The GM Meetings are over and the Yankees, unsurprisingly, did not make any moves this week. No one did, really. Marlon Byrd signed with the Phillies and Nick Punto signed with the Athletics, that’s about it. New York did reportedly meet with a bunch of agents though, and they’ve been connected to pretty much every big name on the market so far. That’s not a surprise with Hal Steinbrenner supposedly taking on a more active role in the decision-making process. Owners aren’t exactly known for making small moves, they go big game hunting.

Anyway, here is your open thread for the night. The Colts and Titans are the Thursday NFL Game plus the Knicks and Islanders are playing. College basketball, too. Talk about any and all of that right here. Go nuts.

If the GM Meetings are anything like the Winter Meetings, then they effectively ended today. The final day of the Winter Meetings (Thursday) are always a bore, the hotel is usually a ghost town after mid-morning. The Yankees didn’t make any moves today but Jon Heyman says a Hal Steinbrenner-led contingent (yay!) met with various agents throughout the day, including bigwigs Scott Boras and Dan Lozano. As I’ve been saying, the GM Meetings are all about laying ground work. The details are hammered out in the coming weeks.

Here is your open thread for the night. Both the Knicks and Nets are playing and I’m sure there’s college basketball on somewhere. Talk about any of that stuff and more right here. Enjoy.

Just like the first day, the second day of the GM Meetings came and went without much fanfare. There were some random reports today indicating the Yankees had interest in various free agents they’ve already been connected too (Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann, etc.), but that’s really it. As I said yesterday, these meetings are more about laying groundwork and getting discussion started rather than finalizing deals. Well, unless you’re the Phillies. They inked Marlon Byrd to a nice little two-year, $16M pact this afternoon. He would have made sense for New York at that price.

Anyway, here is the nightly open thread. You’ve got all three hockey locals in action plus college basketball for entertainment. Talk about those games, the GM Meetings, or anything else right here. Do your worst.

First and foremost, Happy Veterans Day to all you veterans out there and thank you for your service. Schmucks like me can bitch and moan about baseball all day because of brave people like you.

Now, onto the baseball stuff. The GM Meetings started in Orlando today, and Brian Cashman said “the music hasn’t even started yet” while speaking in general about the offseason. Now that the qualifying offers have all been declined, I think signings and trade will pick up since teams now know exactly how much money they have to spend. The GM Meetings are more about laying groundwork anyway, a lot of transactions start here but end elsewhere.

Anyway, here is your open thread for the evening. Dolphins-Buccaneers is the Monday Night Football Game (really?) and that’s it, none of the hockey or basketball locals are in action. I guess there might be some college basketball on somewhere. Talk about whatever here. Have at it.

Friday: TGI-frickin-F, man. This week couldn’t end soon enough. Bring on the weekend. Here’s your open thread for the night. The Devils, Knicks, and Nets are all playing, and from what I understand, the college basketball season starts as well. Is that right? I’m not sure. Either way, talk about any and everything right here. Have at it.

Saturday: Once again, here is your open thread for the night. The Islanders and Nets are both playing plus I’m sure there’s college football and basketball on somewhere. You know what to go, so do it.

Sunday: Here’s your recycled open thread to close out the weekend. The Cowboys and Saints are the late NFL game plus all three hockey locals are in action. Talk about whatever. Go nuts.

Yankee Stadium field lined for football pic.twitter.com/j11exndCEc

— Erik Boland (@eboland11) November 7, 2013

Yankee Stadium has undergone it’s annual transformation from baseball field to football field in advance of … something. The Pinstripe Bowl isn’t until late-December, but I guess they’re playing another game(s) this month. A quick Googling gave me nothing. In January, the football field will be replaced by a hockey rink for two games. I bought my tickets for Rangers-Devils today ($505 for a pair!). Better be worth it. (It will.)

Use this as your open thread for the night. Redskins-Vikings is the Thursday NFL game plus all three hockey locals are in action. Talk about any and all of that right here. Go nuts.

As I mentioned the other day, MLB is testing out the new manager’s challenge-based replay system in the Arizona Fall League this week. The first test game was last night and sure enough, the new system was put to the test. See the video above. They actually reviewed another bang-bang play at first base later in the game as well. Both times the replay was very quick and easy; I was pleasantly surprised. MLB is leaning towards implementing the system for 2014 but nothing is final yet.

Anyway, here is your open thread for the evening, day two of free agency. Once again, not a whole lot happened. It’ll pick up soon, I promise. The Rangers are the only local team in action, so you’re on your own for entertainment if you don’t like hockey. Talk about anything and everything right here. Enjoy.

The first day of free agency came and went with a whole bunch of nothing. That’s no surprise, really. Baseball was never like the NFL or NHL, where the majority of the top free agents choose a new team on the very first day. I guess that has to do with the salary cap, no? Sign now otherwise there might not be any money left over later? I can’t see baseball ever going to a salary cap, at least not anything in the next … I dunno, 15-20 years or so. The union is too strong and the league makes too much money.

Anyway, here is your open thread for the evening. The Islanders, Knicks, and Nets are all playing, but otherwise you’re on your own for entertainment. Talk about whatever, go nuts.

Tim Dierkes at MLBTR published his annual list of the top 50 free agents with predictions last night, which are more educated guesses than super serious projections. He has the Yankees walking away with Robinson Cano (duh), Ervin Santana, Hiroki Kuroda, Carlos Beltran, Grant Balfour, and A.J. Pierzynski. Tim has Masahiro Tanaka landing with the Dodgers and Curtis Granderson moving across town to join the Mets. I would be pleasantly surprised if the Yankees brought in a haul like that this winter, but, after sifting through the team’s payroll situation, I’m not sure they can afford all of that even if Alex Rodriguez is suspended for all of next season. We’ll see.

Here is your open thread for the evening. The Bears and Packers are the Monday Night Football Game plus the Rangers are playing as well. Talk about either of those games, the free agent predictions, or anything else here.

Friday: Happy Friday everyone. Here is your open thread for the night. The Islanders and the Nets are the only local teams in action, so it’s a great night to get the heck out of the house. Talk about whatever here. Enjoy.

Saturday: I think I’m just going to start recycling these each weekend rather than creating a new post every night. Save bandwidth, or something. Anyway, the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars Showcase is on tonight (8pm ET on MLB Network), which is basically the All-Star Game. Rather than pick the best statistical performers, they take the best prospects. 3B/C Peter O’Brien is in the starting lineup for the East team and OF Mason Williams is on the roster as well. Full rosters are right here. The three hockey locals are in action and I’m sure there’s college football on somewhere. Talk about any and all of it right here.

Sunday: Only a few more hours left in the weekend, you guys. The Colts and Texans are the late NFL game plus the Knicks, Nets, and Devils are all playing as well. Enjoy the rest of the night.