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Joel Sherman / Yankees Blog:
NO SHEETS FOR YANKS — Keep hearing from multiple sources that the Yankees will have nothing to do with Ben Sheets. They have real concerns about his health, especially they fret about the righty's history with back ailments. The Yankee theory is they already have taken their health gamble …
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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.
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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 …
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Sources: BoSox still in Teixeira hunt … The Red Sox haven't given up on the idea of signing Mark Teixeira, according to multiple baseball sources. — They are just taking a break from the bidding. — Though Boston's chances to land the multitalented free-agent slugger may have diminished slightly …
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.
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:
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Bill Madden / NY Daily News:
Red Sox are off the Mark — The Red Sox seemed to be closing in on a deal for Mark Teixeira Thursday night when owner John Henry, president Larry Lucchino and GM Theo Epstein flew to Dallas for a meeting with the superstar first baseman and his agent, Scott Boras.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
Mike DiGiovanna / Los Angeles Times:
Red Sox say they won't be a factor for Mark Teixeira
Red Sox say they won't be a factor for Mark Teixeira
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Federal Baseball
JSOnline:
Yankees finally call back — By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel — I talked with Brewers general manager Doug Melvin a little while ago and he said Yankees GM Brian Cashman finally called back today after days of silence prompted Melvin to remove centerfielder Mike Cameron from trade consideration yesterday.
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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.
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.
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Braves Won't Be Dealing With Kinzer, Tellem
Braves Won't Be Dealing With Kinzer, Tellem
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse, The Launching Pad, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mets Fever, LA Times Sports Blog and True Blue LA
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.
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.
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Sam Mellinger / Kansas City Star:
The retro jock: Royals pitcher has offseason job as a laborer — You might think professional athletes have become spoiled. Might think the money and the fans and the hype have all conspired to strip them of their humility or sever any connection between them and regular fans.
Discussion:
MLB FanHouse
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 …