Kuzul

As the Derek Jeter contract negotiations degenerated into a very public he-said, she-said battle of egos, Mariano Rivera and his representation quietly went about the business of re-upping with the only team he has ever known.

The two sides soon agreed on a two-year, $30 million deal, the news made official via press release. Apparently, an awkward press conference where the player appeared to be wondering if he could choke his GM to death and get away with it was deemed unnecessary.

And while many in the media, and even Brian Cashman himself, questioned whether the 36-year-old Jeter still deserved superstar money, no one said a peep about Rivera, a man five years Jeter’s senior who relies exclusively on a young man’s pitch.

There will never be an Al Leiter-like reinvention of Mariano Rivera. You’re not going to see Mo shaking off signs and battling through innings like Eddie Harris in Major League. Once Rivera’s inimitable cutter goes, so too does the G.O.A.T.

Of course, how the two Yankee lifers performed in their walk years had a lot to do with how their contract negotiations played out. While Jeter was coming off the worst season of his career, Rivera had a year that was in many ways nearly identical to its predecessor.

The numbers tell the story:

IP
2009: 66.1
2010: 61

H
2009: 48
2010: 39

ERA
2009: 1.76
2010: 1.80

ER
2009: 13
2010: 12

BB
2009: 13
2010: 14

K
2009: 72
2010: 45

WHIP
2009: 0.91
2010: 0.83

S
2009: 44
2010: 33

Three things jump out at you here:

1. This guy is freaking amazing.

2. The disparity in saves proves how misleading that statistic can be. In this case, the Yankees played an inordinate amount of games in 2010 where they badly beat an opponent. Blowout victories mean less save chances. In fact, Rivera actually finished the same amount of games (55) in both ’09 and ’10. That tells you the Yankees were going to him in non-save situations just to get him work.

3. OK, this is the one where the pitchforks come out. If you watched Rivera last season, you saw subtle signs of slippage.

(Ducking Molotov cocktails)

Let me explain. It wasn’t anything that could be seen on the surface, but Rivera didn’t possess the same ability to overpower an opponent. This is evident in the strikeout totals, which dipped significantly. Rivera’s 6.8 K/9 ratio was at its lowest point in three years, dropping three full strikeouts from the year before.

That’s not to take anything away from Rivera’s ’10 season, which was magnificent and in some ways better than the year before. But in his ability to make batters miss, he wasn’t nearly as dominant. As unique as Mo is, you can’t expect that to get better given his age.

Enter Rafael Soriano. The reliever had a breakout 2010 season with the Rays, just in time to hit free agency. With Kerry Wood taking a discount to return to the Cubs, the Yankees have a glaring need for an eighth-inning guy and also the $140M earmarked for Cliff Lee just burning a hole through their pocket.

If I’m the Yankees, I’m on the phone with Soriano’s agent yesterday.

“Brian Cashman here. OK, full disclosure: We can’t give you the closer’s job…at least not now. But we can give you a four-year deal that pays you like the best closer in the league. We see you as Mariano’s setup man, but we also envision you getting save chances since we don’t plan on using Mo in back-to-back days and we can’t rule out the possibility that he misses time due to injury. You will be both his understudy and successor.”

It’s a good pitch, but I’m not sure it works. The personality type of a closer—Rivera being a notable exception—oozes more machismo than Razor Ramon. These guys like to be El Hombre. It’s entirely probable that Soriano’s first prerequisite for a prospective suitor (other than being willing to hand over gobs of money) is that he be the hero in the back of the ‘pen.

But it’s worth kicking the tires on anyway. There were reports earlier Thursday that the Yankees were doing just that, but later we were being told New York wasn’t interested. I think that’s a mistake, for all the reasons I’ve brought up above, but also this: If the Yankees aren’t going to have a dominant rotation—and lord Jesus, it’s not looking that way—they should be doing everything in their power to put together a lights-out bullpen.

As we learned way back in 1996, being able to shorten a game to seven innings has the knack of turning a merely good team into a championship one.

