If Adrian Beltre goes to Rangers, Vladimir Guerrero could return to Angels  —  Adrian Beltre, according to numerous media reports, is closing in on a deal with the Texas Rangers, a move that would be a considerable blow to the Angels' playoff hopes and would greatly increase the chances of slugger Vladimir Guerrero returning to Anaheim.

Hall of Fame needs to deal with steroids era  —  Powers in Cooperstown need to fix the process instead of making votes so hard to cast  —  There's a Cooperstown crisis coming.  Nobody seems to want to acknowledge it.  Nobody seems to want to deal with it.  But it's coming, all right, whether the Hall of Fame is ready or not.

Rockies and Gonzalez OK 7-year, $80 million deal, sources say  —  The Rockies agreed on a seven-year, $80 million contract with outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, pending a physical, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations.  —  The deal covers three free-agent years …

Reds To Sign Jeremy Hermida  —  The Reds agreed to sign Jeremy Hermida to a minor league deal, according to the team (on Twitter).  The move fills out Cincinnati's outfield and lessens the need for Fred Lewis or Scott Podsednik.  Career Sports represents Hermida, who turns 27 this month.

The case for Morris  —  Tyler Kepner has a piece up today about Jack Morris' qualifications for the Hall of Fame.  I don't buy Kepner's arguments, but he makes the best case he can while also acknowledging the many negatives against Morris.  Kepner presumably would have a vote if the New York Times let him …

Bill Buckner to manage Brockton Rox  —  BOSTON — Bill Buckner is coming back here, and in uniform, too.  —  The former Red Sox first baseman has been hired to manage the Brockton (Mass.) Rox, a team in the independent Can-Am League, Rox co-owner Van Schley confirmed Tuesday.

Bye-bye Blue Jays.  —  I've actually known about this for a while, but I've been dragging my feet on just what to say about it.  I've decided you need to know since you'll find out eventually and I'd rather it come from me than some other blog which will probably highlight my small career sample …

Source: Rays among several teams interested in Manny Delcarmen  —  According to a baseball source, the Tampa Bay Rays are one of “several teams” to express interest in former Red Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen, who became a free agent in December when the Colorado Rockies elected not to tender the right-hander a contract.

Brandon Webb feeling good, but won't rush  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers pitcher Brandon Webb and general manager Jon Daniels are not fans of timetables.  Asked repeatedly if Webb's shoulder will make him ready to start the season in the rotation, both Webb and Daniels said they'd have to wait until spring training starts.

The 2010 Seattle Seahawks: Worst.  Playoff.  Team.  Ever?  —  By defeating the St. Louis Rams Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks qualified for the N.F.L. playoffs in spite of having lost nine games and won only seven.  —  They are not, technically speaking, the first N.F.L. team …

Mets sign Taylor Buchholz and Chris Capuano  —  According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, Taylor Buchholz will earn a $600,000 base salary, and Chris Capuano will earn a $1.5 million base salary with the opportunity to earn more with incentives.  —  Rubin also says the signing of both Capuano …

ESPN: Hall passes for Alomar, Blyleven  —  ESPN.com asked 18 of ESPN's Hall of Fame voters to submit their ballots for the Class of 2011, which will be announced Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.  —  To be elected, players must receive at least 75 percent of the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote.

Heavily invested in Blyleven  —  Rich Lederer is an investment manager.  Stock and bond portfolios are his thing.  He is the president and chief investment officer of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel in Long Beach, Calif.  —  But Lederer loved batting averages long before calculating his first P/E ratio.

Who replaces Dave in 2011?  Maybe no one  —  They have given no indication that the position is available, but the Seattle Mariners have received between 50 and 100 resumes, digital recordings and applications from broadcasters hoping to replace Dave Niehaus in 2011.

Yankees: Andy Pettitte situation not affecting moves  —  NEW YORK — Even as Andy Pettitte stays silent on his future, two of the lefthander's friends believe that he'll come back for a 17th season.  But the Yankees continue to act as though Pettitte will retire, and general manager Brian …

Orioles pitcher Alfredo Simon surrenders, says he did not intend to kill  —  Reliever claims shooting in Dominican Republic was accidental; prosecutor leans toward involuntary manslaughter charge; former Oriole Miguel Tejada to provide attorneys' fees  —  Orioles reliever Alfredo Simon …

BP Unfiltered  —  Phillies Pitcher Release Points  —  In November, we published an article about using PITCHf/x data to track pitcher fastball release points over time.  The article included several examples of pitchers who had interesting changes in their release points or were especially consistent …

Dykstra bounces check to porn star / escort  —  LENNY DYKSTRA IS back in the news, and once again it has nothing to do with baseball.  —  The former Phillies outfielder has been accused of giving a porn star/escort a $1,000 check that bounced, according to a report.