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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
What are the Orioles thinking? — There are two ways to view the Orioles' investment of nearly $42 million in relievers Jamie Walker, Danys Baez and Chad Bradford. — A. The Orioles, coming off nine consecutive losing seasons, needed to overpay each reliever in a three-year contract to attract him to Baltimore, or,
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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Phillies, A's frontrunners to attain Piazza — The Phillies, thwarted in their efforts to sign free-agent catcher Mike Piazza last off-season, are taking another shot. — FOX Bite — Videos — Hot Stove: This 'n That — Once again, it appears they will fall short.
Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
O's add 4; 2 pitchers for 'pen … Six days before the start of baseball's winter meetings, the Orioles' offseason wish list grew smaller Tuesday, thanks to a flurry of activity that landed the club three new faces and welcomed back a familiar one. — Continuing a thorough overhaul of their bull pen …
Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
Yankees win rights to Igawa for $26,000,194 — NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees got a chance to sign a Japanese pitcher on their second try this offseason, winning the rights Tuesday to Kei Igawa after losing out to the Boston Red Sox two weeks ago for Daisuke Matsuzaka.
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Ronald Blum / Associated Press:
Yankees win rights to Japan's Igawa — NEW YORK - The New York Yankees won the bidding for Japanese pitcher Kei Igawa when the Hanshin Tigers accepted their offer of about $25 million Tuesday. — The identity of the winning team was disclosed by a baseball official who spoke on condition …
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The LoHud Yankees Blog
Mark Feinsand / MLB.com:
Igawa's rights go to Yankees — New York reportedly bids $25-$26 million to speak with lefty — NEW YORK — After missing out on star Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka earlier this month, the Yankees made sure not to let history repeat itself when Kei Igawa became available via the posting system.
Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Sox, Drew close — Outfielder in line for $70m, five years — There is still contract language to be worked out, and some question about whether the fifth year of the deal is guaranteed. But the Red Sox are nearing the completion of a deal with J.D. Drew that would pay …
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Baseball Musings
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Jimmy Golen / Associated Press:
Red Sox can't reduce bid for Matsuzaka — BOSTON - The Boston Red Sox cannot reduce their $51.1 million bid for Daisuke Matsuzaka in order to sign him, even if his Japanese team agrees to take less, baseball officials said Tuesday. — "There are no side deals in the situation," …
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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Cardinals close to bringing back Kennedy — The Cardinals, bringing back one of their former prospects, are on the verge of signing free-agent second baseman Adam Kennedy to a three-year, $10 million contract, FOXSports.com has learned. — Kennedy, 30, will replace free agent Ron Belliard …
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R.B. Fallstrom / Associated Press:Kennedy, Kip Wells agree to deals with Cardinals
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Where have you gone …
Steve Henson / Los Angeles Times:
Lieberthal is ready for blue — Veteran catcher would be happy to back up Martin, if a couple of hurdles don't stop him. — Like pitcher Randy Wolf, catcher Mike Lieberthal is a Philadelphia Phillie who grew up in Southern California. — And like the left-handed starter whose …
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Balls, Sticks, & Stuff
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Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Any deal for Figgins full of complexity — The agent for speedy Chone Figgins believes the Los Angeles Angels will trade his client. — With 114 stolen bases over the last two seasons, Figgins, 28, would appear to be a potential help to the White Sox. — But other factors suggest …
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Larry Dobrow / CBS SportsLine.com:
Throw clueless GM Littlefield off Pirates' sinking ship — The Pittsburgh Pirates might be one of baseball's two or three franchises truly beyond resuscitation, and I can tell you why in three words: Dave Motherbleepin' Littlefield. — In his five tragic years as the team's executive zookeeper …
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Leaving Tucson will be tricky — Sox need replacement before Glendale move — Moving their spring-training home from Tucson to Glendale, Ariz., might seem easy for the White Sox. — Their toughest task will be finding a team to replace them at the facility they share with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Discussion:
South Side Sox
Joe Hamrahi / baseballdigestdaily.com:
Bill James on the Fielding Bible Awards — We are fortunate today to be joined by Bill James. Bill was gracious enough to answer a few questions we had on defensive metrics and the 2006 Fielding Bible Awards! — Baseball Digest Daily (BDD): With the increasing amount of data becoming available …
