·         A bargain by today’s standards?  At $40.5 mil for 6 years, the Red Sox get a middle infielder with two trophies in two seasons (ROY+MVP) locked up through age 32.  This seems like a pretty good bet from the standpoint of long term investment with the current going market.  Interestingly enough – and is often the case with MVP winners – Pedroia actually had a higher Value Over Replacement Player (VORP – value that includes the most overall elements of offense) of 35.9 to 28.2 in his Rookie of the Year winning season of 2007.  In either case, Pedroia has had a strong argument for MVP in both of his first two seasons and will be wearing a B on his hat through at least 2014 (including Red Sox options).

·         I almost laughed out loud when I read Joe Sheehan’s analysis of the AL West for 2009.  He maintains that in the smallest division in MLB (4 teams), the Rangers, A’s and Angel’s transitional nature at this time, the M’s actually stand a chance next season with their top four pitchers of Felix Hernandez, Eric Bedard, Brandon Morrow and Ryan Rowland Smith (with fat cat contracts Carlos Silva and Jarrod Washburn final slot contenders and inning eaters) making up ‘one of the top five pitching rotations in the AL.’  After what Joe calls ‘disasters of biblical proportions last season,’ along with a potentially improved defense, the M’s could pick up in free agency or trade for the two key offensive positions of 1B and DH – where they got almost nothing last year from Jose Vidro and Richie Sexson.  These additions should allow them to hang around all season and at least compete.  After a 61-101 campaign in 2008, I’m thinking more like about 90 losses sounds good in 2009.

·         The quotes in this story are truly newsworthy.  Seems like common sense that since the A’s are virtually next to a BART station now that their proposed new stadium in Fremont would have the same provisions.  It sounds like it took the obvious lack of progress that Fremont has demonstrated to this point before Lew Wolff would consider his project to be built by public transportation and possibly devalue the real estate.  Definitely makes you wonder about his true intentions of the development.