The Pirates will receive Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris from the Dodgers and outfielder Damien Moss and Craig Hansen from the Red Sox.

The Red Sox will pay all of the $7M remaining on Ramirez’s contract.

I will do my best to begin updating the rest of the site next month. Thanks for your cooperation.

-MLB4U.com

Alcohol shines through as a central character in the book right alongside boisterous manager Billy Martin, whose hiring and firing are chronicled thoroughly. One of Martin’s best quotes revealed in the book is when he comments on A’s star Reggie Jackson by saying, "Reggie Jackson is as useless as tits on a Chinaman."

Shropshire makes frequent use of expletives and poignant words so the book is probably not well-suited for the youngest of baseball fans. However, for those ready to take the heat of the kitchen, the day-by-day accounts offer an amazing glimpse of the daily grind of baseball in 1975 as set by the Satan himself, The Schedule Maker.

Shropshire offers some of his own personal memories too like when he took a short break from his newspaper duties to attend a Woodstock-like festival in Oklahoma that left him reeling.

The book will make you grimace, laugh, choke up and shake your head. Girls, alcohol, pot and tobacco were all prevalent in baseball back then. The interactions of the players, journalists and everyone in between with these things and each other are what the book is all about. And, of course, baseball plays it parts too as the Reds advance their way to a World Series championship.

Personally, Willie Davis stands out as my favorite character. After turning to ancient Buddhist teachings, he goes zen on the Rangers and ends up disappearing for a couple days, staging a sit-down in centerfield and doing many other things.

At one point, Shropshire quotes him saying, "Sometimes things go in the dugout that the writers never see, and nobody tells them about it afterward."

Shropshire may not have been in the Rangers’ dugout, but he was in their clubhouses, in the pressboxes, on the planes, in the taxis, in the hotels and in the bars. His colorful memories of these adventures presented with a lighthearted flair make for one terrific read.

Amazon.com: The Last Real Season: A Hilarious Look Back at 1975 - When Major Leaguers Made Peanuts, the Umpires Wore Red, and Billy Martin Terrorized Everyone

The following entails MLB4U.com’s predictions for the 2008 MLB season. For reference, you can view our picks from last year here. We try to be bold where possible. Comments are welcome.

Predicted finish:

AL East:

1. Boston
2. New York
3. Tampa Bay
4. Toronto
5. Baltimore

AL Central:

1. Cleveland
2. Detroit*
3. Kansas City
4. Chicago
5. Minnesota

AL West:

1. Los Angeles
2. Seattle
3. Texas
4. Oakland

NL East:

1. New York
2. Atlanta
3. Philadelphia
4. Washington
5. Florida

NL Central:

1. Milwaukee
2. Chicago
3. Cincinnati
4. Houston
5. St. Louis
6. Pittsburgh- 20gb

NL West:

1. Arizona
2. San Diego*
3. Los Angeles
4. Colorado
5. San Francisco

Playoffs:

ALCS: Los Angeles defeats Boston

NLCS: Arizona defeats Milwaukee

WS: DIAMONDBACKS capture the trophy in 7 games over the Angels

Awards:

NL AL

Surprise team: Cincinnati Tampa Bay

MVP: Conor Jackson Manny Ramirez

CY: Jake Peavy C.C. Sabathia

ROY: Kosuke Fukudome Jacoby Ellsbury
Manager: Bobby Cox Mike Scioscia

Farther west, the Padres acquired Jim Edmonds from the Cardinals in exchange for David Freese.

The Dodgers could be the next to pull the trigger if they agree to move some of their top prospects for the Orioles’ Erik Bedard.

According to Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Freese, born in St. Louis is “jacked up over the trade.”

Freese, a third base prospect, made giant leaps with the Padres’ High-A affiliate in 2007, but the Padres are not for their development at that position and Chase Headley and Kevin Kouzmanoff stand ahead of him anyway.

In other news, props to Gary Bennett for admitting that he used HGH as outlined in the Mitchell Report. Unlike other, more marquee players, he actually apologized for making a mistake. I completely believe that ever player mentioned in that report used performance-enhancing drugs. I mean no player on the list was a surprise at all. And as far as Bennett, he suffered his own bit of karma already. Shortly after he reportedly used the steroids, he injured his knee when Brian Jordan collided with him at the plate. During the season, he used Human Growth Hormone, he also surpassed his career high for at-bats and garnered a suspension for an altercation with Albert Pujols.

