Dan Uggla is going to be a very great player for years to come.  I think a contender needing a bit of offense would fit him.  Uggla might not do great at first but should start to fit in.  Uggla won’t be good at defense where ever he plays but his offense could boast a team to tons of wins.  He makes an impact on the batting order too.  The team that gets him will see his numbers improve and his production go high within two years.  I can see why Florida would give him up though.  He doesn’t get on base enough and they want a pure hitter in Chris Cohglan, which I would do too.  Uggla is good but Cohglan has more upside and could be the center piece of the franchise and moving him back to second and getting rid of Uggla would help the team overall.  Uggla won’t do as well in Florida, he will always hit 30 homers or so but if he does stick around look for a big decline in his numbers.
GIANTS:  If they get him there infield will be great.  He is the price this team needs in the offseason.  He would learn how to hit okay within this division too.

I wanted to make an announcement to all Yankee fans out there. For those of you who do not know, the 2009 World Series DVD is out in stores.

It contains all the highlights from the Yankees playoff run and all the key highlights from the World Series. Very reasonable price wise as well. A box set of the Yankees/World Series is coming out in the middle of December. Look for it while christmas shopping or come back here for an update on when it’s out. GO YANKEES!!!

Already looking forward to 2010 and will keep everyone updated with any trades or signings in the offseason! Keep checking back.

As you know, Albert Pujols recently won his second consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Award. He didn’t just win it, he won it unanimously. Every single voter had him as their No. 1 pick.

Pujols’ exploits have been well chronicled. I think he is the best baseball player who is currently playing baseball on Planet Earth. Some would disagree, but that is the prerogative of baseball fans everywhere.

While we shower Prince Albert with praise that he is absolutely deserving of, I would like to ask a question. Is he the best player to ever play for the St. Louis Cardinals ?

All you must do is look out front of Busch Stadium to see the statue of the “face of the franchise,  Stan “The Man” Musial, to see his only competitor for that particular honor. You need look no further.

Stan Musial was one of the greatest players to ever play the game of baseball. He played 22 seasons, all with the Cards, from 1941 until 1963. He is a three-time winner of the MVP award—as is Pujols, was on 24 All-Star teams (two games were played from 1959-62) at four different positions.

Musial also won seven batting titles, two RBI Crowns, was the league leader in runs scored five times, in hits six times, had over 200 hits six times, led the league in doubles eight times, triples five times, in OBP six times, in SLG six times, in OPS seven times, and OPS+ six times (once at 200). He also was the league leader in total bases six times. His career OPS+ is 159. In 17 seasons, he batted over .300, 16 consecutively. He also hit 30 or more HR six times, and drove in over 100 runs 10 times, while scoring over 100 runs 11 times.

In 24 All-Star appearances (a record he shares with Willie Mays and Hank Aaron) he hit six HR (a record which still stands), 10 RBI and batted .317.

His career stats are nearly unbelievable.

BA=.331, R=1949, H=3630 (1815 at home, 1815 away), HR=475, RBI=1951.

Pujols, like Musial, hit the ground running. In 2001, he won the Rookie of the Year award while putting up MVP-type numbers: 37 HR, 130 RBI, and a .329 average.

He has played nine seasons thus far and .314 is the lowest season average he has posted. He has hit over 40 HR five times, while belting 30 or more the other four. He has had at least 103 RBI each season he has played.

In 2003, he won the National League batting title with a .359 average. This past season (2009) he won his first HR crown, with 47. He led the league in hits in 2003 with 212. He has been on the All-Star team each year with the exception of 2002 when he placed second in the MVP voting. He led the league in OBP once, in SLG three times, OPS three times and OPS+ three times. He was also the league leader in TB four times.

In seven All-Star appearances Pujols has batted .353 with three RBI.

His career numbers are as unbelievable—albeit incomplete—as Musial’s.

