Little Ray Ray to RHM regulars) has landed back in the NLC, and that the Reds have signed two players, one a hometown boy and the other a former Reds prospect, to minor league deals with invitations to spring training.

Olmedo, a former Red and a longtime fan favorite here on RHM, was claimed off waivers by the Pirates on Friday after being DFA’ed by the Toronto Blue Jays, who had hoped to outright Little Ray Ray to the Class AAA Syracuse Chiefs and invite him to Spring Training.

Meanwhile, the Reds signed LHP Scott Sauerbeck and C Paul Bako to minor league deals with the obligatory invitations to spring training, returning both players to the NL Central.

Sauerbeck was born in Cincinnati, and attended Northwest High School, where he played soccer, basketball and, of course, baseball. He previously pitched in the NLC as a member of the Pirates. He’ll go down to Sarasota and compete for a slot in a suddenly crowded Reds bullpen that already includes southpaws Mike Stanton, Bill Bray, and Jon Coutlangus (as well as Jeremy Affeldt if he doesn’t start).

Bako was originally signed by the Reds in 1993 after he was their fifth round pick in the amateur draft, and has since played for the Astros, Brewers, and Cubs as well as several other major league clubs. Bowden must be livid, he not only missed a shot at landing another former Red, but the player in question has now actually become a current Red! He probably becomes this year’s Chad Moeller. But since he has 1400 or so more major league at-bats than Ryan Hanigan, the guy who figured to get the call from Louisville if David Ross or Javy Valentin were to get hurt, Bako’s signing adds some potentially valuable depth at the position.

Other NLC transactions for the past week:

• On Tuesday, the Astros signed RHP Brian Moehler (who is also a former Red) and IF/OF David Newhan to minor league contracts with the usual invitations to spring training.
• On Thursday, the Reds avoided arbitration with RHP Matt Belisle by signing him to a one-year, $1.25 million contract. The deal, which leaves Brandon Phillips as the only remaining unsigned, arbitration-eligible Red, reportedly includes a chance for Belisle to make up to $100,000 in bonuses for innings pitched. Matt, who worked 177-2/3 innings last year, would earn $25,000 bonuses for reaching 175, 185, 200 and 210 innings.
• Also on Thursday, former Astros IF Morgan Ensberg was signed to a minor league contract with invitation to spring training by the Yankees. Which is not really an NLC transaction, but I include it here for the enjoyment of readers following the careers of those who have escaped Houston.

The previously reported deals involving Olmedo, Sauerbeck, and Bako went down on Friday, and as far as I know, nothing has been reported in the NLC so far this weekend, although former Reds pitcher Esteban Yan landed in Baltimore with a MLCWSTI (Minor League Contract With Spring Training Invitation…remember that acronym because you’ll probably see it again), and as Zeldink already reported, Sean Casey demonstrated his affection for the color Red this week by signing on with Boston for 2008.

And now I must go. My work here is finished, and I want to leave plenty of time for sticking pins in a certain Tom Brady voodoo doll (unless I can find my stash of railroad spikes instead).