Friday Night Links..
- Pedro Martinez isn't working out and a comeback is looking less and less likely, tweets Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated. If Martinez does return in 2011, it'll be on a second-half deal again.
- Jeff Moorad's stake in the Diamondbacks is finally close to being sold, writes Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic. Moorad parted ways with the D'Backs more than two years ago to lead a group that purchased the Padres.
- Since Astros owner Drayton McLane announced in November he was going to put the team up for sale, he has been purposely tight-lipped about the process, according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. Even though McLane has kept things quiet, McTaggart writes that there is probably plenty of negotiating going on behind the scenes.
- WEEI.com's Alex Speier remembers Boston's pursuit of Andy Pettitte in 2003.
Might an aging Pedro Martinez be as good as an aging Pettitte?
Just hang it up Pedro and wait for the call from Cooperstown.
Just out of curiosity, is it against MLB rules to own multiple franchises or stakes in multiple franchises?
In short, yes it is against league rules to own stakes in multiple franchises. But its is possible to buy a stake in another franchise while owning part of one with approval of the Commissioners office (Usually applies to part owners through its the same loophole that allowed the Marlins/Expos deal to happen for Loria). It allows time for an owner to find a buyer for his/her stake in the currently own franchise without the threat of missing the ability of buy into the new franchise. Moorad could not have any input into running of the diamondbacks once he agreed to buy the Padres. If his stake is close to finished thats great news to the Padres, since he would have more money freed up from that sale to help finishing paying for the Padres. His stake in the Diamondbacks was 12% if he is selling it even at 80% value thats still about 36 million ( Given 2009 value of the franchise numbers)
Good question, I don’t know
Come back one more time, Pedro. I don’t want my last memory of you on the mound to be getting rocked by Hideki Matsui. You were sick that day and didn’t have your best stuff. But you’ve still got enough left in the tank to help a playoff contender, I think.
Of course
Here’s my NL Central predictions: Brewers-98-64 Cardinals-91-71 Reds-87-75 Cubs-74-88 Astros-71-91 Pirates63-99
Cubs at least 500 wp this year
They could hit that mark, but they have to play the Brewers, Cardinals, and Reds too many times.
Astros will finish .500 this year