BA=.334, R=1071, H=1717, HR=366, RBI=1112. His career OPS+ is 172.

Two great players from two time periods on the same squad. Obviously if Pujols continues to put up the crazy numbers we have become accustomed to expect for a few more years, he will surpass many of Stan’s numbers and be the best Cardinal ever.

Until that day, I believe Stan Musial is still the best Cardinal in history.

What are your thoughts?

Cliff Eastham is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report, where this article was first published.

Adrian Beltre isn't going to hit 48 homers like he did in 2004. He isn't going to drive in 120 runs, either. But he would give the Twins 20-30 homers and stellar defense at third base.

There are four sure-fire stars on the free-agent market–Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, John Lackey, and Chone Figgins–but there are countless others that, though classified as B-list free-agents, are capable of putting up solid numbers. Having predicted where the top-five free-agents will land, here now are my predicted destinations for free-agents six through ten.

6. Andy Pettitte: Pettitte has been a tremendously dependable pitcher over the course of his career, and especially in the playoffs. He can be counted on to accumulate 12-15 wins during the regular season, 3-4 more during the playoffs, and an ERA in the low 4’s. There is no reason for him to leave the World Series champion New York Yankees, and they have no reason not to retain him. He, who won all three playoff-series clinchers, will stay with New York, barring an unexpected retirement.

7. Marco Scutaro: Alex Gonzalez, who was the shortstop for the Boston Red Sox last season, signed a one-year deal with Scutaro’s old team, the Toronto Blue Jays, so it’s only fitting that the 34-year old signs with the Red Sox. There aren’t a lot of pleasing shortstops on the market (it’s Scutaro, a 36-year old and intriguing Miguel Tejada, and offensively-challenged Adam Everett, and that’s about it), and not many that are available via trade (unless Boston trades Florida the farm for Hanley Ramirez), but though it appears Scutaro is the only option for Boston, they want him and he wants the Red Sox.

He picked a good time to have a career year. This past season, he hit .282 with 12 home-runs and 60 rbi’s out of the leadoff spot, and posted a tremendous .379 on-base percentage. He is aging, and would probably want a three-year deal from Boston, but he’s a very good defender (he only made 10 errors), doesn’t strikeout very often (he had only 75 strikeouts compared to 90 walks in 144 games), and would be a good fit with Boston. If he is signed by the Red Sox, he will be their sixth shortstop in as many years.

The eccentric closer would solve many of the Phillies bullpen troubles.

8. Jose Valverde: The fiery closer has been one of the best in the business over the past three seasons. He saved over 40 games in both 2007 and 2008, and though he appeared in just 52 games in 2009 for the Houston Astros, the 31-year old compiled 25 saves in 29 chances, allowed only 15 runs in 54 innings, and had his best ERA, 2.33, since his rookie year with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Not many teams are looking for a closer. The lack of demand for a saves machine is either because they can’t afford to spend money, or because they have their own options in-house or on the farm. One team in particular needs to add bullpen stability, and that would be the National League’s representative in the World Series, the Philadelphia Phillies. Their closer, Brad Lidge, had a nightmarish regular season. In four more innings than Valverde, he had a 7.21 ERA, allowed 51 runs, 11 home-runs, walked 34, and blew 11 saves. He pitched well in the postseason before being shelled in his lone World Series appearance, but the Phillies should certainly be on the lookout for a replacement.

They could move Lidge to the eighth inning, thereby taking the pressure off to increase his effectiveness, put Ryan Madson in as he setup man’s setup man, and Valverde in as closer. The 6′4″, 250 pound Dominican has been very dependable and will come relatively cheap. Unless they want uncertainty throughout their ‘pen, the Phillies should pounce on Valverde.

9. Adrian Beltre: In 2004, the third-baseman’s final season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Beltre hit 48 homers–25 more than in 2003–drove in 121–41 more than in 2003–and batted .338–94 points higher than in 2003. Since this unbelievable season, Beltre hasn’t clubbed more than 26 homers or driven in more than 99 rbi’s in a season, disappointing throughout his five seasons with the Seattle Mariners, but he’s only 30 years old and is still an accomplished hitter.

