Pudgy

Well, it's official: Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez has signed a one year deal to play this season with the Houston Astros.

Rodriguez signed a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, with the opportunity to make another $1.5 in incentives. He has a wedding to attend on Saturday, but expects to be in uniform for Sunday's game when the Astros host the Nationals.

"It wasn't an easy offseason for me," said Rodriguez. "I'm glad that I'm back in a Major League organization. The Astros have been an organization where they have a lot of good players.

I always imagine my favorite catchers being big burly guys like AJ Pierzynski or Wade Boggs. But Pudge always seemed so dainty.


Not to say that he's actually small. Here he is with his new teammate Carlos Lee. But look at him. He's wearing a fashionable v-neck shirt and holding a latte. That is not what an HGH using catcher is supposed to look like.

He's also really into potatoes. His favorite recipe (which I'm sure he cooks all the time) is "Dutch Oven Potatoes with Dried Fruit." No Joke. He's also a really big Yanni fan. I've heard this so many times that it's got to be true, but when I went looking on the interweb the only confirmation I could find was this liveblog blog from the 2003 World Series - where Yanni sang the national anthem! But nonetheless, I wish Pudge all the best this year with the Astros. But even the addition of a mediocre catcher (player now and looks) isn't going to improve my outlook for the NL Central.