The Boston Red Sox decided to spend some of the money they saved when Mark Teixeira signed with the New York Yankees by agreeing to a deal with free agent pitcher Brad Penny. Penny, who spent the last four and a half season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, will vie for a spot in the Red Sox rotation.

The deal with Penny is believed to be worth $5 million, however he could end up making $8 million if he’s able to pitch more than 160 innings. While that amount of innings is doable for many starting pitchers, Penny is coming off …read more

CC Sabathia, the oversized ace for the Cleveland Indians, is looking more and more like a player that is about to be traded. The Indians, who are 35-41 and seven games behind the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox, will likely look to trade Sabathia before he becomes a free agent after the season.
Sabathia struggled mightily to begin his 2008 campaign but has bounced back nicely. After posting a 7.76 ERA in April, Sabathia had a 2.44 ERA in May and so far in June has a 2.74 ERA. Sabathia, who won the Cy Young Award last …read more

What to watch on a Friday?

Yankees at Red Sox, 4:05 p.m. PT — You’ll be watching this one whether you want to or not. It’s what pays the bills, eh? Chien-Ming Wang goes against Clay Buccholz.
Angels at Mariners, 7:10 p.m. PT — Jered Weaver and Felix Hernandez… Vlad and Ichiro!… Monkeys and mooses (meese?)… This one’s got it all. Here’s your game of the day.
Padres at Dodgers, 7:40 p.m. PT — Jake Peavy and Brad Penny hook up for the second time in a week. The big story — at least among people who don’t know much about baseball — …read more

Not a lot of great pitching matchups today. Eh, that happens…

White Sox at Tigers, 12:55 p.m. PT — At 0-4, Detroit is the only team without a win so far this season. Baseball is a strange game. Dontrelle Willis makes his Tigers debut. For a guy who should be in his physical prime, Willis sure has fallen fast. Where’s Steve Avery when you need him?
Dodgers at Padres, 12:55 p.m. PT — This is by far the best matchup of the day: Brad Penny goes up against Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy. Penny is 0-2 with a 6.67 ERA over …read more