3 UP: JOBA'S ROLES, JOBA'S RULES AND MATSUI  —  Yes, I am on Twitter.  —  1. In today's Post I wrote about why I believe it is wise to limit Joba Chamberlain's innings.  Here is something else to consider: Let's say in late July 2007, the Yankees had done what was the popular thing and traded …

Sox acquire Alex Gonzalez  —  The Red Sox, who have had a revolving at shortstop in recent seasons, reacquired a familiar face this afternoon in attempt to help solve their ongoing problem.  —  Alex Gonzalez, who was spectacular with the glove but so-so at the plate during 2006 …

21-year-old charged in beer-tossing incident at Wrigley Field  —  Bartlett man charged with tossing beer at outfielder from Wrigley bleachers  —  A Bartlett man has been charged with two misdemeanors after a daylong search for the Cubs fan who threw beer on a Philadelphia Phillies outfielder during Wednesday night's game.

The Dan Murphy Myth  —  Last year, a determined and serious young man leapfrogged over AAA into the big leagues and became a fan favorite for his hustle, energy, and line-drive bat.  Perhaps most importantly, Danny Murphy was “home-grown” — a ballplayer drafted by the Mets and developed in their farm system.

Source: Lerner meets with Strasburg  —  Publicly, neither the Washington Nationals nor Stephen Strasburgs camp having been saying much about contract negotiations for the No. 1 overall pick, which will end with or without a deal at midnight on Tuesday.  But that doesnt mean things arent heating up behind the scenes.

Rockies manager credits Bucs' front office  —  DENVER - Rockies manager Jim Tracy looks at the Pirates dugout and sees only a handful of players he recognizes.  —  It hasn't been a full two years since Tracy was fired as the Pirates manager after two in a long run of losing seasons.

Mets lift Parnell's pitch limit  —  Jerry Manuel capped Bobby Parnell's first major-league start at 68 pitches last weekend in San Diego because the rookie had been working in relief since getting promoted last September.  —  Parnell managed to record only seven outs against the Padres …

Duquette on Statistical Analysis & Decision Making  —  Readers of the site know about some of the spirited debate going on here regarding statistical analysis.  I questioned our good friends at Amazin Avenue, who tend to look at the game from a very numbers centric perspective.

Players not only ones moving in trades  —  Families forced to make big adjustments after Deadline deals  —  Jarrod Washburn had been hearing the whispers for over a year, and two weeks ago they finally turned into a scream.  —  After revitalizing his career at the age of 34 with a 2009 season …

Adrian Beltre to DL, could be lost for season with injured testicle  —  4:30 p.m.: This is no laughing matter, despite the jokes that will inevitably fly after news of this breaks.  It turns out that Mariners third baseman Adrian Beltre injured his testicle last night after a groundball took a bad hop and hit him in the groin area.

WAR and WSAB  —  Long-time readers of the Hardball Times may know that I've done a lot of work with Win Shares, creating Win Shares Above Bench and ranking the all-time greats.  —  Wins Above Replacement, or WAR, is newest win-based stat of choice (I'm still a fan of WPA, too).

New York Mets Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review  —  More photos » by Kathy Willens - AP  —  New York Mets' outfielder Fernando Martinez (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)  —  New York Mets Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review  —  This list was originally published December 20, 2008.