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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

Cubs have interest in Rockies' Stewart  —  Interest in players this time of year is like the weather — the significance lies in the degrees.  The Rockies plan on tendering Ian Stewart a contract, but haven't ruled out trading him.  The Cubs have interest, but their seriousness is unclear.

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 …

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 …

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.