Top News:
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Infielder Hudson signs with Dodgers — All-Star second baseman costs team first-round Draft pick — PHOENIX — Free agents are on sale, and the Dodgers picked one up on the cheap Friday when they agreed with second baseman Orlando Hudson on a one-year contract, baseball sources confirmed.
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Jayson Stark / MLB:
Second baseman Orlando Hudson, Los Angeles Dodgers agree to deal — The Los Angeles Dodgers are closing in on a one-year deal with second baseman Orlando Hudson, a source familiar with the negotiations said Friday. — If the deal is finalized, after Hudson passes a physical, he would earn $3.38 million.
Keith Law / ESPN:
Hudson signing a great deal for Dodgers — The Dodgers' signing of Orlando Hudson is easily one of the biggest bargains of the offseason. He's a very good offensive second baseman who in the past was also a plus fielder. Hudson's defense has slipped in the past two years, particularly in 2008 …
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Manny's agent: ‘A choice of winning or losing’ for Dodgers
Manny's agent: ‘A choice of winning or losing’ for Dodgers
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
ESPN:
A-Rod suspension? — 1050 ESPN New York has learned, it is possible that Alex Rodriguez could be suspended by the Commissioner's Office depending on what MLB investigators were to find out about A-Rod's relationship with shady trainer Angel Presinal. The Daily News reports that Presinal has traveled with Rodriguez in recent seasons.
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues, Mike Silva's …, YanksBlog.com, Yankees Rumors, Baseball Musings and Sliding Into Home
RELATED:
Jack Curry / New York Times:
Rodriguez Bracing for Worst, but Hoping for the Best
Rodriguez Bracing for Worst, but Hoping for the Best
Discussion:
Blogging the Bombers, Boston Globe, Yankees Rumors, River Avenue Blues and On the Yankees beat
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Williams, a Venerated Yankee, Looks Back and Ahead to the Classic
Williams, a Venerated Yankee, Looks Back and Ahead to the Classic
Discussion:
MLB.com, Bluebird Banter, Drunk Jays Fans, My Pinstripes, iYankees, Bats and Sliding Into Home
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Crede agrees to deal with Twins — Third baseman Joe Crede dives for the ball in 2005. (Tribune archive photo) — Joe Crede was a fan favorite among White Sox fans for 61/2 seasons. — Now he will be playing for one of the Sox's biggest enemies. — Crede, 30, agreed to terms Friday night …
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La Velle / Twins Insider:
Movement on Crede — While I was starting to think things were slowing down in their pursuit of free agent third baseman Joe Crede, the communication between Twins GM Bill Smith and agent Scott Boras continued. — There has been more communication today - as well as indications that the sides might be nearing a deal.
Marc Topkin / The Heater:
Rays sign Isringhausen to minor-league deal — The Rays have signed former All-Star closer Jason Isringhausen to a minor-league deal. — Isringhausen, 36, was with St. Louis last season, but did not pitch after Aug. 16 and had surgery Sept. 12 to repair a torn flexor tendon …
Carolyn Jones / San Francisco Chronicle:
A's halt plans for ballpark village in Fremont — (02-20) 11:50 PST Fremont — Oakland Athletics officials today asked the City of Fremont to halt the planning process required to build a new stadium and move the team there, saying they want to reconsider their options.
MLB:
Assets of two New York Yankees frozen in financial fallout — TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees outfielders Johnny Damon and Xavier Nady are among the investors whose accounts were caught in a freeze by the government of a company affiliated with Robert Allen Stanford.
Discussion:
This Purist Bleeds Pinstripes
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Pablo S. Torre / Sports Illustrated:
Why Griffey chose Seattle over Atlanta … Drive 22 miles beyond Orlando, well past Walt Disney World and through a snarl of unlit dirt roads, and you begin to understand why the Atlanta Braves thought they had the inside track on a Hall of Famer. — Ken Griffey Jr.'s home in Windermere …
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
Jesse / A foot and a half:
Finally, A Use for Twitter — Sean informed me a few days ago that he had been following “The Real Shaq” on twitter. — “You realize that ‘The Real Shaq’ is probably a 5'4 White, 14 year old emo kid who's getting his jolly's from the attention, right?” I asked him. — “I don't know.
John Harper / NY Daily News:
Harper: A-Rod's body of lies overshadows his body of work — TAMPA - On Tuesday Alex Rodriguez asked to be judged “from this day forward,” yet in the four days since, there is legitimate reason to judge him more harshly than ever. — More and more he looks like a liar as well as a steroid cheat …
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Church back to normal after trying 2008 — Mets outfielder in good spirits, won't change his game after injury — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Johnny Blanchard, the old Yankees catcher, loves to tell the story of the pinch-hit home run Mickey Mantle hit in 1963 in his first at-bat following an extended assignment to the disabled list.
Discussion:
Mets Fever