Joaquin Benoit signed a 3 year deal with the Tigers worth $16.5M. There is no denying how good Benoit was last year (1.34 ERA 70 strikeouts in 60 1/3 innings with only 11 walks) but there is also no denying that 3 year deals for relievers never work. There are 10 or so viable right handed relievers available and the Tigers just overpaid (at least in terms of the length of the contract) for one.
Bud Black and Rod Gardenhire each won the Manager of the Year award in their respective leagues. Gardenhire won because all-star closer Joe Nathan got hurt and Bud Black won because the Padres came out of nowhere to win 90 games. I'm not criticizing the award it's just we don't really have any real way of measuring a manager so year after year the winner goes to the surprise team or a team who "overcame" injuries.
The Colorado Rockies traded Clint Barmes to Houston for Felipe Paulino. Signing Carlos Lee to a long term deal, refusing rebuild so the team could be mediocre and getting nothing in return for your best player (Roy Oswalt) are all sure-fire ways to ensure yourself of having a bad team. But, it's often the little trades like this that go unnoticed that can really hurt. Clint Barmes is a backup middle infielder that can't hit in Coors Field, so naturally the Astros trade a promising young starter for him. Don't be fooled by Paulino's record last year (1-9) he has the stuff to be quite good. He's young, cheap, throws over 95 mph and can strike guys out. As with any young pitcher, there is a chance that Paulino becomes nothing, but when you trade that for someone who has already proven to be nothing, it's basically a pretty, pretty, pretty bad move.
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