On top of his offensive production, he is a tremendously gifted defensive third-baseman, which makes him that much more appealing on the free-agent market. The Red Sox have been linked to him, but he would fit more with the Minnesota Twins, a team in dire need of offense and particularly a third baseman. He would not only give the Twins one of the best defensive infields in the majors, but also 20-30 home-run power. Throughout his career in Seattle, his on-base percentage was awful, hovering around .300, yet in the 6th or 7th hole in Minnesota’s lineup, he would be a significant upgrade over the Brian Buscher/Brendan Harris/Joe Crede trio.

Harden should draw a lot of interest, and could be an ace if healthy.

10. Rich Harden: If there is a high-risk, high-reward player on the market, it’s the 27-year old Harden. The gifted right-handed starting pitcher has spent the bulk of his seven-year career with the Oakland Athletics. Over the course of his tenure in the league, he has compiled 50 wins to just 29 losses, and a 3.39 ERA. Despite these outstanding numbers, he has made only 127 starts, or an average of 18 per season. So, he’s been injury-plagued throughout, but he has a very good repertoire, with a wide array of strikeout pitches. Last season with the Chicago Cubs, he allowed just 122 hits in 141 innings while striking out 171 batters.

He should have plenty of suitors this offseason, given his age and ability. The Red Sox just signed knuckleballer Tim Wakefield to a two-year deal, making him their fifth starter once again. Daisuke Matsuzaka is also returning to the rotation, and the team has also expressed interest in Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay, who is on the trade market. But, despite having five starters and interest in a sixth, they should pull out of the Halladay Sweepstakes and focus on an inexpensive option.

Because of Harden’s injury history, teams will be hesitant to give him a multi-year deal. So, why don’t the Red Sox sign him to a one-year, $8 million contract? He could make 30 starts, something he has done only once, win 15-18 games, and make an already stacked rotation dominating. Worst case, he makes 15 starts, wins seven-to-nine games, and spends the majority of the year on the shelf. Given Harden’s potential for greatness, if Red Sox General Mananger Theo Epstein wants to improve, he’ll take the gamble.

Bud Selig is planning on leaving the position of Commissioner of Major League Baseball in 2012. (Sign of the end of times?) He says he wants to pursue other interests. I’m wondering what this means for Major League Baseball. My first instinct is that his departure will be good for the MLB. It is impossible to be certain though. Whatever things he’s done or failed to do has led up to baseball being where it is right now. And where is that? Well it’s still a very profitable place to be and it’s still a very popular place to be. While these two facts don’t necessarily mean he was awesome, to me they at least mean he did a fine job.

Plus, we have to remember that he came at a very difficult time, with the steroid era and the strike of 1994. But maybe it can be argued that he made it a very difficult time. Surely steroids weren’t his fault but he could have pursued them aggressively when the whispers in the clubhouses began. Not when Canseco’s book, Juiced, dropped. Or maybe the blame lies with Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and all the others. (Don’t you love how we praise McGwire for helping resurrect baseball after the 1994 strike and then, out of the other side of our mouths we tear him apart for hurting baseball with his steroids use and the unethical way he rewrote the record books?)

I do firmly believe that Fay Vincent should have never been forced out of the commissioner’s office. He was a great leader and he truly put the best interests of the game first. Selig? I believe Selig put money and the owners ahead of the game. But it is what it is. And it’s not that bad.

So where will it go from here? I’ll be content if it maintains the status quo on most levels. I don’t want to see any large steps taken toward reaching parity. I don’t want to see increased revenue sharing or salary caps. I don’t want expansion, but I really don’t want contraction. I don’t want the length of the season altered in anyways except to make there less days off during the playoffs. I would love to see a commish dedicated to making sure that the public understands that baseball games are important even when a team from the Northeast or West coast isn’t involved. I would also like to see limited instant replay introduced in the postseason.

