Jays set to honor slugger Delgado

TORONTO — The Blue Jays plan to honor former slugger Carlos Delgado next year by adding his name to the club's Level of Excellence.

The franchise leader in home runs and RBIs will be the 10th person to be so honored by the Jays, who are planning a pregame ceremony for July 21.

"Not only was he one of the best hitters in club history, he was one of the finest first basemen of his generation," team president Paul Beeston said Friday in a statement. "More importantly, Carlos was a tremendous ambassador for the Blue Jays organization and the city of Toronto."

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Giants may live to regret letting prolific slugger Ramirez leave

The Yomiuri Giants hit fewer singles, doubles, triples and home runs in 2011 than they did in 2010. The Kyojin also drove in fewer runs and struck out more.

Being that the Giants are the Giants, it was hardly surprising they would, fairly or unfairly, find someone to shoulder all the blame, and amiable slugger Alex Ramirez was the fall guy.

Ramirez had his worst season in Japan, but he wasn't the sole reason for the Giants' struggles. But with a contract due to expire, he was an easy target.

Changes after such a down season are understandable, but it's possible the Giants jettisoned the wrong player.

With Ramirez left unsigned, the Kyojin essentially swapped him for a younger, less productive version of himself during free agency, signing former Yokohama BayStars slugger Shuichi Murata, as Ramirez headed to the BayStars.

Defensively, the move was fairly savvy.

Murata isn't the best fielder in the world, but he's durable and should hold down third base, which allows Michihiro Ogasawara to focus on first base and solidifies the NPB's most fluid corner infield situation. There may also be gains made in the outfield, depending on who replaces Ramirez in left field.

But is the slight bump in run prevention Murata offers more valuable than what Ramirez could produce with his bat?

Both sluggers had down years in 2011, though Ramirez was slightly better, hitting .279, with an on-base percentage of .322, slugging percentage of .453, 23 home runs and 73 RBIs. Murata put up a 253/.321/.423 line, going deep 20 times and driving in 70 runs. Ramirez also posted a superior 5.13 runs created per 27 outs to Murata's 4.39.

Ramirez's higher rate of production holds up over a larger sample size. Over the past five seasons, Ramirez (in 56 more games) has more extra-base hits (384 to 286), more homers (177 to 153) and more RBIs (552 to 442). He also holds a .404 to .375 edge in weighted batting average, which takes all the aspects of hitting and weighs them in proportion to their actual run value.

Murata's last big year was in 2008, when he posted a .323/.397/.665 line, with 46 homers and 114 RBIs. But career numbers of .274/.325/.545 suggest that was somewhat of a positive aberration.

Star is born: A big season by Alex Ramirez in his first season with the BayStars might leave Giants fans scratching their heads. KYODO

Both players suffered with the introduction of the NPB's new ball in 2011, which dulled offensive production around Japan.

But Murata hit just .257 with 26 homers and 88 RBIs in 144 games in 2010, and wasn't much better last season. Considering the drop Ramirez took from 2010 (.304, 49 homers, 129 RBIs) to 2011, he may far outpace Murata by just approaching his usual rate of production, especially with a year adjusting to the new ball already under his belt.

Murata is a fine player, but with the upgrades the Giants made on the mound, coupled with the NPB's new offensive environment, one could argue Yomiuri would be in a better position with Ramirez — unless of course Murata has another big year.

With Shinnosuke Abe and Hisayoshi Chono in the lineup, the Giants should be strong whether Murata produces or not.

But if the Kyojin fall short of the pennant again, they may regret it if the missing piece has a resurgent year in Yokohama.

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Angels land star slugger Pujols in staggering $254 million deal

DALLAS — Three-time NL MVP Albert Pujols agreed Thursday to a $254 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels, leaving the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals after more than a decade for a new baseball life in Southern California.

Pujols' contract, which is subject to a physical, is the second-highest in baseball history and only the third to break the $200 million barrier, following Alex Rodriguez's $252 million, 10-year deal with Texas before the 2001 season and A-Rod's $275 million, 10-year contract with the Yankees before the 2008 season.

"This is a monumental day for Angel fans and I could not be more excited," Angels owner Arte Moreno said.

In addition to the Pujols signing, the Angels agreed to a five-year contract with left-hander C.J. Wilson, a deal worth $77.5 million that raised their spending for the day to $331.5 million.

People familiar with the deals and the terms of each contract, spoke on condition of anonymity because those details were not made public.

Pujols had spent all 11 of his major league seasons with the Cardinals, hitting .338 with 445 home runs and 1,329 RBIs to become a franchise icon second only to Stan Musial. He is fourth in career slugging percentage at .617, trailing only Hall of Famers Babe Ruth (.690), Ted Williams (.634) and Lou Gehrig (.632).

Pujols' numbers in nearly every major offensive category are on a three-year decline. He had his poorest season in 2011 and at 31 is likely to spend the majority of his career with the Angels at designated hitter rather than first base.

"We understand that players will go through peaks and valleys of sort," new Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto said. "Albert has spent many years operating at peak, and if we want to call a decline going from superhuman to just great, I don't think we've seen the last great days of Albert Pujols, obviously, or we wouldn't be sitting here today."

Some have speculated he is older than his listed age. "Albert Pujols' age to me is not a concern," Dipoto said. "I'm not a scientist. I can't say where he is, but I can tell you he hits like he's 27."

St. Louis also offered the slugger a 10-year deal, but he chose to leave the Gateway City for the freeway life.

"We are disappointed," Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt Jr. said. "I would like our fans to know that we tried our best to make Albert a lifetime Cardinal but unfortunately we were unable to make it happen."

The Angels, who finished 10 games behind pennant-winning Texas in the AL West, made the move as the financially troubled Los Angeles Dodgers are in the process of being sold by Frank McCourt in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, a deal that could give the region's NL team a new, wealthy owner. The Dodgers could aggressively bid for talent a year from now, giving them a boost in the regional competition for fans' attention.

Pujols led the Cardinals to a seven-game World Series victory over Wilson's Rangers, his second title with the team in the last six seasons. He also had been pursued by the Miami Marlins, but they dropped out Wednesday after agreeing to a deal with left-hander Mark Buehrle that raised their free agent-spending to $191 million for three players following deals with closer Heath Bell and shortstop Jose Reyes. The Angels and Marlins committed $522.5 million to just five free agents.

"I think baseball needs to have a steroid-testing policy for owners," said Andrew Zimbalist, a sports economics professor at Smith College.

Pujols agreed in 2004 to a $100 million, seven-year contract, a deal that — with a 2011 option and bonuses — wound up paying him $112.55 million over eight years.

"He left a pretty good impact over there. I don't think fans will soon forget what his contributions were," said former Cardinals manager and star Joe Torre, now an executive with Major League Baseball. "I still think the St. Louis fans are going to be more appreciative than angry."

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