Top News:
Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
Cooperstown calls for Alomar, Blyleven — NEW YORK — Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Wednesday as part of the Class of 2011, ending a year of anxiety and trepidation for the pair of stellar players. — Alomar was named on 90 percent …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Roberto Alomar, Bert Blyleven in Hall — NEW YORK — Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven have been elected to baseball's Hall of Fame. — Alomar and Blyleven were chosen Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America after narrow misses last year. — Blyleven — Alomar
Discussion:
Faith and Fear in Flushing, River Avenue Blues, Halos Heaven, MLB Daily Dish and Fox Sports
Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
Blyleven, Alomar elected to Hall of Fame — + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email — The Baseball Hall of Fame just opened its doors to Bert Blyleven and Robbie Alomar. — The durable Blyleven, whose 3,701 strikeouts are the fifth-highest total for any pitcher and 60 shutouts are ninth-most …
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Lookout Landing
Sports Illustrated:
Palmeiro on Hall of Fame snub: ‘I feel like the forgotten man’ … Rafael Palmeiro is one of four players to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs in his career, but Wednesday, those elite accomplishments couldn't get him even close to the Hall of Fame. — In his first year on the ballot …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Fanhouse MLB Blog
Chris Jaffe / Hardball Times:
Me vs. reality: 2011 Cooperstown
Me vs. reality: 2011 Cooperstown
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Red Reporter
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Rangers land Beltre with six-year deal — ARLINGTON — The Rangers have called a news conference for Wednesday afternoon to officially announce the signing of free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre. — Beltre, a two-time American League Gold Glove Award winner who was an All-Star …
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Over the Monster
RELATED:
Ian Browne / MLB.com:
Boston adds to catching depth with waiver claim — BOSTON — Thirteen months ago, the Red Sox thought they were about to trade for catching prospect Max Ramirez, only to have it fall through when Mike Lowell — the player who was supposed to go to the Rangers — failed his physical.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Michael Young to work out at first base and other important stuff …
Michael Young to work out at first base and other important stuff …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and baseballmusings.com
Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
Sources: Rangers to sign Beltre for $96M
Sources: Rangers to sign Beltre for $96M
Discussion:
Lone Star Ball and baseballmusings.com
Jeff Wilson / Dallas Morning News:
Free-agent 3B Adrian Beltre and Rangers agree to multi-year deal
Free-agent 3B Adrian Beltre and Rangers agree to multi-year deal
Discussion:
Over the Monster, Red Sox Monster and Boston Globe
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
Adam LaRoche signing shows Washington Nationals now know nothing is free — Nothing is free. Billionaires aren't exempt. As the Washington Nationals' owners are now learning, in baseball there is even a steep price to be paid for the money you didn't spend in the past.
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Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Cubs take lead in Garza derby — The Cubs appear to have moved past the Texas Rangers and into the driver's seat in efforts to acquire Tampa Bay Rays 15-game winner Matt Garza — a potential move that could put the Cubs back into the National League Central title conversation for 2011.
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Nationals agree to terms with Adam LaRoche
Nationals agree to terms with Adam LaRoche
Discussion:
The Goessling Game, D.C. Sports Bog, Federal Baseball and Yahoo! Sports
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
LaRoche inks 2-year deal with Nationals
Michael O'Keeffe / NY Daily News:
Fraud charges for Victor Baez after he allegedly lies about ages of players from Dominican Republic — An influential baseball scout who was arrested in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday allegedly gave new identities to his players to make them appear younger - and therefore more appealing …
Discussion:
Baseball America and HardballTalk
RELATED:
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
Selig Is Said to Be Unsatisfied With Union's Stance on Boras
Selig Is Said to Be Unsatisfied With Union's Stance on Boras
Discussion:
HardballTalk and IT IS HIGH!
Thomas Harding / MLB.com:
Rox sign utility man Iribarren to Minors deal — DENVER — Utility man Hernan Iribarren, who appeared in 24 games from 2008-09 with the Brewers, has agreed to terms on a Minor League contract with the Rockies, player development director Marc Gustafson said Wednesday.
Rob Bradford / Full Count:
Red Sox won't be moving in the right-field fence — According to a source familiar with the situation, the Red Sox have withdrawn their request to the office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State to undergo construction that would bring in the right field fence at Fenway Park as much as nine feet.
Discussion:
NESN.com
Jim Caple / ESPN:
HOF voters need to open their eyes — I have a message for BBWAA members who continue to withhold votes from players who used, or are suspected of using, performance enhancers: Get off your @#*& high horse. — Hey, I get that you think steroid use is really, really bad. Or at least, that this is your view now.
Discussion:
TYU, Baseball Crank and HardballTalk
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cardinals open talks with Pujols — The Cardinals have wasted little time addressing their most pressing New Year's resolution: tying up Albert Pujols. — Negotiations between the club and Pujols' agent, Dan Lozano, resumed this week and have taken on a “positive” tone, according to several sources familiar with the process.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Fanhouse MLB Blog
J-Doug / Beyond the Box Score:
Benefit of the Doubt: The Cruel Umpire — In last week's episode of Benefit of the Doubt, I put my own spin on the interesting phenomena of the “compassionate umpire.” Essentially, as the count becomes more favorable to the hitter, the strike zone grows and the zone advantage increases.
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Baseball America:
Cincinnati Reds Top 10 Prospects — Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched …
Discussion:
redsminorleagues.com and Better Off Red
Pete Caldera / NorthJersey.com:
Yankees hitting coach: No set lineup at camp — When the Yankees start playing Grapefruit League games late next month, the search for a winning lineup combination also will begin. — Could Brett Gardner hit leadoff against all pitchers? — Could Derek Jeter wind up further down the order?
Discussion:
Bombers Beat