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THT Links: Friday Edition

by Matthew Carruth
February 09, 2007

I am dying for some baseball. Normally I eschew Spring Training as amazingly pointless with Minor League fodder mixed in with Major Leaguers and an endless array of substitutions and switches. However, in the past, I did not have to write about baseball as much as I do now and that results in two things; one, I am getting tired of writing about which player today has avoided arbitration with his team and signed a one-year deal. Borrrring. Two, it has whetted my appetite for real live actual baseball. I cannot wait for an actual professional game to be played, even in its watered down, made with Splenda and carrot-like flavor form that is Spring Training. Just bring it on already.

Moving on East - The Korea Times reports that Chan Ho Park has signed a one-year deal with the Mets.

Fun Thought Experiment - Solanus ponders how MLB would look if it followed the same structure as international soccer. By the way, kudos to the U.S. for remaining unscored upon at home in games against Mexico this decade. Yes, I will use any flimsy pretense to talk about soccer.

Engage Way Back Machine - John Sickels has a prospect retro up on Ben Sheets. Yes Jeff, I put this one here for you.

Shannon Stewart Heads to Oakland - Hoping to recapture the magic they've had with other Stewarts, the As inked a one-year deal with Shannon Stewart.

Pujols a Citizen - Albert Pujols passed his U.S. citizenship exam. I sat here for 15 minutes trying to think of something funny, but there really isn't anything here.

We Do Not Endorse Gambling - My lawyers insisted on the title. Anyways, Bodog has released their betting odds for the 2007 season. How are the Royals (85-1) more likely than the Mariners (100-1) to win the World Series, yet less likely (60-1 compared to 40-1) to win the AL Pennant?

Where or Where Might A-Rod Go? - Ken Rosenthal looks at some possible destinations for Alex Rodriguez should Alex choose to opt out of his contract. The Marlins Ken? Really?

Frontrunners for Andy Sisco Award Announced - Defined as "[the] one player who fans have hope for in the upcoming season will horribly regress and live on only potential for the next season," the Andy Sisco Award has had a big impact on lower-tier franchises over the past three decades, and I say this despite the misleading fact that the Andy Sisco Award has never actually been awarded before.

Arroyo Extended - Bronson Arroyo got himself a nifty little (not really) contract extension. Arroyo was already signed through the next two years for $8 million total, but now he has an additional two years on top of that, plus a club option for 2011. The total value of the extension is $25 million.

More Neat Stuff at B-R - Sean has another cool tool out at Baseball-Reference. I swear, if he keeps doing this, I am going to retire and just play around on his site all day.

THT Links represents the best efforts of our editors in scouring the various tubes of the interweb for both relevant and irrelevant news items. If you have happened upon a story that we have overlooked or wish to give feedback of any sort, please notify us at .

Updated weekdays at noonish, ET.

Matthew Carruth is an editor for The Hardball Times. He welcomes any and all sorts of communication at his email.

Do you have a general question or comment for one of THT's writers? Send it in to our weekly mailbag We also welcome unsolicited op-ed pieces of approximately 500 words for consideration. We reserve the right to edit for length, clarity and consistency of style. Please include your whole name and location to be considered. If you have a comment about this specific article, please email the writer.

The best online source for major league baseball tickets is Ticket City.

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