HBT Weekend Wrapup - MLB

Stuff you missed while contemplating a move to the desert southwest:

I previewed the upcoming BBWAA Awards. Even made a few predictions: For ROY I like Jeter. AL MVP: Jeter. I also like Jeter for NL MVP, CY Youngs in both leagues and AL Manager of the Year. For NL Manager of the Year, I like Ditka.

Sandy Alderson’s father was killed. Served in WWII and Korea and lived 87 years on this terrible Earth, only to be cut down by a 21 year-old driver. Man, I don’t understand the cosmos sometimes.

Jon Heyman is making “a big push” to keep Scott Boras happy.

The Mets are going to interview Jose Oquendo for the manager’s job. And the jobs for first base coach, third base coach, bullpen coach and assistant to the traveling secretary.

Terry Collins had a DUI in 2002. I love how this was put out by pro-Backman people. They desperately want to believe that people don’t prefer Backman for the job due to his personal issues from ten years ago. At some point I hope they realize that the biggest problem is that “an old video started circulating last summer of you throwing bats around and acting like an ass at a low-A ballgame” is not a key qualification for a major league manager’s job.

They should call this the Dan Ugly situation. Hey-o!

The Cardinals will “aggressively pursue” Juan Uribe. How does that work? “Hey you! Yeah, you, Uribe’s agent! Get your fat ass back here and sign this contract before we break your freakin’ arm! How ya like that, punk!”

The Walking Dead.

The Marlins have closed the book on the Miguel Cabrera trade.

On Saturdays, I farm out my Jeff Francoeur bashing to D.J.

If you had to guess which would sell for more money — a Babe Ruth home run ball or a Kirk Gibson home run bat — I’m betting you’d guess wrong.

TTTTTHHHHHHEEEE Yankees could get a new radio team!

The Pirates hire Clint Hurdle. More on this later today.

The Indians are cutting payroll for 2011. I enjoyed the couple of visits I made to the Tribe Social Deck last season. I mean, it was great being invited by the team to sit and watch the team for free and be encouraged to blog about it. But I’m probably going to decline if invited next year. Not because it’s not cool, but because I’ll likely be able to get better seats even cheaper by just hanging around the ballpark before games.

The Phillies sign Jose Contreras to a two-year deal, which keeps him under contract through his age 157 season.

Finally, I get that it’s a crime to have drugs sent to you in the mail, but I always wondered about how merely signing for the package is enough to get you busted. I get random stuff sent to me fairly often. Books people want me to promote, t-shirts, various pieces of gear I wasn’t expecting from NBC for my little basement studio. I’m not suggesting anyone do this, but if someone were to just ship me a kilo of coke without my knowledge and I were to sign for it, would I be in deep doo-doo? Isn’t the crime complete in such instances when the order is placed? And if the cops know the order is placed — like they did with Jose Guillen’s wife — why can’t they just make the arrest before the shipment arrives?

As for today, I know you couldn’t freakin’ wait, but the Best and Worst Uniforms of All Time resumes at 11 AM, picking up with the AL Central. There will be Chief Wahoo rage at around 3PM or so. Just thought I’d warn you ahead of time.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature would give the Oakland Athletics up to $380 million for a potential 30,000 seat, $1.5 billion retractable roof stadium on the Las Vegas Strip.

The bulk of the public funding would come from $180 million in transferable tax credits from the state and $120 million in county bonds, which can vary based on interest rate returns. Clark County also would contribute $25 million in credit toward infrastructure costs.

The A’s have been looking for a home to replace Oakland Coliseum, where the team has played since arriving from Kansas City for the 1968 season. The team had sought to build a stadium in Fremont, San Jose and finally the Oakland waterfront, all ideas that never materialized.

The plan in the Nevada Legislature won’t directly raise taxes. It can move forward with a simply majority vote in the Senate and Assembly. Lawmakers have a little more than a week to consider the proposal before they adjourn June 5, though it could be voted on if a special session is called.

The Athletics have agreed to use land on the southern end of the Las Vegas Strip, where the Tropicana Las Vegas casino resort sits. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has said he is disappointed the team didn’t negotiate with Oakland as a “true partner.”

Las Vegas would be the fourth home for a franchise that started as the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-54. It would become the smallest TV market in Major League Baseball and the smallest market to be home to three major professional sports franchises.

The team and Las Vegas are hoping to draw from the nearly 40 million tourists who visit the city annually to help fill the stadium. The 30,000-seat capacity would make it the smallest MLB stadium.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said a vote on the Oakland Athletics’ prospective move to Las Vegas could take place when owners meet June 13-15 in New York.

The plan faces an uncertain path in the Nevada Legislature. Democratic leaders said financing bills, including for the A’s, may not go through if Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoes the five budget bills, which he has threatened to do as many of his priorities have stalled or faded in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.

Under the bill, the Clark County Board of Commissioners would create a homelessness prevention and assistance fund along the stadium’s area in coordination with MLB and the Nevada Resort Association. There, they would manage funds for services, including emergency rental and utility assistance, job training, rehabilitation and counseling services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The lease agreement with the Las Vegas Stadium Authority would be up for renewal after 30 years.

Nevada’s legislative leadership is reviewing the proposal, Democratic state Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager said in a statement.

“No commitment will be made until we have both evaluated the official proposal and received input from interested parties, including impacted community members,” Yeager said.