Pepper INBOX -7

Talk about the Biogenisis scandal. What's your opinion and why? Get ready for an epic debate on this weekends #PepperShow 

Profile: Bronson Arroyo

Arroyo is one of the few starting pitchers yet to be signed. He has been overshadowed all offseason. Arroyo has been looking to resign with his old team, the Reds, on a 1 to 2 year basis. I expect Arroyo to sign after Tanaka does, as it seems like the whole FA pool is waiting on the Japansese phenom. 

Pepper Show #6 + What's PSOTR?

PSOTR (Pepper Show on the Road) is our Spring Training version of the Pepper Show. Basically our bloggers go down to Florida  . Do a couple shows, interviews and report on Spring training. It will be the first time in our blogs 2 Year Run that we have reported live. The reports will be happening early in Spring Training (The Late Febuary- Early March Time). I can't wait! 

With 4 Weeks left before Spring Training....

In 4 weeks time, we will see Masahiro Tanaka pitching for a new club in spring training. We will also see Stephen Drew, Nelson Cruz and Ubaldo Jimenez signed. Nelson Cruz would be a good fit for a team like Miami or Washington because of the need for homers. Now, yes the Nats are pretty good in their outfield, but they have some pieces left. I expect to see Tanaka signed by the end of this week. I believe Stephen Drew will carry this out the longest, as he is truly only gaining interest from Boston and Queens.

Alex Rodriguez suspended for 2014

The Yankee's Alex Rodriguez will be suspended for the entire 2014 season, and the postseason if New York qualifies. Rodriguez originally received a 211-game suspension back in August, which would have put him out for the rest of 2013 and all of 2014. He appealed the suspension, and ended up playing for the rest of the season, where the Yankees fell short of the playoffs. A-rod, who was due to earn 25 million in 2014(plus bonuses for milestone home runs), will not be payed during the suspension, which opens up a lot of money for the Yankees. Now they can seriously compete for Masahiro Tanaka, or some of the other pitchers left on the market such as Ubaldo Jimenez, Bronson Arroyo, Matt Garza, Ervin Santana, or Johan Santana. They can also get more relief pitching as insurance if David Robertson struggles closing out games. Andrew Bailey, Joel Hanrahan, Fernando Rodney, and Grant Balfour are some notable closers left on the market. But with Rodriguez gone, that weakens an offense even more that has already lost Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson. The market for third basemen isn't that great, with Michael Young being the best free agent left at that position.

A-Rod gets suspended 162 Games

A-Rod had been suspended for the full 2014 season due to the Biogenesis schedule 

No new teams moving to Palm Beach

The Palm Beach city council officially thwarted the idea of building a baseball stadium in West Palm. Both the Astros and Blue Jays were hoping to move their spring clubs to Palm County

Lets go back in time..... Baseball circa 1922

In 1922, Baseball was in its prime. Rogers Hornsby was putting up epic numbers at the time, batting .401 with over 40 homeruns. Very few stadiums still exist today from 1922, but the legend of 1922 still lives on. 1922, like many other years around that decade, was a "Subway Series". The NY Yankees and the NY Giants squared off. Baseball was different in the 20's, from Gloves, Bats and the games rules are all different. The second game of the World Series was the third and final tie in a World Series game.
The NY Giants won the 1922 World Series

Pepper Show #6 Sunday - Recap

Not much has happened besides the Hall of Fame induction this week, however lets recap:
-Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas all got the 75% necessary to be elected. This means that there will be 6 living people inducted this summer.
- Tanaka is in America to talk to up to 10 clubs.
- Justin Verlander will have Core surgery and will be out for up to 6 weeks.
-Derek Holland will be out till midseason due to surgery
-Look for any news on A-Rod regarding his suspension this Weekend
-Dontrelle Willis signed a Minors deal with the Halos

Also, tommorow we will be having a short "Pepper Show", here is our new opening sequence:  

Tanaka in Hollywood, deal imminent

Masahiro Tanaka was posted by the Golden Eagles over Christmas, and it looks like things are heating up. Tanaka's latest move, was selecting Casey Close as his agent. Though Close has connections with the Dodgers, it doesn't mean Tanaka is heading to LA. The White Sox just finished a meeting with Tanaka and teams like the D-Backs, Cubs, LA Angels and NY Yankees are also moving in. I think Arizona is a perfect fit for Tanaka, and Arizona has focused there attention on him a lot recently.
 Here's some good links to articles about Tanaka:

MLB.com (Tanaka)
SI (Tanaka)