Arizona:
Atlanta: Willie Harris
Baltimore: Roberto Novoa, Cory Doyne
Boston: Brendan Donnelly
Chicago: Mark Prior
Chicago White Sox: Andy Gonzalez and Heath Phillips
Cincinnati: Brad Salmon, Jerry Gil
Cleveland:
Colorado: Darren Clarke, Sean Barker
Detroit: Chad Durbin
Florida: Miguel Olivo
Houston: Adam Everett
Kansas City: Emil Brown
Los Angeles: Mark Hendrickson
Los Angeles Anaheim: Dallas McPherson
Milwaukee: Kevin Mench and Matt Wise
Minnesota: Jason Tyner
New York Mets: Johnny Estrada, Ben Johnson and Juan Padilla
New York Yankees: Darrell Rasner, Matt DeSalvo, T.J. Beam and Bronson Sardinha
Oakland: Kiko Calero and Jose Garcia
Philadelphia:
Pittsburgh: Brad Eldred and Brian Rogers
San Diego: Jack Cassel, Morgan Ensberg, Ryan Ketchner, Jason Lane
San Francisco: Scott Munter
Seattle: John Parrish
St. Louis: Aaron Miles
Tampa Bay:
Texas: Akinori Otsuka, Nick Gorneault
Toronto: Josh Towers
Washington: Nook Logan, Mike O’Connor

The players had until 9PM PST on December 7 to accept or reject the offer. By accepting the offer, the players immediately were added to the team’s 40-man roster and are considered signed players for the 2008 season. By declining the offer, the player retains his right to free agency and can continue to negotiate with any team. Under the new CBA, a player declining the arbitration offer remains eligible to re-sign with his old team.

Players that accepted arbitration and their teams will exchange salary arbitration figures between Jan. 5-15. The league will announce the figures Jan. 18. Arbitration hearings will be scheduled for between Feb. 1-21. At any time during this process, a player and the team may reach a contractual agreement on their own. For more information, click here.

Players that declined arbitration and then with a new team merit compensatory draft picks for their 2007 team. For more information, click here.

Meanwhile, teams have until 9PM PST on December 12 to tender contracts to any unsigned players on the 40-man roster. A failure to offer a contract immediately causes the player to become a free agent eligible to sign with any team.

PLAYERS THAT ACCEPTED ARBITRATION

Houston: Mark Loretta (B)
New York Yankees: Andy Pettitte (A)
San Diego: Michael Barrett (B)

PLAYERS THAT DECLINED SALARY ARBITRATION

Arizona: Livan Hernandez (B)
Atlanta: Ron Mahay (B)
Boston: Eric Gagne (B)
Houston: Trever Miller (B)
New York Yankees: Luis Vizcaino (B), Alex Rodriguez (A) and Mariano Rivera (A)
Oakland: Mike Piazza (B) and Shannon Stewart (B)
Philadelphia: Aaron Rowand (A)
San Diego: Mike Cameron (B)
San Francisco: Pedro Feliz (B)

Peter Gammons first reported the completed deal while Ken Rosenthal had the first scoop.

The Marlins had been trying to drive up the price for Cabrera since the World Series. They had not planned on trading Willis until the Tigers made the tremendous offer. Within a frew hours, a deal was completed. The Angels and Marlins had been struggling to consummate a deal for more than two weeks.

The Giants, Dodgers, Indians, Nationals, Rangers, White Sox, Tigers and Angels all expressed interest in Cabrera at one point. The Marlins’ asking price of three major leaguers and a top pitching prospect for Cabrera discouraged most teams.

Early on, the Dodgers were considered the frontrunners to land him. Had they been willing to offer Matt Kemp, Andy LaRoche, James Loney and Clayton Kershaw, a deal could have been struck easily. While the Dodgers showed a willingless to deal Kemp and LaRoche, Loney and Kershaw were considered to be untouchable.

Meanwhile, the Angels had the most extensive talks. They nearly pulled the trigger on a deal several times. However, the Marlins kept raising the asking price. Prior to the winter meetings, the sides agreed to a basic package of Howie Kendrick, Jeff Mathis and Nick Adenhart. The Marlins wanted Ervin Santana as the fourth player to round off the deal, but the Angels were not willing to deal him. While Reggie Willits could have been a suitable fourth player, the Marlins remained adamant about receiving at least two pitchers of a group including Adenhart, Santana and Joe Saunders. The Angels refused to budge from their position of offering only a one pitcher from that group and remained reluctant about moving Adenhart at all. The Angels initial offer had included Ervin Santana and Chris Bootcheck to complete that package. Earlier in the discussions, Maicer Izturis and Brandon Wood were also mentioned in potential deals. The failure of the sides to compromise allowed the Tigers to enter the mix.

The White Sox could have offered Gio Gonzalez, Jerry Owens and Josh Fields, but the talent of those players paled in comparison to what the Angels could provide. The White Sox would have played Cabrera in left field.

The Cardinals also expressed interest before finding the asking price of Colby Rasmus too steep.

While originally thought that a team acquiring Cabrera would likely want a 72-hour window to work out a long-term deal with him before completing a trade, the Tigers never requested one. The Marlins had said they would not have granted a window anyway. Cabrera could command a 7-year, $140M deal on the open market. He is eligible for free agency following the 2009 season.

Willis can also become a free agent in the fall of 2009, but his value on the open market is unknown to a disappointing 2007 campaign. The Marlins were planning to hold onto him until the July trading deadline while praying for a first-half revival. However, the Tigers’ offer blew them away. The Reds, Astros and Diamondbacks had also recently inquired about Willis. In July, the Mets, Yankees, Indians, Rockies, Mariners, Dodgers, Red Sox and Diamondbacks all held talks with the Marlins about him.