All that to say I’m leaning towards being excited. But baseball is thriving when companies all over America are failing. So maybe I shouldn’t be too excited to see Selig leave.

Roberto Alomar: No, just a little more
Kevin Appier: No
Harold Baines: Yes, not this year
Bert Blyleven: Yes
Ellis Burks: No
Andre Dawson: Yes
Andres Galarraga: No, almost
Pat Hentgen: No
Mike Jackson: No
Eric Karros: No
Ray Lankford: No
Barry Larkin: Yes
Edgar Martinez: Yes
Don Mattingly: Yes
Fred Mcgriff: Yes
Mark McGwire: No
Jack Morris: Yes
Dale Murphy: No
Dave Parker: Yes
Tim Raines: Yes
Shane Reynolds: No
David Segui: No
Lee Smith: Yes
Alan Trammell: Yes
Robin Ventura: No
Todd Zelie: No
Barry Larkin was an impact player and deserved it.  Larkin could have done great at shortstop at anytime, he would be a great asset to any team any time.

Edgar Martinez is the best DH in history and he had a big impact.

Alan Trammell is one of the best shortstops ever he played great and had great stats.  Trammell and Whitaker belong in the HOF.  They both were great and helped the Tigers a lot.

As the weather turns cold and we turn our thoughts to holidays and long for summer days, the MLB offseason keeps us warm with the hope of our favorite teams rebuilding for the 6 month marathon to October. Last offseason, the Yankees did what they do best – spend as much money as they can in order to give their team the best possibility of adding another World Series to their walk-in closet collection.

We all know that at this point the economy is starting to show some faint signs of recovery but an aging and lack-luster class of free agents won’t provide the excitement of signing rumors that normally stoke the coals of the hot stove season.

Among the muck and mire are some sure fire quality Type A free agents such as Outfielders Matt Holliday, Jason Bay and Infielders Orlando Hudson and Chone Figgins, but unfortunately for them, they won’t hit the record setting deals of yesteryear. Their average age is at 30.5 and with an emphasis of organizations developing cheaper, more athletic talent, teams are less likely to sign these free agents and lose compensatory draft picks for departing free agents.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll break down the divisions of both the American and National Leagues. I’ll look at what free agents are available and play analyst/general manager. Feel free to email responses to OpenForumRadio@gmail.com. For my first entry, I wanted to get my team out of the way.

The team my loyalties lie with is the Chicago White Sox. I love the interdivision rivals and I’m not afraid to say I get a hearty laugh from the futility and failings of the Cubs. While the ’09 season was lost due to poor defense, no offense and spotty relief pitching, the offseason began early for the Sox. GM Kenny Williams stunned his comrades in pulling offing a trade for Padres ace Jake Peavy, then snatching Alex Rios from the Blue Jays. On day one of the offseason, the Sox announced a trade with Kansas City Royals that brought IF Mark Teahan to the Windy City and announcing he would be the starting Third Baseman effectively moving Sporting News’ and the MLB Players Association Rookie of the Year Gordon Beckham to 2B.

The Sox recently signed defensive veteran SS Omar Vizquel and OF Andruw Jones on the cheap, at just under 2M for both former Gold Glove All-Stars. The Sox finally have options up the middle of the infield and are better defensive club going into the 2010 season. Current starting SS Alexei Ramirez was a defensive blunder last year while only showing minimal life at the plate after a sensational rookie start in 2008. The signing of Vizquel opens up the possibility that Ramirez could be either better motivated or traded and Kenny Williams would be doing me a favor by putting him in a package along with AAA catcher Tyler Flowers to bring in another quality starting pitcher or a pair of reliable relief pitchers (Oxymoron, I know.). I don’t expect Andruw Jones to resurrect his career, now in the twilight years, but in coming to an organization known recently for catching lightning in a bottle, this is a smart bench  strengthening signing.

