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Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Padres would be logical choice for Prior — LIKE THIS STORY? — Logic dictates that the Padres are Mark Prior's first choice. Not only is he from San Diego, but he also might thrive by staying in the National League and pitching at spacious Petco Park.
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Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Notebook: Dotel, Chacon on relief radar — But team wary of committing too much for bullpen help — Octavio Dotel is out there, as is old acquaintance Shawn Chacon. — And the Pirates have spoken with the representatives for each of those free-agent relievers. — Sounds like a match, right?
Sports Illustrated:
The fallout continues — Clemens among big losers; redemption for Duquette — Roger Clemens' denials are getting louder and somehow less convincing as he attempts to extricate himself from the steroid allegations made against him in the bombshell, worth-every-penny Mitchell Report …
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WasWatching.com
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Steve Kettmann / New York Times:
‘Juiced’ Ghostwriter: I Told You So — Whatever else its eventual impact, the Mitchell report last week immediately recasts the importance of the small library of books documenting — and in some cases, shaping — baseball's steroid era. — In fact, given its timing and high profile …
New York Times:
Clemens Strongly Denies Allegations by His Ex-Trainer — Roger Clemens unleashed the equivalent of a verbal fastball Tuesday, forcefully denying the allegations that Brian McNamee, his former personal trainer, made about his using steroids and human growth hormone.
Discussion:
The Big Lead, NJ.com, Only Baseball Matters, FanHouse, New York Post, NY Daily News, The Joy of Sox and A Fan's View from Section 220
John Hickey / seattlepi.com Mariners blog:
Silva signing could be announced by Thursday — When you look at Carlos Silva, you see a young veteran who has one of the best sinkers in the game. — Because of that, he gets lots of ground ball outs. How good a fit would that be in Safeco Field, a place that better accommodates fly ball pitchers?
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Keeping up with AL heavyweights impractical for most … We can sum up the difference between the National League and the American League these days with one little winter meetings anecdote. — We were speaking with a high-ranking official of an NL contender.
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Mets add to bullpen with Wise — The Mets added to their bullpen by signing righthander Matt Wise to a one-year, $1.2 million contract on Tuesday. (AP File Photo) — The Mets, in an effort to add depth to their beleaguered bullpen, signed free-agent righthander Matt Wise to a one-year, $1.2-million contract yesterday.
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Charlie Nobles / MLB.com:
A-Rod to open education center — Facility named for Yankees star to be in hometown of Miami — MIAMI — Alex Rodriguez has long had a field named after him at the Southwest Miami Boys & Girls Club, where he learned the game as a youth. By early next baseball season …
TwinCities.com:
Charley Walters: Boston Red Sox still in lead for Minnesota Twins ace Johan Santana — The Boston Red Sox remain the favorite to acquire Johan Santana from the Twins, insiders say. — Boston remains firm, though, as initially reported by the Pioneer Press, in offering just Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson.
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Boston Sports Media Watch, SOX & Dawgs, River Ave. Blues, MetsBlog.com, MLB Trade Rumors and Boston Globe
Dave Zirin / CounterPunch:
George Mitchell's Drugs of Choice — The Mitchell Report on steroids is shaking the baseball world from cap to cleats. It names 86 players, and calls for a vast reformation of what is being called “the steroid era” in Major League Baseball. The 20-month, $20 million investigation has been accepted as gospel by the hoi polloi.
Henry Schulman / San Francisco Chronicle:
Giants take look at pitcher Benson — (12-18) 21:24 PST — As the Giants continue their search for a third baseman and middle-of-the-order hitter, they are not closing their eyes to other spots on the diamond. — Ron Schueler, one of general manager Brian Sabean's new senior advisers …
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, MLB Rumors, Over the Monster, Philliesflow.com, MLB.com and philly.com
Associated Press:
New Marlins stadium clears significant hurdle — Deal for ballpark still needs to pass Florida Legislature — MIAMI (AP) — Miami-Dade County commissioners Tuesday approved a public works project that includes a new stadium for the Florida Marlins. — The ballpark would be built on the site of the Orange Bowl.
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Field of Schemes
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Mitchel Lichtman / Hardball Times:
Does reliever over-use lead to poor subsequent performance? — In a Nov. 30 article in the Philadelphia Daily News by Paul Hagen, Braves senior advisor and former big-league manager Jim Fregosi had this to say about relievers who have a good year followed by a bad year or vice versa:
Curt Schilling / 38 Pitches:
One players take on the Mitchell Report, Canseco, Clemens, records, looking back or going forward.... Barry Bonds, Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens, Andy Petite, Todd Pratt, Gary Bennett, Paul Byrd, Dave Justice, Fernando Vina, Alex Cabrera, Brian Roberts, Lenny Dykstra, and many more.