Three new free-agent signings this week I wanted to comment on…

1. Jason Giambi is going back to the Oakland A’s.  After spending a bunch of years with the Yankees, the big man is going back to his roots.  I’ll never forget that Sports Illustrated cover (pictured above) showing the grease-ball Giambi and thinking “whoa…this guy is crazy”.  I became very jaded towards Giambi when his name kept popping up in the steroid scandals of the past decade, but I now have much more respect for him, as he is the ONLY player I can think of who has come clean.

2. Trevor Hoffman signed with the Milwaukee Brewers.  Hoffman is a no-brainer first ballot Hall of Famer, but he may be on the down-slope of his career.  By and large he’s still a pretty good closer, but he is beginning to fail a bit too often in those pressure-packed situations.

3. John Smoltz is now a member of the Boston Red Sox.  If healthy, Smoltz can dominate a game basically wherever you put him (starter, reliever, closer, etc.).  Of course, keeping him healthy is another matter entirely…