John Danks became the last arbitration-eligible player to sign a 2010 contract, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $3.45 million.
My first reaction was that there would be no long-term deal this year. Then I realized that Tuesday was the deadline for arbitration filing, and Danks is undergoing his examination today. Consider this a stopgap measure.
Over at South Side Sox, Colin put together a list of more comparable pitchers beyond Mark Buehrle and Jon Lester.
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Christian Marrero Reading Room:
*Now that Danks has signed, the Cheat updated his handy-dandy payroll chart.
*I'll say this for Scott Linebrink: At least he's not resorting to a convenient excuse to explain his failures:
"If I had a nickel every time I heard I was tipping pitches, I wouldn't have to draw a salary," Linebrink said. "That's one of those scapegoats that can be used for pitchers.
"Everyone tips. Hitters are good enough, especially with up-close video, where they can slow it down and zoom in and see if you are squinting one eye on a certain pitch. You might be doing it subconsciously, something not too glaring. I was told that last year by a few people. I kind of laughed at it."
*New Era continues to make terrible caps, as evidenced by the new spring training lids.
*Mark Gonzalez rounds up the action from the winter mini-camps. Among the developments:
- Carlos Quentin is said to have fully recovered from plantar fasciitis.
- Dayan Viciedo is using Camp Cora to work at first, not third.
- Don Cooper said Erick Threets "seems to be the most interesting cat." He's officially on the radar.
*Jim Thome and Paul Konerko did some bonding. Odds of Thome crashing SoxFest increase.
