There's no baseball in France!

This post (second of the day) has absolutely NOTHING to do with France. Though I will say that since I've been here, I feel extremely disconnected from the American sports scene. Except one French channel does air its own version of the NFL Sunday Ticket. Other than that, all my current U.S. sports knowledge comes from my iGoogle homepage.

In the wake of major MLB transactions like the Giants buying out Barry Zito's seven-year $126 million contract, I'm amazed that things are still skyrocketing like they are.

As a loyal A's fan, I can be the first to tell you that Zito was never in his career worth that tab. Not even 2002, during his reign as the AL Cy Young recipient. He is not that kind of a workhorse and he should not be the No. 1 starter on any roster, because he is too inconsistent and erratic. I think he's a nice compliment to any other hard-throwing ace and would fill out a rotation nicely as a No. 3 Sunday-type starter.

After finishing the 2007 campaign 11-13 with a 4.53 ERA, it seems the Giants have a long six years ahead of them if Zito is going to continue to be their opening day starter.

I also think it's funny (and totally predictable) how Zito's own money-hungry agent, Scott Boras, hasn't stopped there. His next big-name deal -- and trust me, this one's going to be even bigger if he can land it -- lies in Alex Rodriguez. Now that the Yankees don't seem to have the same magical spark they squandered 10 years ago, the New York organization might be in for a very big change.

A-Rod's contract with the Yankees was hands-down the largest any player has signed in the history of baseball. And he now has a very short window to decide if he wants to move on elsewhere and either a.) join a winning team, b.) go back to winning some gold glove hardware, or c.) all of the above.

The Yankees are one of the only organizations that truly disgusts me and I'm going to be very, very interested to see just who stays and who's let go (manager Joe Torre included in the names of people being re-evaluated this off-season) in the upcoming weeks and months.

Which reminds me, BEST QUOTE FROM AN ARTICLE EVER:

Hank Steinbrenner believed the Yankees' offer was fair and that Torre needed to accept some of the blame for the team's zero championships since 2000.

There are actually a few rumors that since the Giants have parted ways with Barry Bonds, A-Rod could be the next player with a comparable salary and offensive ability to fill the void. I just hope that Bonds gets passed up on by every organization. Personally, I think it would be a complete shame to have as selfish a player as Barry Bonds land in the American League and only play a few games a week to exploit the hell out of the all-time HR record with no regards or concern for his current team -- whoever that may be during the 2008 season.

But then again, this IS the MLB. With salaries being what they are, the team-mindset is quickly turning into more of a myth than an actual clubhouse philosophy.