The Houston Astros already ranked worst among farm systems in the league, which may explain why they had to trade five players to the Orioles for one Miguel Tejada. Doesn’t leave them a lot to work with to negotiate starting pitching. Maybe they’re counting on Clemens coming back.

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros announced today that the club has acquired infielder Miguel Tejada from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for right-handed pitcher Matt Albers, third baseman Michael Costanzo, left-handed pitcher Troy Patton, right-handed pitcher Dennis Sarfate and outfielder Luke Scott. The announcement was made by General Manager Ed Wade.

“We’ve added a run-producing, All-Star shortstop who will be an absolute force in the middle of our lineup,” said Wade. “With the exception of some time missed in 2007, Miguel has been someone who plays hard for every single inning of every single game. Placing him in our lineup solidifies the offense and gives us a very tough batting order.

“We gave up some outstanding players and prospects in this deal, and it hurts. But if you’re going to add a major piece to your club, the price is normally high.”

I am so very pleased that Fukudome has landed in the NLC. I can’t wait to hear George Grande–the guy who won’t say the “Damn” in “Best Damn Sports Show”–try to pronounce his name.

P.S. – I understand the deal was 4 years, $48 million, though the press release never says.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs today announced the club has agreed to terms with outfielder Kosuke Fukudome on a four-year contract through the 2011 season pending the passing of a physical, expected to take place next week in Chicago. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“On behalf of the entire Cubs organization, we’re honored Kosuke Fukudome has chosen to become a member of the Chicago Cubs and very excited to introduce him to our great fans,” said Cubs Vice President/General Manager Jim Hendry. “We are looking forward to welcoming him to Chicago next week and helping make Wrigley Field his home.”

A native of Kagoshima, Japan, Kosuke Fukudome (pronounced “KOH-skay foo-koo-DOUGH-may”) has spent his entire nine-year pro career with the Chunichi Dragons, where he batted .305 with a .397 on-base percentage and a .543 slugging percentage in 1,074 career games. Fukudome was a two-time Central League batting champion, led the league in on-base percentage three times and four times won a Gold Glove for defensive excellence in the outfield.

Fukudome has posted an on-base percentage of .430 or better in each of the last three seasons and hit 23 or more home runs for four seasons in a row from 2003-06, including a career-best 34 home runs in 2003. He has topped 30 home runs twice, eclipsed 100 runs scored three times, reached 30 or more doubles four times and surpassed 70 extra-base hits three times, including a career-high 83 extra-base hits in 2006 (47 doubles, five triples, 31 home runs).

The 30-year-old Fukudome won Central League Most Valuable Player honors in 2006 when he batted .351 with 31 home runs and a career-high 104 RBI. Fukudome won the batting title, 28 points ahead of his closest competitor, while his .438 on-base percentage led the league and was 36 points ahead of his next closest competitor. He also led the league with a career-high 117 runs scored, a career-high 47 doubles and a career-high 1.091 OPS thanks to a .653 slugging percentage and .438 on-base percentage.

Fukudome, who bats lefthanded and throws righthanded, was limited to 81 games in 2007 due to a right elbow injury and underwent surgery to remove bone fragments on Aug. 20. Despite the injury, Fukudome batted .294 with 22 doubles, 13 home runs, a .520 slugging percentage and had a .443 on-base percentage that led the Central League at the time his season ended. Fukudome walked (69) more times than he struck out (66) in 2007.

A first round draft pick by Chunichi in 1999, Fukudome made his professional debut that season and batted .284 with 25 doubles, 16 homers, a .359 on-base percentage and a .451 slugging percentage in his rookie season as the club’s starting shortstop. Fukudome was converted to a third baseman and outfielder in 2001 and became the club’s starting right fielder in 2002, when he notched his first batting title with a .343 mark while leading the league with 42 doubles.

The six-foot, 187-pound Fukudome reached double digits in every extra-base hit category in 2003 as part of a campaign that saw him bat .313 with a league-leading .401 on-base percentage. He boasted a 1.004 OPS thanks in part to his 30 doubles, 11 triples and 34 home runs. Fukudome also led the league in triples and runs scored (107).

After an injury-shortened 2004 (92 games), Fukudome returned with a strong 2005, leading the league with a .430 on-base percentage, finishing second with a .328 batting average and recording 103 RBI. His MVP season of 2006 followed.

Fukudome has excelled as a member of Team Japan in international play, most recently winning the gold medal at the World Baseball Classic in 2006. He was also a member of the Japanese Olympic Baseball teams that won silver medals in 1996 and bronze medals in 2004, when he tied for the Olympic lead with three home runs to go along with a .316 batting average.

