Baseball – Andy Carey, Mat Gamel, Matt Cain, Raul Ibanez

Baseball – Andy Carey, Mat Gamel, Matt Cain, Raul Ibanez

Andy Carey (b. 1931) was a third baseman who played most of his career with the Yankees.  He led the American League in triples in 1955, and made two great plays in the 1956 World Series to help preserve Don Larsen's perfect game.  Carey was the starting third baseman for four pennant winning Yankee teams, two of which won the World Series. http://fairandunbalancedblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/baseball-losses-in-2011.html

Milwaukee Brewers- First Baseman- Mat Gamel: Gamel has simmered in the upper level of the Brewers’ system during the past few seasons. Between Casey McGehee and Prince Fielder, there was no place for him to play regularly in Milwaukee. With both players having departed this off-season, the Brewers can suddenly offer Gamel all the playing time he can handle. He has already been given the first base position, and while he won’t match Fielder’s production at the plate or during the post game meal, he will put up good numbers. He has a .304 career minor league batting average and hit 28 home runs in a season as recently as last year. Outside of Joey Votto, he might become the most productive first baseman in the NL Central. http://baseballhistorian.blogspot.com/2012/02/2012-national-league-breakout-players.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

It's no secret the San Francisco Giants and starting pitcher Matt Cain have mutual interest in a contract extension, but what exactly are the two sides looking for in a deal? Matt Cain told Chris Haft of MLB.com he and his agents are "listening to anything that's of fair value." 

On the other side of the negotiation table, Giants president and chief operating officer Larry Baer hinted to reporters the two sides aren't close to a deal. When asked if there's common ground between the two sides, Baer said "To be determined. To be determined." He later added, "Any time you're talking, it's a good thing, and we'll talk. ... It's been a lot of back-and-forth conversations." http://www.mlbdailydish.com/2012/2/25/2824315/matt-cain-wants-fair-value-in-extension-from-giants

Raul Ibanez finally got over the 2009 World Series last week, or so he contends. Ibanez, then a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, could not beat the Yankees in that Series, so in his 17th year in Major League Baseball, he finally joined them. This week, Ibanez agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million deal to become a member of the Yankees, and arrived in camp on Saturday hoping to begin the process that might soothe the painful memory of the Yankees’ victory in six games http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/