Top News:
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
Santana Deal Took Intense Negotiating — It was nearing 5 p.m. on Friday, when the Mets' 72-hour window to sign the star left-hander Johan Santana was to expire, and they had improved what had been their take-it-or-leave-it proposal. But that was not good enough for Santana, and he said so — in person.
Discussion:
MLB.com, SportsAgentBlog.com, MLB Fleece Factor, The Ropolitans, iYankees and Blogging Baseball
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Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Compromise, creativity sealed deal — Santana passes physical; Minaya discusses negotiations — NEW YORK — Motivation is where and in whatever form you find it. At some point just before 5 p.m. ET Friday, Omar Minaya seemingly found some in the fear of failure.
Larry Stone / The Seattle Times:
M's will pay big price if Bedard deal is a go — If the Mariners' trade with the Orioles doesn't work out, maybe they should call the Sonics. — The trio of young pitchers they're talking to Baltimore about as part of the Erik Bedard package — 6-foot-9 Kam Mickolio …
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Jon Shields / Bleeding Blue and Teal:
Stone on Bedard Trade; Rumors — First of all, Larry Stone of the Seattle Times wrote an article about the proposed Erik Bedard trade. A couple items of note: — Adam Jones never went to Baltimore for a physical, according to Stone. — Stone appears certain that George Sherrill …
Mark Gonzales / Chicago Tribune:
Cox gives Sox lessons from an old school — Coach will hammer on fundamental concepts from his ‘Billy Ball’ roots — Before Ozzie Ball, there was Billy Ball. — And Jeff Cox, who contributed to Oakland's 1980 resurgence under volatile manager Billy Martin, hopes to help Ozzie Guillen's White Sox master …
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Voros / vorosmccracken.com:
These Aren't My Father's White Sox — The Chicago Tribune has a story about the White Sox new third base coach, former A's “slugger” Jeff Cox. The White Sox want to “get back to” doing what they supposedly were doing in 2005. I find it interesting that a team that finished dead …
NY Daily News:
YES won't inject steroids into reports — Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network suits have already cast aspersions on George Mitchell's report on steroids in baseball. — After watching YES' “Hot Stove” feature on Phil Hughes, it appears, according to YES, certain allegations made about Roger Clemens don't really exist.
Bernie Wilson / Associated Press:
Padres nearing $11 million, 2-year deal with Greene — SAN DIEGO — Khalil Greene's big 2007 season with the San Diego Padres is about to pay off with a nice contract that will allow the shortstop to avoid arbitration. — The two sides spoke Saturday and were closing in on a two-year deal …
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Mark Herrmann / Newsday:
Early opener for Strat fans — The fact that there was no ceremonial first pitch, no star singing the national anthem, no player introductions and fancy red-white-and blue bunting strewn anywhere was all purely incidental. The men who were there Friday knew the score.
Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
By the Numbers: 19 Deals with Salary Arbitration Players — A Detailed Analysis of 19 Major League Baseball Player Contracts that Avoid Salary Arbitration — On January 16th of this year, 110 players filed for salary arbitration. Two days later, that list was whittled down to 48 players …
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Taveras ready to go — Tucked away in the corner of the clubhouse, Soulja Boy's “Crank Dat” blaring above the screams, Willy Taveras and Kazuo Matsui celebrated the Rockies' wild-card tiebreaker victory over the San Diego Padres. — Matsui grabbed the bottle and showed Taveras how to pop the top.
Discussion:
Purple Row
Steve Serby / New York Post:
WILDEST DREAMS CAN COME TRUE — SACKS, PICKS, TDS, A TITLE - AND AN ICE CREAM SUNDAE — Gibril grew up in the Bay area and remembers watching Deion Sanders on Media Day. — “I just told myself that's what I wanted to do.” — His dream game? — “Having all the confetti coming down …
Discussion:
matttracy.com
Chris Kline / Baseball America Prospects Blog:
Salcedo Rumors — SANTIAGO, D.R.-There are rumors swirling around the Dominican Republic, as well as the Internet, that the Indians have signed 16-year-old shortstop Edward Salcedo, but as of today he is still a free agent. — Salcedo's agent, Scott Boras, is in negotiations with Cleveland …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Mets agree to deal with pitcher Sosa — Organization continues to avoid going to arbitration hearings — NEW YORK — With so much of their attention focused on Johan Santana, the Mets still were able to negotiate a contract with another player on Saturday.
