Top News:
Conor Glassey / Baseball America:
Blast From The Past: 2012 Hall of Fame Candidates — With the Hall of Fame results being announced today, we decided to take a trip down memory lane and dig up some old scouting reports from the Baseball America archives on some of the ballot's notable candidates. . .
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BBWAA.com, River Avenue Blues and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
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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
Barry Larkin / ESPN:
ESPN's 2012 Hall of Fame ballot … The Baseball Hall of Fame will announce the BBWAA election results at 3 p.m. ET Monday. Eighteen voters from ESPN submitted ballots this year, and their votes are listed below. — In the ESPN voting, the eligible players needed at least 14 votes to garner 75 percent of the total.
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NotGraphs Baseball, HardballTalk and Halos Heaven
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’
Chris Jaffe / Hardball Times:
Barry Larkin career highlights — The news came down earlier today. As predicted here at THT, Barry Larkin is the newest member of the Hall of Fame. — In honor of that grand honor, it's only fitting to spend some time looking back at the career that got him into Cooperstown.
Discussion:
Getting Blanked, Baseball Nation, THE BOOK and Cincinnati Reds Blog
Jayson Stark / MLB:
Revealing my Hall of Fame ballot
Revealing my Hall of Fame ballot
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Boston Globe, Lookout Landing, baseballmusings.com, MLB Rumors, The Crawfish Boxes, Baseball Crank, South Side Sox, Baseball Nation, Lone Star Ball, Camden Chat, The LoHud Yankees Blog, The Good Phight, Beyond the Box Score, FanGraphs Baseball, Over the Monster, MLB Daily Dish, Red Reporter, Pinstripe Alley, Let's Go Tribe, Bless You Boys and Bluebird Banter
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Larry Walker is more Rockies royalty than Hall of Famer
Larry Walker is more Rockies royalty than Hall of Famer
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Purple Row, MLB Rumors 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 …
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Boston Globe, Over the Monster, NESN.com, Red Sox Monster and MLB Daily Dish
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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.
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Baseball Nation, The LoHud Yankees Blog, MLB Rumors, Bleacher Report and FenwayNation
Peter Gammons / MLB.com:
Big markets remain silent during strange winter
Big markets remain silent during strange winter
Discussion:
Over the Monster and Baseball Time in Arlington
Dan Mennella / MLB Rumors:
Red Sox Agree To Sign Aaron Cook
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 …
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HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish, MLB Rumors and Rangers Blog
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
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 …
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HardballTalk, MLB Rumors and FenwayNation
Associated Press:
Kendrick, Angels agree to $33.5M, 4-year deal — ANAHEIM, Calif. — All-Star second baseman Howie Kendrick agreed to a $33.5 million, four-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, passing up a chance to hit the free-agent market after next season.
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ESPN
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 …
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ProBasketballTalk, The Point Forward and Sporting News Feed RSS
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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 Daily Dish and MLB Rumors