December 8, 2006 [LINK / comment]
After taking the unusual step of travelling to Florida to look for a job during the winter meetings, Barry Bonds signed a one-year contract with the Giants. This makes it more likely than not that he will break Hank Aaron's 755 career home run record, depending on how future record keepers decide to handle the Steroid Era. See ESPN
Otherwise, it has been a rather dull December in terms of baseball trades.
An argument in Baltimore has escalated into a legal battle. The Maryland Stadium Authority recently decided to purchase a new Mitsubishi video screen for Camden Yards, and Orioles owner Peter Angelos fiercely objects. The problem is, three Orioles officials were on the committee that unanimously approved the project. Baltimore Sun columnist Peter Schmuck sees this petulant behavior in the context of Angelos's veto of a proposed trade with the Braves and laments,
This is the way Angelos has been doing business for most of the past decade, and he is probably the only person inside or outside his organization who doesn't realize how much his disjointed management style has hurt the team, the fans and every merchant who is trying to make a living in the area around the stadium.
Hat tip to David Pinto, who at first gave Angelos the benefit of the doubt, but after learning the Orioles are seeking a restraining order to stop the project, he opined: "The team is looking a bit greedy here." What else is new?
The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities wanted to put in statues and other artistic displays on the outside of the new stadium, but they may be thwarted by the cost cap provisions that were intended to prevent overruns. See Washington Post.