Top News:
George A. King III / New York Post:
TRIED TO STEER CC AWAY FROM YANKS — Early in his career, Kenny Lofton hurt the Yankees as an Indian when he batted .330 against them across his first four years in a Cleveland uniform. — In the fall of 2007, he helped the Indians dismiss the Yankees from the first round of the AL playoffs …
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Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Damon & A-Rod dial up a winner
Damon & A-Rod dial up a winner
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse, Surviving Grady, Yahoo! Sports, Sliding Into Home, My Pinstripes, sox1fan.com and Blogging Baseball
Kang Seung-woo / The Korea Times:
Park Chan-ho Signs With Phillies — Free agent pitcher Park Chan-ho has found a new team in the World Series champions Philadelphia Phillies. — In a press conference in Seoul Monday, the 35-year-old right-hander said he had been signed to a one-year deal by the National League (NL) East division team.
Discussion:
Philly.com, Philly.com, ESPN, Phillies, The Good Phight, Balls, Sticks, & Stuff and The700Level.com
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Paul Hagen / Philly.com:
Phillies Notebook: Dobbs endorses addition of Ibanez to Phillies outfield
Phillies Notebook: Dobbs endorses addition of Ibanez to Phillies outfield
Discussion:
Phillies Nation
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Shedding light on Mark Teixeira — Length of pact key — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email — The Red Sox [team stats] typically do not divulge details about contract offers until after the fact, but their final offer to Mark Teixeira will likely shed all the light …
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Buster Olney / ESPN:
Nats, O's shouldn't be in hunt for Teixeira — We saw the damage that Mark Teixeira could do with the Angels in his 54 games with the team down the stretch. Batting in front of Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup, the switch-hitting first baseman mashed to a .358 batting average and a .632 slugging percentage …
Paul Hagen / Philly.com:
Burrell leaves Phillies quietly but disappointed — PAT BURRELL was asked to lead the Phillies' triumphal parade down Broad Street. Then, nothing. After that the organization seemed content to allow him, like MacArthur's old soldiers, to just fade away.
Discussion:
Sabernomics
JSOnline:
A possible throw in — Taking Igawa might key Cameron deal — By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel — Talks between Milwaukee and New York involving a swap of centerfielders Mike Cameron and Melky Cabrera broke down Thursday at the winter meetings in Las Vegas because the Yankees asked …
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Anthony Castrovince / MLB.com:
Tigers sign Everett to one-year deal — Infielder could shore up defense, will earn $1 million plus incentives — The formality of a physical has been completed, and shortstop Adam Everett is officially a member of the Tigers. — The Tigers announced Monday that they have signed Everett …
Discussion:
TigerBlog
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
With bullpen in order, Mets are starting to cry Wolf — After remaking their bullpen at the winter meetings, the Mets this week are planning to welcome new relievers Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz and also move on to another area of concern: — The starting rotation.
Jay Jaffe / Baseball Prospectus:
Oh Rickey, You're So Fine — Last week, I discussed the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee ballot results, and previewed Clay Davenport's revisions of the Wins Above Replacement Player system, the underlying currency of my JAWS Hall of Fame analysis system. Today, I begin tackling the 2009 Baseball Writers Association of America ballot.
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Sources: A's offer deal to Furcal … With Rafael Furcal moving closer to making a decision on where to sign, the Oakland Athletics appear to be in the lead to sign the free-agent shortstop, with an offer of four years and $40 million, according to sources. — The Los Angeles Dodgers …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Chris Jaffe / Hardball Times:
Current Cooperstown Conversations — As readers of my regular Monday gig here at THT have no doubt noticed, I have an almost pathological interest in our nation's least highway-friendly tourist trap. So you can imagine my interest in not one, but two separate important pieces of information emerging from Cooperstown.
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Pirates eye return of Wigginton — Third baseman became free agent Friday with Houston's non-tender — The Pirates are looking to a familiar face for the right-handed power bat they wish to acquire. — Management has expressed interest in free-agent third baseman/outfielder Ty Wigginton …
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Beware of warning signs — Yankees, Mets must avoid Tiger scenario — Oddsmakers, fans, and legions of experts declared the Detroit Tigers favorites to win the World Series after they pulled off an eight-player deal at the 2007 winter meetings in which they acquired Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis.
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Mike Lupica / NY Daily News:
Shooting from the Lip: Yank their checkbook
Shooting from the Lip: Yank their checkbook
Discussion:
Rivera's Cutter