Top News:
New York Post:
TANGO FOR CA$H — METS, ARE STILL TALKING PRICE — The Mets and Johan Santana's agent agree the ace must be made the highest-paid pitcher ever. The only question appears to be how high the final number will reach before today's deadline strikes. — With a deadline of 5 p.m. today …
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Kelly Thesier / MLB.com:
Clock still ticking on Santana trade — Deadline of 4 p.m. CT is looming over contract negotiations — MINNEAPOLIS - The clock is ticking. — The Mets and Johan Santana have until 4 p.m. CT today to work out a contract extension that would officially complete the trade …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Santana's agent likely to take Mets to deadline — Within the baseball industry, there is near unanimity on these two predictions when it comes to the Mets and Johan Santana: — 1. They will come to an agreement on Santana's contract extension by Friday afternoon's 5 o'clock deadline.
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Johan Santana deadline is Friday — The Mets and Johan Santana are going into the final day of their 72-hour negotiating window Friday still working on a contract extension for the ace, but multiple baseball officials expressed confidence that the deal would be completed by the 5 p.m. deadline.
Discussion:
iYankees
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:Buzz: The Final Day of Talks for Santana
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Carrying a Weight, but Standing Firm — When Brian Cashman tells the story of how he became the Yankees' general manager, he makes his voice squeaky, like a teenager's, as he tries to sound confident before the principal owner George Steinbrenner. — That was Feb. 3, 1998, and a decade later …
RELATED:
Phil Hughes / The Phil Hughes Weblog:Number Change
Discussion:
Bronx Liaison, Pinstripe Alley, Scott Proctor's Arm, My Pinstripes, WasWatching.com and iYankees
ESPN:
Casey joins Red Sox by signing one-year contract … BOSTON — First baseman Sean Casey has signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Boston Red Sox, according to ESPN's Peter Gammons. — Casey hit. 296 in 143 games last season with Detroit. He is a career .301 hitter in 11 major league seasons.
Tracy Ringolsby / Rocky Mountain News:
NL questions are plentiful — Adding Dan Haren to a pitching staff led by Brandon Webb gives Arizona as strong a 1-2 as any team in baseball. — What the Diamondbacks are waiting to find out is whether Randy Johnson, at age 44, can bounce back from his third back operation and fill the No. 3 slot.
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Jim Salisbury / philly.com:
Citizens Bank Park has Feliz ready to grab a bat — No one had to tell Pedro Feliz how well the ball jumps at Citizens Bank Park. He saw it for himself the first time he played in the cozy ball yard on Pattison Avenue. — It was Aug. 13, 2004. Feliz and the San Francisco Giants marked …
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN:Ensberg agrees to deal, joins candidates for Yankees' first base job
Discussion:
Baseball Crank, The LoHud Yankees Blog, The Bronx Block, Pinstripes PA, Bombers Beat, Respect Jeter's Gangster, My Pinstripes, Hot Stove New York, Pinstriped Scranton, Bats, Replacement Level …, The Chuck Knoblog, Bronx Liaison, Sliding Into Home, MLB Rumors, MLB Trade Rumors, MLB Fleece Factor, iYankees, The Baseball Outsider and MY BASEBALL BIAS
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Marlins-Mets P.R. series talks revived — Both clubs would play in San Juan in a three-game set in July — MIAMI — Discussed and dismissed before, talks have resumed about the Florida Marlins possibly calling San Juan, Puerto Rico, home for a three-game series.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
RELATED:
Joe Capozzi / Palm Beach Post:Marlins land Gonzalez to fill leadership role
Discussion:
FishStripes
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Twins show interest in signing Fogg — The winter free-agent market is starting to thaw for Josh Fogg. The Minnesota Twins contacted Fogg's agent Thursday, and appear serious about adding the veteran right-hander if the Johan Santana deal goes through with the New York Mets.
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Dodgers Top 11 Prospects — Four-Star Prospects — Three-Star Prospects — Just Missing: Pedro Baez, 3B; Bryan Morris, RHP; Michael Watt, LHP — 1. Clayton Kershaw, LHP — Drafted: 1st round, 2006, Highland Park HS (TX) — 2007 Stats: 2.77 ERA at Low-A (97.1-72-50-134); 3.65 ERA at Double-A (24.2-17-17-29)
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Around the Horn: Rotation — The following is the fifth in a series of weekly stories on MLB.com examining each Major League club, position by position. Each Wednesday until Spring Training camps open, we'll preview a different position. Today: Starting pitchers.
Discussion:
The Padre Post
Duff Wilson / New York Times:
Knoblauch Arrives in Washington for Questioning — WASHINGTON — Chuck Knoblauch arrived to speak to House Oversight Committee staff on Friday morning in the first of a series of interviews of former Yankees and people who say they supplied performance-enhancing drugs to baseball players.
Gregg Bell / Associated Press:
M's add OF Wilkerson, Bedard may be next — SEATTLE (AP) — Brad Wilkerson and the Mariners agreed Thursday to a $3 million, one-year contract, a move that could signal Seattle is close to finally acquiring pitcher Erik Bedard from the Baltimore Orioles. — Wilkerson can play …
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Michael Silverman / Boston Herald:
DUI from '99 snags Cora — Sox IF posts bond … Red Sox infielder Alex Cora [stats] turned himself into the Martin County (Florida) jail on Wednesday on a probation violation charge related to a 1999 DUI case. — According to a source close to Cora, the 32-year-old believed that the matter …