Dan Hanzus writes three columns a week on his New York Yankees site, River & Sunset. He can be reached at dhanzus@gmail.com. Follow Dan on Twitter @danhanzus.

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That man is smiling because Adrian Beltre is currently the “hottest” item left on the Major League Baseball winter stove now that Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn have found greener pastures.

Or more luxurious estates with more elegantly manicured lawns amidst a community with higher gates.

You say potato, I say potato…

The point is that the prize of the offseason is now a 31-year-old third baseman who’s proven to be underwhelming unless surrounded by an elite supporting cast, working in a hitter’s yard and/or playing for a new contract.

Oh, and he’s represented by Scott Boras.

What you just heard was the sound of 30 major-league teams shuffling through the deck for more efficient options or a more pleasant negotiating partner (which shouldn’t be hard unless this human Porta-John is the only name in their contacts).

And the first ones to pass were likely out near the Left Coast.

Based on the free-agent doings in the National League West, you can bet the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies never even saw Beltre’s tires. Forget about kicking them.

The former Dodger seems priced out of each club’s budget and superfluous based on existing options at the hot corner.

So no, Adrian Beltre almost certainly won’t be in the division next year.

But there are other players who could help and Spring Training is still months away so the dealing’s not done. With that in mind, here are 15 players (really 12) who might be competing in the NL West come 2011:

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Ken Rosenthal has recently suggested that the New York Yankees take a run at free agent reliever Rafael Soriano.

After losing out on Cliff Lee, the Yankees have a lot of unused money laying around, and adding Soriano, along with Mariano Rivera would give them the best eighth-ninth inning punch.

What this essentially does for the Yankees is make the games shorter.

If they Yankees take a lead into the eighth inning, it basically turns a nine inning feast into a seven-inning snack.

Soriano led all of baseball with 45 saves last season. He posted a 1.73 ERA with 57 strikeouts in 62.1 IP last season for the Tampa Bay Rays.

After Joaquin Benoit signed a three-year, $16.5 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, the price for relief pitching this offseason went through the roof, so the price tag for Soriano could be pretty steep.

However, with the improvement of the Boston Red Sox and the failure to sign Lee, the Yankees need to improve in other ways.

While they have questions surrounding their starting rotation, mainly what they can expect from A.J. Burnett next season, the Yankees can also improve their ability to lock down wins in the late innings by adding an arm like Soriano.

Of course, Soriano would have to accept an eighth-inning role with the Yankees after being a closer last season, but if a deal could be made, the Yankees will have found a way to counter the Phillies‘ starting rotation should they meet in the postseason and a way to ensure any lead they bring into the late innings against the Red Sox stands up.

The Yankees have, of course, been named among the teams interested in trading for Kansas City Royals‘ ace Zack Greinke, but they may not have the prospects Kansas City wants, namely middle-infield prospects and there are questions about Greinke’s mental health pitching in New York.

So if they can’t trade for Greinke, and with the free agent pitching market being as weak as it is, the Yankees should look towards the end of the game instead of the start.

Mariano Rivera is already the greatest closer of all time, and pairing him with a lock-down reliever like Soriano would be the best counter-move to losing out on Cliff Lee.

On top of all that, should Rivera retire at the end of his new two-year contract, and the Yankees lock-up Soriano for three or four years, they would also have the heir apparent ready to go.

That’s a little bit more far-fetched, but it has to be said.

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Last years regular season began with high hopes and great expectations for the Seattle Mariners.  They had had a very busy offseason as they acquired such players as Cliff Lee, Milton Bradley, and Casey Kotchman.

Unfortunately, the team fell way short of expectations and ended up with the worst record in the American League.  They were dead last in hitting in the major leagues and hit the fewest home runs in all of baseball as well.

The season was chaotic and treacherous as their new players were busts (except for Lee) and the clubhouse morale was bad.  Don Wakamatsu got the guillotine and the Mariners finished at a god awful 61-101 mark.

Once again, the AL West looks weak and if Seattle makes the right moves they can maybe compete once again.  The right moves you may ask?  Are the ones I am about to suggest.

