winter meetings

This Week, the Eyes of the Baseball World Are on Indianapolis

We know Indianapolis. It’s the city we fly into when we go home for the holidays — our hometown is an hour-and-a-half drive away — and we are keenly aware of its special charms. That is: a recently revamped airport, Conseco Fieldhouse, and an unusually large Nordstrom’s. And it’s where every baseball reporter on earth will be this week, all wishing they were having it someplace freaking warm.

The baseball winter meetings begin today, which is why your local sports page has several long stories that don’t actually say anything. (We know the feeling.)

The winter meetings this year seem more likely to spur trades than free-agent signings — the modus operandi anymore with agents is to drag along negotiations as long as humanly possible — and that means, mostly, more talk about Roy Halladay. The Blue Jays know they have to ship him somewhere before the season begins. Will the Yankees be that team? The Red Sox? The Dodgers? Name a city, and some story will float the possibility of Halladay going there. We’re hearing Boise.

The Padres’ Adrian Gonzalez and the Marlins’ Dan Uggla might also be traded, and a few small-ticket items might wash ashore on the White River, but the odds are excellent that little to nothing will happen in the next four days. All that will occur will be a lot more baseball talk than is probably necessary in the middle of December. Which is fine with us, actually. As for all those baseball reporters? Enjoy the Canal Walk, folks.

This Week, the Eyes of the Baseball World Are on Indianapolis