Seemingly every day I find new ways or reminders that I am officially old. Today, I came home from work and soon after, I turned on SportsCenter. Within a couple of minutes, the anchor said that there was Breaking News! I got that funny feeling of excitement... only to find out that... Mike Piazza had signed a deal with the Oakland A's. It was at that point that I knew I was old. I remember the days when during the Winter Meetings, I rushed to the TV to see what was happening in the world of baseball. Now, there are several sites online that can give updates nearly live. Sure, a lot of it is rumor stage, but as soon as something is official, or even nearly official, you can find it online. It has been known all week that Piazza's likely destination was Oakland. I know, this is a minor point. As a matter of fact, it really isn't even a point. Just a thought.

Anyway, to the news. Yesterday I said that Barry Zito would likely sign, setting the market for Jason Schmidt. Well, today Jason Schmidt agreed to a three year, $47 million deal with the LA Dodgers (not the Mariners as I seemed to think was obvious), although St. Louis is still under the impression that he could be had.

One disturbing thing I just read was that the Twins... well, I don't even want to type it. I'll just copy-and-paste:
"The Twins are all over Steve Trachsel for a two-year pact." ICK!!!

Side note - Nice mothering!! And, Happy Holidays! That's the Christmas spirit!

The Braves are apparently making some moves. Apparently they will trade lefty starter Horacio Ramirez to the Seattle Mariners for reliever Rafael Soriano. Great deal for the Braves. Soriano had amazing stuff when he first came up. he missed a lot of time due to injury, but came back last year and did a very nice job in the bullpen. Ramirez is a cheaper, not-as-good version of Jarrod Washburn. The other rumored Braves deal has them sending their 1B Adam LaRoche to the Pittsburgh Pirates for lefty reliever Mike Gonzalez (pending the Braves feeling comfortable with Gonzalez's physical condition). Now, I am a big fan of Mike Gonzalez. He has quietly done a great job in the Pirates pen for a few years. However, as good as Gonzalez is, how do you trade a 27 year old 1B coming off a year in which he hit .285/.354/.561 with 38 doubles, 32 homers and 90 RBI who made just $420,000 in 2007 and will go to arbitration for the first time this winter? I'm not a big fan of LaRoche, and maybe there is something more to this, but I just don't understand!

Side note - here is an amazing story about The World's Smallest Man! Truly remarkable!

Aaron Gleeman continues to monitor the Winter Meetings for nbcsports.com. Here are .his Day 3 thoughts He also sat in on a Ron Gardenhire press conference with some Minnesota dignitaries! 

Side note - Are you an idiot? I think I am! Or maybe I'm smart!

That's it for now. I will try to have the NFL "Expert" Picks available before tomorrow night's game between the Steelers and Browns, or at least our picks for that game. Please feel free to e-mail me or leave Comments.