Well, unlike last year, Winter showed up yesterday here in the upper Mid-West. Over a foot of snow was dumped on our heads over the course of the day. Having planned on shutting down for the weekend regardless, it was all the excuse I required. Made it a cooking and Netflix kind of a few days, but it's back to the toil today.

It was a far more active weekend around the hot-stove league of MLB. As expected, the Dodgers signed Greinke for an outrageous amount of money -- although they have that and in spades now -- the most ever for a righthanded starting pitcher. And while I haven't seen him pitch all that much, I don't think he's all that. But LA doesn't seem to mind; they have the money so they're going to spend the money. The log-jam of other starters should start falling like dominoes with Lohse and Sanchez most likely the next free agent pitchers to get signed somewhere.

Big deal though in a trade for TB's James Shields going to Kansas City for whom many are calling the best hitting prospect in the game. KC gets Wade David as well with a few more prospects going to the Rays. At least for this season, this should make things a little easier in the AL-East as the return for investment that Tampa Bay received won't be ready to start the season in the bigs.

The Yankees meanwhile have done little other than re-sign their own, although the additions of Andy Pettitte, Mariano Rivera and Hiroki Kuroda cannot be considered anything than major. You wish your team had signed them this winter. Word on the street is that Ichiro is next to return although Eric Chavez and Andruw Jones have signed elsewhere. Now that Reynolds signed in Cleveland - where many thought Youkilis would go and re-unite with his ex-skipper Tito Francona - the expectations that the hated Greek god of walks will likely be in pinstripes this season are become more and more a reality. Well, perhaps he figures out a way to right his oft-injured ship and stick it to his former club and hated rival much like Clemens, Boggs, Damon and others have done.

But if you asked me, I don't want him...

Cheers
B.