Top News:
Buster Olney / ESPN.com:
Ranking the top 10 outfields in MLB — In Part 4 of his series looking ahead to the 2012 season, Buster Olney ranks the 10 best outfields in Major League Baseball. The Arizona Diamondbacks claim the No. 1 spot.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Drunk Jays Fans
RELATED:
Dan Connolly / Baltimore Sun:
Report: Former long-time Oriole Melvin Mora announces retirement — According to a report out of Venezuela, former long-time Oriole Melvin Mora announced his retirement from Major League Baseball on Thursday while in his home country. — Mora, who will turn 40 in February …
Discussion:
Camden Chat
Jon Star / MLB.com:
Longtime Oriole Mora retires after 13 seasons — Longtime utility man Melvin Mora retired on Thursday after 13 seasons played with the Orioles, Mets, Rockies and D-backs, according to Rafael Rojas of Meridiano Deportes. The 39-year-old Mora hangs them up after appearing 42 games with the D-backs in 2011 …
Discussion:
Bleacher Report
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:
Sources: Pujols altered deal to help land Wilson — Albert Pujols was on the receiving end of one of the most lucrative contracts in professional sports history when he agreed with the Los Angeles Angels on a 10-year deal for about $250 million earlier this month.
Discussion:
Halos Heaven, MLB Rumors, Baseball Nation, Lone Star Ball, HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish, NESN.com, SI Tracking Blog and Angels blog
RELATED:
Derrick Goold / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Wainwright expects to excel
Wainwright expects to excel
Discussion:
HardballTalk and SI Tracking Blog
Fox Sports:
Steroid Era complicates Hall balloting — Back in May, I wrote that it was wrong to speculate about any player using performance-enhancing drugs without any actual evidence of that use. — That column was about Jose Bautista. It could have been about Jeff Bagwell, though I made no specific mention of him at the time.
Discussion:
HardballTalk
RELATED:
Jonathan C. Mitchell / MLB Dirt:
Historically Underrated: John Olerud
Historically Underrated: John Olerud
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer … and Batter's Box Interactive …
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Shoulder surgery will delay return of Ryan Kalish — The trade of Josh Reddick to Oakland opened up significant playing time in right field for the Red Sox. One logical solution would be Ryan Kalish, the athletic 23-year-old who performed well in 2010 before being sidelined for nearly all of the 2011 season with injuries.
Discussion:
NESN.com, Bleacher Report, Over the Monster, HardballTalk, FenwayNation, Baseball America and Red Sox Monster
RELATED:
Rob Bradford / Full Count:
Ben Cherington talks Andrew Bailey, Daniel Bard and the Red Sox' right field situation
Ben Cherington talks Andrew Bailey, Daniel Bard and the Red Sox' right field situation
Jane Lee / MLB.com:
A's ship Bailey to Boston for Reddick, two more
A's ship Bailey to Boston for Reddick, two more
Discussion:
Baseball Nation and MLB Rumors
Scott Merkin / MLB.com:
Confident Danks earns five-year extension — Deal worth $65 million, includes varied no-trade clauses — CHICAGO — When John Danks went year-by-year contractually over the past three seasons, shunning multi-year offers from the White Sox, the southpaw basically went all-in on his ultimate value as a player.
Discussion:
csnchicago.com, River Avenue Blues and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
MLB.com:
White Sox and pitcher John Danks agree to terms on five-year contract — The Chicago White Sox and left-handed pitcher John Danks have agreed to terms on a five-year, $65-million contract. Under terms of the agreement, Danks will receive $8 million in 2012, which was to be his final season …
Discussion:
South Side Sox and Baseball Prospectus
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
St. Louisian Don Mueller, former big-league star, dies — Image — St. Louisan Don Mueller, who led the majors in hits in 1954 and roamed the outfield with Willie Mays of the New York Giants, died on Wednesday. He was 84. — Mueller, a native St. Louisan who played at CBC …
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Giants Win
Baseball Prospectus:
To Live and Die in Three Rivers Stadium, Or: The Face of Michael Cimino — Believe it or not, most of our writers didn't enter the world sporting an @baseballprospectus.com address; with a few exceptions, they started out somewhere else. In an effort to up your reading pleasure while tipping …
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Former pitcher Garcia killed in auto accident — ARLINGTON — Former Rangers pitcher Rosman Garcia was killed in a car accident in his native Venezuela early Thursday morning. He was 32. — According to The Associated Press, Garcia was killed when his car skidded off the road and hit a tree.
Sports Illustrated:
Predictions: MLB … We're coming to the end of a fascinating year of baseball, with tremendous comebacks, a surprise World Series winner, one of the great single days in the game's history and the news that we'll have labor peace for years to come. Can 2012 top that? Perhaps.
Discussion:
Red Reporter and Cincinnati Reds