Though I suggested in an earlier entry that Rod Barajas had flunked his physical with Toronto, according to the Blue Jays, it’s the catcher’s spine that needs some fixing up. From MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.

On Tuesday, Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi (above) said that Barajas and the Jays had “more than a handshake,” regarding the two-year contract the catcher was offered. On Wednesday, at a press conference to announce the re-signing of catcher Gregg Zaun, Ricciardi acknowledged that Barajas actually signed before backing out two days earlier.

“Where I’m from, that’s done,” Ricciardi said. “If your word doesn’t mean anything any more or your signature doesn’t mean anything, what kind of world do we live in? It’s all right, though. This worked out for the better. “The original two agents agreed, and they did a great job — a super job,” Ricciardi said. “Your word is supposed to mean something. What does that say to the agents you just did a deal with? You’re going to get a new agent and start renegotiating? No.”

Afterwards, Riccardi pissed away most of his remaining credibility by paying Royce Clayton $1.5 million dollars.
Reliever Joe Borowski, coming off a 36 save campaign for the Marlins in ’06, has apparently flunked his physical with Philadelphia. The Phillies’ doctor advised against a multi-year pact, but refrained from comment about Borowski’s pending entry in the upcoming Wing Bowl.

In addition to ranking the 5 Worst free agent signings (so far) this offseason (Gary Matthews Jr., Juan Pierre, Carlos Lee, Adam Eaton, Nomar), Fox Sports’ Dayn Perry pays homage to Omar’s thrifty pick-up of the Man With The Pissy Hands.

In this overheated market ” and when you’re the deep-pocketed Mets ” a one-year, $8.5-million pact is basically free. Alou has poor fielding range these days, and he’s gimpy. However, he can still rake (.304 AVG/.371 OBP/.548 SLG over the last three seasons). The Mets badly need better production from the outfield corners, and they also badly need help against left-handed pitching. Alou betters them ” by a lot ” on both counts. This deal is further evidence that Omar Minaya has developed into one of the smartest GMs in the game today.

I didn’t think there was a lamer nightspot on Earth than Blondie’s, but it would appear as though A-Rod and Derek Jeter have found it.

Dodger Thoughts’ Jon Wiseman reminds his lucky readers that today marks Vin Scully’s 79th birthday. This seems as good a time as any to mention that I was really underwhelmed by the performance of Scully impersonator numero uno Harry Shearer in Christopher Guest’s disappointing “For Your Consideration.” Later, however, I saw Will Arnett on “TRL”, at which point, I had to give Shearer and Guest just a tad more credit for realism.