Four say Philly Daily News writer Bill Conlin sexually abused them as children  —  Three women and a man say they were molested as children by Bill Conlin, a Hall of Fame baseball writer and Philadelphia Daily News columnist.  —  In vivid accounts, the four say Conlin groped and fondled them …

Red Sox among four teams interested in closer Francisco Cordero  —  When the pistol fired on the free-agent shopping season, it was the market for closer's that got off to the earliest jump.  Jonathan Papelbon became the first prominent game-ender to move, signing a four-year …

Loyal Kuroda too expensive for Dodgers  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers hoped to sign Hiroki Kuroda, a good man and a good pitcher who once returned to the Dodgers in part because he felt like he owed them more.  —  Weird, I know.  —  The problem was, Kuroda is one of the better starters on the market …

Source: Cubs, Red Sox strike deal  —  BOSTON — By now, it appears clear that the Boston Red Sox won't be making a killing in any compensation deal for Theo Epstein.  The issue has essentially been treated as an afterthought, with MLB commissioner Bud Selig evidently deciding that the clubs …

Determined Texas wins rights to Darvish  —  The night the Rangers lost the World Series, general manager Jon Daniels stood just outside the clubhouse and told me quietly, “We've got to get better.”  —  I thought, better?  C'mon. Nelson Cruz catches David Freese's drive in Game 6, and the Rangers win the Series.

Ronald Belisario receives visa, is expected to rejoin Dodgers  —  Reliever Ronald Belisario, who missed last season because he was unable to gain entry into the United States, has been granted a visa and is expected to be in camp for the start of spring training, according to his agent.

Betancourt returns to Kansas City  —  By Todd Rosiak of the Journal Sentinel  —  Yuniesky Betancourt is back with the Kansas City Royals after a one-season stopoff with the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  The shortstop, who came over to Milwaukee a year ago along with pitcher Zack Greinke in exchange …

The MLB Prospect Bubble  —  Once a upon a time, teams got great value by trading for minor league studs.  Not anymore.  —  Twenty-one years ago, the Red Sox traded Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen.  I know this because you can't write about lopsided MLB trades without writing the words “Jeff Bagwell for Larry Andersen.”

Padres announce dates for 2012 FanFest & Annual Awards Dinner  —  The San Diego Padres today announced Padres FanFest presented by Bloomberg will return to Petco Park on Saturday, February 11, 2012.  The daylong event is free and open to the public.  Details surrounding FanFest …

Rockies To Sign Casey Blake  —  The Rockies have agreed to sign Casey Blake to a one-year deal, pending a physical, Rockies GM Dan O'Dowd announced (Twitter link).  The sides agreed to a non-guaranteed contract worth $2MM plus $1MM in performance bonuses, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harding (on Twitter).