You have got to admit that the MLB free agent market has been unusually quiet this off-season. Now, you might take the position that it’s the same as last year where hitting stud JD Martinez wasn’t signed by the Red Sox until February. Or you can agree with the GM who said that until the Yankees trade Sonny Gray, many teams are in a holding pattern. MLB Club payrolls are down from last year, Manny Machado was offered (allegedly) $175 million for 7 years by the White Sox (only $25 million a year) and Bryce Harper is still out there. It makes you wonder…
Perhaps a number of owners are looking into building skyscrapers in Moscow and have been distracted… Anyway, how about these developments?
- The Yankees completed the rebuilding of their bullpen by signing Adam Ottavino for what seems like a very reasonable contract. They have now shortened the game to 4 innings which lines up well with some of their starters. SU likes the move and is content to move forward to next season with this roster. It also feels like they have now spent enough to avoid trading Andujar or signing Machado. However, the articles are still out there regarding how Machado to NY is a no-brainer.
- Clint Frazier tweeted that he is healthy and has been cleared to play in February when camps open. And he is not just saying that he is ready to go. He is saying that he is ready to compete for a starting spot. SU likes the confidence and a touch of arrogance. Btw, there is no truth to the rumor that Jacoby Ellsbury tried to hit him in the head with a bowling ball to recreate those concussion-like symptoms. Let the competition begin…
- Serena Williams prepared for the Australian Open practicing with some of the top men’s players. It’s a great idea and her game shows it so far. You would think more of the women players would look to do that although you can only get the time in during those tournaments where the men and women are both playing, e.g., Grand Slams, Miami, Indian Wells.
- Looks like Urban Meyer will be a FOX college football analyst this coming season. SU is on the record that he will be in the NFL a year from now as someone’s head coach.
- Long-time subscriber, E. Alper, shares this article on how MLB hitters are actually making the adjustments against the shifts:
Don’t Worry, MLB — Hitters Are Killing The Shift On Their Own
Clearly, the research has not included any of the Yankee hitters…
SU has been asked to make some bold predictions for this week’s NFL Conference championship games. SU likes the Chiefs and Mahomes but is concerned about the frigid temperatures in KC on Sunday night. You have to figure the Pats are better prepared and more experienced to play in that type of weather. You also have to factor in that Andy Reid finds very creative ways to lose playoff games. But I will take the Chiefs 24-20.
The Saints have not played well in weeks. The Rams may be a year away and New Orleans is a hard place to play for the visiting team. But SU says they are ready to take that next step: Rams win 31-24. A KC – LA Super Bowl featuring the next generation of QBs would be very entertaining. Or not.
It’s a cold Friday afternoon. What’s on your mind?
Sports Update Intergalactic 
So Yanks have best bullpen of all postseason favorites and probably the shakiest starting pitching. I think this year the regular season matters mightily in that the Yankees have to win the division from the Bosox and avoid the heart-attack wild card game. It would be a disaster to go wild card again and get knocked out because hitting goes to sleep for one game. Wow, is it September already??
I’ll take both the road teams this Sunday. Pats 31-21 and Rams 28-24.
I’m happy with the bullpen. All 4 can Close a game…even betances
I’m happy with our Starters….we were 4th in ERA last season
Andujar and Torrez will only get better… offensively and defensively.
Sanchez can only have a better offensive year. Ditto with Stanton.
Pug Rodriguez has been working with Sanchez. I wish Nettles was working with Adujar.
We’ve added a contact hitter from Colorado. If Clint Frazier hits the way he is capable of hitting that puts us with 3 contact hitters, which includes Hicks.
Judge is going to hit with more average this year
Bottom Line – without Harpur and having Didi out for half the season – 101 wins. With Harpur – 106 wins.
No disagreement on the KC win and score. I think Brees will find more rhythm and opportunities to score and win as LA does not have a great defense. Definitely a higher scoring game… 34- 28
One report says that Yankees are all in on Arenado who will be a free agent after this year, so they will give Andujar a year to shore up his defense and then make a decision re his long term future next year- if I recall Jeter made a lot of errors early in his career but managed to right the ship- also, the elusive defensive metrics showed that Torres actually had worse numbers than Andjuar, and inferior offensive numbers as well, but no one is making dire predictions about his future with the Yankees.