Top News:
Eric Ortiz / NESN.com:
2011 Red Sox Will Challenge 1927 Yankees for Title of Greatest Team in Major League History — The Red Sox have won 100 or more games three times in their 110-year existence. — They will make it four in 2011. But this team has the potential to accomplish something even bigger than winning 100 games.
RELATED:
John Tomase / Boston Herald:
Red Sox excel in crystal ball — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email + Bio — Now that the various years in review have been filed and published, it's never too soon to get a jump on 2011 with what we'll call the year in preview. So in that spirit, here are five fearless Red Sox …
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
ESPN:
Mat Thornton irritated by Oney's tweets — Chicago White Sox relief pitcher Matt Thornton said recent tweets by manager Ozzie Guillen's son, Oney, about Bobby Jenks were “irritating” and take the focus off baseball. — “I'm not a big fan of the social media, personally,” Thornton said on ESPN 1000's “Talking Baseball.”
Discussion:
Over the Monster, Sox Machine, Can't Stop The Bleeding and HardballTalk
Steve Adams / MLB Rumors:
Rangers Near Deal With Adrian Beltre — 6:52pm: Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes reports that the two sides are close to agreeing to a deal (link in Spanish). An agreement “appears imminent” according to one of Rojas' sources, while another tells him it will “probably” be a five-year contract with an option for 2016.
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Over the Monster, Full Count, Lone Star Ball, Angels blog, Bottom9 Baseball and NESN.com
RELATED:
Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
Report of $96M Beltre deal premature — The Texas Rangers still are talking with Adrian Beltre but haven't reached an agreement with him, a major-league source said Sunday. — PioDeportes.com, a website based in Beltre's native Dominican Republic, reported Sunday morning …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Halos Heaven
Murray Chass / Murray Chass On Baseball:
BAGWELL RISES ABOVE ‘WAR’ — The deadline for voting for the Hall of Fame came and went Friday, and since I like to work on deadline - I have worked on deadline my entire life - I submitted my ballot by fax Friday evening. A year ago I waited until the deadline day, Dec. 31 …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Orioles' Simon suspected in murder … SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Baltimore Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon is the main suspect in a fatal shooting New Year's Eve in the Dominican Republic, police said Sunday. — The pitcher is suspected of killing 25-year-old Michel Castillo Almonte …
Discussion:
Baltimore Sun, HardballTalk, Lone Star Ball and The LoHud Yankees Blog
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Bargain hunters cooking up plans at the Hot Stove — The holiday break is over, and now the “second season” of the Hot Stove is about to begin. Here's a look at who might benefit from bargain basement players or January trades: — 1. Tampa Bay — The Rays didn't sign Joaquin Benoit until Feb. 15 …
Discussion:
Federal Baseball, MetsBlog.com and Mets Merized Online
Paige Schector / MLB.com:
Mets' Owen keys no-hitter for Caguas — Right-handed prospect goes seven frames for Winter Ball win — Dylan Owen, who spent time in starting and relief roles in the Mets' farm system in 2010, made his case as a starter Sunday with seven no-hit innings for Caguas in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Adam Rubin / ESPN:
Position-by-position Mets look entering '11 — As the Mets turn the page to 2011, here is a position-by-position breakdown of where things stand at the moment. — Catcher — New York Mets — Profile — 2010 Season Stats — GM — HR — RBI — R — OBP — AVG — 91
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com and Mets Merized Online
Marc Topkin / St. Petersburg Times:
Crawford says Thanks Tampa Bay in ad — Carl Crawford raised more than a few eyebrows when he said his heart was in Boston during his introductory press conference with the Red Sox last month (and didn't say much of anything about his former Rays team), but Sunday he said thanks to the Tampa Bay area in a half-page ad in the Times.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
