The Los Angeles Dodgers have signed center fielder Andruw Jones to a 2-year deal worth a reported $36 million. That’s a little pricey for my taste, but not outrageous, and it’s only two years. The problem is, this signing leaves me with more questions than answers:

What happens to Juan Pierre? If he slides over to left, as some have speculated, he becomes even more worthless than he already is. Don’t get me wrong, as a Padres fan, I’d love nothing more than to see the Dodgers run Pierre out to a corner spot every day, but I can’t bring myself …read more

Nate Silver ran a piece the other day at Baseball Prospectus re-examining his earlier look at the 50 most valuable long-term commodities in baseball. He offers thoughts on biggest risers (including Justin Upton, about whom he correctly notes that “age is everything, and for a 19-year-old to come this far this fast is very special”), biggest fallers (comparing Jason Bay’s career path to that of Bobby Higginson), and his “very preliminary, off-the-cuff, subject-to-change, pre-PECOTA Top 20″ for next year.
Read the full article for all the details, but here are Silver’s projected top pitchers for 2008-2013. See if you can figure …read more

You are wondering which games to watch on Wednesday. Not a problem, I’ve got your back:
American League

Orioles at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — Intriguing pitching matchup here between Erik Bedard and Philip Hughes. Over at Mr. Irrelevant, Jamie Mottram ponders Bedard’s chances of reaching 300 strikeouts this season. Meanwhile, Carlos Gomez at Hardball Times (full disclosure: I am a contributor to THT) analyzes Hughes’ delivery and compares it to that of fellow pinstripe prospect Joba Chamberlain.
Tigers at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — The Tigers prevailed in round one of the AL Central showdown. Wednesday sees Fausto Carmona and his improving …read more

So many games to choose from on a Friday. What to do…
American League

Red Sox at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. PT — Not that the Red Sox need my help in the hype department, but a battle between Daisuke Matsuzaka and Erik Bedard could be a lot of fun to watch. Bedard has emerged in a big way this season. He’s fourth in the American League in ERA, first in H/9, first in K/9 (11.20!), and first in strikeouts. With all due respect to perennial favorite Johan Santana, Bedard and Oakland’s Dan Haren have to be the front-runners for this year’s Cy …read more

Something is rotten in the state of Maryland. The ballclub from Baltimore is in full free fall, and manager Sam Perlozzo has been let go. As everyone knows, when your superiors make poor decisions, you will be the one to suffer for it. Perlozzo ultimately couldn’t rise above his organization’s ineptitude, and now he is looking for work again.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are talking to former Florida Marlins manager Joe Girardi about the vacant position. Girardi, you may recall, led a team with a $15 million payroll to 78 wins last season. That’s a little less than Baltimore is paying Danys …read more

Justin Morneau and Torii Hunter have hit back-to-back towering homers off Baltimore’s Erik Bedard. It’s only the second inning, but with Johan Santana on the mound for the Twins, that could be the game.
Some impressive homers on Opening Day. Adam Dunn knocked a couple of serious bombs for Cincy, as did Edgar Renteria for the Braves.
Ah, baseball…
[Update: The Orioles have knocked three doubles in the fourth off Santana to take a 3-2 lead. The home crowd got real quiet.]