Ballbug: Brewers OF Aoki cashes in on longtime ‘dream’ (Associated Press)

Brewers' Ryan Braun, NL MVP, pleads case to special panel Thursday trying to avoid 50-game suspension after failing drug test with elevated testosterone level — Brewers slugger wants to start season — Ryan Braun is trying to avoid a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

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Associated Press:

Brewers OF Aoki cashes in on longtime ‘dream’ — TOKYO — Even with a significant cut in salary, Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki is pleased to be a Milwaukee Brewer. — “I'm just happy to get the opportunity to play in the major leagues,” Aoki said at a news conference on Friday.

Discussion: HardballTalk and JSOnline

Brewers' payroll pushing $100 million — By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel — When I was talking to Brewers general manager Doug Melvin today about a story on Prince Fielder's free agency, he confirmed that his team's payroll currently projects to exceed $100 million, which would be a club record.

Discussion: Baseball Prospectus and MLB Rumors

Ian Browne / MLB.com:

Cherington confident about Red Sox's rotation — BOSTON — The Boston Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner, which took place Thursday night, is always the first hint that Spring Training is finally in the not-too-distant future. And when it comes to the 2012 Red Sox …

Discussion: Yahoo! Sports

Cherington: Crawford's wrist OK at end of year — BOSTON — There have been some questions why the Boston Red Sox and Carl Crawford waited until January for the outfielder to have surgery on his sore left wrist, but general manager Ben Cherington explained on Thursday that at the end …

Discussion: Boston Globe

Angela Wittrock / MLive.com:

Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski: Prince Fielder ‘not a good fit’ — LANSING — After the season-ending injury to Victor Martinez, speculation has turned to whether the Tigers would sign free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder to fill the void. — Martinez hit .330 and drove in 103 runs for the Tigers last year.

Discussion: Beck's Blog

Discussion: MLB Daily Dish

Bill Madden / NY Daily News:

Gary Carter's fight with cancer takes turn for the worse; new tumors found on NY Mets Hall of Famer's brain — Family reveals Kid's grave condition after recent MRI — Gary Carter, one of the heroes of the '86 World Series champion NY Mets (below), is found to have four small tumors …

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Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:

As 2012 MLB Season Approaches, Blackout Policy Likely to Remain — File this one in the “broken record” department: prepare for yet another season of MLB's blackout policy remaining in place. — The reason for the broken record? This story has been written repeatedly for years.

Discussion: Where Have You Gone …

Aaron Gleeman / HardballTalk:

Fausto Carmona arrested in Dominican Republic for using false identity — Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com passes along word from reporter Yancen Pujols that Indians right-hander Fausto Carmona was arrested in the Dominican Republic and is being charged with using a false identity.

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Susan Slusser / Oakland Athletics:

Petaluma's Jonny Gomes nearing a deal with the A's — A source close to the situation tells me that Petaluma's favorite son, Jonny Gomes, is so close to signing a contract with the A's “he could be in green and gold by Monday,” and a second source confirmed that a deal is likely.

Discussion: MLB Daily Dish, HardballTalk, Yahoo! Sports and MLB Rumors

Doug Harrison / CBC News:

Q&A: Larry Walker on his Hall of Fame snub — Former Colorado Rockies and Montreal Expos outfielder Larry Walker received only 22.9 per cent of support recently from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his second year of eligibility, well shy of the required 75 per cent …

Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:

Rockies' Nicasio set to compete; Betancourt's contract extended — Juan Nicasio commanded attention Thursday when he walked into the Coors Field clubhouse, but not for the one-inch scar on his neck. He had a mohawk. — “I like it,” said Nicasio, joking that friend and teammate Esmil Rogers cut it.

Discussion: Purple Row, MLB Daily Dish and HardballTalk