Top News:
Tony Massarotti / Boston Globe:
Expect Sox to break bank for Teixeira — Here's a prediction: By the time this is over, win or lose, the Red Sox effectively will have made Mark Teixeira the largest contract offer in the history of your storied franchise. — Preposterous, you say? Clearly, you have not been paying attention.
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Coco Crisp Traded To Royals — By Tim Dierkes [November 19 at 11:09am CST] — 11:09am: The deal is official, according to a Royals press release. — 10:23am: SI.com's Jon Heyman confirms the deal. — 10:02am: Red Sox exec Ben Cherington was on XM's MLB Home Plate radio station recently.
Dick Kaegel / MLB.com:
Red Sox deal Crisp to Royals — Boston receives reliever Ramirez in return for center fielder — KANSAS CITY — The Royals acquired center fielder Coco Crisp from the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday in exchange for relief pitcher Ramon Ramirez. — The deal was announced by the Royals at 11 a.m. CT.
Chad Finn / Boston Globe:
Crisp dealt to Royals for Ramirez — Ramon Ramirez, the righthanded relief pitcher the Red Sox acquired from the Kansas City Royals this morning for center fielder Coco Crisp, might be a mystery to Boston fans right now. But if general manager Theo Epstein proves correct …
Discussion:
Center Field, The Bottom Line, Baseball Insider, SOX & Dawgs, Baseball Musings and Walkoff Walk
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Sox ship Crisp to KC for Ramirez — Right-hander addresses Boston's need for bullpen help — BOSTON — For more than a year, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said that he did not feel any urgency to deal center fielder Coco Crisp and that he would only do so if it improved the team.
Discussion:
The House That Dewey Built
Associated Press:
Red Sox deal Crisp to Royals for reliever Ramirez — BOSTON — Outfielder Coco Crisp was traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday for reliever Ramon Ramirez. — Royals general manager Dayton Moore called the switch-hitting Crisp a “championship-caliber player” who will help Kansas City move forward.
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com:
Burnett's agent: Red Sox reach out to free agent
Burnett's agent: Red Sox reach out to free agent
Discussion:
The Joy of Sox
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Red Sox acquire Ramon Ramirez for Coco Crisp
Red Sox acquire Ramon Ramirez for Coco Crisp
Discussion:
Keep Your Sox On
George A. King III / New York Post:
JOHNNY: GIMME A CC, GIMME AN A.J. ...
JOHNNY: GIMME A CC, GIMME AN A.J. ...
Discussion:
MLB.com, The Big Lead, Bombers Beat, Hot Stove Blog, bronxbanterblog.com and YanksBlog.com
Dan Graziano / New Jersey Online:
Yankees-Sabathia: What's the holdup? — Things don't move as quickly this time of year as we all hope they would or think they should. The Yankees offered CC Sabathia $140 million for six years last Friday, and the popular question now is: “What's taking him so long?”
Discussion:
iYankees
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Jayson Stark / ESPN.com:
Source: Yankees RHP Mussina decides to retire — As expected, New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina has decided to retire, according to a baseball source with knowledge of the situation. Mussina informed the Yankees last week he would give them a decision by the end of this week.
Discussion:
IT IS HIGH, IT IS FAR, IT IS
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Mike Mussina To Retire — By Tim Dierkes [November 19 at 4:10pm CST] — According to Ken Rosenthal, Mike Mussina is retiring to spend more time with his family. He goes on out top, with a 20 win season in 2008. The Yankees were already operating under the assumption he would retire.
New York Magazine:
Leitch: The Unfortunate Legacy of Pedro Martinez — Remember when Pedro Martinez was to be the savior of the Mets? Now the Mets don't even want him back. Pedro's contract, signed in 2004, is off the books, and while he claims he wants to come back, the Mets don't seem to have room for him in the rotation.
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Dallas Morning News:
On second thought, Pedroia MVP snub was error — Why did I leave Dustin Pedroia off my AL MVP ballot? Let me first say this to the Red Sox nation: In retrospect, it was a mistake. My opinion on this one was obviously wrong. — But I will have you know that Pedroia was 18th …
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New York Post:
BERNIE: I'M NOT DONE YET — Musician Bernie Williams said last night he has a new CD coming out in April called “Moving Forward.” — Just in case any GMs like Brian Cashman are interested, Williams also said he has not shut the door on his baseball career. Williams, 40, is not totally ready to move forward away from baseball.
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Dan Hayes / North County Times:
PADRES: Where are all of Peavy's suitors? — Cubs may be out of running after re-signing Dempster — The news that the Chicago Cubs signed pitcher Ryan Dempster on Tuesday could severely affect the club's participation in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes. — But according to some published reports, it might not.
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Dan Graziano / New Jersey Online:
Tough to find the right fit to bolster the Mets' offense — Of course they need a closer, and a couple of starting pitchers, and at least a couple of new faces in the bullpen setup corps. This is where the Mets' off-season focus is right now, and where it should be.
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Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Prominent hitters who may swing it in '09 or call it a career … The Hot Stove season is off to a fine start for Ryan Dempster, Jeremy Affeldt and Eri Yoshida, the 16-year-old female knuckleballer who was drafted by a Japanese League club this week. And life is good if your name happens to be CC Sabathia …
Richard Justice / Houston Chronicle:
Commentary: Valverde, Wigginton have to go — Goodbye, Jose Valverde. You, too, Ty Wigginton. Pick up your lovely parting gifts at the door. — The Astros seem likely to trade both of them in the next few weeks. You won't like the reason. Don't shoot the messenger.
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter, The Crawfish Boxes, MLB Rumors, The Musings and Prophecies … and Kranepool Society
Associated Press:
Mariners hire A's coach Wakamatsu as manager — SEATTLE (AP) — Don Wakamatsu has been officially named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, becoming the first Asian-American field boss in Major League Baseball history. — The 14th manager in Mariners history, Wakamatsu was bench coach for the Oakland Athletics last season.