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 …

Competitive Balance Lottery to shake up Draft  —  Small-market, low-revenue teams to get chance at extra picks  —  There's enough information to digest from the new Collective Bargaining Agreement to make Thanksgiving dinner seem like an appetizer.  Getting a grasp on how the First-Year Player Draft …

Part of dynasty, Bernie leads ballot newcomers  —  Center fielder tallied four rings, displayed grace over 16 seasons … Bernie Williams is already in the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame.  That much was decided in September.  As for that other Hall, you know, the one in the brick building …

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.

Cubs Reach Agreement With David DeJesus  —  The Cubs reached an agreement with outfielder David DeJesus, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  It's a two-year deal, tweets MLB.com's Jane Lee.  The Cubs confirmed the deal on Twitter, noting the inclusion of a club option for 2014.

Giants Trying To Trade Affeldt Or Ramon Ramirez  —  The Giants have a ton of money tied up in the bullpen right now, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, so they're trying to move Jeremy Affeldt or Ramon Ramirez.  Many teams seek bullpen help, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Tigers …

Giants to Bring Back 80s Classic Uniform in 2012  —  According to a reliable source, SportsLogos.Net has learned that the San Francisco Giants will be bringing back a slightly updated version of their 1980′s road jersey as a road alternate jersey for the 2012 season.

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 …

Rangers hire Greg Maddux as special assistant  —  Four-time Cy Young winner had filled similar role with Cubs  —  ARLINGTON — When Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux was a candidate for the Cubs' managerial job, he was intrigued about the possibility of working with his brother.

Astros must go all out to land Friedman  —  You're Jim Crane.  You just bought the Astros.  You want Andrew Friedman to be your general manager.  —  What should you do?  —  Offer Friedman autonomy, the title of his choosing, a five-year, $20 million contract, maybe even equity in the club.

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 …