Not a lot going on in the NLC to talk about this week, though the Crack Technical Staff and I made it out to Redsfest for a few beers and some making fun of the jerseys in the Reds Community Fund shop. I wonder how much they’ll have to pay someone to take those Milton jerseys off their hands.

We also discussed the rule 5 draft, the Brewers signing Eric Gagne for $10 million, and lesser moves around the division.

While much of the country spent the weekend frantically shopping for the rest of the people on their holiday gift list and wondering just how long much longer they’ll have to give all the credit to Santa before their wide-eyed, innocent, grabby, Halo 3-obsessed children can take the news without falling into an hour-long shrieking fit, Reds fan lined up for the annual Redsfest. The Crack Technical Staff and I were in attendance to drink beer and make smart alec remarks.

Not to be outdone by Mr. Red, Gapper shows off his tambourine stylings. Watch out Jan Brady!

“Well, Bobby, I played Neifi so much because he had guts,” Dusty Baker explained while fielding softball questions from children in a charming PR opportunity.

The Reds unveiled the latest development in protective equipment technology. Rumor has it that Ken Griffey, Jr. will be the first to be entirely covered in balloons to provide a protective cushion in case of falls. His range isn’t expected to decrease much.

He’s no Pokey Reese: A young Cincinnati fan tries on a Reds cap at a somewhat askew angle.

The souvenir shop featured the Touch line of clothing that will never look as good on you as it does on Alyssa Milano.

I like Tom Shearn.

I’m skipping the joke to tell the real story of this photo. Phillips was leaving the autograph area after completing his time when he comes upon a group of fans in the hall. Even after an hour of signing, he tried to get the security guys to let him sign. Too bad they ushered him away.

Why do guys always need to compare bats?

The Screaming Mimes closed out the event and had people literally dancing in the aisles. Sure, they looked a little crazy dancing that way, but credit to the Mimes for inspiring them.

My self-appointed task of updating you each week on player transactions in the NLC is made somewhat easier this week by the fact that RHM has already given us the lowdown on the Astros signing Kaz Matsui, and Zeldink has already given us the scoop on the Rule 5 draft.

The Pirates reacted to the news on Monday 12/3 by claiming IF Josh Wilson off waivers from Tampa Bay. They also claimed RHP Ty Taubenheim off waivers from the Blue Jays, and DFA’ed IF Brad Eldred and RHP Brian Rogers to make room on their roster for Wilson and Taubenheim.

On Tuesday, the Cubs traded LHP Will Ohman and IF Omar Infante to the Braves for RHP Jose Ascanio, while the Brewers signed LHP Chris Narveson and RHP Scott Cassidy to minor league contracts that include invitations to spring training.

On 12/5:

• The Cardinals released OF So Taguchi
• The Brewers signed RHP David Riske to a three-year contract. They DFA’ed OF Laynce Nix to make room on the roster for Riske.
• The Reds traded OF Buck Coats to the Toronto Blue Jays for a player to be named later or cash (but keep reading), released IF Jorge Cantu, signed free agent RHPs Jon Adkins and Justin Lehr to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training.

Thursday 12/6 was the Rule 5 draft, aside from the transactions resulting from that, the Cubs decided to forego that process and simply went out and bought themselves RHP Tim Lahey from the Tampa Bay Rays for cash.

On Friday 12/7:

• The Reds acquired RHP Justin James from the Blue Jays, completing Wednesday’s deal involving Buck Coats and making this the shortest (two days) PTBNL deal I can remember.
• The Pirates and Brewers worked an intradivision trade, with the Brew Crew getting RHP Salomon Torres while the Pirates obtained RHPs Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts. Torres promptly indicated that because of his family’s roots in suburban Pittsburgh, he may elect to retire rather than report to Milwaukee. That might be fine with Pirates fans – the Pirates’ newsgroup on Usenet announced the trade using the following subject line: “YeeHaw Torres traded…….”

Today (Sunday 12/9) we receive word that the Astros have added IF Mark Loretta to their 40-man roster after he accepted the team’s offer of salary arbitration, while Trever Miller declined arbitration. There’s also a report that the Brewers have a deal in place with Eric Gagne, and another report that Japanese free-agent Kosuke Fukudome, apparently regarded as one of the best outfielders in Japanese pro ball, has decided not to move to the Yomiuri Giants and will sign with a major league team instead.

And here I thought Fukudome was a new fully-enclosed stadium being built by a team that hates its fans….

