Baseball Madness: From the Depths of the Cactus League

Kevin Rehberg is the Owner/Managing Editor of WestSide Culture, a site dedicated to life, beer, business and sports on the West Coast. Check it out at http://westsideculture.com. Or don't. Either way.

Ahh multitasking. Streaming March Madness on my iPhone, watching the D'backs rout the Cubs and sipping a Sierra Nevada. Tough day at the office. In fact let's get another beer and take this efficiency to another level.

Speaking of sweet gigs, how does one go about getting a job like Manny Ramirez? $500k this season to babysit Yoenis Cespedes, and not even for a full season? Just 2/3 of the year and some Spring Ball. Manny's kickin' back, keeping tabs on the little guy (Cespedes at 210 lbs is not little) and downing some women's estrogen pills. Hey, it's good being an Oakland A. Well, except for that whole paying for soda in the clubhouse thing.

If the regular season is anything like the craziness of this Spring, we are in for a special treat. The Oakland A's at 10-3 have the Cactus League's best record (who would've thunk it?). We already knew the Giants could pitch, but now they can hit. (Royals kicking themselves over that Melky Cabrera trade). Troy Tulowitzki is suddenly an actor. (Probably for the better since the Rockies are terrible). C.J. Wilson gets pitching tips from Kate Upton. (I would too). And Yu Darvish is human. (Maybe).

3 things I'm hoping to see before the A's and Mariners head to Japan: #1) Jurickson Profar and or Mike Trout in action. #2) Trevor Bauer win a starting job in Arizona. #3) Andrew "Cash Money" Cashner hit 104 on the radar gun. He's already done 103. What's another 1MPH, Cash? Rear back and fire it in there. Who cares if you drill someone in the ribs? If your GM, Josh Byrnes, has a problem with it, you have him email me.

[WestSide Culture]

Kansas City Royals to Give Bruce Chen $9 Million for Two More Seasons

Bruce Chen and the Kansas City Royals reportedly came to an agreement on Wednesday to keep the left-hander around for two more seasons to the tune of $9 million. What a deal.

Although the club hasn't made any sort of official announcement, some blabbermouth close to team negotiations spilled the beans. Chen is supposed to make $4.5 million in each of the next two seasons, but could earn an extra $500,000 per year in roster bonuses and another $1 million a season in performance bonuses. We'll see how that goes for him.

It's not that Chen sucks or anything. In fact, he was rather solid last season for the Royals, polishing off the year with a 12-8 record and 3.77 ERA. He's really much better now than he ever has been... we just don't trust the guy. Kind of a late bloomer, maybe. In 13 big league seasons with 10 different organizations, Chen enjoyed his best year with the Altanta Braves back in 2000 when he went 4-0 with a 2.50 ERA in 22 relief appearances. It was all downhill from there, but he seems to be getting a grip on his life in recent years with Kansas City.

However, just to be perfectly clear, we're gonna go on record that we think $9 million is a ridiculously stupid amount of money to give a guy like Bruce Chen. For crying out loud, Dayton Moore.

San Francisco Giants Dump Jonathan Sanchez on Kansas City for Melky Cabrera

The Kansas City Royals changed up their rotation a bit on Monday, trading away outfielder Melky Cabrera to the San Francisco Giants for starting pitcher Jonathan Sanchez. Believe it or not, this guy is an improvement considering the Royals owned the third-worst combined ERA in the American League in 2011.

Not coincidentally, this move makes room on the roster for hyped-up center field prospect Lorenzo Cain. To sweeten the deal, the Giants also threw in Ryan Verdugo... a Double-A pitcher no one has ever heard of.

Javier Vazquez Returns to the Big Apple

Even though they were just nailed with $25.69 million in luxury taxes, the New York Yankees aren't quite done spending.

Braves righty Javier Vazquez was given back to New York Tuesday in a trade that sent centerfielder Melky Cabrera to Atlanta. The Yankees will also get tall drink of water Boone Logan while the Braves will obtain lefty pitching prospect Mike Dunn, right-handed Dominican Arodys Vizcaino, and half a million dollars.

Cabrera set career highs with 13 homers and 68 RBIs last season for the Yanks while batting .274.

Vazquez was with New York in 2004, going 14-10 in his only All-Star season. He might be best remembered for his ALCS Game 7 meltdown when he surrendered a first-pitch grand slam to Johnny Damon (along with another bomb) in relief of Kevin Brown.

Ah, memories.

Have a safe and happy holiday season! See ya the Monday after Christmas...

[NY Daily News] | [Tomahawk Take] | [Yankee Addicts] | [Jorge Says No!]

CC Sabathia, Yankees Clobber Angels in Game 4

Working on three days rest, CC Sabathia munched his way through the Los Angeles Angels lineup for eight innings, allowing just one run on five hits, and striking out five after 101 pitches to aid his New York Yankees in their 10-1 victory.

Alex Rodriguez continued his outstanding postseason play with his third longball in as many games, falling a triple short of the cycle in his 3-for-4 night. Scoring three runs, he called his stolen base "a little bit of a miracle" in a post-game interview with Tiny Ken Rosenthal, saying that this was the best he's felt all year.