Kuzul

Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba went berserk during a Venezuelan Winter League game and ended up giving an ump five across the eyes.

A spat of this nature isn’t anything new in baseball, but assaulting an ump in the middle of a game is completely uncalled for.

Bad call or not, smacking an ump upside the head to get his point across was a bad move by Torrealba.

The ump had a mask on, so it’s hard to believe he was too affected by the hit, but by no means was this a benign incident.

Torrealba’s inability to control his rage is embarrassing, and swift action must be taken by the Venezuelan Winter League.

A lifetime ban is in order. There is no excuse for a player coming into contact with an official in a malicious manner, and this went far beyond going chest to chest with the ump.

This was a deliberate assault and the league needs to let it be known that they won’t stand for this intolerable act.

If the calls are so bad that a player thinks smacking around a ref is the only logical action to take, that player has to live with the consequences.

Perhaps the pent up frustration stems from losing the World Series. Perhaps he’s just got anger issues. Regardless of the origin of this hit, it’s safe to say that Torrealba won’t be seeing any VWL games any time soon, if ever.

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Manny Ramirez is plotting a comeback and while he will undoubtedly find a team to take the bait, no team in the bigs should be drinking the Manny Ramirez Kool-Aid.

The guy has way too much baggage.

We’re talking about a guy who has been busted for using PEDs, sat out the 2011 season and presents a huge distraction to any team that signs him.

While, for a time, his dominant play grossly outweighed the repercussions and backlash of “Manny being Manny,” it doesn’t anymore.

According to NBC’s D.J. Short, Ramirez has been reinstated from the retirement list.

There are teams that are going to be interested in working out the 39-year-old slugger, but he’s the sort of high-risk, low-reward addition that can cripple a baseball team.

He’s a media circus and he’s coming off a mini-sabbatical from the sport. There was a time when bringing in Ramirez would have given a team a .300 hitter that was guaranteed to go yard at least 40 times in a season.

That time is long gone.

Ramirez is a shadow of the player he once was and any team who is willing to gamble on him is going to get nothing more than a big name and has-been baseball player who takes away from the team.

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Chicago Cubs fans are hoping Theo Epstein can help them win the World Series for the first time since 1908. Unfortunately, Epstein isn’t going to step foot in the batters’ box and he’s not a Cy Young winner.

The Cubs need to inject some talent into their lineup. They hired the right man for the job, as Epstein is a personnel genius. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out where the Cubs should set their sights first this offseason though.

Albert Pujols is the best player in baseball and a free agent after this season. He’s going to come with a hefty price tag, but the Cubs seem able and willing to shell out the dough if it means they are going to take it all next year.

There’s a huge problem though. Pujols is one of them. Would they really bring in a player whose terrorized the NL Central and the Cubs in particular?

Something tells me Cubs fans would be more than happy to forgive Pujols if he could bring them a championship. Pujols would give them a huge bat in the lineup and a legitimate superstar. They wouldn’t have to give up anything to bring him in (other than ridiculous amount of cash), and his presence alone could add double-digit wins to the organization.

On top of what he brings to the Cubs, look at what his absence would do to the Cardinals. Losing Pujols would send the Cardinals spiraling down the division standings and their World Series hopes would become a distant memory.

To make matters worse, they would have to face Pujols in the division. Not only would they be losing games because of Pujols’ absence, they would be victimized by “the Machine” both on the field and in the standings.

Bringing in Pujols would give the Cubs an elite hitter and a future Hall of Famer. Some may shy away because of the uniform he’s in, but what better way to stick it to the Cardinals than to steal their best player away?

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