Breakfast Links: Alex Rodriguez, Michael Bourn, Jeff Baker

Good morning, all. Hope the weekend treated you well.

I'm really bad at writing introductions, but these breakfast links posts all need one otherwise the formatting gets real funky real quick. Not much of an intro though. In fact, this should just about do it.

Here's the latest:

The Big Three

1. It's still far too early to know anything about A-Rod's balky hip for certain, but Yankees' GM Brian Cashman gave fans some unsettling news on the subject over the weekend. While the standard recovery time for his procedure is six months -- setting A-Rod up for a late-July return -- the worst-case scenario is that the veteran third baseman will sit out all of 2013. The Yanks have a pretty nice insurance plan at the hot corner in Kevin Youkilis, but it can't feel good to know that the guy they're paying $114 million over the next five years might spend an entire year on the sidelines. I can tell you I'm already starting to feel terrible about what this may bode for the Angels and Albert Pujols in the next NINE years. Age is undefeated.

2. The New York Mets continue to go back and forth on outfielder Michael Bourn. While the club's interest appears to be serious -- though our own Matt Sullivan begs to differ -- the Mets are "very reluctant" to pursue him unless MLB agrees to make an exception for them in terms of draft pick compensation. In my sometimes humble opinion, It would be a poor move for Major League Baseball to acquiesce to New York's request with not even a year gone by since the new CBA was voted into action. Why spend so much hassle on a joint agreement if you're just going to change it at the first point of contention? Yes, sometimes minor adjustments need to be made, but at least give it the time necessary to see if it works in the first place.

3. This was really more of a "big two" stories weekend, as most writers (and teams) seemed to spend Sunday doing other things. I think they may have been some hockey on or something. The Texas Rangers did add journeyman infielder Jeff Baker on a minor-league deal this weekend, which would regularly rate at about a 9.5 on my DGAF meter, but today it's up here with A-Rod and Michael Bourn. Why? Well, because I needed something for this spot and because the Rangers lost Josh Hamilton and Mike Napoli this winter and have thus far replaced them with two old guys: A.J. Pierzynski and Lance Berkman. Jurickson Profar will likely pick up some of the slack, but at who's expense: Andrus or Kinsler? Jon Daniels is a smart guy but I think he may have made the wrong decision by essentially standing pat this winter. After all, Texas didn't even take the division last year.

The Not-So-Big Three

1. The Rockies and right-hander Jhoulys Chacin avoided arbitration with a two-year, $6.5 million deal that buys out his first two seasons of arb-eligibility. The young Venezuelan struggled with shoulder issues some last season, but he has been a bright spot in what has otherwise been a miserable Colorado rotation the last three years.

2. The Marlins signed righty reliever Chad Qualls to a minor-league deal. Though I do it just about every time I hear either name, Qualls is not to be confused with fellow righty reliever Chad Gaudin, who threw for Miami last year. Also not to be confused with DJ Qualls, who got to make out with Eliza Dushku one time because sometimes life just makes you weep.

3. The Red Sox re-signed Ryan Sweeney to a minor-league deal, giving the oft-injured player a shot at making the club as a fifth outfielder. With Ryan Kalish needing neck surgery, it looks as though Sweeney is a shoo-in for a spot out of camp. While we're on the topic of Sweeneys, can we talk about how Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd was not good? Cool.

Extra Innings

- The funeral service for Cardinals' great Stan Musial was held in St. Louis over the weekend, and Bob Costas gave a stirring eulogy that is well worth the watch/listen. I've had my issues with Costas over the years, but the man still speaks very well:

- This is what happens when you get too invested in a football club that hasn't been any good since the Premier League came about 20 years ago:

Though it appears he was successful in frightening the Spurs into conceding two goals and giving Leeds an upset victory, so perhaps there's something to be said for just the right amount of face and head tattoos.

h/t Mocksession

- A pep talk from Kid President to start your day off right: