Spring baseball is in the air

Three worst winters

Ugueth Urbina. The former All-Star reliever sits in jail in Venezuela, awaiting trial for attempted murder. He is accused of taking part in a machete attack of five workers at his family's ranch outside Caracas on Oct. 16.

Jim Beattie. First, he was fired as co-general manager in Baltimore after the season. Then he interviewed at least twice for the phantom GM position in Boston but was passed over in favor of Jed Hoyer and Ben Cherington, who kept the position warm until Theo Epstein made his triumphant return. New Cincinnati owner Bob Castellini then hired Beattie as a special assistant and made him the leading candidate to replace fired GM Dan O'Brien, only instead to hire Wayne Krivsky — whose first task as GM this past week was accepting the resignation of special assistant Beattie.

Anna Benson. "Baseball's hottest wife" opened her yap so much (in addition to opening up negotiations to pose for Playboy) that the Mets may well have been more motivated to trade her husband, Kris, to Baltimore to rid themselves of the nuisance of Anna — who will dearly miss the tabloid spotlight in New York she so artfully manipulated.

Four most productive winters

1. Toronto Blue Jays. General manager J.P. Ricciardi decided to play "Throw Money Ball" in an attempt to bring the Jays to the level of Boston and New York. He may have come close (at tremendous cost to ownership) by signing A.J. Burnett (five years, $55 million), B.J. Ryan (five years, $47 million) and Bengie Molina (one year, $5 million), and trading for Troy Glaus and Lyle Overbay. Jays president Paul Godfrey was only slightly exaggerating when he said last week, while introducing Molina, "There is excitement in the streets of Toronto. There's panic in the streets of Boston."

2. Chicago White Sox. No one can say GM Ken Williams isn't aggressive. After the Sox won their first title in 88 years, he was proactive this winter, re-signing team leader Paul Konerko (five years, $60 million), gambling on Jim Thome to play DH, augmenting the already-strong rotation by trading for Javier Vazquez, and shoring up the bench with Rob Mackowiak. The Sox are well positioned to defend their title.

3. New York Mets. GM Omar Minaya shored up all the team's problem areas (also at tremendous cost to ownership) by landing Billy Wagner, Carlos Delgado, Paul Lo Duca, Julio Franco and Jorge Julio.

4. Texas Rangers. Texas desperately needed to add starting pitching to all that offense, and ominously enough for the Mariners, it did so. The Rangers signed Kevin Millwood (five years, $60 million) and traded for Adam Eaton and Vicente Padilla, as well as reliever Akinori Otsuka. They also dealt Alfonso Soriano, not one of Buck Showalter's favorites, in a deal that netted talented outfielder Brad Wilkerson.

Least productive winter

Florida Marlins. They had a single-minded purpose, and accomplished it beautifully — shed the roster of virtually every player that would command even a moderate salary. So out went Delgado, Lo Duca, Josh Beckett, Burnett, Juan Pierre, Luis Castillo, Juan Encarnacion, Alex Gonzalez, Mike Lowell, Guillermo Mota, Ron Villone and Todd Jones, among others. The only consolation for disgusted Marlins fans: The last time they tried this, they netted a title.

Team most overshadowed

by its football neighbor

Seattle Mariners. While the Seahawks were dazzling the city with a run to the Super Bowl, the Mariners seemingly did little to recapture their waning hold on Seattle. The team's solution to its dire need for "left-handed sock" was signing declining Carl Everett and Matt Lawton. The M's solution to their dire need for a starting pitching boost was paying $37.5 million over four years for Jarrod Washburn, who is 29-31 over the last three years. The brightest new hope is a complete unknown — catcher Kenji Johjima.

Messiest winter

Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox provided three months of non-stop soap opera. Would Theo come back? Would Damon be re-signed? Would Manny be traded? (The answers: Yes, no, and not yet). The Red Sox have a new center fielder and leadoff hitter (Coco Crisp), four new infield starters, a rebuilt bullpen, and Beckett added to the rotation.

Most heartless winter

Houston Astros. They declined to offer salary arbitration to Roger Clemens, losing negotiating rights until May 1, then informed franchise icon Jeff Bagwell that they don't want him to play this year so they can collect a $15.6 million insurance claim.

Most optimistic acquisition

Julio Franco. The Mets signed the 47-year-old to a two-year contract.

Five 2006 breakout stars

1. Rich Harden, A's. He makes this list for the third straight year, and this time, I really mean it: A healthy Harden is primed for that Cy Young season he has inside him.

2. Felix Hernandez, Mariners. The only thing that could hold him back is the M's wise insistence of monitoring his workload. But King Felix has all the equipment to be one of the league's dominant pitchers for the next 10 years.

3. Joe Mauer, Twins. Just 22, Mauer has been touted as the best catching prospect since Johnny Bench. If his knee issues are healed, as the Twins claim, he should start to show it.

4. Zach Duke, Pirates. It may have been lost here amidst Felix Fever, but Duke, 22, was 8-2 with a 1.81 earned-run average in 14 starts late last year.

5. Rickie Weeks, Brewers. He played last year with a painful thumb injury and still hit 13 homers in 360 at-bats. After surgery to repair the torn tendon, Weeks should be the explosive performer he was in the minor leagues.

Three new young general managers ...

1. Jon Daniels, Rangers, 28

2. Andrew Friedman, Devil Rays, 29

3. Josh Byrnes, Diamondbacks, 35

... and one new old general manager

Pat Gillick, Phillies, 68

Five free agents still looking for a team

1. Jeff Weaver, starting pitcher

2. Sammy Sosa, outfielder

3. Rafael Palmeiro, first baseman/designated hitter

4. Juan Gonzalez, outfielder

5. Erubiel Durazo, designated hitter/first baseman

Best new name

to emerge this winter

Bubbie Buzachero, a right-handed pitcher that was traded from Toronto to Cleveland in January.

And finally, a seasonal question to ponder

Why are baseball's winter meetings conducted in autumn each year, while spring training takes place almost entirely in winter?

Larry Stone: 206-464-3146 or lstone@seattletimes.com

Three people on the spot

1, Jimmy Rollins, Phillies. He finished last season with a 36-game hitting streak, ninth-longest in baseball history, so Rollins will be scrutinized from Day One. If Rollins hits in his first 10 games, he will break Willie Keeler's National League record (with a note in the record book that it was accomplished over two seasons).

2, Barry Bonds, Giants. He enters the season six homers behind Babe Ruth. Can Bonds, who played just 14 games last year, hold up for another season?

3, Jim Leyland, Tigers. After flaming out in Colorado in 1999, Leyland is back at the Tigers' helm. He must show that he still has the fire and skills that made him one of the top managers of the 1990s.

Worst potential programming decision

since Anna Nicole Smith got her own show

Bonds is reportedly in discussions with ESPN to star in a reality series that will follow him on and off the field.