Lots of relievers picked up by NLC teams in the draft this year. That’s not surprising considering how expensive the market is for one-inning pitchers.

The Astros picked up 22 year-old left-handed reliever Wesley Wright from the Dodgers. Wright split time in 2007 between AA and AAA, so the Astros are obviously hoping he can be a useful bullpen-er in the majors for 2008.

The Brewers didn’t make any picks due to a tight roster, but they did lose one player. Callix Crabbe, a 24 year-old infielder/outfielder, was taken by the Padres. Well, at least the Brewers seemed to have staunched the flow of relievers heading out the door.

The Cardinals managed to get perhaps the best player available in the Rule 5 draft, 25 year-old outfielder Brian Barton. I imagine he’ll get right to work mysteriously pissing off Tony Larussa, or is that something only third basemen do?

The Cubs didn’t pick anyone, but they were involved in another trade, a la last year’s that sent Josh Hamilton to the Reds. This time they received right-handed pitcher Tim Lahey from the Twins via the Devil Rays. Also, the Cubs lost a player in the draft for the sixth consecutive year, as 24 year-old catcher Randy Wells was claimed by the Blue Jays. I don’t know if that’s a record, but I’m betting they can tack on 94 more. They’re so good at losing streaks.

The Pirates took 24 year-old reliever Evan Meeks from the Devil Rays to help bolster their bullpen. The team released Jose Castillo to make room. Castillo had been the Pirates’ 2nd baseman for the last few years. He’s 26, but he’s played considerably older than that.

The Reds are hoping for a repeat of the Rule 5 success they had last year with Josh Hamilton and Jared Burton. And really, what better way to measure how good a team is than it’s success at the Rule 5 draft? That’s why the Reds are the best! This year the Reds took 22 year-old right-hander Sergio Valenzuela from the Braves. They lost 25 year-old right-handed pitcher Carlos Guevara–a player with way better stats but who pays attention to those–to the Marlins.

In July, the Reds traded Brian “Love” Shackelford and change to the Tampa Bay “the success of the Rockies convinced us to drop the Devil” Rays for Jorge Cantu. While Cantu seemed like he might have some promise, the Reds didn’t really need another infielder at the time, while they always need pitching, so the move was a strange one.

Well, lest Reds fan think that there was some genius plan behind Kriv-dawg’s actions, he released Cantu today for nothing at all.

It’s going to be a good year.

The Crack Technical Staff wrote up a docket of topics this week, so there’s some actual content in between the ramblings in this episode. Topics include:

Reds not the most newsworthy team for a minute.

Astros sign Kaz Matsui (3 yrs, $15 M).

Cardinals sign Cesar Izturis (1 yr, $2.85 M).

Pirates involved in trade rumors.

• Jason Bay. Indians: Pittsburgh would get catcher Kelly Shoppach and left-hander Cliff Lee for the two-time All-Star.
• Xavier Nady, Matt Morris, and Jack Wilson are also on the trading block. At one point last week, Morris and Wilson were both attached to the Cardinals.

Brewers

• Rumored to be close to signing reliever David Riske to a multi-year deal.
• Rumor of sending starter Greg Capuano to the Cardinals for Scott Rolen.
• Andruw Jones might be interested in signing.

Cubs mostly happy that they lost the Kaz Matsui sweepstakes, but are interested in Kosuke Fukudome, or at least the bloggers are.

• Al at Bleed Cubbie Blue translated a letter into Japanese.
• Rob at The Goat Riders of the Apocalypse described Fukudome as the “best chance of ending the 99 years of misery.”

From Astros.com:

HOUSTON — The Houston Astros announced on Sunday that the club has signed free-agent infielder Kazuo Matsui to a three-year, $16.5-million contract. The announcement was made by General Manager Ed Wade, following Matsui’s passed physical at The Methodist Hospital on Sunday morning.

The 32-year-old Matsui hit .288 with four home runs and 37 RBIs for Colorado in 2007. He also hit 24 doubles and six triples while stealing a career-best 32 bases and scoring a career-high 84 runs for the Rockies last season. Additionally, Matsui was one of only six switch-hitters in 2007 (Chone Figgins, Jose Reyes, Brian Roberts, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino) to record at least 30 extra-base hits and 30 stolen bases.

“Kaz is an ideal fit for our club,” said Wade. “He’s an outstanding defensive second baseman and is a perfect fit to hit second behind Michael Bourn. Kaz runs extremely well. He steals bases, moves runners and takes the extra base; he plays the game the right way. With he and Bourn at the top, followed by [Hunter] Pence, [Lance] Berkman and [Carlos] Lee, we should have a very potent offensive attack.”

