NOV

15

Today's Names to Know: Alex Rodriguez, Bob Melvin, Jake Peavy, Dwayne Wade, Phil Jackson, Dennis Dixon, North Carolina, Ricky Williams, Dwight Howard and way More.

A-Rod and the Yankees are talking about a deal: This shouldn't surprise you at all. The highest-paid player in baseball was never going to eliminate the freest-spending team in baseball from the discussion - even if he just opted out of playing for them. The odds-on bet is still that A-Rod returns to the Yankees.

UPDATE: The hot rumor is that it's a done deal - 10 years for $275 million, which represents a small increase from his previous deal (and a substantial increase in what portion of that salary the Yankees are paying), but certainly more long-term security for the player.

If this rumor holds up, A-Rod will likely retire a Yankee, break Barry Bonds' career home-run record as a Yankee, hit No. 800 as a Yankee, wear a Yankees cap into the Hall of Fame - but it remains to be seen whether he will win any championships as a Yankee. If he is there for 10 more years, given his previous success with the team, I'll put the over-under on A-Rod/Yankees World Series titles at one. (And the over-under on Red Sox World Series titles within the same decade span at two.)

MLB Awards: Your managers of the year are Eric Wedge (a rare correct preseason pick from me) and Bob Melvin (who no one saw coming). I was surprised Colorado's Clint Hurdle finished 3rd. Between Hurdle and Tulowitzki, I guess voters didn't put much stock in the Rockies' late-season surge. We'll see if it impacted the biggest award race: NL MVP.

Meanwhile, today is NL Cy Young, and you have to imagine it will be Jake Peavy, even with his unclutch performance in Game 163 (but, apparently, voters aren't really taking that game into consideration - or at least giving it more weight than the previous 162... which they should. Yes, when it comes to awards, some regular season games are more import...

Read the full post at Dan Shanoff

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