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Baseball America:
Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe) … At first glance, the Mariners' 2011 season wasn't much better than the year before, which was arguably the worst in franchise history. They finished 67-95, the third-worst record in baseball, had a 17-game losing streak and wound …
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U.S.S. Mariner
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Phil Rogers / Boston Herald:
Mariners need some offense to contend this season — One run per game, plus a little more. — That's what the Mariners have to find somewhere if they ever are going to reach the playoffs behind Felix Hernandez. — Forget for a moment about Albert Pujols, the Mariners' newest nightmare, and also about the ongoing one in Texas.
Cash Kruth / MLB.com:
Arredondo agrees to two-year deal with Reds — Cincinnati has no arbitration-eligible players remaining — The Reds and right-hander Jose Arredondo have agreed to a two-year contract to avoid arbitration, the club announced Thursday. — Arredondo was Cincinnati's last remaining arbitration-eligible player.
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Yahoo! Sports
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Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Nationals To Sign Brad Lidge
Nationals To Sign Brad Lidge
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Phillies Nation, Federal Baseball, MLB Daily Dish, HardballTalk and Yahoo! Sports
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nats bring Lidge on board with one-year deal
Sam Mellinger / Kansas City Star:
Frank White joins T-Bones, shuts door on Royals — The divorce is final now. No reconciliation is coming, and no happy ending. Just more of a bitter war between the Royals and a hometown man whose statue stands in front of the stadium he literally helped build with a construction job one summer.
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HardballTalk
Joe McDonald / ESPN:
Healthy Youkilis talks Bobby V, ‘witch hunt’ — BOSTON — Boston Red Sox third baseman Kevin Youkilis stayed out of the public eye this offseason, but he emerged Thursday night to host his annual charity event to benefit “Youk's Kids” and he definitely made up for lost time.
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Jonah Keri / Grantland:
Elsa/Getty Images — What the Hell Are the Red Sox Doing?
Elsa/Getty Images — What the Hell Are the Red Sox Doing?
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Boston Globe, Full Count and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Andrew Keh / New York Times:
Tests on Dustin Richardson Found 5 Banned Substances — Dustin Richardson, a former Boston Red Sox reliever, was suspended this week for 50 games after a random drug test came up positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
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Halos Heaven
Jay Jaffe / Baseball Prospectus:
Prospectus Hit and Run — The Heavyweight Infield — It's no hyperbole to say Prince Fielder's nine-year, $214 million deal with the Tigers shocked the baseball world. The Tigers certainly weren't on the list of likely suitors given their sizable commitment to the sizable player occupying his position: Miguel Cabrera.
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Source: Giants give righty Hensley 1-year deal — The San Francisco Giants have reached agreement on a one-year major league deal with relief pitcher Clay Hensley, according to a baseball source. Hensley will make a base salary of $750,000 and can earn an additional $300,000 in incentives and awards, the source said.
CBSSports.com Sports News, Fantasy Scores …:
Dodgers secretly bid big for Prince — Although they managed to stay under the radar all the while, the Los Angeles Dodgers pushed hard for weeks to try to sign Prince Fielder and thought for a while they might have a legitimate shot at their own secret signing.
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True Blue LA, MLB Daily Dish, HardballTalk, Baseball Insider, MLB Rumors and Baseball Nation
Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Brewers On Deck schedule released to public — With Ryan Braun's status settled, the Brewers released information about Sunday's “On Deck” event. Here's everything you need to know: — Brewers On Deck, presented by Time Warner Cable, is Sunday, Jan. 29, at the Frontier Airlines Center in downtown Milwaukee.
Noah Trister / Associated Press:
Prince Fielder introduced by Detroit Tigers — NEW YORK—Prince Fielder has been introduced by the Detroit Tigers, a team desperate to win its first World Series title since 1984. — Fielder appeared at a news conference at Comerica Park on Thursday after finalizing a $214 million …
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Associated Press and Bless You Boys
Associated Press:
Lefty Boone Logan and Yankees agree at $1,875,000 — NEW YORK - The Yankees settled their final salary arbitration case, agreeing with left-hander Boone Logan on a one-year contract worth $1,875,000. — The agreement Thursday was just below the midpoint between the $2.1 million he had asked …
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MLB Rumors