Hardy for Gomez
The Brewers just completed a swap of J.J. Hardy for Carlos Gomez with the Twins. I initially liked this deal for the Twins, but after finishing the post I see why this deal makes sense for the Brewers. Hardy really had a bad year, last year. And the Brewers had the guts to send him to the minors—to work on his game and delay his free agency. It’s possible he’ll go all Marcus Giles and never hit again, but I doubt it. Combined with his

More Shortfalls in Stadium Revenue
The Gwinnett Stadium continues to “pay for itself from day one” as promised. How about a $168,000 shortfall? Patrick Fox writing in the AJC. The county, which had predicted $200,000 in revenue from parking proceeds this year, received a check for $9,188 to cover parking from May-September. The Braves had paid the county $22,342 for parking in April, the first month of the Gwinnett Braves season. Wow, what a shocker. Fox ends the story with “More to come,” so check back at the AJC link for more updates.

Breaking Down the Hermida Deal
Yesterday, the Red Sox acquired Marietta’s own Jeremy Hermida (his mayor is named Thunder, too) from the Marlins for Jose Alvarez and Hunter Jones . Hermida is one o

Valuing Bobby Abreu
Yesterday, Bobby Abreu signed a two-year $19 million deal to remain with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Abreu is a good player and still has value as a hitter, good enough to make up for his an atrocious defense. The contract calls for two guaranteed years at $9 million a piece, with an option for a third year that vests after 550 plate appearances in 2011 or 1,200 total plate appearances in 2010 and 2011. If the option doesn’

Hot Stove Myths
Let me debunk a few common myths about baseball’s labor market as baseball’s second season begins. GMs can buy low and sell high — So, let me get this straight: you think you know when a player is playing above or below his true ability—usually due to a small sample or by using a SGT-approved metric instead of a mainstream statistic—but guys who make a living in baseball completely miss it. For this to work, the GM on the other team has to be a colossal moron. GMs have made mistakes in the past and will make mistakes again, but they’re not dumb enough to act on a meaningless hot/cold streak. You can’t sell high or buy l