Top News:
Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com:
Red-letter day: Larkin elected to Hall of Fame — Cincinnati shortstop makes it on third try; Morris, Bagwell fall short — NEW YORK — Barry Larkin will be the newest member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, joining the Class of 2012 as the sole member elected by the Baseball Writers' Association …
Discussion:
Gonzo and ‘The Show’
RELATED:
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Barry Larkin elected to baseball's Hall of Fame — Barry Larkin, who was planning to spend his morning on the golf course trying to calm his nerves, will be spending the rest of his day celebrating his entrance into baseball's Hall of Fame. — Larkin, who spent his entire 19-year career …
Discussion:
Royals Review and FenwayNation
John Schlegel / MLB.com:
MLB.com writers cast their HOF ballots — Each year, lifetime members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America, i.e. those who spent 10 or more consecutive years with the organization, are bestowed a unique honor: Together, they comprise the electorate for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Discussion:
Mark My Word
Jayson Stark / MLB:
Revealing my Hall of Fame ballot — Barry Larkin, of course, plus nine others, but not Alan Trammell or Bernie Williams — Off in the distance, the Steroid Era apocalypse is approaching, only a year away now. Woo-hoo. I can hardly wait. — Yes, way out there, just beyond the horizon …
Discussion:
ESPN.com, Boston Globe, MLB Rumors, baseballmusings.com, Lone Star Ball, South Side Sox, Over the Monster, MLB Daily Dish, Pinstripe Alley, Bluebird Banter, The Crawfish Boxes, Baseball Crank, Let's Go Tribe, The LoHud Yankees Blog, Beyond the Box Score, FanGraphs Baseball, Red Reporter and ESPN
Conor Glassey / Baseball America:
Blast From The Past: 2012 Hall of Fame Candidates
Discussion:
BBWAA.com and River Avenue Blues
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Larry Walker is more Rockies royalty than Hall of Famer
Discussion:
Purple Row and baseballmusings.com
Fox Sports:
Sources: Red Sox agree with Cook — The Red Sox, taking a step toward upgrading their rotation, have reached agreement with free-agent right-hander Aaron Cook on a minor league contract, according to major league sources. — The deal, which will become official when Cook passes a physical …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Over the Monster, Red Sox Monster, NESN.com and MLB Daily Dish
RELATED:
Peter Gammons / MLB.com:
Big markets remain silent during strange winter — Here it is, approximately six weeks from Spring Training, and Prince Fielder is still on hold, like Rick Ankiel or Aaron Cook. So are Ryan Madson and Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson. — When the Cubs traded for Anthony Rizzo Friday, it sent several clear messages.
Discussion:
Over the Monster and Baseball Time in Arlington
Rob Bradford / WEEI:
SOURCE: AARON COOK, RED SOX AGREE TO DEAL — According to multiple industry sources, the Red Sox have agreed to terms with free agent starting pitcher Aaron Cook on a minor league deal, pending a physical. The 32-year-old right-hander is expected to compete for one of the final spots in the Sox' rotation in 2012.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Bleacher Report, Baseball Nation, The LoHud Yankees Blog and FenwayNation
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Good starting point for Sox is 200 innings — The Red Sox were one of seven teams that didn't have a pitcher log 200 innings last year. They were joined by the Royals, Nationals, Reds, Pirates, Rockies, and Padres. None of them made the playoffs, and only the Red Sox finished over .500.
Discussion:
Red Sox Post, Call to the Pen, NESN.com, HardballTalk, Getting Blanked, MetsBlog.com and MLB Rumors
Dan Mennella / MLB Rumors:
Red Sox Agree To Sign Aaron Cook
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, SOX & Dawgs and Bucs Dugout
Baseball Insider:
Rangers' Darvish bid is about $52M; work to do — The Texas Rangers are offering about “Dice K money” to star Japanese righthander Yu Darvish, sources told CBSSports.com, and there's no evidence a deal is at hand. — The expression “Dice K money” would mean the offer is someone in the range …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish and Rangers Blog
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Kevin Millwood not a primary option for Rockies' rotation — The Rockies' chances of re-signing right-hander Kevin Millwood nosedived last month with the acquisition of Kevin Slowey, leaving little room in the budget for the veteran. — Before the trade for Slowey at the winter meetings …
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MLB Rumors and FenwayNation
Sports Illustrated:
Howard struggles, but Magic squeeze past Kings … Dwight Howard was in foul trouble the whole game and scored just five points, but the Magic still managed to earn a 104-97 victory over the Kings. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dwight Howard was back on the bench again, taking a seat …
Discussion:
The Point Forward and ProBasketballTalk
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Fox Sports:
Source: Orioles to add Taiwanese pitcher — The Orioles, continuing their newfound foray into the Asian market, are close to signing Taiwanese left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to a three-year contract, according to a major-league source. — Chen, 26, will be the second starting pitcher signed …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and MLB Daily Dish
Chris Jaffe / Hardball Times:
Jorge Posada career highlights — On Saturday, news surfaced that Jorge Posada intends to retire after 17 years in baseball. In that time, he combined two things that rarely go together. He was a longtime New York Yankee, and he was constantly underrated.
Discussion:
USA Today
RELATED:
Howie Rumberg / Associated Press:
AP Source: Yankees Posada set to retire
Discussion:
Batter's Box Interactive … and ESPN
New York Magazine:
The Met Who Blames Everything on the Wilpons — It's really sad to see what the Mets have become: A great franchise, on the biggest stage in sports, is now a laughingstock. Ownership is trying to turn the Mets, a big-market franchise, into a small-market franchise. That's not just sad, it's disgusting.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com and HardballTalk
