Top News:
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Henry: ‘We are not going to be a factor’ for Teixeira — Red Sox owner John Henry e-mailed several media members late tonight with a stunning twist in the team's pursuit of free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. — Henry's words: “We met with Mr. Teixeira and were very much impressed with him.
Discussion:
The Bronx Block, MetsBlog.com, The Big Lead, Nationals Journal, Hardball Times, Jorge Says No!, The Bottom Line, Bottom9 Baseball, SOX & Dawgs, Clubhouse Insider, Washington Post, Over the Monster, Oriole Post, MVN, It is about the money, stupid, PE.com, Fire Brand of the …, River Avenue Blues, YFSF, The Yankee Scrolls, Oleanders and Morning Glories, Baseball & The Boogie Down and Camden Chat
RELATED:
WCVB-TV:
Sox May Be Closer To Signing Teixeira — BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox may be close to signing Mark Teixeira, the premiere free agent available this off-season. — SportsCenter 5's Mike Lynch reported that team owner John Henry, CEO Larry Lucchino and General Manager Theo Epstein …
Tim Brown / Yahoo! Sports:
Angels close to re-signing Juan Rivera — Buzz up! — The Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night were nearing agreement with outfielder Juan Rivera on a three-year contract, according to baseball sources. — And as news spread of a meeting between their No. 1 offseason target …
Adam Kilgore / Boston Globe:
Red Sox fall out of Teixeira talks — Henry: ‘We are not going to be a factor’ — Red Sox owner John Henry issued a stunning proclamation late last night regarding the team's pursuit of free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, all but ruling out Boston's chance to land the prize hitter of baseball's offseason.
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Is it really over for Red Sox and Teixeira? — ANALYSIS — If the Red Sox have pulled out of the Mark Teixeira talks for good it would be a stunner to a lot of baseball people. — Of the people I've talked to this morning about John Henry's e-mail in which he said that Boston …
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
3 UP: Sheets, Teixeira and Lowe — Hey, checking in from vacation again (sorry, honey). I will be completing my week of co-hosting The Show today from 3-6 p.m. on XM 175 or Sirius 210 in case anyone would like to listen. — 1. Keep hearing from multiple sources that the Yankees will have nothing to do with Ben Sheets.
George A. King III / New York Post:
TEIXEIRA TOO RICH FOR SAWX — The Red Sox say they got outbid for free agent first baseman Mark Teixeira. — Though Boston didn't talk about which teams offered more for the switch-hitting Teixeira, it wasn't the Yankees. — “Not us,” GM Brian Cashman told The Post late last night.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, MLB Rumors, Surviving Grady, The Schmuck Stops Here and Angels blog
ESPN:
Owner: Red Sox not a factor in Teixeira derby — It looked Thursday afternoon as if the Boston Red Sox had made strides toward completing a deal for first baseman Mark Teixeira, major league sources told ESPN.com. — But by Thursday night, Red Sox owner John Henry had sent an e-mail …
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:Mark Teixeira Rumors: Thursday
Discussion:
Fire Brand of the …, The Bottom Line, Federal Baseball, Boston Herald, Angels blog and MASN Online
ESPN:
Braves won't deal with Furcal's agents again — The Atlanta Braves aren't done complaining about the way they felt they were treated by the Wasserman Media Group, the firm representing free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal. — They are, however, apparently done doing business with them.
RELATED:
Jeff Schultz / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:Livid Schuerholz: Furcal dealings ‘despicable’
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball, It is about the money, stupid, LA Times Sports Blog and Baseball Musings
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Sabathia and Burnett to Skip World Baseball Classic — While Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez will play in the World Baseball Classic this spring, the Yankees' new starting pitchers almost certainly will not. C. C. Sabathia participated in 2006 but said he was likely to decline his invitation this time.
RELATED:
Adam Rubin / Baseball America:
New York Mets — 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.
David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Time for Braves to reassess? — It's 70 degrees with high humidity here in Atlanta one week before Christmas, which somehow seems appropriate weather for this end-is-near sort of vibe around the ol' Braves/MIB blog the past couple of days. — Hey, just so we're clear …
RELATED:
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:Red Sox look like front-runners for Teixeira (cont.)
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, Mets Fever, Bottom9 Baseball, Bleeding Blue and Teal, MLB Rumors and Hot Foot
Dejan Kovacevic / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Wilson: Pirates need ‘more players’ to compete — Shortstop urges management to practice accountability it preaches — Jack Wilson, sounding convinced he will return as the Pirates' shortstop next year, yesterday urged management to bolster the 2009 roster and heed its own call for accountability.
Geoff Baker / Mariners Blog:
Ibanez: Why he left — Just got done talking to Raul Ibanez for the first time since he left the Mariners and signed a three-year, $31.5 million deal with the Phillies. Ibanez said his decision came down to wanting to play for a competitive team right away.
Darren Rovell / Sports Biz with Darren Rovell:
MLB Network's Petitti: One On One About January Launch — On Jan. 1, when the MLB Network launches, it will be the largest cable launch in history. This morning, we talked to Tony Petitti, president and CEO of the MLB Network from the network's amazing new studios in Secaucus, N.J.
