Top News:
Mike Scarr / MLB.com:
Teixeira could have his pick of offers — As many as six teams reportedly in the hunt for slugging first baseman — All Mark Teixeira wants for Christmas is a new contract. — And who wouldn't, given that the final tally could be in the range of nine figures?
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Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Teixeira is a wanted man — First baseman, Boras paring list of suitors — The Red Sox will face not only a steep price tag, but also surprisingly stiff competition to sign Los Angeles Angels free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. — Even considering the financial climate and the immense cost …
Enrique Rojas / ESPN:
White Sox sign Cuban teen to major league deal … ORLANDO — The Chicago White Sox agreed on a major league contract with Dayan Viciedo, regarded as Cuba's best teen talent, his agent Jaime Torres said. — Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to become official as soon as Viciedo clears a physical examination.
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Associated Press:
Steinbrenner: Yanks' Sabathia offer has time limit — NEW YORK — CC Sabathia will have a deadline to accept the New York Yankees' contract proposal. — “We've made him an offer. It's not going to be there forever,” Hal Steinbrenner said Thursday after he was approved as the team's …
Discussion:
It is about the money, stupid, ShysterBall, Associated Press, iYankees and Big Apple Sports
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Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com:
Pirates add five to 40-man roster — Former top pick Walker could compete for job in Spring Training — PITTSBURGH — In preparation for the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington finalized the team's 40-man roster on Thursday by filling all five open spots.
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Adam Rubin / Surfing the Mets:
Carp added to roster — The Mets have added first baseman Mike Carp to the 40-man roster, protecting him from selection in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 11, at the conclusion of the winter meetings in Las Vegas. The Mets' 40-man roster now has 34 players, leaving room for free-agent additions.
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New York Times:
Volcker Gives Baseball an Update on the Economy — He stands 6 feet 7 inches, the size of a slugger, but Paul Volcker is a towering presence on Wall Street, not in Major League Baseball. Nevertheless, Commissioner Bud Selig recruited Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve …
Discussion:
ShysterBall
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Scott Miller / CBS SportsLine.com:
Hall spot for Moose? Era, as much as ERA, may help sway — Now as long as Mike Mussina stays retired and doesn't pull a Brett Favre ... Figures that a man most appreciated for throwing one of the best curveballs of his era would throw one last bender in saying goodbye.
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Joel Sherman / New York Post:
METS' CASTILLO DRIVEN TO SECURE 2ND CHANCE — This is a story about second base and, Luis Castillo hopes, second chances. — To their fans' anguish, Mets officials have persistently said they plan on having Castillo as their second baseman in 2009. In part that is because the Mets …
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Blackout Policy to Remain Through MLB Network Launch — Baseball fans, prepare for more frustration. — MLB owners, yet again, tabled restructuring the local and regional television territories for the league at today's quarterly owners meetings in New York, and in doing so …
Jeff Zrebiec / Baltimore Sun:
O's look at Izturis for shortstop — He batted .263 with one home run, 24 RBIs for Cardinals in '08; team doesn't have interest in Furcal, O. Cabrera or Renteria, according to industry sources — The Orioles have talked to the representative for free agent Cesar Izturis …
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David Lennon / Newsday:
Heilman again makes pitch to start for Mets — Concerned about his role for next season, Aaron Heilman called general manager Omar Minaya yesterday to talk about possibly moving back into the rotation for the start of spring training. But Minaya stayed firm in his position that Heilman again …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
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Toronto Sun:
Jays stay in A.J. hunt — The Blue Jays may be prepared to roll the dice with A.J. Burnett for another five-year deal. — The latest revelation from the Burnett camp came Wednesday when Darek Braunecker, Burnett's agent, stated he had spoken with the Boston Red Sox and he is looking for a five-year deal.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Joe Posnanski:
Batting Average, Home Runs, RBIs — If you are about my age*, then you grew up as a baseball fan with three statistics and only three statistics. There was batting average. There were home runs runs. And there were RBIs. That was it. … It would be difficult to overstate how deeply …
Aaron / AaronGleeman.com:
The boys over at Stick and Ball Guy have been running various Twins blogs through Typealyzer.com and GenderAnalyzer.com, with amusing results. For instance, the gender analysis is 89 percent sure that AG.com is “written by a man,” so apparently more weight is placed on the constant links …
Discussion:
Florida Times Union
For the Record:
QUOTE(#8): … ok..since when were they called fantastic 4? pavano won 18 btw n that was prolly his only 13+ win season. vazquez has the stuff 2 b good but was never a big-game player like lowe is. brown was good-grt but was past his prime when the yanks got him. as 4 jarret wright...does he still even pitch?
Associated Press:
Phillies, Rangers swap former first-round picks — ARLINGTON, Texas — The World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers swapped former first-round picks Thursday. — Texas acquired outfielder Greg Golson from the Phillies for outfielder John Mayberry.
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Scott Lauber / Phillies:
BREAKING: SURGERY FOR UTLEY, FELIZ (UPDATED)
BREAKING: SURGERY FOR UTLEY, FELIZ (UPDATED)
Discussion:
Phillies Nation, Blogging Baseball, ESPN, Bottom9 Baseball, Unfiltered, Baseball Musings, The Good Phight, MLB FanHouse and MLB Rumors