HBT Weekend Wrap

While in West Virginia over the weekend I took the kids to a couple of scenic places in the New River Gorge and had a couple of nice meals. But this was easily the highlight of the trip. Found it in my wife’s childhood bedroom. Still in the wrapper, just waiting to be made into a righteous mix-tape. It obviously was never used for its intended purpose, so the question remains: would it have been meant to be a breakup mix tape (first song: “Pictures of You” by the Cure) or a new relationship mix-tape (first song: “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel)? All I know is that it would have sounded great seeing as though it would have been made on that sweet silver-front stereo system in the background.

Anyway, here’s what else happened over the weekend:

Davey Johnson. I’ll be damned.
And he could be there for a while.
The Rangers are scouting Yu Darvish. I have this feeling things won’t end well for him over here.
Rafael Furcal could be moved to second base. One theory: Dee Gordon is so awesome he’s forcing the change. Competing theory: it’s simply way easier to find an extra second baseman for Furcal’s inevitable trip to the disabled list. Which should be coming any minute now.
James Shields says that deal with the Devil is not the most fair document he’s ever signed, but he does like the certainty it provides.
Ryan Madson: uncomfortably numb [cue righteous three minute guitar solo].
Shin-Soo Choo is out at least six weeks with a broken thumb. At this point I’m thinking his year would have been better spent in the Korean army.
Throw it to first! They’ll never expect it!
Derek Jeter swung off a tee. Took 30 hacks. Only 27 of them bounced harmlessly to short, so he’s improving.
The most depressing story of the weekend.
The most horrifying story of the weekend. No, it has nothing to do with baseball, but I had to work this in there somewhere.
Steve Soboroff resigns as Frank McCourt’s propagandist-in-chief.
Roy Oswalt will be out for a while with a bulging disc. Note: there are few written phrases more needing of manual proofreading than “bulging disc.”
Kerry Wood: “I’ve got blisters on my fingers!”
The Giants may be interested in Yorvit Torrealba. What, there are no spare Molinas floating around?
Keith Olbermann lost his Old Timers Day job at Yankee Stadium. I for one am shocked — shocked! — that he alienated someone and was forced to leave employment earlier than anticipated. It’s so unlike him.

Now watch as I hit [play/record] and [play] at the exact same time …

Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that Major League Baseball has banned all transactions with Liga Mexicana de Beisbol (LMB), popularly known as the Mexican League. As of now, all 30 teams are prohibited from signing players under contract with LMB teams. The ban was issued due to Major League Baseball’s contention that “corruption” and “fraud” run rampant in the player acquisition process.

Passan describes the issues in detail, and they sound pretty compelling. The upshot: LMB clubs — which have full control over their players — are taking advantage of them, taking most if not all of the signing bonuses MLB teams give them after negotiating for their rights. Mexican teams often sign players when they’re 15 years-old so that, once they are old enough for American teams to approach them, they’re in the position to take a usurious cut.

Passan says Major League Baseball is demanding greater transparency from LMB before it’s willing to lift the ban. He also says that the MLBPA is in “lockstep” with Major League Baseball on the matter, which makes sense given that, if MLB’s claims are accurate, players are being exploited here. He also says that if LMB does not change its ways, there is a “Plan B,” though it’s not clear what that is.

There aren’t a ton of Mexican players signed by MLB teams each year, but there are enough to make this a significant issue that is worth watching.

Follow @craigcalcaterra