Pitching Upgrade: Achievement Unlocked!

Forget that Albert Pujols guy. The Marlins have moved on from signing the mega star to an interplanetary record deal and instead refocused their efforts. Ken Rosenthal (and everyone else now) is reporting the team and LHP Mark Buehrle have agreed to a four year deal worth $58 million.

Take a look at his FanGraphs page and it's pretty obvious why the Marlins wanted him. He fits all needs they were looking for in a starting pitcher; left handed, innings eater, consistently very good. It's possible too that his 3.83 ERA could come down playing in the new spacious Marlins Ballpark. Not to mention he is reunited with manager Ozzie Guillen. Reportedly they have a great relationship and hopefully that rubs off on the rest of the clubhouse.

As for the money, it's quite a lot. Buehrle will be 32 by the time the 2012 season starts so this deal takes him through age 35. For a pitcher who isn't quite a superstar, especially one who annually logs 200 innings and has never been injured, that's a gamble. The Marlins offseason hasn't exactly been an exercise in risk management. But hey, we aren't footing the bill so what do we care?  The question really is if the team's actions and attitude mean they will be spending like this every offseason, or tapering off after this year? We'll see

I asked on Twitter for a good mnemonic for remembering how to spell Buehrle. Your two winners:

• But Unlike Evil Hanley Ramirez, Lefty Excites! via @danspacesmith
• Better Use Every Hitter, Ramirez Lost Everything via @Apdirtybird