Tremendous power with 40+ HR’s and a BB machine.

Buzz Up PrintMore From Tim BrownMussina kept retirement plan a secret Nov 20, 2008 Cubs still in Peavy pursuit Nov 19, 2008
The agent for Rafael Furcal called “bogus” a report out of the Dominican Republic claiming the Oakland Athletics had offered the free-agent shortstop a four-year, $48 million contract.

Agent Paul Kinzer also shot down a rumor the Mets had any interest in Furcal as a second baseman, or that Furcal would be inclined to switch positions.

The A’s and Giants have been most aggressive, according to Kinzer, in an aggressive market for Furcal. The Dodgers figure to remain involved. And Kinzer, with a chuckle, said there was, “a surprise team, not the Mets.”

The Braves figure to make a run at Furcal if Yunel Escobar goes to the Padres in a Jake Peavy deal. The Cubs, Orioles and Cardinals would have reasons to pursue Furcal, who has been told he’d have little future back issues if he adhered to a rigid conditioning and maintenance program.

Notes: Here are the significant deadlines coming: Monday – Last day for teams to offer their free agents salary arbitration (in order to be eligible for draft-pick compensation); Dec. 12 – Non-tender date, or the day teams decide whether to offer contracts to unsigned players on their 40-man roster. An assistant GM said Monday that between those dates and the economic crisis and the fact Scott Boras has his share of big free agents, the market has slowed. … The Red Sox still assume Jason Varitek will be their catcher in 2009, according to sources within the organization. That said, they are preparing themselves otherwise. Miguel Montero and Gerald Laird are out there. They’re going hard at Mark Teixeira because they see critical parts of their roster in decline, among them David Ortiz, Mike Lowell and Varitek. And Teixeira is everything the Red Sox adore in a player. He’s not a big personality, but, hey, he’ll get on base and drive in runs. Somebody else can be colorful.

Tim Brown is a national baseball writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Tim a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

The Yanks of that era were so good they were probably an exception to your rule. After all, they got away with playing Girardi over Posada in ’96.

True Bernie was always missing games with various injuries that nicked him up.

What I was referring to were major injuries that would have wiped out the majority of the season – as happened to Posada this past year.

Nothing that devastating happened to those three player during the dynasty.

And you’re right on Bernie and injuries really hurting how he was perceived.

He was and is grossly underappreciated. What he did at the CF spot was remarkable. Overshadowed by Griffey manning CF during that time.

The years injuries really hurt him was ’98. He plays the whole season and I think he wins MVP going away. .997 OPS CF seasons are very rare.

Absolutely! Ramirez, for all his emotional baggage, is the best clutch hitter in MLB and an absolute difference maker to any lineup. Can you imagine batting him 4th behind ARod?

Its not like the Yankees don’t have a ton of hitting – they have lacked Hitting w/ RISP in recent years.

Plug Ramirez into that lineup and watch the improvement in BA with RISP and consistency in scoring Runs.

The need for improving their Hitting w/RISP ranks right up there with improving the Starting Staff.