What happened to the hot stove? This is MLB's frozen winter. YU DARVISH -- the top pitching free agent -- is unsigned. JD MARTINEZ, LORENZO CAIN, ERIC HOSMER -- the top hitters -- are still out there. Nobody has signed a contract worth more than $60 million. The only feeding frenzy was for SHOHEI OHTANI -- a 23-year-old who signed for the minimum, a $2.315 million signing bonus, and a $20 million posting fee. Baseball's never been richer or more frugal. MLB front offices have become so smart there's no one left to outsmart. Analytics have become so pervasive that teams have nearly similar player evaluations. It could look like collusion or every team putting the same price on a player. Paying for free agents has long come with a winner's curse but teams couldn't avoid it. Not anymore, it seems. Teams don’t want to pay top dollars for past-their-prime free agents. The value is in players in their pre-free agent years. Free agents are still looking for contracts on the old scale, but do those exist? The real test will be next winter when MANNY MACHADO, BRYCE HARPER, and CLAYTON KERSHAW hit the market. If those players can't get paid then free agency might be broken and in need of a fix. Should players be able to hit free agency earlier? After five years? After four? Is the luxury tax -- which is keeping the DODGERS and YANKEES from going HAM -- more like a hard cap? Baseball benefits from an exciting offseason. Boring isn't good for anyone... Welcome to 2018. The PATRIOTS and STEELERS have first round byes. The BROWNS are bad. ALABAMA is in the national title game. LEBRON is great. The YANKEES are stacked. The LIGHTNING are good. DUKE and MICHIGAN STATE are atop the polls. Happy new year... I'll finally be able to get that six-pack from sitting on the couch all day.... How much is the first playoff appearance in 18 years worth to BILLS fans?... He sacks quarterbacks on Sunday, then lets his mind play... Just like SUN TZU wrote in the ART OF WAR.