(H/T to The 700 Level for the video)

So Harper wants boos from Philly fans just not the batteries. I’m quite sure he’ll get the boos, those boos might be the loudest we’ve heard up to this point in the season.

What impresses me is that someone batting only .244 with two homers in 78 at-bats can get that type of reaction. I guess that just goes with being the next big thing and having the ego where you really believe you are that.

Zimmerman has informed the team of the exact terms he would accept long-term, according to one major-league source. He has said in the past that he does not want to sign an extension that would restrict the club from making other moves.

Contract negotiations are fluid, but two other sources suggest that an agreement between Zimmerman and the Nationals is within reach. (Ken Rosenthal – FOX Sports)

I’m curious as to what Ryan’s asking price is. I’m sure he’s looking for the big payday but I’m thrown off by the part about him not wanting to hinder the team from making other moves.

Based on his prior performances I would assume he’d look for something around $15-17 million a year, probably over five or six years. I’d say that’s pretty reasonable because when healthy he’s worth every bit of that. But would the Nationals be willing to make that kind of deal while pursuing Prince? Is it a deal that they’d make if they did sign him?

I’m thinking a Prince Fielder signing would have minimal effect on Ryan’s future with the team. What would effect it is the teams success and the fans coming out to the games. If the fans are coming out and the team is making money, then money wouldn’t be a deterrence.

The other factor would be Ryan’s healthy. He missed the early part of the season after having surgery for a torn abdominal muscle. He performed well after he returned but I think he’ll need to prove he can stay healthy.

The good thing for the Nationals is they have time. Zimmerman is signed through the 2013 season so they’ll take their time and make sure he stays healthy. If he does then they’ll take him up on his offer, if he doesn’t then who knows.

The Nationals are in the Prince Fielder sweepstakes, according to a baseball source, and ownership recently visited with Fielder’s agent, Scott Boras, in the nation’s capital.

It is believed the Nationals are in competition with the Mariners and Cubs. There were reports that the Rangers were also in the running for Fielder’s services, but the source believes Texas will stick with Mitch Moreland at first base.

The source indicated that Nationals ownership will make the final decision on whether the club signs Fielder. It’s not known how many years or how much money Washington is willing to give Fielder. (MLB.com)

I’m not surprised one bit at this. The Nats are a team on the rise and adding a hitter of Prince’s caliber would only help, especially in the ultra competitive National League East.

Ladson’s report also backs up a recent report by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that Washington was now the favorite.

The only question in my mind is will Washington give the years and dollar figures needed? Or could they bargain with Boras for one of his patented opt-out type deals.

“As far as are we going to dab our toe in (the Prince Fielder) water,” Rizzo said, “Those are decisions we make early on in that process and we’ve more or less decided that Adam is going to be our first baseman. Unless something extraordinary and out of the ordinary happened, that’s how we’re going to go into spring training.” (The Washington Times)

It sounds pretty clear to me, LaRoche is the teams starting first baseman.

Amanda Comak of the Washington Times says the team never planned on being serious contenders in the Fielder race. And you know what I kind of believe it with how much Rizzo is defending his guy and his role.

Would a GM defend his current players so much if he were seriously pursuing a replacement? It’s possible but doubtful.

Could that “extraordinary” thing happen yes, but it’s probably unlikely.

@Ken_Rosenthal: Source: #Twins also on Buehrle, joining #Nationals, #Marlins, #Rangers. Offer not as strong. Others believed 3 yrs in $36-39M range. #MLB

If Rosenthal’s information is correct then I’m a little surprised at the dollar value but they’re very fair offers. I expected more of a $14-15 million per salary, but $12-13 isn’t bad at all. Especially when you look at his age, 32 and the amount of innings he’s thrown.

My thinking is if all teams are within the same salary range then it will come down to what team gives him a better chance to win another championship by the time he retires. Does he go with the Rangers who’ve been to the last two World Series, a team that he’d actually be an ace for right now if they don’t re-sign C.J. Wilson.

Or does he go with the Marlins a team who is spending like madmen this winter as they get ready to move into their new stadium. They’ve already signed Heath Bell and Jose Reyes but said there’s still money left in the bank to upgrade the rotation.

Or does he join the Nationals who are a young up and coming team in a very competitive division. They might be the furthest away from championship contention but boy do they have a nice nucleus. Does Buehrle want to join a team that he may not really be able to win with till the end of that contract?

