Top News:
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Ryan Dempster close to re-signing with Cubs — The Cubs have reached agreement on a multiyear contract with free agent pitcher Ryan Dempster, and the two-time All-Star is expected to sign the deal today, according to multiple sources. — It's expected to be a four-year deal worth at least $52 million.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Ivy Chat, GoatRiders of the Apocalypse, For the Record, Sabernomics, Hire Jim Essian!, umpbump.com and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Bob Dutton / Kansas City Star:
Cubs showing interest in Royals' Teahen — The search by the Chicago Cubs for a left-handed bat is targeting Royals outfielder Mark Teahen as a possible solution. — That search figures to intensify in coming days in the wake of Tuesday's announcement by the Cubs that free-agent pitcher Ryan Dempster …
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com:
Cubs, Dempster agree to four-year, $52M contract — CHICAGO — Pitcher Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs agreed Tuesday on a four-year contract worth about $52 million. — Dempster, 31, has a 76-81 record in 11 seasons with Florida, Cincinnati and Chicago.
Associated Press:
Cubs, Dempster reach 4-year deal … CHICAGO (AP) — Pitcher Ryan Dempster and the Chicago Cubs agreed Tuesday on a $52 million, four-year contract that includes a player option to 2012. — He gets a $4 million signing bonus, $8 million next year, $12.5 million in 2010 and $13.5 million in 2011.
Discussion:
GoatRiders of the Apocalypse, The Cub Reporter (TCR), Ken Davidoff's baseball … and MLB.com
Dan Graziano / New Jersey Online:
Dempster to re-sign with Cubs, set A.J. Burnett market? — A baseball official close to the situation, who requested anonymity because the deal has not yet been announced, said the Cubs and Ryan Dempster have agreed on a four-year contract worth about $52 million.
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Pedroia named AL MVP — Boston second baseman did it all in sophomore season — BOSTON — Just call him Mr. November. Or better yet, refer to Dustin Pedroia as the Most Valuable Player of the American League. — The second baseman of the Boston Red Sox continued his rapid burst …
Discussion:
Cursed To First, YFSF, Lookout Landing, Lone Star Ball, River Avenue Blues, The Joy of Sox, iYankees and The Bottom Line
RELATED:
Chad Finn / Boston Globe:
Most Valuable: Pedroia — Dustin Pedroia has collected his share of trophies and accolades this offseason, and this afternoon, the Red Sox' little second baseman claimed the biggest individual honor of all. — Pedroia was named the American League Most Valuable Player today …
George A. King III / New York Post:
YANKEES PREPARE A.J. OFFER — Who says George Steinbrenner has stepped away from the table? — The Yankees, for the second time inside a week, are on the verge of making an eye-popping offer to a free-agent pitcher and behaving like the days when The Boss threw money at free agents with both hands.
RELATED:
Ken Davidoff / Ken Davidoff's baseball insider:The language of baseball winter
Discussion:
It is about the money, stupid
David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Is the Peavy thing over? We think not — Hello, it's good to be back and all that. Froze my butt off watching my Jayhawks get their butts whipped by Texas at Lawrence, but the trip was worthwhile because I saw my brother's family, spent time with old friends, and got my fix of Gates BBQ in Kansas City.
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Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Padres not ruling out Braves for Peavy — Cubs might be out of mix for pitching with Dempster signing — SAN DIEGO — With the Cubs signing free-agent pitcher Ryan Dempster to a contract to stay in Chicago, Padres general manager Kevin Towers figures to have an even tougher job ahead …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Craig Calcaterra / ShysterBall:
Albert Pujols: “not an embarrassing selection” — Look, I want Ken Tremendous to be back just as much as the rest of you, but we have to face facts: Ken Tremendous is not walking through that door. Junior is not walking through that door. Dak is not walking through that door.
RELATED:
Phil Sheridan / Philly.com:MVP voting is out of whack
Discussion:
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, crashburnalley.com, Baseball Musings, FanGraphs Baseball and Home Run Derby
Christian Red / NY Daily News:
Pedro trying to extend Met life — Pedro Martinez still has “a lot of baseball left in him” and would like to finish his sure-fire Hall of Fame career in Flushing, according to his agent. — Fernando Cuza told the Daily News yesterday that Martinez would “like to stay in New York.”
RELATED:
ESPN:
Why so few NL MVP votes for Hanley Ramirez? — It's not as if the Marlins existed in another universe; their 84-77 record was a half-game better than the Dodgers', and they did it in the best division in the National League — the division with the world champions. — Albert Pujols deserved the Most Valuable Player Award.
Anne Marie Chaker / Wall Street Journal:
Winner By a Hair: Collectors Wooed With a Bit of Abe Lincoln — On a recent evening, Barbara Ann Artusa and her husband hunkered down on the living room floor for their Saturday night ritual: opening packs of baseball cards. — That night, however, Ms. Artusa, a baseball-card collector since the 1970s …
