Top News:
Rob Bradford / Boston Herald:
Papi: Johan not coming — Sox DH doesn't see trade for good friend happening — FOXBORO - It wasn't the holiday message Red Sox [team stats] fans were looking for. — Although David Ortiz [stats]' infectious smile and trademark hugs were spread throughout Gillette Stadium during his visit …
Discussion:
Peter's Red Sox Forever, SOX & Dawgs, Seven Train to Shea Mets Blog, Over the Monster and MetsBlog.com
RELATED:
ESPN.com:
Big spenders: Yanks, Red Sox hit with luxury tax — NEW YORK — The New York Yankees did accomplish something this year: They lowered their luxury tax for the second straight season. — The Yankees were hit with a tax bill of $23.88 million by Major League Baseball in a notice sent to teams late Friday …
Phil Rogers / Chicago Tribune:
NL not ponying up for horse Santana — Can't match offers of Yanks, Red Sox — The absence of a serious NL option remains one of the ongoing mysteries in Minnesota's deliberate efforts to trade Johan Santana. The Twins surely would rather deal him to the Mets or Dodgers than to the Red Sox or Yankees …
Discussion:
Purple Row
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Wallace, Fan of Clemens, Becomes His Questioner — Mike Wallace has been a correspondent for CBS's “60 Minutes” for the past four decades and more recently has taken on a reduced role, with the weekly news show now describing him as a correspondent emeritus.
RELATED:
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
McNamee open to chatting with Roger — Brian McNamee hasn't talked to Roger Clemens since the personal trainer's explosive testimony in the Mitchell Report fingered the Rocket as an abuser of steroids and human growth hormone. — But McNamee, whose work Clemens credited for years …
NY Daily News:
Rocket reeks of desperation — So Roger Clemens has taken his case to the people via the path of least resistance, with a two-minute video that he posted on his Web site. He does his best to win your sympathy, describing the hurt his family has endured from the Mitchell Report …
Richard Pérez-Peña / New York Times:
The Top Player in This League? It May Be the Sports Reporter — A few teams are rich and getting richer, hunting more avidly than ever for talent, raiding the less-endowed leagues, poaching free agents and bidding the prices of star players to unheard-of heights.
Associated Press:
Marlins reach agreement with Jose Castillo — MIAMI (AP) — Former Pittsburgh infielder Jose Castillo signed a free-agent deal with the Florida Marlins on Monday. — Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. — The 26-year-old Castillo, from Venezuela, played both second and third base …
Mssickels / Minor League Ball:
Merry Christmas, Dodger's Fans — John wanted me to post this list for you, with a request that when you argue, and you will, please keep it civil. — Los Angeles Dodgers Top 20 Prospects for 2008 — All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change. — Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Grade A
Ken Rosenthal / Fox Sports:
Time is not right to decide on Steroid Era players — Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005. He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX. — I am staring at my National Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, looking at the box next to Mark McGwire's name.
Yankees Chick:
It's The Annual NON-DENOMINATIONAL HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE!!! — I've been rockin' this bloggity for over two years now (hells yeah my life is that pathetic and I have no other hobbies! Now you know the truth), and in both 2005 and 2006 I provided a showcase of the absolute worst Yankees-related gifts …
Discussion:
Deadspin
Phil Rogers / Chicago Tribune:
MLB whispers — ESPN's stable of baseball reporters linked 14 teams to the pursuit of Mark Prior, but that list drops when teams check out his medical reports. Texas was the latest to back out. San Diego makes the most sense, but the Padres ended trade talks with the Cubs after looking at the medical file.
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
The wild and wacky from 2007 … Once again this year, the amazing sport of baseball was stranger than fiction, stranger than a Britney Spears trip to the hair salon, stranger even than the Jonathan Papelbon School of Dance. — So before the 2008 sign flashes in Times Square, let's look back at the Strange But True Feats of the Year:
Ken Mandel / MLB.com:
Phils sign Taguchi to one-year deal — Outfielder gets $1 million contract, with option for 2009 — PHILADELPHIA — The Phillies completed some last-minute holiday shopping Sunday, signing outfielder So Taguchi to a one-year contract with an option for 2009.
