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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Michael Young to work out at first base and other important stuff from Adrian Beltre press conference  —  ARLINGTON - During Wednesday's afternoon's press conference to announce that Adrian Beltre had agreed to a six-year, $96 million deal with the Rangers, manager Ron Washington referred to the new third baseman as a “defensive whiz.”

Yankees claim RHP Brian Schlitter  —  The Yankees have claimed right-hander Brian Schlitter off waivers from the Cubs.  —  Schlitter is a 25 year old who pitched out of the Cubs bullpen seven times last year.  He spent most of the season with Triple-A Iowa, going 2-1 with 13 saves and a 3.15 ERA …

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.

Cardinals Wednesday chat transcript  —  Joe Strauss: Happy New Year from atop the big wave.  As promised, 2011 has ushered in greater urgency regarding Albert Pujols' uncertain status beyond the upcoming season.  The team has entered talks with Pujols' agent and we'll see where things go from here.

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.

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.

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.