Top News:
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 …
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Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
News: These People will officially Cost Draft Picks
News: These People will officially Cost Draft Picks
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
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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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.
Discussion:
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 …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, NJ.com, Hardball, Lady At The Bat, Baseball & The Boogie Down, iYankees and For the Record
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 …
Discussion:
iYankees
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Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Fuentes will talk with Mets, maybe at winter meetings
Fuentes will talk with Mets, maybe at winter meetings
Discussion:
24 Hours From Suicide
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 …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
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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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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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.
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.
Discussion:
6-4-2
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 …
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.
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.
Discussion:
Sabernomics, Rays Index, MVN, The Bottom Line, Around the Majors, The Crawfish Boxes, Mets Tailgate, Boston Globe, Chuckie Hacks and JSOnline
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Pictures: From Citi Field Tour — I took the following photos while touring Citi Field today: — ...and, of course... I will post the full gallery and hi-res images tomorrow. — RSS 2.0 You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
Discussion:
The Mets Police
myfoxtampabay.com:
Former baseball player arrested on drug charges — TAMPA - A former Major League baseball player who lives in the Bay Area is in jail facing drug charges. — Tampa police arrested Derek Bell, 39, Monday night on four counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. — Arrest records show he lives in Valrico and is unemployed.
Alan Shipnuck / Sports Illustrated:
Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps — He turned a pool in Beijing into the center of the universe, captivating millions with his exhilarating achievements. Now he's using his fame to get more kids swimming safely and to promote his sport as more than a once-every-four-years event
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