Top News:
Gordon Wittenmeyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Marmol will close, OF will be acquired — SPRING TRAINING: CUBS — MESA, Ariz. — For all the position battles in camp, the most important one might be playing out in the general manager's office, where Jim Hendry is trying to put the Cubs in position to acquire an outfielder and a certain infielder from Baltimore.
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Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Defense helps veteran Lieber pitch 4 shutout innings — MESA, Ariz. - Jon Lieber's four shutout innings Saturday against Arizona put him in good position for the Cubs' fifth starter's spot. — But Ryan Dempster and Jason Marquis also have pitched well, making it a tough call for manager Lou Piniella.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Cubs eyeing Crisp; Sox don't want Marquis — FORT MYERS, Fla. - While major league sources indicate the Chicago Cubs have Coco Crisp on their wish list, the Red Sox have no interest in expendable starting pitcher Jason Marquis or Arizona League MVP outfielder Sam Fuld.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Associated Press:
Rays surprised Yanks' Girardi miffed at hard play — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Don Zimmer likes Joe Girardi and even goes as far as to say the New York Yankees' manager is like a son to him. — But when it comes to the home-plate collision in which Tampa Bay's Elliot Johnson ran over Francisco Cervelli …
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T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers sign right-hander Ponson — Veteran will challenge for spot in Texas' starting rotation — SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Rangers have signed veteran right-handed pitcher Sidney Ponson to a Minor League contract and added him to their Spring Training roster.
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Richard Durrett / Dallas Morning News:
Ponson signed — The Rangers signed Sidney Ponson to a minor league deal. He will be in major league camp on Monday. GM Jon Daniels said Ponson is in good shape and should be ready to pitch in games fairly soon. — Ponson gives the Rangers some more depth.
Cincinnati Enquirer:
Baker judges by his senses — Knowing what makes his players tick more important than their stats — digg us! del.icio.us! — The best baseball managing is done by the seat of your pants, using good, old-fashioned, pre-sabermetric logic. That's another reason to like Dusty Baker.
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Ken Tremendous / FIRE JOE MORGAN:
There's a War Brewing — in Cincinnati. On one side: the Dustyites. On the other side: common sense. Articles are being written every day celebrating the folksy wisdom of a man who thinks bases are only good when there's no one standing on them. This is exactly what happened in L.A. when Grady Little was hired — “He's folksy!
Tony Massarotti / Boston Herald:
Beckett iffy for Japan opener … While expressing optimism about the back injury that forced Josh Beckett [stats] to be scratched from his scheduled spring start yesterday, Red Sox [team stats] manager Terry Francona acknowledged today that the Red Sox will be cautious in determining whether to send Beckett to Japan later this month.
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:Beckett tweaks his back — As a precaution, he's scratched from start
Joe Posnanski:
Statheads and True Wins — I'm all over the map on this one ... maybe this is from the excitement of THE SOUL OF BASEBALL paperback coming on on Tuesday. It's also available now as an Amazon Kindle Book, whatever that is. I guess at some point I should write about this whole wireless book thing — is this going to take off?
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Kershaw promoted to big league camp — Young phenom may have shot a winning fifth-starter job — VERO BEACH, Fla. — Dodgers manager Joe Torre caught himself in mid-sentence, realizing that comparing Clayton Kershaw to Sandy Koufax is exactly what he didn't want to do. — But Torre couldn't help himself.
Discussion:
6-4-2
Maureen Mullen / MLB.com:
Matsui returns with three at-bats — Yankees slugger serves as DH while rehabilitating right knee — FORT MYERS, Fla. — Making his way back from arthroscopic surgery on his right knee performed in November, Hideki Matsui made his first appearance in Grapefruit League action on Sunday.
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Baltimore Sun:
Quiroz favorite to land backup catcher spot — O's show interest in Houston infielder Loretta — JUPITER, Fla. - In the race for the Orioles' backup catcher job, Guillermo Quiroz has separated himself from the pack. And while the finish line is a few miles down the road, he's expected to cross it first.
Tom Haudricourt / JSOnline:
Braun making strides — Yost likes his quick progress — Phoenix - Ned Yost was asked Saturday morning if Ryan Braun's play in left field met his expectations this spring. — “No,” replied the Milwaukee Brewers manager. — What's this? Are red flags going up?
Discussion:
Brew Crew Ball
RELATED:
Bill Plunkett / Orange County Register:
Matthews looking to take a new road — TEMPE, Ariz. — Gary Matthews Jr. could have found something hard to swallow at Thanksgiving. — A night earlier, the Angels finalized a contract agreement with seven-time Gold Glove center fielder Torii Hunter. The year before, it had been Matthews …
Associated Press:
RHP Eaton diagnosed with herniated disk, arthritis — CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Adam Eaton has a small herniated disk and slight arthritis in his balky back. — The 30-year-old right-hander had an MRI and CT scan on Saturday, and the results came back Sunday.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Kelly Thesier / MLB.com:
Hughes' hitless run continues in win — Yankees righty holds Twins to two walks across four innings — YANKEES 6, TWINS 4 — Twins at the plate: Minnesota was held hitless until the seventh inning, when Tommy Watkins led off with a single to center field off Alan Horne.
Discussion:
Bronx Banter
