Did JD Drew get $ 70 million (over five years)? Are we talking about the same JD Drew?

The JD Drew I know has played more than 110 games in a season four times and less than 110 games in a season four times. The JD Drew I know has had 100 RBIs exactly once, this year. He has hit more than 20 HRs twice in eight seasons. Hey, maybe those season composite numbers are tough for Drew, because he rarely ends a season. But a season rarely ends. If Tony LaRussa thought Edgar Renteria would be eaten alive by Boston, what would he say about JD “Nancy” Drew?

Let’s take a look at the annual salaries of some recent intermediate relief free agent signings in baseball:

Danys Baez: $ 6.33 million annually, three years

Justin Speier: $ 4.5 million annually, four years

Jamie Walker: $ 4 million annually, three years

Mike Stanton: $ 2.75 million annually, two years

My God. Didn’t Mike Stanton’s arm fall off two years ago? Isn’t Danys Baez, like, bad? Here are some more irritating free agent transfers:

Alfonso Soriano: $ 17 million annually, eight years

Carlos Lee: $ 16.66 million annually, six years

Jason Schmidt: $ 15.66 million annually, three years

Vicente Padilla: $ 11.33 million annually, three years

Gary Matthews Jr .: $ 10 million annually, five years

Ted Lilly: $ 10 million annually, four years

Juan Pierre: $ 8.8 million annually, five years

Moises Alou: $ 8.5 million annually, one year

Adam Eaton: $ 8.17 million annually, three years

Bengie Molina: $ 5.33 million annually, three years

Alex González: $ 4.66 million annually, three years

Eight years for Soriano, leading up to his 39-year-old season? That’s crazy. Six years for Lee, who is also on the senior side of 30 and doesn’t do much more than hit home runs and eat donuts? Wasn’t Schmidt’s arm hanging by a thread a couple of years ago, and hasn’t he lost dangerous speed on his fastball? Padilla, Matthews and Eaton, all former Rangers teammates, are simply inexplicable. It must be Arlington water. The Phillies know Eaton has a 54-45 win-loss record, a career ERA (primarily in the NL) of 4.40, and a career WHIP of 1.36, right? And Padilla could have good things, but his ERA-plus (which fits the park, where 100 is an average score, and the higher the better) has been 96, 96 and 104 in the last three years. Matthews spoke of a good year at Fort Knox. Three years for Bengie Molina? $ 10 million for Ted Friggin ‘Lilly?

I don’t even want to dream about what Gil Meche will achieve. Oh good. I guess there will be no collusion this year.

What have you thought of the NFL Network’s coverage of regular season games? Have you been able to find the NFL Network? Does Bryant Gumbel need an earlier wake-up call on game days? Do you think the NFL is making a mistake by excluding so many millions of people from being able to watch?

BoDog Bookmakers, BoDog.ws: You just need to check the NFL Network forums or Google’s “NFL Network” to see that people are not totally satisfied with the new coverage or the new play-by-play man. For the moment, we’ll ignore the fact that Gumbel recently spent half his day cooking turkey on the Martha Stewart Show. We could go on and on about his overflowing closet of Emmy, his 15 years hosting the Today Show, and his work on CBS and HBO, but play-by-play coverage of the NFL isn’t in the same ballpark to discuss. Fall fashion tips with Katie Couric. Fans who turned off the sound last Thursday to hear Enberg on the radio may be an indication of his success. The rumor so far has been that this is a bug. The NFL may have to consider how big this mistake is. The league obviously wants the Net in as many homes as possible and, like any growing network, cable or broadcast, it is using the exclusive rights to the game as leverage; in other words, playing hard with soccer fans.

I remember in this space we decided that the national championship game would definitely include USC or Michigan. UPS. What’s your take on the Florida / Michigan controversy? Do you really think Florida is better than Michigan?

BDB, BoDog.ws: Doug Flutie said it best: Michigan deserved the opportunity. Their only loss was to Ohio State on the road by three points! All of his other victories, including the victory against the then # 2 squad of Notre Dame, were decisive. Florida lost to Auburn and had a pair of wins against teams like South Carolina and Tennessee. Honestly, I don’t think Florida is better than Michigan; Had Michigan had a chance to prove itself again on the last Saturday of the year, the spotlight on Florida’s exaggerated win over Arkansas might have faded in time to give them the spot.

Aside from the top five bowling games, can you give us another two or three college bowling pins that you think will be especially great to watch and / or bet on?

BDB, BoDog.ws: The Hawaii Bowl should be exciting to watch, with the # 1 offense in the NCAA playing at home. The state of Arizona may be able to oppose the spread. After UCLA’s big upset by USC, punters will love the temptation to back the Bruins against Florida State in the Emerald Bowl. This game opened at -4.5 in favor of UCLA, which could generate a lot of action in the latest spoilers.

What do you think has been the best offseason baseball transaction so far? How about the worst?

BDB, BoDog.ws: That really has yet to be determined with the rumors currently brewing. So far, the best thing has to be for the Cubs to sign Soriano to eight years in the Windy City. It cost them, but their numbers speak for themselves. The worst has to be Maddux ripping off the Padres $ 10 million, unless there is an extended option as a pitching coach; I could start work early. The riskiest yet is the Red Sox’s charity effort in Matsuzaka.