Top News:
Mark Hale / New York Post:
METS MAY BE IN ARMS WAY — INNINGS MINOR PROBLEM FOR PELFREY, HUMBER — Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber haven't thrown many minor-league innings, yet they're both candidates for the Mets' starting rotation. It's worth examining how ready they are without many more frames for them in Double-A or Triple-A.
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ESPN:
Fan fined $1,000, ordered away from Shea Stadium — A Mets fan who impersonated a reporter last season was fined $1,000 on Tuesday and ordered to stay away from Mets home games for the next three years. — Ryan Leli, 18, was also ordered to stay away from Brooklyn Cyclones games …
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Corey Kilgannon / New York Times:
Starstruck Mets Fan Fined for Impersonating Reporter — The twin passions in the life of Ryan Leli intersected last August when the San Diego Padres came to Shea Stadium to play the New York Mets. — Mr. Leli, 18, had worshiped the Mets since age 3 and was a huge fan of Mike Piazza …
John Delcos / lohud.com:
Ex-Yank Leyritz: Good riddance, Randy — NEW YORK - As badly as one wanted to leave, another wanted to stay. The winters of Randy Johnson and Bernie Williams took different paths, and those paths were a hot topic last night at a dinner honoring the 1977 Yankees.
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Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Today — Post-Hype Sleepers, 2007 — A couple of years ago, I coined the term "post-hype sleepers" to describe players who were entering the season after they'd failed miserably amidst a tremendous amount of preseason buildup. I still think this category is the best place …
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Roto Authority Fantasy …
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Dan Wetzel / Yahoo! Sports:
MLB TV deal gets fuzzy reception — So here comes Major League Baseball in a quick, shortsighted money grab (again), selling out its core fans (again) and telling everyone (again) how the sport ought to be consumed. — Here comes MLB, as arrogant and detached as ever, ready to limit its popular …
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
New mix in Sox's outfield — Erstad signing near; groin surgery sidelines Podsednik — With SoxFest just a few days away, the shape of the White Sox's outfield has taken a dramatic turn with the impending signing of free agent Darin Erstad and recurrence of an old groin injury …
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Ben Maller's Sports …
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Joe Cowley / Chicago Sun Times:
White Sox closing in on Erstad — Podsednik surgery prompts Williams to seek veteran OF — With the news that starting left fielder and leadoff hitter Scott Podsednik underwent groin surgery Tuesday, a White Sox source told the Sun-Times that the team will sign veteran outfielder …
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Roto Authority Fantasy …
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Rays to pad infield depth with Pena … ST. PETERSBURG - Seeking to increase depth with their infield plans unsettled, the Devil Rays are close to signing first baseman Carlos Pena to a minor-league deal. — Under some alignments, the Rays could end up with Ty Wigginton and Greg Norton splitting time at first base.
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MLB Trade Rumors
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Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards hope to learn Weaver's fate this week — The Cardinals probably will learn this week whether their two-year offer to free-agent pitcher Jeff Weaver is enough to keep the righthander in their starting rotation three months after he became a cog in their World Series championship push.
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Baseball America:
Blue Jays Join Growing Gulf Coast League — A busy offseason for the Gulf Coast League continued when the Blue Jays added a sixth affiliate and joined the Florida-based Rookie-level league. — The Blue Jays pulled out of the Appalachian League at the conclusion of the 2006 season …
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Batter's Box Interactive …
Kirby Arnold / HeraldNet.com All News:
Starter Felix Hernandez is in 'amazing shape' after an offseason of working out — That sense of relief coming from downtown Seattle is the sigh of satisfaction in the Mariners' offices at the sight of pitcher Felix Hernandez. — Hernandez, the 20-year-old whose potential as a superstar seems limited …
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U.S.S. Mariner
Associated Press:
Rollins, Phillies confident about chances in '07 — PHILADELPHIA — Pitchers and catchers don't report to spring training for another three weeks and exhibition games are still more than a month away. The Philadelphia Phillies already are talking about the postseason.
Associated Press:
Perlozzo offers thoughts on baseball's economics … WASHINGTON // Washington Nationals owner Theodore Lerner wants to curb spending on player salaries, New York Yankees President Randy Levine wants to limit his team's luxury tax payments, while Baltimore Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo …
John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
Rays payroll shrinks as goodwill is spent … Stu, I thought we were friends. — You, me and our 3-million or so neighbors. — I thought there was a rapport. I thought we all understood one another. You wanted a major-league franchise and we wanted to see what a real one looked like.
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