Top News:
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Rangers win Darvish rights with record bid — The Texas Rangers won the rights to negotiate with star Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish by placing a record $51.7 million bid in a posting auction, sources told Yahoo! Sports. — Darvish's team in Japan, the Nippon Ham Fighters, will accept the bid …
RELATED:
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Massive Darvish bid worth the risk for Rangers — Yu Darvish celebrated the announcement that the Texas Rangers had spent $51.7 million just to talk with him by doing what he does often: He worked out. There is a training ethic in Japanese baseball, one passed down from previous generations …
Discussion:
MLB.com, MLB Daily Dish, Lone Star Ball and Purple Row
Fox Sports:
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.
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish
Mark Zwolinski / Toronto Star:
Yu Darvish sweepstakes: Blue Jays no sure bet to win
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter
Fox Sports:
Nats working hard to land Gonzalez — The Nationals, continuing their quest to add a left-handed starting pitcher, are pushing hard to land the Athletics' Gio Gonzalez, according to major-league sources. — Gonzalez, 26, is perhaps the hottest pitcher available on the trade market …
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, Federal Baseball, NESN.com and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Nationals Pushing Hard For Gio Gonzalez — The Nationals are pushing hard for Gio Gonzalez, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The A's and Nationals are discussing a possible four-for-one deal involving the left-hander. The Marlins, Red Sox and Rangers are also showing strong interest in Gonzalez, according to Rosenthal.
Discussion:
Federal Baseball and MetsBlog.com
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
Gio Gonzalez to Mets unlikely
Discussion:
Beaneball, MLB Daily Dish, MLB Rumors, MetsBlog.com and River Avenue Blues
Freakonomics:
A Free Market Solution (from Europe) to the Labor Problems in North American Sports — The following is a guest post by David Berri, a Professor of Economics at Southern Utah University. He is also the lead author of Stumbling on Wins, the general manager of the sports-economics blog Wages of Wins …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Michael Baron / MetsBlog.com:
Today is David Wright's birthday — Today is David Wright's 29th birthday. — I am very much looking forward to watching Wright in 2012. It's a big season for him in a lot of ways, and he has numerous incentives to have a strong year for both himself and the team.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com
Eric Schmoldt / Sports Radio Interviews:
BALCO founder Victor Conte: Ryan Braun is Dead in the Water — All eyes are still on Major League Baseball and National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun, who has tested positive for elevated levels of testosterone. Braun is appealing the test and we really haven't heard anything …
Discussion:
It's About The Money, Yahoo! Sports, Getting Blanked, Washington Post, Baseball Nation and Deadspin
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Pirates Sign Jeff Clement — Here's where we'll keep track of today's minor moves... - The Pirates announced that they have signed first baseman Jeff Clement to a minor league contract. Clement, 28, posted a .201/.237/.368 line for the 2010 Pirates, but didn't appear in the Major Leagues in 2011.
MLB.com:
Luhnow chats with season ticket holders — New general manager fields questions online — During a live web chat with Season Ticket Holders, Astros new General Manager Jeff Luhnow fielded questions about his goals for the 2012 season and beyond. — Jeff Luhnow: Hello everyone.
Discussion:
THE BOOK
Jamie Frevele / The Mary Sue:
The Atlanta Braves Are in a Legal Dispute With Disney Pixar Over Brave For Obvious Reason — In one of the biggest cases of “pick your battles,” the owners of the Atlanta Braves baseball team are reportedly “in negotiations” with Disney Pixar over the title of their next big release, Brave.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and baseballmusings.com
Nick Prill / The Brewers Bar:
Looking at Aoki/Braun scenarios — In a little over a week, the Brewers outfield has gone from a relatively — hell, perfectly — stable situation to a full-blown mess rife with question marks and uncertainty. Ryan Braun's positive drug test and the winning bid for Norichika Aoki …
Fox Sports:
Source: Diamondbacks, Kubel reach deal — The Diamondbacks, continuing their impressive off-season, have reached agreement with free-agent outfielder Jason Kubel on a two-year, $15 million contract, according to a major-league source. — The deal, which is pending a physical, also includes an option for 2014, the source said.
RELATED:
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Diamondbacks Sign Jason Kubel
Discussion:
Getting Blanked, Baseball Nation and Amazin' Avenue
