3 UP: BOSOX HITTER SEARCH, MANNY AND LOWE  —  Checking in from vacation once more.  I figured it was a new year, so I would offer a new post.  It also gives me a chance to tell those that are interested that I will be co-hosting a show on Sirius (channel 210)/XM (channel 175) all next week …

Chipper: Braves can't compete in free agency  —  Sporting News Today's Ken Bradley recently spoke with Braves third baseman Chipper Jones about all topics baseball.  In Thursday's edition, we included Chipper's favorite memories of recently retired teammate Greg Maddux.

Jon Heyman: The Top 20 remaining free agents … This star-studded free-agent market is reminiscent of Bengie Molina on the base paths.  That is to say, it's not moving too swift.  Despite one of the best groups of free agents in years, a vast majority of those available players remain unsigned into the new year.

Giants Offer Slugger Manny Ramirez 4-Year Deal  —  The San Francisco Giants are pursuing free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez and have offered him a four-year deal, a well-connected source told CBS 5.  —  Financial terms of the contract offer were not immediately known.

Win or lose, filing period to commence  —  Arbitration's 10-day window begins Monday, with Howard again a focal point  —  Major League Baseball's 10-day salary arbitration filing period begins on Monday and will last until Jan. 15.  —  And unless the Phillies break a well-constructed pattern …

It's here: MLB Network is under way  —  Commissioner delivers address to estimated 50 million households  —  With a surprise greeting from Commissioner Bud Selig that called it “the ultimate television destination for baseball,” the MLB Network went on the air Thursday at 6 p.m. ET amid great anticipation …

Source: Clark to re-sign with D-backs … First baseman Tony Clark has reached preliminary agreement on a one-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for a salary of about $800,000, a baseball source told ESPN.com.  —  The deal is pending completion of a physical exam.

Cubs making offseason mistakes  —  The Cubs played 161 games, pitched 1,450.2 innings and had 5,588 at-bats in the regular season, and through all that, they were the best team in the National League, winning five more games than the NL East division winner, 13 more games than the NL West winner.

Ten good years  —  One knock you hear all the time about certain Hall of Fame candidates is that they were just good players who assembled impressive career numbers simply by sticking around for a long time.  I have always thought that undersells longevity, the ability to stay healhy …

Win Values Explained: Part Six  —  Over the first five parts of this series, we've discussed all the components of what makes up a Win Value.  Today, we tackle the conversion of that win value into a dollar value.  —  First off, a little background.  Since we've set replacement level …

Time travel: Network brings past to life  —  Inaugural night affords chance to revisit old friends, days gone by  —  The performances on many of the compact discs, the LP's and — yes — the 45's I have accumulated since Oct. 8, 1956, were recorded before JFK was sworn in, I'm proud to say.

Type B Starting Pitchers  —  Well, it is officially 2009, meaning pitchers and catchers report in less than two months.  This offseason has seen CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett sign extremely lucrative deals with the Yankees, Javier Vazquez shipped to the Braves, and negotiations begun on a deal between Derek Lowe and the Mets.

Marlins may have found replacement for reliever Nelson  —  The Marlins believe they have a found a replacement for reliever Joe Nelson with right-hander Scott Proctor.  —  According to a baseball source, the Marlins have agreed to a one-year deal with Proctor pending a physical.