Red Sox get their lightning rod with Valentine  —  The greatest soap opera in baseball just got a hero — or a villain.  —  Bobby Valentine, who makes lifelong friends and enduring enemies in near-equal numbers, has reached an agreement to become the Red Sox manager, completing a process …

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 …

Slimmer Teixeira seeks improvement vs. righties  —  NEW YORK — Mark Teixeira says that he is already about 10 pounds lighter thanks to diet and exercise, but what the Yankees first baseman really wants to do is bulk up his batting average from the left side.

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 …

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.

Rangers Pursuing Andrew Bailey  —  The Rangers signed Joe Nathan last week, but they're still exploring ways of adding relief help, since they aim to enter the 2012 season with the strongest bullpen possible.  They're one of the teams trying to trade for A's closer Andrew Bailey, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.

Guillen: “I'd play for me.”  —  The Miami Marlins manager says what he feels — not what you want to hear  —  “I named my bulldog DH because he's lazy,” says Guillen.  —  *"If you are engaged to a girl for eight years and she asks if you're going to marry her and you say no, then it's not going to work.

Baseball America honors Melvin  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Just got my new issue of Baseball America in the mail today and it's their annual awards double-issue.  In it, they salute Brewers general manager Doug Melvin as their 2011 major league executive of the year.