In Torre's Book, Rodriguez Comments Stand Out  —  Joe Torre's new book, “The Yankee Years,” includes predictable misgivings about the thousands of decisions he made in his 12 years as the team's manager and some surprising revelations that may make readers scratch their heads.

What's the best BABIP estimator?  —  BABIP is a stat that lots of people like to throw around but many don't fully understand (even some who profess to be statistically inclined).  —  Background info  —  BABIP stands for Batting Average on Balls in Play.  It measures the rate at which balls in play fall in for hits.

NatsFest, Over And Out  —  The DC Sports Bog is always worth a read — shameless self-promotion alert! — but that's especially true when it's filled with quotes from a particular team president and general manager.  Some of these quotes are about George Steinbrenner and soiled pants.

It's The Hardball Times Season Preview 2009  —  Whether you're a fanatical fantasy player, or just want to see what's up with your favorite team, the THT Season Preview 2009 is just for you.  —  This annotated week in baseball history: Jan. 18-Jan. 24, 1972  —  Posted Friday by Richard Barbieri

Radomski says he took urine tests for Gooden  —  Convicted steroids dealer Kirk Radomski, the Long Island man who was one of the central witnesses in baseball's Mitchell Report, told ESPN's “Outside the Lines” Sunday that he twice took urine tests in place of Dwight Gooden when he was a clubhouse boy for the Mets.

Deadline for Varitek  —  WEEI.com has learned from a source close to the negotiations that the two-year offer made by the Red Sox to catcher Jason Varitek is for $5 million for the first year, along with a club option for $5 million or a $3 million player option for season No. 2 of the deal.

Dr. Mike Marshall on Rick Peterson's “Pitching Perspective”  —  Last night on NYBD Radio, we had Gary Armida of Full Count Pitch talking about his interview with Rick Peterson.  The former Mets pitching coach discussed his “pitching perspective” with the readers.

Joba Chamberlain's 2009 Innings  —  Recently a reader pointed out a bold projection from Ron Shandler and company at Baseball HQ: 199 innings for Joba Chamberlain in 2009.  Most forecasters agree that Joba's ERA, WHIP, and K/9 will be very strong in '09, but with that innings total you'd have to consider him a top five fantasy starter.

Former Met Aaron Heilman looks forward to new start with Mariners  —  Aaron Heilman has been the focus of all the anger and disappointment of Mets fans.  He sometimes has been treated as if he were solely to blame for every September swoon.  —  No place in sports is quite like New York.

Leaning left: Tigers address last season's defensive holes  —  There was the occasional inning during 2008 that seemed never to end when the Tigers were on defense.  —  A groundball hit toward the hole between third base and shortstop often rolled into left field.