Payroll is limited for the White Sox and considering the free agent class, which works in our favor. The most I can see Williams go after would be for relief pitching on the cheap. Who I would consider to be the best relief pitching free agent is Danys Baez. After looking at their career numbers, past salary figures, and free agent type, Baez fits the mold. After pitching in the AL East for the past couple of years, Baez has proven to be a reliable middle inning reliever. Over his 8 year career, Baez has a 4.04 ERA, 7 of those years pitching in the AL. He averages 87 innings pitched and has a 65/36 Strikeout to Walk ratio average comparison. Last year he tallied 40 strikeouts in nearly 72 innings pitched. I would have him primarily focus on 6^th or 7^th inning work, and I would predict him to be effective enough in lower pressure situations. While this is a purely statistical look at the player Baez has made an effect transition from being a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher. Sox Pitching Coach Don Cooper has both success stories and misses but I believe Baez would be an effect addition to the Sox bullpen.

The 2010 season looks bright for the Pale Hose and if players can avoid injuries, have a consistent offensive threat while pitching to their career averages, the AL Central should give fans plenty of entertainment. The Royals and Indians look to be in rebuilding mode while the elderly Tigers are looking to dump payroll from flat out bad contracts to aging players. The Twins for some reason or another always manage to compete and make things a struggle for the every team in the division, but how will they fair away from the haunted house known as the Metrodome, has yet to be seen. The AL Central is won by the team that beats itself the least, and I hope that the division title goes to the White Sox.

In Twitteronia, @Montreal_Expos passed along an amazing clip of an early-90s Expos-Mets game at the Big O.

Highlights:

–Denis Casavant and Rodger Brulotte on the French-language call, sharp as always. Casavant was the solid play-by-play man, while Brulotte was the excitable color commentator. Once this play ends (and I won’t spoil it, because you might have this game queued up on TiVo 17 years later), Brulotte launches into his patented “Yell the player’s name three times routine.” That same summer, we rejoiced to my favorite Brulotte call of all-time, “Barberie! Barberie! Barberie!”, in honor of a walk-off bloop single by forgettable Expos utility infielder Bret Barberie.

And if you think that name sounds familiar, it should. Quasi-annoying FOX pre-game vixen and hawker of many goods Jillian Barberie (nee Reynolds) is Bret’s ex-wife. Yes, that’s right — she got her name from a baseball player who was too scrubby to start for the Expos.

–The game being called in French, period. MLB lost a quirky, fantastic bit of culture when the Expos moved away. No more “circuit” (home run), “voltigeur de centre” (center fielder), or in the case of this clip, “piste d’avertissement” (warning track).

–The cavalcade of Expos players in on the celebration is truly remarkable. You’ve got legends like Gary Carter and Dennis Martinez, up-and-coming stars like Larry Walker and Marquis Grissom, and unforgettable randoms like Greg Colbrunn and (current Tampa Bay Rays coach) Tom Foley. Picking out the faces in the home plate scrum was my favorite part of this clip.

–The crowd at the stadium is as typical as you’ll ever see for an Expos game. The fans that are there generate a tremendous amount of noise when the big play occurs. But we know the stadium’s half-empty, because the camera pans to the bleachers in left-center as the ball takes flight — and there’s not one living soul sitting there.

–Finally, the clip itself is clearly someone’s shoddy VHS recording, and it too perfectly illustrates the plight of the Expos. The first minute and a half shows a stirring walk-off win in front of a delirious home crowd. The tape then suddenly cuts to the closing credits of a Radio-Canada broadcast, a ho-hum 6-4 loss to the Cardinals. The cheesy music and awful graphics playing over the sight of Tim Wallach missing a Todd Worrell fastball by a foot serve as a painful reminder of a wasted youth.

I mean…Go Spos!