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After Carl Crawford’s surprise signing by the Boston Red Sox, MLB’s free agent pool is slowly starting to dwindle down.

Cliff Lee is still out there for the New York Yankees’ or Texas Rangers’ taking, but there aren’t a whole lot of other marquee names left.

As for free agent relievers, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim—not to be confused with all of the other Los Angeles residing in MLB—scooped up Scott Downs, the Philadelphia Phillies re-signed Jose Contreras, Joaquin Benoit went to the Detriot Tigers, and the Bronx Bombers kept Mariano Rivera.

Still there’s a solid group of relievers left for any teams trying to shore up their bullpens this offseason.

Here’s a list of the top 15 specialty relievers still available.

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With news that the Angels have signed free agent reliever Scott Downs, the Angels have been removed from the amazing Rafael Soriano race.

Now that the front-runners have ran off the track, which bullpen will the veteran closer join for the 2011 MLB season?

Here are 10 possible destinations for the rejuvenated Soriano.

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LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla.  With the Jayson Werth deal signed, sealed and delivered, and the Adrian Gonzalez trade done (with the extension to be announced later), the entire baseball world is wondering where Cliff Lee will sign.

Lee’s agent Darek Braunecker today met with the various teams interested in Lee. Braunecker met with New York Yankee and Texas Ranger officials. There was even talk the Boston Red Sox met briefly with Lee’s agent, probably just to keep tabs on what the Yankees are up to.

Anyway, the domino theory is very much in play. Unless guys are offered what is now called “Jayson Werth-type” deals (that means out of their mind contracts in terms of years and money), lots of people are going to wait to decide until after Lee signs.

I have spoken with various people on the floor—including Ken Rosenthal, Jon Heyman, Bill Madden and countless others. I do not like to deal in rumors, but I generally like to ask opinions and then offer my own thoughts.

Some thoughts are met with a “that’s interesting” or “that’s possible,” while a few were met with a quick “never happen.”

Everybody has a story and an idea, but here is what is being discussed now.

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MLB rumors continue to heat up the hot stove—or at least New York City—as we inch closer and closer to February.

And that magical date when pitchers and catchers report.

Around baseball, it’s actually been a somewhat quiet offseason for player movement. No free agents of note have signed, with the exception of the reports that former Yankee Javier Vasquez will sign with Florida.

But not even the much-coveted Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford have been in the news as much as Derek Jeter’s very public contract talks with the Yankees have been.

There have been conflicting reports about the terms that Jeter is demanding. The Yankees have taken a very hard line in negotiating, and as of this posting, there is still no deal.

Much less publicized, but just as—and maybe more—alarming, is that the great closer Mariano Rivera is also without a deal and on the free-agent market.

Eventually, when it’s all said and done, both are expected to remain Yankees.

But, for the sake or argument, here are some options to replace two of the more celebrated players to ever wear the pinstripes.

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The 2010 season reached its conclusion and that can only mean one thing: The hot stove season is underway!

How will your team upgrade this offseason?

An integral part of any team is its closer. Look no further than the World Series champion Giants, a team that had a lights out postseason from closer Brian Wilson. It was an essential key to their success.

Having a reliable closer makes it so much easier on fans and coaches alike. A shaky closer can raise any manager’s blood pressure.

If you’re a fan of the Mets, Angels, Blue Jays, Rays, White Sox, Nationals, Marlins, Braves or Red Sox, pay attention.

Here are the power rankings for the top 10 free-agent pitchers that have the ability to be solid closers in 2011.

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Believe it or not, the 2011 MLB season is just around five months away, and one of the rising topics in  many circles is where exactly some of the free agent relievers are going to wind up, or what is going to happen to them prior to spring training.

I picked out 10 guys who are sure to draw attention—some more than others—as we slowly move along the MLB offseason.

You’ll notice that two teams in particular (Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago White Sox) are the most active teams with a bevy of players they are either getting rid of, and/or considering.

Let’s take a look at who I have, and if there is a name you want to throw out there, do so below in the comment section.

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