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Dayn Perry / Fox Sports:
McGwire will likely wait in vain for Hall — Dayn Perry is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com and author of the new book, “Winners: How Good Baseball Teams Become Great Ones” (Available now at Amazon.com). — Each round of Hall-of-Fame voting is mostly about the new inductee or inductees …
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Dan Shaughnessy / Boston Globe:
Nothing false about his case — I think I heard Roger Clemens's lawyer humming our national anthem when the Rocket stormed off the stage Monday, abruptly concluding one of the more bizarre press conferences in the history of Western Civilization. — “I got another [expletive] …
Joe Sheehan / Baseball Prospectus:
Goose, Rice, and Confetti — To no one's surprise, it was announced yesterday that Rich Gossage had been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame. One of the five best relief pitchers in history by any standard, Gossage picked up 85.8 percent of the vote (with “only” 75 percent required for election) in his ninth year on the ballot.
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skyking162
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:
Yankees still eye Santana — Roger Clemens is dominating headlines these days, not Johan Santana. Yet nearly two months after the Yankees first engaged in trade talks with the Twins over Santana, the Minnesota ace is not off the Yankees' radar. — “There's definitely still a possibility …
Phil Rogers / Hardball:
Looking like a high price for Roberts — On hold over much of the last month, the Brian Roberts talks are on again between the Cubs and Baltimore Orioles. This deal is almost certainly going to happen — the only question is when and how much it is going to cost the Cubs.
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Tony Pente / Voice of the Fan:
Reports: Roberts Traded to Cubs — Orioleshangout.com has learned through several sources that the trade of All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts to the Cubs has been finalized. — The early reports indicate that Orioles will get back 22-year old right-hander pitching prospect Sean Gallagher …
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Camden Chat
Patrick K. Thornton / The Biz of Baseball:
The Clemens Defamation Lawsuit: Proving the Case — Contrary to what most legal experts believed, Roger Clemens has now filed a defamation lawsuit against his former trainer and friend Brian McNamee. Lawyers for both sides had been posturing for weeks with McNamee's lawyers stating several times …
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Buddy LeRoux; was part owner of Sox, real estate baron; at 77 — Buddy LeRoux, who rose from team trainer to part owner of the Boston Red Sox in the 1970s and 1980s, died of natural causes Monday night. He was 77. — Often a controversial figure in Boston sports - both with the Red Sox …
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Associated Press
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Doug Miller / mlb.mlb.com:
Piazza shows metal maniac colors — All-star catcher enjoys pounding the skins to hard rock — Mike Piazza's vicious yet poetic right-handed swing at a baseball has led to the most home runs by a catcher in Major League history and a sure spot in the Hall of Fame.
Rick Telander / Chicago Sun Times:
No erasing empty feeling — This non-vote is not frivolous. Instead, a blank Hall of Fame ballot sums up what the Steroid Era has done to my feelings about baseball — Ilook at my 2008 Hall of Fame ballot with sadness. That's a photocopy of it on the right, and as you can see …
Associated Press:
Mariners sign veteran IF Cairo to jump-start Lopez — SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners signed veteran infielder Miguel Cairo to a one-year, major league contract on Tuesday, giving starting second baseman Jose Lopez more prodding to improve. — Cairo, 33, played 82 games for the New York Yankees …
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Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Around the Horn: Corner infielders — With Wright, resurgent Delgado would give Mets strong tandem … NEW YORK — Carlos Delgado and David Wright will enter this season on opposite corners of the diamond and opposite sides of the superstar spectrum. One is a former behemoth …
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Bless You Boys
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Report: Rays won't seek state aid — New stadium would be located on St. Petersburg waterfront — ST. PETERSBURG — According to a report in Tuesday's St. Petersburg Times, the Rays will not seek state aid for their proposed $450-million stadium on the team's current Spring Training site …
NY Daily News:
Fame brings Goose bumps — When the call from Baseball Writers Association secretary-treasurer Jack O'Connell came to his home in Colorado Springs at 1:45 Tuesday afternoon, Rich (Goose) Gossage, the most fearsome and intimidating closer in the history of baseball, was reduced to emotional mush and “numbness.”
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates Minicamp: Several players report slimmer, trimmer — Maholm, Doumit, Duke, others follow management's lead — BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates' new management has built a bedrock principal of accountability, so having only two-thirds of their invited pitchers report for minicamp yesterday …
