HOUSTON -- Josh Reddick never expected to hear from the Houston Astros.I didnt know if I was on these guys radar, the outfielder said Wednesday, after finalizing a $52 million, four-year contract. It was something that came out of nowhere for me, not in a bad way. I was very excited to hear from them. Texas is something that brings me a little closer to home.Reddick, who is from Georgia, was drafted by the?Boston Red Sox in 2006, traded to the Oakland Athletics?after the 2011 season and dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at last summers trade deadline on Aug. 1.Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said Houston and Oakland talked about a possible deal.This is going to be a winning environment for the next four years, Luhnow said, describing his pitch to Reddick. We were willing to commit to the length of the deal early. Really felt like he fit in well with the culture that were trying to build here. It spoke to him, because hes seen it firsthand.Reddick, who will receive $13 million in each of the next four seasons, appealed to the Astros as a free agent because he bats left-handed, won a Gold Glove and does not turn 30 until February.In eight big league seasons, Reddick has 96 homers, 346 RBIs and a .255 batting average.Get to stay in the same division [as the Athletics]. Very comfortable being in this division, Reddick said. I know how things work. I know the stadiums. I know the pitching staffs. I know the hitters. So its going to make this a very easy transition for me.Minute Maid Park was considered to be hitter friendly, even before renovations this offseason moved the center-field wall in from 436 feet to 409. Reddick is looking forward to hitting more home runs in Houston than he did at Oakland Coliseum.Hopefully, some of these fly balls Ive hit at the coliseum over the last 4? years can maybe be 10 rows deep here, he said.Reddick did not want to drag out contract talks.I think it was good before the winter meetings, so you didnt have to worry about all the hype, he said. Go home and for the next 2? months train and get ready. Relax a lot better knowing I have a home and a good home, once it comes around to February. Cheap Nike Flex Shoes . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Nike Flex Clearance . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. http://www.nikeflexcheap.com/ . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Nike Flex Cheapest Price . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Nike Flex Shoes Sale . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. On Monday, the New York Yankees traded closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs, giving a significant boost to a team already well-positioned for a deep playoff run. New York received three prospects, including highly touted infielder Gleyber Torres, and reacquired pitcher and former Yankees draft pick Adam Warren.As a lifelong Yankees fan, people have been asking me my thoughts on the trade, which can basically be summed up thusly: For a team that had three top relievers in Chapman, Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances, the Yankees sold high on Chapman, who is set to hit free agency at the end of this season, and in return got a top-15 prospect and a major league pitcher who threw quite well during his years in the Bronx.Most importantly, Im just glad that Ill once again be able to enjoy watching the ninth inning again.It pained me to watch my team trade for Chapman in December, when other teams had deemed him untouchable after reports surfaced of a domestic violence incident in which Chapmans girlfriend told police he choked her, pushed her into a wall and threatened her with gunshots fired in his garage. No arrests were made after more than a dozen officers appeared at Chapmans house and found his girlfriend hiding in the bushes.In addition to the uneasiness of having an apparently unhinged player in my teams clubhouse and on my teams field, it particularly didnt sit well with me that the main reason the Yankees managed to land an All-Star closer at the bargain-basement price of four unexciting prospects was because they were willing to look the other way from an act of violence.As I wrote at the time, the move was cynical and grossly opportunistic -- ESPNs Andrew Marchand likened it to the predatory nature of a foreclosure sale -- precluding me and many others from enjoying a win sealed by Chapman.That was quite startling for someone who grew up idolizing Mariano Rivera, for a fan base that became accustomed to the ninth inning as automatic, yet experienced the same level of excitement every time that cutter left No. 42s hand. With Chapman in for the save, many of us this season have simply been going through the motions, holding our breath and applause until the last out so we could cheer not for the pitcher who nailed it down, but for the team we still cant help but love despite ourselves. Rather than rising to our feet at the opening bars of Enter Sandman and gasping with every Rivera-induced broken bat, there was no joy in watching a Chapman save, no matter how hard he threw. A 105 mph pitch is exciting until you imagine that same physical force being used by an athlete against the mother of his child.So Im happy to see Chapman go, if only to reclaim my love of late-inning pitching. Thats why I sympathize with my colleague Sarah Spain, who wrote Tuesday about her own difficulties with Chapman potentially being a key component of her beloved Cubs World Series run. Now, I have to picture Chapman pitching the final out of the World Series, she wrote. Chapman on the front page of every newspaper in the country. Chapman, the lasting image of the victory. Chapman, the hero.That image is no big deal for some fans and writers content to settle on the conclusion that major league teams are in the business of winning, no matter what it takes (to quote USA Today MLB columnist Bob Nighteengale) -- a notion completely belied by years of PED reform, anti-tampering rules, regulations against foreign substances tainting equipment, not to mention MLBs revamped domestic violence policy.dddddddddddd The league itself has decided that whatever it takes isnt good enough after a certain point.To be sure, MLB did conduct its own investigation of Chapman under its new policy, suspending him for the first 30 games of the season.We can talk about whether that penalty was enough -- by comparison, the minimum suspension for a first-time PED user is 80 games -- and yes, relative severity matters in the message to both victims and offenders as to just what kind of infractions the league takes most seriously. With the understanding that MLB players have the strongest union and labor protections in all of sports (and thats a good thing), 30 games wasnt enough to delay Chapmans eligibility for free agency, setting him up for a huge payday after the 2016 season.MLBs domestic violence policy is more advanced than others in sports, and Chapman did serve his time. So heres where those win at all costs fans and commentators will bellow about second chances, admonishing those of us who dont think Chapman has quite yet earned that opportunity. If youre willing and able to accept Chapman as a Cub, thats your right as a fan, and your privilege as someone who has likely never been affected by violence against women. Many of these people are just as quick to dismiss the rest of us as reactionary torch-wielders who secretly hate sports and dont believe in second chances, rehabilitation or reform.Thats simply not the case. The issue with Chapmans moves to both the Yankees and the Cubs isnt just the unsavory opportunism; its that, as Spain and others have noted, hes shown little contrition in the months since the October incident.Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts and general manager Theo Epstein should receive some credit for using the words domestic violence rather than glossing over Chapmans case as a simple mistake (Im looking at you, Sandy Alderson). But both of them also emphasized that the organization takes players character very seriously, and weve no indication that Chapmans character has actually improved. He hasnt spoken out about domestic violence education, and has repeatedly dismissed the October incident as nothing. On Tuesday, he did tell ESPNs Pedro Gomez in Spanish that he has grown tremendously since that time after a rather confusing news conference with English-speaking Chicago media.We have about as much clarity on Chapmans personal growth as we do on just how to feel as fans every time he steps onto a pitchers mound. I know precisely what many Cubs fans are feeling today, having felt it for the past few months. Even if, as a Yankees fan, Im relieved to see Chapman gone, there will be a gnawing in my mind should Torres turn into the pro phenom hes slated to become, if the pieces that help build another Yankees dynasty were acquired through a cynically shrewd trade of a player who might not have deserved to be in the Bronx in the first place.I suppose Ill confront that reality if and when it comes to fruition. For now, at least I have my ninth innings back. ' ' '