Finally, the Tigers offered Andrew Miller to the Athletics for Dan Haren Monday. But when told Cameron Maybin along with additional prospects would have to be included too, they decided Willis would be a more realistic target. By asking for Cabrera in addition to Willis, and upping the offer to six prospects, they made the Marlins’ job easy.

The players have until 9PM PST on December 7 to accept or reject the offer. By accepting the offer, the players immediately are added to the team’s 40-man roster and are considered signed players for the 2008 season. By declining the offer, the player retains his right to free agency and can continue to negotiate with any team. Under the new CBA, a player declining the arbitration offer remains eligible to re-sign with his old team.

If a player accepts arbitration, then he and the team will exchange salary arbitration figures between Jan. 5-15. The league would announce the figures Jan. 18. Arbitration hearings would be scheduled for between Feb. 1-21. At any time in this process, a player and the team may reach a contractual agreement on their own. For more information, click here.

If the player could garner their team compensatory draft picks then their free agent type is listed in parentheses. Only free agents offered salary arbitration merit compensatory draft picks. For more information, click here.

Meanwhile, teams have until 9PM PST on December 12 to tender contracts to any unsigned players on the 40-man roster. A failure to offer a contract immediately causes the player to become a free agent eligible to sign with any team.

Arizona: Livan Hernandez (B)
Atlanta: Ron Mahay (B)
Baltimore:
Boston: Eric Gagne (B) and Mike Timlin (B)
Chicago:
Chicago White Sox:
Cincinnati:
Cleveland:
Colorado: None
Detroit:
Florida:
Houston: Mark Loretta (B) and Trever Miller (B)
Kansas City: David Riske (B)
Los Angeles:
Los Angeles Anaheim:
Milwaukee:
Minnesota:
New York Mets:
New York Yankees: Andy Pettitte (A), Luis Vizcaino (B), Alex Rodriguez (A) and Mariano Rivera (A)
Oakland: Mike Piazza (B) and Shannon Stewart (B)
Philadelphia: Aaron Rowand (A)
Pittsburgh:
San Diego: Michael Barrett (B), Mike Cameron (B)
San Francisco: Pedro Feliz (B)
Seattle:
St. Louis:
Tampa Bay:
Texas:
Toronto:
Washington:

The following is the list of free agents not offered salary arbitration. Teams cannot receive compensatory draft picks if the player signs with another team, but remain eligible to re-sign the player to a contract.

Arizona: Tony Clark, Jeff Cirillo and Augie Ojeda
Atlanta: Andruw Jones, Julio Franco, Octavio Dotel and Chris Woodward
Baltimore: Paul Bako, Kris Benson, Corey Patterson
Boston: Matt Clement, Doug Mirabelli, Royce Clayton and Eric Hinske and Bobby Kielty
Chicago: Cliff Floyd and Steve Trachsel
Chicago White Sox: Darin Erstad and Mike Myers
Cincinnati: Eddie Guardado and Eric Milton
Cleveland: Keith Foulke, Chris Gomez, Kenny Lofton and Trot Nixon
Colorado: Jeremy Affeldt, Elmer Dessens, Josh Fogg, LaTroy Hawkins, Jorge Julio, Rodrigo Lopez, Kazuo Matsui, Mark Redman
Detroit: Sean Casey and Neifi Perez
Florida: Armando Benitez, Aaron Boone and Byung-Hyun Kim
Houston: Craig Biggio, Mike Lamb, Jason Jennings, Brian Moehler and Orlando Palmeiro
Kansas City: Odalis Perez, Reggie Sanders, Mike Sweeney, John Thomson
Los Angeles: Luis Gonzalez, Mike Lieberthal, Ramon Martinez, Rudy Seanez, Mark Sweeney, David Wells and Randy Wolf
Los Angeles Anaheim: Bartolo Colon
Milwaukee: Geoff Jenkins, Tony Graffanino, Ray King, Corey Koskie and Damian Miller
Minnesota: Carlos Silva and Rondell White
New York Mets: Paul Lo Duca, Sandy Alomar Jr., Jeff Conine, Mike DiFelice, Damion Easley, Shawn Green, Aaron Sele and Jose Valenti
New York Yankees: Roger Clemens
Oakland: Jeff DaVanon
Philadelphia: Antonio Alfonseca, Rod Barajas, Freddy Garcia, Jon Lieber, Kyle Lohse, Jose Mesa and Abraham Nunez
Pittsburgh: Shawn Chacon and Tony Armas Jr
San Diego: Milton Bradley, Rob Mackowiak, Brett Tomko
San Francisco: Barry Bonds, Ryan Klesko, Mike Matheny and Russ Ortiz
Seattle: Jose Guillen, Chris Reitsma, Arthur Rhodes, Jeff Weaver
St. Louis: Kip Wells, Gary Bennett, Russell Branyan, Miguel Cairo, Kelly Stinnett and Preston Wilson
Tampa Bay: Greg Norton and Josh Paul
Texas: Sammy Sosa, Jamey Wright, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Brad Wilkerson
Toronto: Sal Fasano
Washington: Robert Fick