In 375 career Major League games over four seasons with the New York Mets (2004-06) and Colorado (2006-07), Matsui has hit .272 (376-for-1,380) with 17 home runs, 131 RBIs, and 62 stolen bases. Matsui also hit .304 (14-for-46) with one home run during the Rockies’ National League Championship playoff run in 2007, including six RBIs and a .417 (5-for-12) average in the National League Division Series.

Matsui was originally signed by the New York Mets as a free agent on Dec. 17, 2003 and was acquired by Colorado from the Mets on June 9, 2006. He was born on Oct. 23, 1975 in Osaka, Japan, and played nine seasons for the Seibu Lions of the Japanese League from 1995-2003. During that time span, he hit .309 (1,433-for-4,638) with 150 home runs, 569 RBIs, and 306 stolen bases for Seibu. He earned Pacific League Most Valuable Player honors in 1998, and in 2002, he became only the eighth Japanese player since 1950 to hit .300 or higher with at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases (.332-36-87, 33 SB).

Welcome to Red Hot Mama. Or if you’ve been here before, welcome back. For the past few weeks we’ve been taking an opportunity on Sunday to summarize the player transactions that have taken place in the NL Central during the previous week. There’s something here for everybody this week, so regardless of which NLC team you’re rooting for, crack a beer or grab a coffee and relax while RHM’s Crack Hard Facts Staff fills you in on how your team’s GM earned (or squandered, depending on your point of view) his salary this week.

To keep this post from growing into an encyclopedia, I’ve linked the first use of a player’s name to his page on Baseball-Reference.com so you can easily look up their stats yourself. Just point and click. Same as using a Smith & Wesson, but with much less mess as a result: The stats pages will open in a new window.

On 11/26, the Cubs signed RHP Kerry Wood to a one-year, $4.2 million deal, thus mercifully ending the speculation about Wood coming to Cinci to play for Dusty Baker.

On 11/27, the Astros signed  RHP Doug Brocail in a move previously reported here on RHM. (Side note: ex-Reds C Chad Moeller and IF William Bergolla were among the free agents signed by Washington on this date as current Nationals (and former Reds) GM Jim Bowden continued his obsession with former Reds players.

On 11/28:

• The Reds finalized their previously reported deal with closer Francisco “I’m Not Chad” Cordero.
• The Astros signed OF Jose Cruz Jr., IFs Kevin Hooper and Tomas Perez and LHP Stephen Randolph to minor league deals with invitations to spring training.
• The Brewers inked C Jason Kendall (son of Fred Kendall, who the Reds drafted in 1967) to a one-year contract that guarantees him $4.25 million this year. The lawyers must have had a field day with this one. Kendall can earn $1 million in performance bonuses next year: $100,000 for 110 games, $150,000 each for 120 and 130 games, $150,000 for 100 starts, $200,000 for 115 starts and $250,000 for 130 starts. The deal also includes a vesting option for 2009 that would become guaranteed at $4.25 million if Kendall starts 110 games next year, $4.35 million if he starts 120 games, and $4.6 million if he starts 130 games. In addition, any 2008 performance bonuses that Kendall earns based on games (but not starts) would be added to his 2009 base salary.
• The Pirates lost LHP Shane Youman, who was claimed off waivers by the Phillies. They also outrighted RHP Josh Sharpless to Class AAA Indianapolis and released 1B Josh Phelps.

On 11/30, the Cardinals DFA’ed OF John Rodriguez. (not the same John Rodriguez who kicked around the Padres’ farm system for a few years back in the late 1990′s). They also signed IF Cesar Izturis to a one-year, $2.85 million contract to replace David Eckstein as their regular shortstop. In addition to his base salary, Izturis can earn $650,000 in performance bonuses: $100,000 each for 400 and 450 plate appearances, and $150,000 each for 500, 550 and 600 plate appearances.

This move raises the question of who is going to be the Redbirds’ leadoff hitter next year. It’s probably not going to be Izturis. OF Rick Ankiel and 2B Adam Kennedy are two possinbilities that come to mind, but compare their OBPs to Eckstein’s. Not surprisingly, fans in the Cardinals’ newsgroup on Usenet are not happy with this move. One fan posted, “I hate to jump on the Fire Mozeliak bandwagon so soon, but…”

Anyway, that’s it, you’re now up to date on the wheelings and dealings in the NLC for the past week!