Top News:
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Jon Heyman: These teams are the most likely to get deals done … The 100 or so free agents who remain free, including stars (or near stars) like all-time great slugging savant Manny Ramirez plus Bobby Abreu, Adam Dunn, Orlando Hudson, Oliver Perez and Ben Sheets, shouldn't fret. Not yet.
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Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Schilling: Red Sox need Varitek — Right-hander feels club would be better served by its captain — During Curt Schilling's heyday with the Red Sox, the ace right-hander would often call WEEI AM 850's “The Big Show” on a regular basis just to talk sports or straighten the hosts out on a certain topic.
Chicago Breaking News:
Ricketts family is winning Cubs bidder: $900M — After nearly two years of intrigue, the billionaire Ricketts family has emerged as the winning bidder to purchase the Chicago Cubs from Tribune Co. for about $900 million, sources close to the situation said this evening.
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David Roeder / Chicago Sun Times:
Source: Ricketts is preferred bidder for Cubs — Tribune Co. has selected a favored bidder for the Chicago Cubs and has forwarded the offer to the media company's creditors, sources said today. — One person familiar with the process said the endorsed bid was from Thomas Ricketts, president of corporate bond dealer Incapital LLC.
Adam Rubin / Surfing the Mets:
Garcia lands with Mets — Freddy Garcia is a Met. The righthander agreed to a minor-league deal with the Mets tonight, the Daily News has learned. It's believed he can earn as much as $8 million to $9 million if he makes the team and reaches all of his incentives.
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Keith Law / MLB:
Law: Top 100 prospects — Welcome to the second annual ESPN.com ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball. Last year's No. 1 prospect, Evan Longoria, ended up winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award, setting a high standard for the player at the top of this year's list.
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ESPN:
Law: 2009 organizational rankings — Keith Law ranks the farm systems for all 30 teams, from the Rangers at No. 1 to the Astros at No. 30.
Danielle Sessa / Bloomberg:
Mets Not Interested in Free-Agent Manny Ramirez, Wilpon Says — Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — The New York Mets aren't interested in signing free-agent Manny Ramirez, according to the team's chief operating officer, Jeff Wilpon. — Wilpon said General Manager Omar Minaya hasn't proposed adding the outfielder …
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Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Troy Glaus has shoulder surgery, could miss 12 weeks — Two days after appearing at the Cardinals' Winter Warm-Up, third baseman Troy Glaus underwent right shoulder surgery Wednesday that likely will make him unavailable Opening Day, the club announced today.
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Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Kent bids farewell as a player — Retires after 17 seasons as top home run hitter at second base — LOS ANGELES — Fighting the emotions caused by putting an end to a 17-year Major League career, Jeff Kent recalled an important lesson he learned during those years.
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Associated Press:
Werber, former teammate of Ruth, dead at 100 … CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Bill Werber, who was the oldest living ex-major leaguer and a teammate of Babe Ruth, died Thursday. He was 100. — Werber, a career .271 hitter who led the American League in stolen bases three times, played with Ruth …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
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Sports Illustrated:
It's a crime that Keith Hernandez isn't in the Hall of Fame … Go to the water cooler, any water cooler on any day, gurgle the words “baseball” and “Hall of Fame,” and before long you'll have a fight on your hands. This year especially. I'm still hearing it:
Paul DePodesta / It Might Be Dangerous:
Henry Blanco — Yesterday the Padres announced the signing of veteran catcher Henry Blanco to a one-year deal. — Throughout the off-season we have been discussing the idea of bringing in a veteran catcher who could help mentor both our young catchers and our young starting pitchers.
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Bombers Beat:
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen — This was one of the most entertaining e-mails I've received in a long time. There's a fan out there, Chris Pavia, who has captured the essence of Bob Sheppard and the late Eddie Layton with terrific impersonations of both.
