Top News:
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Bet on Yanks to go all in on pitching — At Winter Meetings in Vegas, Cashman to woo arms beyond CC — NEW YORK — The Yankees haven't exactly been watching the phone waiting for CC Sabathia's call, but their odds of garnering a response from the game's top free-agent pitcher may increase …
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iYankees
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ESPN.com:
Teen signs as Japan's first female pro ballplayer — TOKYO — A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player. — Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009.
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baseballimo.com
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New York Post:
IF PETTITTE SIGNS ELSEWHERE, IN BRONX HE'LL BE A PHONY FOREVER — OVER the past few months, as the economy has tanked, I have received a higher volume of e-mails from fans frustrated at the amounts being offered to players. — Yet, good economy or bad, I almost always stand with the players.
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Hardball Times, Hardball, Bugs & Cranks, Sliding Into Home, New Jersey Online and iYankees
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
No talks with Abreu — Brian Cashman said today the Yankees are …
No talks with Abreu — Brian Cashman said today the Yankees are …
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New Jersey Online, NJ.com, Hardball, Lady At The Bat, Baseball & The Boogie Down, iYankees, For the Record and Newsday
David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hampton turns down Braves, signs with Astros — Free agent left-hander took less money to be closer to children — Now that he's finally healthy, pitcher Mike Hampton is bolting the Braves. — The veteran free agent agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with Houston …
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David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hampton is gone, while Peavy is ... Come back ... no, good riddance ... Please stay, we need you ... no, please just go. — Does that pretty much summarize the polarizing presence that was Mike Hampton? — While most of his Braves teammates, and apparently a third of our readers …
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MLB Rumors
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
24 Free Agents Offered Arbitration — By Tim Dierkes [December 2 at 12:40am CST] — All of the arbitration offers are in. Here's a list of which free agents were offered arbitration. If these players decline the offer and sign elsewhere, the original club will get one or two draft picks.
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Sabernomics, Rays Index, MVN, The Bottom Line, The Crawfish Boxes, Around the Majors, Mets Tailgate, Boston Globe, Chuckie Hacks and JSOnline
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Alyson Footer / MLB.com:
Astros decline any arbitration offers — No compensation for Houston if Wolf, Brocail sign elsewhere — HOUSTON — The Houston Astros declined to offer salary arbitration to all four of their free agents, general manager Ed Wade confirmed on Tuesday. — The Astros had four free agents eligible …
Mark Sheldon / MLB.com:
Reds make pitch for Rhodes — Agent confirms Cincinnati's offer to free-agent left-hander — CINCINNATI — Lefty relief help became a primary need for the Reds once Jeremy Affeldt departed for the Giants as a free agent. — Could that need be filled by veteran Arthur Rhodes?
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Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
News: These People will officially Cost Draft Picks
News: These People will officially Cost Draft Picks
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Baseball Musings
Kary Booher / Baseball America:
Los Angeles Angels — Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.
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6-4-2
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Associated Press:
Canadian sports entrepreneur, cable mogul Ted Rogers dies — TORONTO (AP) — Ted Rogers, creator of Canada's largest cable-television and mobile-phone company and owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, has died, his company said. He was 75. — The founder of Rogers Communications Inc …
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Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
Grace just kept hits comin' in his career — First baseman takes 2,445 career knocks to Hall of Fame ballot — When Mark Grace was called up to the Cubs in May 1988, it was to replace a struggling Leon Durham and platoon at first base with Manny Trillo. — “This is something a kid dreams …
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Chris Dutton / Hardball Times:
Batters and BABIP — What we did — Batting average on balls in play—the rate at which batted balls other than home runs become hits—is commonly used as a measure of pitching performance. However, precious little work has been done to explore BABIP from the hitter's perspective.
George Vecsey / New York Times:
Giving the Mets' New Ballpark a Bad Name — With a mixture of rage and pride, I drove past the Mets' new ballpark Monday and noticed that offensive name still up there. — As Citigroup grovels for a bailout from public funds, the Mets insist the name will not change.
Keith Groller / Morning Call:
Kruk the same genuine guy off camera — John Kruk doesn't change personalities with the flick of a TV camera light. — The Krukker you see on ESPN's “Baseball Tonight” is the same guy you'll get if you bump into him in line for a beer at the ballpark. — The former Phillies first baseman …
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Five to watch: Pirates' top five international prospects — The Pirates' top five international prospects who have yet to play professionally in North America, according to Latin American scouting director Rene Gayo: — Starling Marte — Position: Left field — Age: 20 — Country: Dominican Republic