Inside MLB's New 5-Year Labor Agreement  —  Here are the details of the new 5-year labor deal just announced by MLB and the MLBPA:  —  I.. TERM  —  a.  Five-year contract  —  b.  December 1, 2016 termination date  —  II.. SCHEDULING,, REALIGNMENT,, AND POSTSEASON PLAY  —  a.

Rangers Sign Joe Nathan  —  The Texas Rangers have signed Closer/RHP Joe Nathan, to a 2 year $14.5 million contract that includes a buyout.  Nathan will be introduced tomorrow at a news conference and is expected to take over the closer spot in the bullpen.

MLB, union announce five-year labor deal  —  CBA features two more Wild Cards, HGH testing, Draft luxury tax  —  NEW YORK — Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a preliminary agreement on a new Basic Agreement.  The five-year deal was officially announced on Tuesday afternoon at a news conference.

C.J. Wilson to visit Marlins  —  C.J. Wilson is making the rounds, and one of his East Coast stops will include a post-Thanksgiving visit to South Florida to meet with the Marlins, who seem to be throwing out the welcome mat for every available free agent.  The Marlins met with Wilson's agent …

Valentine is the right Sox fit  —  He is married to the daughter of Ralph Branca, who threw the gopher ball to Bobby Thomson at the Polo Grounds in 1951.  His first roommate in professional baseball was Bill Buckner, when the two were drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1968.

Braun over Brains  —  Ryan Braun wins the NL MVP vote, as my post from this morning noted that Matt Kemp might not get his due, and voters placed more emphasis on being on a winning team.  Braun received 20 first place votes and 12 second place votes, with Kemp going 10-16-6 as the consensus second place pick.

Evan Grant: Wrong By Any Measure  —  In filling out his MVP ballot, Evan Grant placed Michael Young at the top.  No, not as the Texas Rangers DH MVP.  No, not even as the Texas Rangers MVP, where he also would have been wrong.  —  Evan Grant voted Michael Young as the American League MVP.

Mets sign Adam Loewen to minors deal  —  According to Matt Eddy of Baseball America, the Mets have signed RF Adam Loewen to a minor league contract.  —  Loewen, who will be 28 in April, is a converted pitcher and has primarily played right field since 2008.

Crane group officially takes control of Astros  —  HOUSTON — Jim Crane officially took control of the Astros on Tuesday.  —  The club announced the group led by Crane, which bought the team for $610 million from longtime owner Drayton McLane, was in control after the deal was officially completed.

New CBA extends period of peace but isn't without drawbacks … The term “golden age of baseball” has been used so often as to have wrung most meaning out of it, at least when prescribed to a fixed era of the game.  In truth the golden age of baseball is a floating concept.

How Does Quality of Contact Relate to BABIP?  —  In the first part of this study, I used detailed batted ball speed information from HITf/x to examine the degree of skill that batters and pitchers had in quality of contact made or allowed.  Here, I will look deeper into the question …