Top News:
Andrew Baggarly / Extra Baggs:
Giants sign LHP Jeremy Affeldt — The Giants made a potentially significant upgrade to their depleted and ineffective bullpen, signing left-hander Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year contract Monday. — Terms haven't become public yet, but Affeldt made $3 million with the Cincinnati Reds.
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Associated Press:
Giants sign reliever Affeldt to two-year contract — SAN FRANCISCO — Reliever Jeremy Affeldt became the first of 171 free agents to agree to a contract, striking an $8 million, two-year deal Monday with the San Francisco Giants. — One of Giants general manager Brian Sabean's offseason priorities …
Discussion:
Ken Davidoff's baseball …, Beyond the Box Score, MLB FanHouse, Bless You Boys and Bucs Dugout
Yahoo! Sports:
Giants sign LHP Affeldt — SAN FRANCISCO (Ticker) - Jeremy Affeldt became the first player to switch teams during the free-agent signing period Monday as he inked a two-year contract with the San Francisco Giants. — Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, although ESPN.com reported it was worth $8 million.
Discussion:
Redleg Nation
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Giants Sign Jeremy Affeldt — By Tim Dierkes [November 17 at 1:46pm CST] — 2:39pm: MLB.com's Mark Sheldon says it's a two-year, $8MM deal for Affeldt. Nice signing! Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle says the Giants are not done looking for relievers.
JSOnline:
Pujols is MVP; Braun 3rd, Sabathia 6th — By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel — St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols claimed his second NL MVP award today, collecting 18 of 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.
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Matthew Leach / MLB.com:
Crowning achievement: Pujols NL MVP — Cards slugger's dazzling season helps club exceed expectations — ST. LOUIS — The National League's best player has also been named its most valuable. — Albert Pujols' magnificent season earned him his second NL Most Valuable Player Award.
Ken Davidoff / Ken Davidoff's baseball insider:
My NL MVP ballot — I love the MVP award because of its inability to be defined. It means different things to different BBWAA voters, and to different players and team officials. — For me, I think I'm in the middle of the voting spectrum. I loves me some VORP and WARP and absolutely factor …
Discussion:
On the Mets beat
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Towers: No recent talks with Yanks — Padres' GM dispels rumor of Peavy negotiations with Cashman — SAN DIEGO — Don't count the New York Yankees as a player in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes — not just yet, anyway. — Padres general manager Kevin Towers said on Monday …
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Fred Mitchell / Chicago Tribune:
Rick Sutcliffe still pitching for the Cubs; urges Jake Peavy to consider playing in Chicago — ESPN analyst talks up team to Padres' Peavy — Rick Sutcliffe, who won the 1984 National League Cy Young Award with the Cubs, has been working, on his own, to convince Padres pitcher Jake Peavy to approve a possible trade to the Cubs.
Discussion:
Another Cubs Blog
MLB.com:
Yankees to play first-ever exhibition games at New Yankee Stadium on April 3 and 4 against the Chicago Cubs — The New York Yankees announced today they will play the first-ever exhibition games at the new Yankee Stadium against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, April 3 at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, April 4 at 1:05 p.m.
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Mark Bowman / Hot Stove Blog:
Braves interest pleases Furcal — With their pursuit of Jake Peavy put on hold, the Braves don't know if they'll have a need to find a shortstop. But if they eventually opt to deal shortstop Yunel Escobar, who was at the forefront of the Peavy negotiations, they'll likely attempt to lure Rafael Furcal back to Atlanta.
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Phil Rogers / Baseball America:
Chicago White Sox — Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel. All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.
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Geoff Baker / Seattle Times:
Mariners could name new manager as soon as Tuesday — Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik could name a new manager as soon as Tuesday after deciding not to hold a second round of interviews... Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik could name a new manager as soon as Tuesday …
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ESPN:
Is K-Rod getting closer to becoming a Met? — 1050 ESPN's Met Insider Rich Coutinho thinks so — Reports surfaced early on Sunday that Francisco Rodriquez has inched closer to becoming a New York Met. Sources indicate that K-Rod and his representatives will come to New York early this week to take some physical exams.
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
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Maury Brown / The Biz of Baseball:
Citi Field Name Safe, According to Mets — Just over two years ago, the New York Mets announced that they had reached an agreement with Citigroup for the naming rights to their new ballpark slated to open in 2009 for a record $400 million over 20 years, or $20 million annually.
Greg Sandoval / CNET News:
MLB.com drops Silverlight for Adobe Flash — Microsoft is losing MLB.com, Major League Baseball's online unit and one of the Web's most successful subscription services, as a Silverlight customer. — MLB Advanced Media said Monday it will use Adobe's Flash Platform to deliver all live and on-demand video starting next year.
Discussion:
6-4-2
