Hot Stove: 1/4

History of Baseball: 1899
National League Champion: Brooklyn Superbas (101-47, .682 WPCT).
After the 1898 season, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms changed their name to the Superbas, while the St. Louis Browns became the Perfectos.  Additionally, Wee Willie Keeler departed from Baltimore to join the Superbas, and Cy Young left Cleveland to become a Perfecto.  Both Baltimore and Cleveland suffered mightily because of the losses.  Baltimore, who had finished first or second in the NL every year since Keeler had been with the team (1894-1898), dropped to fourth place at 86-62.  Cleveland suffered worse.  There owners had bought the St. Louis team and had transferred the good players from Cleveland to St. Louis, and it showed in their record.  The Spiders had not suffered a losing season since 1891, but in 1899, they dropped all the way to 20-134, the worst season by any team in major league history.  They finished 84 games behind the league champion Superbas, who went 101-47 to take the crown over Boston (95-57).  Philalphia's Ed Delahanty won the batting title at .410, but the story of 1899 was on Buck Freeman.  Playing in his first full season, the Washington outfielder hit 25 home runs, finishing just two shy of Ned Williamson's record of 27.  However, since Williamson played at an extreme hitters' park (more extreme than Coors Field today), Freeman's accomplishment is much more impressive.  One of the players transferred from Cleveland to St. Louis, Bobby Wallace, finished a distant second with 12.  In addition, Delahanty set a new record with 55 doubles.  Boston's Vic Willis, pitching in just his second season, proved to have the best season from the mound in 1899, going 27-8 with a league leading 2.50 ERA.  New Beaneater Cy Young went 26-16 with a 2.58 ERA and led the league with a 1.12 WHIP.  Brooklyn's Jay Hughes and Baltimore's Joe McGinnity tied for the lead in wins with 28.  McGinnity, who was 28-16 with a 2.68 ERA, was actually a rookie and would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1946.  After the season, four teams would be cut from the NL, downsizing it to eight.

News
Longtime starter Jeff Suppan announced his retirement after 17 major league seasons.  He retired on his 39th birthday.
Angels minor leaguer Carlos Ramirez was suspended for 100 games for a third positive non-PED drug test.

Jeff Suppan was a consistent pitcher throughout the first decade of the new millennium.  After being drafted by the Red Sox in 1993 out of Encino, California, he quickly rose through the minor league ranks, going 25-15 with a 3.11 ERA across four minor league levels before reaching the bigs in 1995.  His debut season was not successful, as he went 1-2 with a 5.96 ERA in eight games (three starts) as a 20 year old.  His eight game stint in 1996 provided no more success, but the 22 year old finally got a chance at a full season in 1997.  Pitching in 23 games (22 starts), he went 7-3 with a 5.69 ERA to prove he could at least hold his own in the bigs.  The expansion Diamondbacks picked him up in 1998, but he went just 1-7 with a 6.68 ERA in 13 starts before being traded to the Royals.  He flourished in Kansas City, pitching to a 0.71 ERA in his four games there in 1998.  Joining the Royals for a full season in 1999, he was 10-12 with a 4.53 ERA in 32 starts, his first successful season.  He came back in 2000 and went 10-9 with a 4.94 ERA, then went 10-14 while dropping his ERA to 4.37 in 2001.  After a rough 2002, he split the 2003 season between Boston and Pittsburgh.  It turned out to be his best season yet, as he went 13-11 with a 4.19 ERA.  In 2004, he joined the St. Louis Cardinals, where he would have most of his success.  In his first season, he was 16-9 with a 4.16 ERA and led them to the World Series.  In four postseason starts that year, he went 2-2 with a 3.42 ERA, garnering victories in the NLDS against the Dodgers and the NLCS against the Astros, the latter of which was earned over Roger Clemens.  In 2005, Suppan posted the best year of his entire career, going 16-10 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 32 starts.  In 2006, he led the Cardinals back to the World Series by going 12-7 with a 4.12 ERA, then went 1-1 with a 2.49 ERA in the postseason.  He earned the NLCS MVP award, then got his World Series ring after St. Louis defeated Detroit in the Fall Classic.  After the season, he signed with the Brewers, then proceeded to go 12-12 with a 4.62 ERA in a career high 34 starts.  Then, in 2008, he went 10-10 with a 4.96 ERA to help the Brewers to the playoffs.  It would be his final playoff appearance.  In 2009, he finished just 7-12 with a 5.29 ERA.  He was released by the Brewers in 2010 in what would be his final full season, splitting it between Milwaukee and St. Louis and finishing 3-8 with a 5.06 ERA in 30 games (15 starts).  After spending the 2011 season at the Royals AAA affiliate in Omaha, he pitched one final season in 2012.  In six starts for the Padres, he went 2-3 with a 5.28 ERA to close out his career.  He sat out the 2013 season and retired on his 39th birthday on January 2nd (also my birthday), 2014.  For his career, he was 140-146 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP, pitching in 448 games, of which 417 were starts.  He is 3-4 with a 3.47 ERA in ten career postseason starts.

Trades
Rangers traded Chris McGuiness (0 HR, 1 RBI, .176 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 26) to the Pirates for Miles Mikolas (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 2014 age: 25).

Free Agent Signings
Astros signed Jesse Crain (2-3, 0.74 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2014 age: 32-33) to a one year, $3.25 million deal.
White Sox signed Scott Downs (4-4, 2.49 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 2014 age: 38) to a one year, $4 million deal.
Orioles signed Quintin Berry (1 HR, 4 RBI, .625 AVG, 3 SB, 2014 age: 29) to a minor league deal.
Mariners signed Cole Gillespie (0 HR, 4 RBI, .203 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 29-30) to a minor league deal.
Cubs signed John Baker (0 HR, 2 RBI, .150 AVG, 0 SB, 2014 age: 33) to a minor league deal.
Phillies signed Chris Bootcheck (0-0, 9.00 ERA, 4.00 WHIP, 2014 age: 35) to a minor league deal.
Mariners signed Ramon Ramirez (0-0, 11.12 ERA, 2.47 WHIP, 2014 age: 32) to a minor league deal.

The Astros are showing that they do not intend for 2014 to mark their fourth straight season at the bottom of baseball.  They've already added Matt Albers, Dexter Fowler, Anthony Bass, Jesus Guzman, Chad Qualls, and Scott Feldman to the fold, and now they are brining in University of Houston alum Jesse Crain.  He is one of the more dominant set-up men in baseball, and will likely battle with Qualls for the role of closer.  Crain and Qualls will work to develop the younger talent in the bullpen, which includes players like Josh Zeid, Josh Fields, and Kevin Chapman.  Jesse Crain had his best season in 2012, posting a 2.44 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 60 batters in 48 innings.  Last year, he was on pace for an incredible season, holding a 0.74 ERA through 38 appearances, but an injury took him down mid-season, just after being chosen to attend to his first All Star Game.  For his career, he is 45-30 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 532 appearances.  

Scott Downs is one of the more experienced left handed relievers out there, bringing 564 major league appearances over twelve major league seasons.  A late bloomer, he really began to show what he could do in 2007 at the age of 31, when he went 4-2 with a 2.17 ERA an an AL leading 81 appearances.  He hasn't slowed down since, and he had his best year in 2011.  That year, he was 6-3 with a 1.34 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, seeing lefties bat .179 against him.  Last year, his age 37 season, he posted a 2.49 ERA, but his WHIP inflated to 1.48.  It was in large part due to lefties hitting an inflated .259, and the White Sox are hoping that it was just an off year rather than a product of age.  Over his career, he is 38-36 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP, earning 26 saves along the way.  

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman