More evidence this is a very good year to be a free agent:

The auction starts today, and the Angels already have their hands up. Today is the first day teams can bid upon free agents, and the Angels plan to submit opening bids so high that a player or two will accept right away and other teams will take their money elsewhere.

The union must love reading stories like this. The last few years, the owners got the market right, keeping the supply of free agents high enough that the alternatives kept the price from going to high. This year, with supply down, the money is coming out.