It occurred to me the other day that I had not filled out my Snakepit HOF ballot yet, so I did that and will post the link to it if you haven’t already voted. It is open through the 20th.
https://www.azsnakepit.com/2024/12/20/24324266/snakepit-hall-of-fame-2025-ballot
Arizona Diamondbacks Acquire Grae Kessinger from Astros
Sifting through Diamondbacks’ closer options in trade, free agent markets
https://arizonasports.com/story/3569501/diamondbacks-closer-trade-free-agent/
Former Arizona Diamondbacks Partner Dale Jensen Passes
Should the Diamondbacks Try to Extend Brandon Pfaadt?
“It’s a very individualistic situation on what the player wants, what may be available, and is there a meeting of the minds on where we see the value and what is security worth versus what a player is going to get in arbitration or in the free agent market eventually.”
Diamondbacks 2025 Player Projections: Tim Tawa
Pavin Smith, D-Backs settle at $1.5M to avoid arbitration
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 9, 2025
D-backs, Pavin Smith Avoid Arbitration
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/01/d-backs-pavin-smith-avoid-arbitration.html
Other Baseball
Baseball Hall of Fame voting update: Ichiro Suzuki remains perfect, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner receive high support
Pitcher Brian Matusz, 2008 Orioles’ 1st-round pick, dies at 37
Marlins LHP Braxton Garrett to miss 2025 after elbow surgery
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43337755/marlins-lhp-braxton-garrett-miss-2025-elbow-surgery
Checking in on Free Agent Contract Predictions
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/checking-in-on-free-agent-contract-predictions/
Ranking 2024’s ‘Top Players Right Now’ one year later
https://www.mlb.com/news/ranking-mlb-network-s-2024-no-1-players-right-now
Anything Goes
This day in history:
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/day/january-9
This day in baseball:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/January_9
Maricopa County Board to form committee dedicated to bringing back NHL
https://arizonasports.com/story/3569505/maricopa-county-arizona-nhl/
Returning hockey to Phoenix would be great … with 2 conditions
The “wasabi” you get with your sushi isn’t actually wasabi.
In the U.S., 99 percent of sushi restaurants serve horse-radish with green food coloring instead of real wasabi.
In Welsh folklore, corgis carried fairies.
According to a Welsh legend, a pair of corgis tow the carts and carriages of fairies and help them ride into battle.
A single strand of spaghetti is individually referred to as spaghetto.
Spaghetti is a plural word in Italian. Most pasta fans are surprised when they find out about it, were you one of them?
The Soviet Union tried to snuff out the memory of Genghis Khan. During the Soviet-era rule of the late 20th century, simply mentioning the great Mongolian conqueror’s name was a crime against the USSR. The Soviets removed his story from school textbooks and outlawed pilgrimages to his birthplace of Khentii.
