Diamondbacks CEO Moorad resigns  —  Moorad looking to purchase San Diego Padres … The Diamondbacks announced Friday that Jeff Moorad, general partner and chief executive officer, resigned.  Team President Derrick Hall was promoted to President and CEO.  —  “Derrick has clearly demonstrated …

Giants showing interest in Manny  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants have signed four free agents this offseason, but it's too soon to tell if left fielder Manny Ramirez will become the fifth.  —  Needing a productive hitter for the middle of their batting order, the Giants certainly could use Ramirez …

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 …

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.

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.

White Sox And O's Discussing Floyd-Roberts Swap  —  By Drew Silva [January 2 at 6:40pm CST]  —  According to Roch Kubatko of MASN Online, the White Sox have discussed a trade with the Orioles for second baseman Brian Roberts.  —  Right-hander Gavin Floyd would be sent over from Chicago.

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

A Last-Minute Run  —  Credit must go, first of all, to MLB.com for the news blurb that the Nats have their eye on Milton Bradley.  He served primarily as a designated hitter last year with the Texas Rangers, but he could fit in at almost any outfield position.

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 …