Andrew at Defensive Indifference lists the 10 sports figures he blogged about most in 2007, as requested by the incomparable Jamie Mottram. As I did last year, I’m again participating in this project (thanks, Jamie!). Following Andrew’s lead, here is my list, in alphabetical order:

Barry Bonds. His stories pretty much write themselves.
Miguel Cabrera. Anyone who gets scolded by Ozzie Guillen for being too fat is okay in my book.
Fausto Carmona. One of the biggest surprises of 2007.
Daisuke Matsuzaka. Not as good as the hype, but still pretty good.
Gil Meche. Irresponsible spending almost got the Royals out of last place.
Jake Peavy. …read more

Maury Brown at Biz of Baseball chats with ESPN’s Rob Neyer. They touch on performance-enhancing drugs, Barry Zito’s contract, the Matt Morris trade, and more. [Tip o' the Knuckle Curve cap to Baseball Think Factory.]

Way back in December, I’d compared the Giants’ signing of Bary Zito to the Rockies’ signing of Mike Hampton several years ago. I figured with the season winding down, now might be a good time to revisit that comparison, which is precisely what I’ve done in my first article at Ballhype. Enjoy, and “hype it up” if you are so inclined!

FOX Sports reports that the Cubs have signed right-hander Carlos Zambrano to a 5-year, $91.5 million contract extension (tip o’ the Knuckle Curve cap to David at Baseball Musings). On the one hand, $18 million a year is a bit much for a pitcher. On the other, that’s what the Giants are paying Barry Zito.
Of course, there are differences between Zambrano and Zito. The most important are:

Zambrano is three years younger.
Zambrano’s contract is two years shorter.
Zambrano is a much better pitcher. He’s having an off-year, but it’s still better than anything Zito has done since 2003.

I guess the real take-home …read more

Three free agents were signed for $100 million or more this past winter. Presumably if they’re worth that much money, they must be helping their new teams in a big way, right?

Six-Figure Free Agents, Class of 2007

Player
Team
2006
2007
Diff

Statistics courtesy of ESPN and Baseball-Reference.

Alfonso Soriano
Cubs
66-96
.407
58-52
.527
+.120

Barry Zito
Giants
76-85
.472
47-62
.431
-.041

Carlos Lee
Astros
82-80
.506
48-63
.432
-.074

Soriano has done a nice job (.297/.336/.511) so far, although he’s now out 2-4 weeks with a strained right quadriceps. Of course, the Cubs signed a few other high-profile free agents (Aramis Ramirez, Ted Lilly, Jason Marquis) to the tune of nearly $300 million, so it’s not like Soriano is solely responsible for the Cubs’ improvement …read more

Barry Bonds hit two home runs Thursday in a loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field. It’s a good thing, too, because Bonds’ pursuit of Hank Aaron’s record is about the only thing going for the Giants right now.
San Francisco is now 39-54 on the season and has slipped “ahead” of the Astros and Nationals in the battle for worst team in the league. The Giants’ lineup is ancient and, with the exception of Bonds and Ryan Klesko, they’re playing like it. The bullpen has been shaky, and the rotation hasn’t been much better (with the weakest link being $126 …read more

We’ve got a light schedule on Monday, with some surprisingly good pitching matchups:
American League

Royals at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT – Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander do battle in Detroit. Two starts does not a season make, but it’s nice to see Greinke off to a strong start in 2007.

National League

Mets at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT – Shortstop Jimmy Rollins thinks the Phillies are the team to beat in the NL East, but their 3-8 start isn’t helping his case. Don’t blame Rollins, though. He’s hitting .298/.411/.766 in the early going, with a league-leading six homers. The problem has been that …read more

Atlanta Braves left-hander Mike Hampton is done for the season.
Again.
Hampton will undergo elbow surgery on Tuesday and is expected to miss 6-9 months. He missed all of last season and made just 12 starts for the Braves in 2005. Bummer for Hampton and the Braves, to say the very least.
Not to change the subject or anything, but how was signing Barry Zito to a 7-year contract a good idea? And no, I’m not reacting to his two poor starts to start the season. Anyone who thinks that Zito comes without risk needs to take a good hard look at Hampton …read more