The Twins, I don’t think will play a part if their offer isn’t close to the other guys.

Should be interesting to see who he picks, he can’t go wrong either way.

Free agent left-hander Mark Buehrle toured the new Marlins ballpark Tuesday and caught up with an old friend, manager Ozzie Guillen, during a daylong visit with the team.

The Marlins are the first club to meet with Buehrle, who pitched for Guillen throughout the manager’s eight seasons with the Chicago White Sox. (Palm Beach Post)

While this was an official visit with another team I wouldn’t look into it too much, at least not yet. I think it was more of Buehrle going in and meeting with someone he feels comfortable with before heading out to see the big spenders. He’s sure to have visits with the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals and who knows who the hell else.

He’s one of the top three starters on the market and he’s going to have plenty of options. There is no way a deal gets done soon but it’s got to be encouraging for Marlins’ fans to see their team in consideration. I’m quite sure having his former manager, Ozzie helps.

Early projections are that Buehrle will look for a four year deal worth about $16 million annually. That’s a deal that makes sense considering the amount of innings he can eat and how he performs at a high level. It would also be a slight raise over his previous contract.

In the past a contract would scare the crap out of the Marlins but with them entering a new stadium they’ve got the money to burn. Are they serious contenders, I’m not sure but if they did add him they’d have a hell of a top two, with Josh Johnson and Mark.

Johnson’s weighed in with the Post and gave his thoughts, it’s safe to say he’s pretty excited at the possibilities.

“It would be great for the team as a whole. He’s a leader in the clubhouse and would really help out the rotation,’ Johnson said Tuesday in a text message. (Palm Beach Post)

“What are the Red Sox going to do about their catching?” one scout or another asks. “They’ve got to go find a catcher.”

No matter how many times the Red Sox say that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is getting better, scouts watching the team all come back saying the same thing. They’ve got to get a catcher.

How about Pudge Rodriguez? Rodriguez is a back-up now with the Nationals, who are using Wilson Ramos as their starter. Rodriguez is hitting just .238, heading into Thursday’s afternoon game against the Mets, but he has 14 RBI in 63 at-bats.

And, unlike Saltalamacchia, he’s still a plus defender. (Danny Knobler – CBS Sports)

Some will say why the hell would that be a good idea? Pudge is 39 years old and can’t hit for shit anymore. That’s true but it really he would be a good idea for the Sox.

Yes, he’s batting .238 with 2 homers and 14 runs batted in and is only a back-up to Wilson Ramos but really is it worse then what the Sox have? Offensively he definitely is not. Is he better? Eh, not really. He’s pretty much on par with the others.

His real benefit would be behind the plate. Defensively, he’s a huge upgrade. Pudge would be something the Red Sox haven’t had in years a true catcher, who can block balls in the dirt and more importantly THROW OUT BASE STEALERS!

So far in 2011 he’s thrown out five of 12 base runners, that’s 42%. Combined Boston catchers have thrown out 13 of 68 runners, that’s a measly 19%. Teams are still running at will against them, if you add Pudge to the mix that would come to a halt in a hurry.

Knobler was just speculating in his blog today but in reality it makes total sense. Ivan’s defense is so good that he still deserves to be a starter and you know what he’d welcome the opportunity to play in Boston.

He smiled Thursday morning when I asked him about Boston.

“That’s a good park to hit in,” he said. “I’ve always hit well there.” (Danny Knobler – CBS Sports)

Pablo Sandoval fractured his hamate bone in his right wrist. It’s a huge blow for him as he was having a huge comeback season after cutting over 40 pounds of weight. His current line was an average of .313 with five homers and 14 runs batted in. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off and not revert back to his 2010 shape during his time away.

@hankschulman: Surgery for Panda likely Tuesday in AZ.

@hankschulman: Told Panda prognosis is 4-6 weeks.

Now Ryan Zimmerman’s injury is even worse. He tore his rectus muscle and will need surgery to repair it. Get your head out of the gutter it’s not what you think! The rectus muscle is part of the abdominal area, from what I’ve read it’s part of the six-pack. Ryan’s only played in eight games this season but had some impressive numbers .357 with a homer and seven rbi.

Ryan hasn’t played since April 9th as the team was trying rehab in hopes that that would help. Unfortunately it didn’t and now he’ll be out for six to eight weeks.

@MarkZuckerman: Rizzo: Zimmerman has tear of rectus muscle in abdomen. Surgery Tues in Philly. Expected back in 6 weeks.

