Red Sox select Bobby Valentine as manager  —  Bobby Valentine is the choice of the Red Sox, emerging from a long and convoluted search to become the 45th manager in franchise history.  —  The 61-year-old was offered the job by general manager Ben Cherington according to Major League sources …

More Draft Details From The CBA  —  More details about draft changes resulting from baseball's new collective bargaining agreement continue to trickle out.  Some highlights:  — The draft has been reduced from 50 to 40 rounds.  — The draft caps for all 30 teams for the first 10 rounds …

Giants extend Sabean, Bochy through 2013  —  SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants executed a pair of long-anticipated moves Tuesday by extending the contracts of general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy through 2013 with club options for 2014.  —  The moves maintained the continuity …

Greg Maddux leaving Cubs organization  —  After two seasons as a special assistant to the general manager, Greg Maddux is leaving the Cubs, according to major league sources.  He soon may be named to a similar position with the Texas Rangers, joining his older brother Mike.

Sources: Dodgers, Adam Kennedy close  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers are close to an agreement with free-agent infielder Adam Kennedy, according to multiple sources.  Length and terms of the deal weren't immediately available.  —  Kennedy, who can play first, second and third …

Cards seek clarity in Pujols talks  —  While the market for free-agent first baseman Albert Pujols continued to develop Tuesday with news of the Chicago Cubs' interest, the Cardinals are hoping that their chance of re-signing the three-time MVP gains clarity in the next couple of weeks so they can move forward or move on.

Sources: Tigers interested in Angels' Izturis  —  The Tigers have interest in trading for Angels infielder Maicer Izturis, major-league sources told FOXSports.com, and it's believed that he ranks behind Atlanta's Martin Prado on Detroit's trade wish list.  —  The Tigers are looking for upgrades …

Predictive ability of swing area  —  The internet baseball community loves to use plate discipline statistics.  Measures like swing rate, in-zone rate, first-pitch strike rate, and many others are prevalent in many sabermetric analysis.  A month ago, I introduced another metric called swing area …

Evans signs with Pirates  —  Nick Evans, who had been with the Mets since the team made him him a fifth-round draft selection in 2004, has signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates, his agent Marc Agar told the Daily News.  Evans agreed to a minor league deal, with an invite to spring training.

Mariners eyeing free-agent dance partners  —  Hot Stove expected to fire up at Winter Meetings  —  SEATTLE — When Jack Zduriencik and the Mariners brass head to Dallas next week for the Winter Meetings, they'll be looking for ways to improve an offense that ranked last in the Major Leagues in most categories last season.

Royals To Sign Jonathan Broxton  —  The Royals announced that they have agreed to sign Jonathan Broxton to a one-year deal, pending a physical.  The deal is worth $4MM and includes $1MM in incentives based on games pitched for the 27-year-old right-hander, who will be Kansas City's setup man in 2012.

Crane can hit homer with new hires  —  If the Astros hire Rays GM Andrew Friedman, then more power to them.  But new owner Jim Crane shouldn't count on it, given Friedman's loyalty to Rays owner Stuart Sternberg and club president Matt Silverman.  —  No, Crane should count on conducting …