…have been alive a shorter amount of time than John Smoltz has been pitching for the Atlanta Braves. However, he was at Atlanta’s Turner Field this morning to clean out his locker. Smoltz has agreed in principle to a $5.5 million, 1 year deal with the Boston Red Sox, who saved a lot in picking up a great pitcher.

Smoltz had 210 wins and 154 saves while a member of the Braves. In the mid-to-late 90’s he was a member of the greatest pitching staff ever; including future MLB Hall of Famer’s Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. The Braves won their division 14 straight years, but were only able to win 1 World Series.

Injuries and severe pain have hampered Smoltz the last few years, but, when healthy, he is still one of the most effective pitchers in the league. He joins a Red Sox team that is a perennial contender and on the short list of potential World Series Champions. While it will be strange to see him in another jersey, Smoltz career is old enough to make its own decisions.

Sources within the organization revealed yesterday that the Chicago Cubs have agreed in principle on a 3-year, $30 million contract with controversial outfielder Milton Bradley. The deal is pending a physical, but expected to be finalized no later than Thursday. After having the National League’s best record the Cubs were swept out of the playoffs for the second straight year. Their futility was blamed in large part on their lack of productive left handed hitters in the middle of the lineup. Bradley is coming off his first All-Star season and is the best available option to fulfill this need for the Cubs.

While playing for the Texas Rangers last season Bradley batted .321 with 22 homeruns and led the American League with an on-base percentage of .436. He will play in right field for the Cubs, taking over for Kosuke Fukudome. The Cubs committed $12 million per season to Fukudome last year but he was not able to meet their expectations. Chicago is hoping that Bradley can be that last piece of the puzzle that will come together as a Cubs’ World Series Championship.

Although only 30, Bradley will be on his 7th team after joining Chicago and is widely considered the most disruptive player in baseball. His Major League career has been marked by confrontations with coaches, players, umpires, and the media. Last season he tried to make his way to the broadcaster’s booth in Kansas City to confront the Royals’ announcer and the year before he was injured while being held back from attacking an umpire. Controversy has followed Bradley on every stop in his career, as he has very thin skin, and this bodes dangerously for the Cubs as the fans at Wrigley Field can be ruthless. However, when in the midst of a 100 year championship drought as the Cubs are, a chance to add a player of Bradley’s caliber cannot be passed up.

The New York Yankees said goodbye to the original Yankee Stadium at the end of last year’s disappointing season. In 2009 they will be playing in a new version of the historic ballpark, creatively titled the new Yankee Stadium. To kick off the MLB season and to celebrate the new ballpark the Yankees have invited the Chicago Cubs for two exhibition games.

To honor the old stadium, and celebrate the new one, admission to these two exhibition games will be 25 cents for the bleachers and $1.10 for the grandstand. The two games will take place on April 3rd and 4th. Prices are set as such to match what they were on April 18, 1923, the first game at old Yankee Stadium, against Boston.

Every ticket for these games will be discounted, with none costing more than $50. This might not seem like a great deal to some, but consider that tickets will cost as much $2,500 for regular season games. This is a perfect opportunity for young, single men to take advantage of. The bleachers, and stadium, will be packed with tons of beautiful women who will have plenty of money left over for beer.

Major League Baseball player Mark Texeira is considered the biggest commodity on the free agent market since the signing of C.C. Sabathia last week. Texeira went from a respected hitter on the Texas Rangers, to dangerous hitter on the Atlanta Braves, and is now considered worth more money than Manny Ramirez after half a season in Anaheim. He is expected to get a deal around 200 million dollars, becoming only the second player to ever sign a contract of that size.

There is no doubt that Texeira has come into his own as a ballplayer. He has two Silver Slugger and two Gold Glove Awards in his career. He made the Angels the hands-down best team in the AL for the regular season after he was traded to Los Angeles. However, his team lost handily in the first round after being the favorite to win the World Series.

With the free agents that are available this year, it is hard to justify Texeira even being a first choice in free agency. Manny Ramirez, a future hall of famer and greatest hitter in the game, is also available. He sparked the Red Sox to two World Series and carried the Dodgers to the playoffs after a mid-season trade. He is the kind of player that changes a whole team and wins titles. If a team is looking for a superstar this is where they should go first.

There is no doubt that Texeira is a first class player and valuable commodity. However, he has done little to justify the second richest contract in MLB history. Teams with that much money to spend can get a package of good, professional players or a superstar in Manny Ramirez. Don’t forget, Barry Bonds, the greatest of all time, whether legally or not, is available too.

According to a source, CC Sabathia is very close to becoming a New York Yankee. An in-person meeting between general manager Brian Cashman and Sabathia in California just recently took place. Although the deal is not officially closed this source said there were “zero roadblocks” in the way of the 28 year old left hander becoming a Yankee.

How much is this mans left arm worth? About $23 million a year (Or if your used to hourly rates, thats roughly about $2,625 an hour), by far the biggest contract for any picther in history. ESPN reported to get the deal completed, the Yankees added a seventh year to their original six-year, $140 million offer, bringing the total package to seven years and $161 million.

Sabathia also had offers from Milwaukee Brewers, the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox. Sabathia had apparently expressed interest in playing in California because he had already lived there. But for $23 million a year, I would make the move.