Like I said tough day for a couple star baseball players, hopefully there aren’t any other announcements today.

(per Jason Beck of MLB.com) – “We’re making some progress on some trade talks at this point,” Dombrowski said. “Not quite sufficient to make any announcements, but I would think by the middle of next week we would be in a position where we would make a deal.”

Asked then if a trade is likely, Dombrowski said, “Yes, I think it’s likely.”

Many teams have rotation needs, they include the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians and quite a few others. Surprisingly none of those teams are the ones pushing for Armando.

Cleveland Indians – Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com says that the Indians aren’t interested in Galarraga because of his price. Armando’s contract calls for him to make $2.5 million in 2011 and that would be too expensive for the Tribe. Hoynes tweet goes along with a recent post where I mentioned that the Indians would be bargain shopping this winter.

@hoynsie: Don’t look for #Indians to work a deal with Armando Galarraga. He’s making $2.3 million and that’s too rich for Tribe. Which is too bad.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Rob Biertempfel of The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Pirates do have interest in Galarraga but it’s not likely that a deal happens. He mentions that it shouldn’t be because of money so I wonder what that reasoning is.

@RobBiertempfel:#Pirates have some interest in rhp Armando Galarraga. Considering they made serious offer to Pavano, I’d say they have the $$ for Galaragga.

@RobBiertempfel: Regarding galarraga to #pirates, trusted source just told me, “I don’t see it happening”

Washington Nationals – Bill Ladson of MLB.com says that the Nationals aren’t interested in Galarraga as they don’t see him as an upgrade. That is somewhat surprising to me as they’ve been scouring the free agent market all winter for a pitcher. Personally, I’m not sure how he wouldn’t be an upgrade but whatever there loss, he should of came cheap.

@washingnats: I was informed that the #Nats are not interested in #Tigers RHP Armando Galarraga. The #Nats don’t consider Galarraga an upgrade to what they already have in their rotation.

Now time for the surprise team, at least in my opinion. The Arizona Diamondbacks. Nick Piecoro of The Arizona Republic says that the D-Backs are in this heavy and making a strong push to acquire Galarraga. So much so that the two sides have already started discussing names. If Arizona did make the deal he’d likely compete for the fifth spot in the rotation to start, I’m sure a switch to the National League would help his performance.

The clubs are said to be exchanging names in trade talks; minor league right-hander Kevin Eichhorn has been discussed. A source said a deal isn’t expected to occur until sometime next week. (per Arizona Republic)

With all the various tweets and reports today, I’d have to say things are looking promising for the Diamondbacks. They obviously look like as the favorite as they’re the only team that is known to have exchanged names. Although, I’d have to say watch out for a dark horse team. There’s always a chance another team could creep in with the Tigers waiting till next week to make it happen.

@StevePopper: As we reported earlier today – Mets expecting to add Chris Young to the rotation – just pending physical now.

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With the budget shopping teams finally acquiring pitchers will the New York Mets ever pull the trigger on Chris Young? The Mets have been dragging their feet with their insistence on not wanting to pay a pitcher more then $1.5 million maybe with all the moves that will pay off soon. Steve Popper of the Bergen Record and Adam Rubin of ESPN both think it will.

@StevePopper: Mets exec says – no surprise – expects Chris Young will get done eventually. But no timetable yet.

@AdamRubinESPN: With the Nats and Royals having added starting pitchers, you have to believe Chris Young and Mets eventually should happen.

Popper’s tweet was this morning well before the Chicago Cubs dealt Tom Gorzelanny to the Washington Nationals (one of the teams close to signing Young). Rubin’s was obviously after, so one would think after the trade things are more likely.

Me, I’m actually not sure the Nationals are out of the Chris Young running. Think about it, the Nats were willing to go all-in on Cliff Lee, even after signing Jayson Werth. So they’ve got money to burn. Young is a low-risk, high-reward guy who would definitely take a very incentive driven contract, with a reasonable base.

In 2010, after returning from injury, Young went 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in 20 innings pitched, with 15 strikeouts. The one knock was his control, walking 11 batters but you know what that will get better as he gets more time on the mound. If Young could stay healthy, there is no reason to believe he won’t pitch near his career 3.80 ERA.

Young is without a doubt the best pitcher left on the market, after Carl Pavano of course. For the Mets or Nationals, he’d be a huge addition. Will the Mets pull the trigger now before they lose out on another off season?