Top News:
Steve DeShazo / Sports and stuff:
Maine signs with Red Sox — John Maine will have a new team and a new role in 2012. — The Boston Red Sox confirmed Friday that they have signed Maine, a North Stafford High School graduate, to a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.
Discussion:
Surviving Grady, Over the Monster, SoxProspects News, Boston Globe, SI Tracking Blog, NESN.com and MLB Rumors
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Associated Press:
Red Sox tickets go digital to foil scalping — BOSTON—The Boston Red Sox are going to a new digital ticketing system for the cheapest seats at Fenway Park to keep them out of the hands of scalpers. — Fans with seats in the $12 upper bleacher section for high-demand games will receive only digital tickets.
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com and Associated Press
Gordon Edes / ESPN:
Source: Oswalt likely to sign with Cards ‘soon’ — Free-agent pitcher Roy Oswalt has elected to remain in the National League and is likely to sign with theSt. Louis Cardinals “soon,” a major league source said late Friday night. — Presumably, any agreement would be pending a physical for Oswalt …
Associated Press:
Report: Dodgers begin narrowing bids — NEW YORK — Hedge fund head Steven Cohen and groups including Joe Torre and Magic Johnson have survived the first round of cuts in bidding for the Los Angeles Dodgers. — Initial bids were submitted Monday to the financial firm handling the sale by Frank McCourt …
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Associated Press
RELATED:
Bill Shaikin / Dodgers Blog:
Mark Cuban, Dennis Gilbert out of Dodgers' ownership derby — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and local baseball executive Dennis Gilbert did not advance to the second round of the Dodgers' ownership bidding, according to two people familiar with the process but not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Mike Scioscia's tragic illness and Chad Moriyama
Bill Shaikin / Dodgers Blog:
Dodgers ownership finalists include Magic, Torre, Cohen [UPDATED] — The finalists in the bidding to own the Dodgers include a group led by Magic Johnson, a group led by developer Rick Caruso and former Dodgers Manager Joe Torre, and East Coast hedge-fund giant Steven Cohen.
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Lasorda's Lair, ESPN and Eye on Baseball
Fox Sports:
MLB may still add wild cards in '12 — Baseball still could add two wild cards for the 2012 season, according to major-league sources. But to expand the postseason so quickly, the sport must confront a scheduling puzzle that might be impossible to solve. — Union and management officials plan …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com, Denver Post and HardballTalk
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Associated Press:
Source: MLB to decide division ties with one-game playoff — NEW YORK (AP) — A person familiar with the talks says baseball players and owners have reached an understanding that ties for division titles will be broken on the field under the new playoff format.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports
Anthony M. Destefano / Newsday:
Picard seeks $83M payback from Mets owners — The trustee in the Bernard Madoff case wants a federal judge to order the owners of the New York Mets to fork over $83 million in fictitious profits received in the giant Ponzi scheme without having to wait for a scheduled March trial, new court filings show.
Discussion:
Amazin' Avenue, ESPN, MetsBlog.com and NY Daily News
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Sources: Penny considering pitching in Japan — Veteran right-handed pitcher Brad Penny is weighing an opportunity to pitch in Japan, two baseball sources said Friday. Penny, 33 and a veteran of 12 seasons in the major leagues, has had discussions with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan's Pacific League, sources said.
Discussion:
Baseball Nation, MLB Rumors and Eye on Baseball
Dylan Hernandez / Dodgers Blog:
Hiroki Kuroda talks about leaving Dodgers, why he chose Yankees — Hiroki Kuroda confirmed what Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said earlier this month: Colletti remained in contact with his agent until he decided to sign with the New York Yankees three weeks ago.
Discussion:
River Avenue Blues
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 …
Discussion:
Seattle Times, Lookout Landing and U.S.S. Mariner
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