Baseball Blogs Weigh In: Manny, Braves Howard, Mets, Nomar, Sheets

On this date 51 years ago, the Red Sox signed Ted Williams to a one-year deal for $135K – making him the highest paid player in Major League history. This contract came on the heels of a season in which Williams hit .388-38-87 with a .526 OBP and 233 OPS+. And all of that was at age 38. With one week to go before pitchers and catchers report, several players in the twilight of their career are still looking for contracts of their own. Let’s take a look at what is being written in the Blogosphere…

• River Ave. Blues says a one-year deal for Manny Ramirez in L.A. would open the door to Manny being Manny in pinstripes next year.
• Feeling Dodger Blue takes a look at options for the Dodgers other than Manny.
• Braves Blast sees Bobby Abreu as a better fit for the Braves than Adam Dunn and a better option than trading for Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher.
• The Phrontiersman argues for trading Ryan Howard.
• UmpBump continues their "Hot Offseason Action" series, this time looking at the Red Sox, their offseason moves and how the roster might look on opening day.
• Mets Geek breaks down the Mets offseason.
• The ’Ropolitans say the Mets’ bullpen still needs work and wonders why they don’t go after one of the remaining big-name relievers on the market.
• Detroit Tigers Thoughts notes that if Orlando Hudson wants to sign a one-year deal after the June draft, he is more likely to lose his type-A free agent status next season if he signs with an NL club this season.
• Goat Riders of the Apocalypse feels that Nomar Garciaparra would make a nice backup shortstop for the Cubs.
• More Hardball puts together an All-Star squad of players still available on the free agent market.
• MLB Notebook takes a look at which teams might be interested in signing Ben Sheets for the second half.

Cork Gaines writes for RaysIndex.com. If you have a suggestion for this feature, Cork can be reached here.