Top News:
Peter Botte / NY Daily News:
Moose's save situation — Mike Mussina, who is quoted often in Joe Torre's new book, took to the local airwaves Wednesday to address what has been perceived as him taking shots at untouchable closer Mariano Rivera in “The Yankee Years.” — According to one passage, Mussina said Rivera …
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Matt Gagne / NY Daily News:
Miffed Torre fans shut out of bookstore … It was worse than Mariano Rivera blowing a save, or watching Kyle Farnsworth get the ball with a four-run lead. — Disgruntled Yankee fans gave Borders bookstore a Bronx cheer after waiting in line for more than three hours Wednesday afternoon …
Jayson Stark / MLB:
Source: Padres, Floyd agree on 1-year deal — The San Diego Padres have agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent outfielder Cliff Floyd, according to a major-league source. The contract guarantees Floyd less than $1 million. — Floyd, 36, spent last season with Tampa Bay, where he primarily served as a designated hitter.
Discussion:
Baseball Insider
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Joel Sherman / Hardball:
JAYS CLOSE TO SIGNING MILLAR — The Mets and Yankees both had conversations with Kevin Millar's representatives about the free-agent slugger. But, the Post has learned, the righty swinger is almost certain to sign a minor league deal with the Blue Jays, possibly today, and no later than tomorrow.
Associated Press:
Teammate: Dodgers can win with or without Manny Ramirez — LOS ANGELES — Russell Martin says he and his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates want Manny Ramirez [stats] to return, but the slugger “isn't necessarily the difference between us winning or losing.” — Ramirez has rejected three offers …
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Allen Barra / New York Observer:
Why Roger Clemens Isn't Barry Bonds — No matter what the outcome of the tests now being conducted on the Roger Clemens-Brian McNamee syringes and no matter what the outcome of the anti-defamation suits Clemens and McNamee have filed against each other and no matter whether the government finds grounds …
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Restructuring of MLB Blackout Policy Becoming More Remote — Two months from today, the 2009 regular season for Major League Baseball will get underway, and with it, fans will reach for their remotes (and wallets) to watch out-of-market games via MLB Extra Innings.
The Smoking Gun:
Major League Snitch — Unmasked: How a white-collar Baltimore swindler turned secret FBI informant and ignited a Major League Baseball steroid scandal — Even a casual sports fan is by now aware of the key personalities and events of Major League Baseball's ongoing steroid scandal …
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Craig Calcaterra / Hardball Times:
Bonds Documents — For those interested — especially fellow shysters with a PACER login and password — here's the mother lode of US v. Barry Bonds documents, pleadings, etc. I haven't had a chance to really go over them in any detail, but my cursory review of it confirms what has been obvious …
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Associated Press:
Happy birthday, Hammer! Aaron celebrates 75 years — ATLANTA—Happy birthday, Hammer! Hank Aaron's family and friends are throwing him a 75th birthday party Thursday night at a downtown Atlanta hotel. Among those scheduled to attend are former President Bill Clinton …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Mets now targeting righthanded hitter for bench — The Mets, their major offseason goals achieved, will next target a righthanded hitter for their bench, a person familiar with the situation said yesterday. — Some Mets officials like free agent Rich Aurilia, who has ties to both New York and general manager Omar Minaya.
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
Troy Renck / All Things Rockies:
Murton was added for depth, not as trade precursor — Part of the charm of the internet is that every baseball move can be dissected within seconds of the deal. There were some educated guesses in the blogosphere Wednesday that the Rockies' acquisition of outfielder Matt Murton was a precursor to a Garrett Atkins trade.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
T.J. Quinn / ESPN:
OTL: Texans' minicamp contact drills questioned … HOUSTON — When the Houston Texans' coaching staff announced to the linemen that they would be running one-on-one blocking drills during minicamp last May, the rumbling started immediately, players say. — The NFL's rules about minicamp …
Greg Rybarczyk / Baseball Analysts:
2009 Projections with Hit Tracker — Oh, no, not another projection system! Why would someone want to join the logjam of current systems? In no particular order, we have ZiPS, CHONE, Oliver, Marcel, Bill James, PECOTA and no doubt some others I haven't stumbled across (sorry).
Cjennings / Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Blog:
Wright: “It's going to be tough to leave here” — Just got off the phone with Chase Wright, who had already arrived in Tampa to get his spring training started early. Being designated for assignment put Wright into a “holding pattern,” but now he's on the move.
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