Odds and Ends: Pujols, Isringhausen, K-Rod

I am going to toss up some links as I come across them, so check back on this post.

• ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick has an excellent piece on the Pedro Alvarez situation, including quotes from Scott Boras and Max Scherzer.  The grievance will be heard tomorrow, but the entire process could take months.
• The big news of the day is not hot stove related.  Albert Pujols is considering offseason Tommy John surgery, which would require seven to nine months of recovery time.  It could cause him to miss April of ’09.  UPDATE: Ken Rosenthal’s sources say Pujols does not intend to have the surgery this offseason.
• In the same article, reliever Jason Isringhausen says he hopes to be ready for spring training after elbow surgery.  He spoke of getting "an incentive-based deal with someone."
• Joel Sherman doesn’t buy into the speculation that the Mets will be aggressive in pursuing Francisco Rodriguez due to Billy Wagner’s injury.  K-Rod has had 61 save opportunities this year, 14 more than anyone else.  No other pitcher has reached 60 opps this decade.  Rodriguez may pursue a five-year, $75MM deal.
• SI.com’s Tom Verducci looks at the dumbing down of bullpen roles.
• Andrew Baggarly offers a possible explanation for Conor Gillaspie’s call-up: a "predraft understanding."  Gillaspie signed for slot as the 37th overall pick.  Adding him to the 40-man roster now is less than ideal.
• RotoWorld’s Matthew Pouliot predicts destinations and contracts for free agent pitchers.  His article also includes non-tender candidates.
• Cork Gaines gives a rundown of the Rays’ 2009 commitments.
• This week’s chat has been moved to Wednesday at 2pm CST.