OK, now I'll have a real post. I was living in a fantasy world the last week or so, or should I say Florida, and now have baseball on the mind again. There's a lot of baseball things to talk about in the next few weeks: rumors, prospects, and more Organizational Meetings. First, I wanted to clear up some of the buzz. I've heard a rumor on almost every team, so I decided I'd address them today.

First of all, let me say that Alex Rodriguez or Nomar Garciaparra will not get traded. I guarantee it. In fact, the only time Rodriguez will EVER get traded is if the Rangers take Manny Ramirez's contract or Darren Dreifort and Shawn Green's. That's it. Nomar won't get traded this offseason, and the team will go hard in negotiations with him. Since I think the Angels, his top choice, will solidify SS over this winter, I foresee Nomar locking himself in Boston for oh, the next 15 years.

The other big name being thrown around is Curt Schilling. Via Lee Sinins, I've heard three Schilling rumors:

1. Schilling for either Nick Johnson or Alfonso Soriano
2. Schilling to Yanks, Nick Johnson to Brewers, Richie Sexson to D-Backs
3. Schilling and Jim Edmonds to New York, Nick Johnson and Danny Bautsita to St. Louis, Jeff Weaver and Alfonso Soriano to Arizona

OK, first of all, the Diamondbacks would be much more inclined for the second option, so I think the first is void. Richie Sexson would provide economic help (when subtracting his cost from Schilling's), as well as increased power. The Brew Crew would save tons of money, while getting a premium bat, and the Yankees would get their ace, and likely go sign a Doug Mientkiewicz type.

The third option is what really bothers me. Aren't the Cardinals much more inclined to trade for Soriano and Weaver than Johnson and Bautista? If they are interested in Johnson, this Tino Martinez to the Devil Rays rumor must be true. I really don't understand Tampa here, because if they ponied up a little more, Derrek Lee would be theirs. Martinez doesn't have any baseball skills to speak of, and would have the same effect Vinny Castilla had in Tampa.

Tampa rivals Toronto and Baltimore have also been home to some rumors, but from the free agent market. Toronto has been rumored to be interested in Pat Hentgen, Paul Quantrill, and Tom Gordon. All three make a lot of sense, but I hope Riccardi is thinking about offering Halladay that big extension anyday now. Baltimore may not bid higher than $15M a year on Vlad, and supposedly like Mike Piazza. I didn't know Baltimore had a highly gay population. Just kidding.

Staying in the AL, I heard the crazy rumor that the Chicago White Sox were thinking about trading Magglio Ordonez. Bad idea. But, that must mean that Ken Williams loves Carlos Lee as much as I do, and sees him as a hugely important aspect of this team. Williams is also trying to swing a Odalis Perez for Paul Konerko deal, which I could see happening. Dan Evans acquired Konerko for the White Sox way back when, and both Perez and Konerko fit in the 2003 underachiever category. Bad contract for bad contract ain't such a bad idea.

Kaz Matsui, who's attracted interest from every West Coast team, may pull out of his decision to come to the United States. Supposedly he wants to represent Japan in the 2004 Olympics, and is thinking of accepting a two-year deal in Japan. I don't see why he would do this, but I guess I don't particularly understand the whole loyalty issue very well.

Milwaukee has impressed me this offseason, being heavy players in the minor league free agent market, and demanding solid value for Sexson. They have a great minor league system, and if they want to drop payroll $10M next year to save resources, who cares? Sexson must go, even if it means to the in-division Cubs.

The rumors I've heard are that Chicago would give up both Hee Seop Choi and Juan Cruz to acquire Sexson. That is a very considerable amount, but perfectly documents how low the stocks of Choi and Cruz are right now. I'm still high on them both, and I think they should be playing 1B and starting respectively in 2004.

Cub rival Houston is considering making a play for Roger Clemens, rather than Andy Pettite. Andy is rumored to be seeking a five-year deal, which would be pretty disastrous for the team that inks him. With his fragile body, a three-year contract is much smarter. And I agree with Alex Belth in the fact that Pettite would hardly succeed in Minute Maid Park. Oh and by the way, the Astros signed Dan Miceli. Whoopee.

Cheers to Major League Baseball for every award so far, except NL Rookie of the Year. That subject has been much documented across the blogosphere, so I won't dive into it. Back tomorrow, I'm going to try and finish my second reading of Moneyball tonight.