Top News:
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Yanks: We have shot at Johan Santana — After what he described as a “slow holiday season” for baseball business, Hank Steinbrenner is returning to his office Thursday to begin working on “a final decision” regarding a trade for Johan Santana. And he believes the Yankees have made the top offer for the Minnesota ace.
Discussion:
MLB Trade Rumors, MetsBlog.com, River Ave. Blues, WasWatching.com, FakeTeams, Sliding Into Home and The Sommer Frieze
RELATED:
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Baseball gets back to work
Baseball gets back to work
Discussion:
MetsNetwork.com, MY BASEBALL BIAS, The Chuck Knoblog, NJ.com, MetsBlog.com, MLB Trade Rumors, Hot Foot and Twins Insider
Duff Wilson / New York Times:
Clemens's Interview Could Lead to Lawsuit — Roger Clemens will face a lawsuit if he says in a “60 Minutes” interview that his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, was not truthful when he said he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, a lawyer hired by McNamee said Wednesday.
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Torre keeps mum on Clemens-McNamee drama — NEW YORK — Joe Torre won't pick sides between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, the former New York Yankees strength coach who accused the Rocket of using performance-enhancing drugs. — “You're not going to get me in that jackpot,” the former Yankees manager said Wednesday.
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Larkin mentors Dukes — Former All-Star preparing Nats outfielder for Spring Training — WASHINGTON — A few days before the Winter Meetings started in Nashville, Tenn., Nationals general manager Jim Bowden called Barry Larkin, his special assistant, to ask if Larkin had ever heard …
Discussion:
Oleanders and Morning Glories
RELATED:
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Mailbag: Can Nats make a run in '08? — Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nationals fans' questions … How can you say the Nationals can compete for a division title? They don't have a true No. 1 starter in their rotation. Also, trading for troubled players — Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes — never works out.
Rob Bradford / Boston Herald:
Santana affects Kielty's Sox future … Bobby Kielty, like the rest of the baseball world, spent another afternoon yesterday waiting for news of a Johan Santana trade. — Kielty, a former teammate of Santana in Minnesota, has a particular interest in any potential deal involving the Red Sox [team stats].
Sports Illustrated:
Hot Stove Report (cont.) — Best risk for the buck — 1) With all the money around the game, putting a paltry $1 million down on a one-time franchise savior is kind of a no-brainer. That's what the Padres did with oft-injured former Cubs pitcher Mark Prior.
RELATED:
Red Sox Monster:
Youk charity effort inspired by.... ugly women? — Kevin Youkilis has always seemed like a relatively fun-loving guy. He horses around with teammates, parties hard when it's appropriate and regularly gets made fun of for his, uh, stellar good looks, but seldom seems to mind.
NY Daily News:
Leyritz squandered millions on booze, records show — Troubled ex-Yankee Jim Leyritz burned through thousands of dollars by buying high-priced booze and partying at expensive nightclubs, court papers reveal. — The glimpse into Leyritz's 2003 financial records shows he spent large amounts …
John Walsh / Hardball Times:
The Most Feared Hitter in Baseball — One thing I keep reading regarding the Hall of Fame candidacy of Jim Rice is that he was widely regarded as the dominant hitter in baseball, or “The Most Feared Hitter in the Game” for most of his career, 1975-1986. One way of measuring how feared …
David Pinto / Sporting News:
Take the fifth: Examining bottom starters' impact — How do No. 5 starters contribute to a club? By definition, the fifth rotation slot is for the team's worst starter. Given the current cost of pitching, the ability to put five quality starters in the rotation is difficult.
Leon Neyfakh / New York Observer:
Golenbock To Write Steinbrenner Biography — Celebrated baseball writer Peter Golenbock, author of Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949-64, has signed a contract with John Wiley & Sons to write a biography of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, it was announced today.
Chris Haft / MLB.com:
Mailbag: Will Vizquel rebound in 2008? — Beat reporter Chris Haft answers Giants fans' questions — Although he likely will remain a good defensive shortstop, do you see Omar Vizquel rebounding to hit .290 or better ever again? — My gut feeling is no, given Vizquel's 49-point slide …
Juan C. Rodriguez / Sun-Sentinel:
More deals ahead for Marlins — Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Jorge Cantu fouls off a pitch from Minnesota Twins starter Carlos Silva during the second inning of a spring training baseball game in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius / March 5, 2007) — Even after signing Jose Castillo on Christmas Eve …