Buyers Beware: $100M pitching pacts big risks  —  A general manager is both hopeful and nervous about giving a pitcher a contract of $100 million or more, sort of how a pilot might feel flying into The Bermuda Triangle.  Neither knows what will happen during the contract or the flight …

First-Time Positive Results Withheld  —  Major League Baseball said earlier this week that the number of players who tested positive for amphetamines for the first time in 2008 would be made public in a report on its drug-testing program to be released in January.

Do the numbers still add up for Hall?  —  There are stats that ensure a players' Hall of Fame future.  —  Or do they?  —  Have the numbers been blurred in recent years to the point where what once were standards no longer provide guarantees for enshrinement?

Sources: Righthander Koplove signs with Phillies  —  Last December, a little known free agent named Chad Durbin signed with the Phillies and went on to establish himself as one of the key components in a bullpen that finished the regular season ranked as the best in the National League East.

Pirates plan patience with offseason moves  —  Wilson, Grabow, Paulino discussed in trades; little in free agency  —  The way general manager Neal Huntington sees it, the Pirates' coming winter could be downright tumultuous.  —  Or not.  —  “It could be an offseason where there is a significant change …

Detroit Tigers lose interest in a Julio Lugo trade  —  A week after trading away center fielder Coco Crisp [stats], the Red Sox [team stats]' efforts to move shortstop Julio Lugo [stats] have stalled.  —  The team had some discussions earlier this month with the Detroit Tigers, who are in the market for a shortstop.

Boston Signs Junichi Tazawa?  —  By Alex Walsh [November 28 at 11:36am CST]  —  Japanese amateur pitcher Junichi Tazawa appears close to signing with the Boston Red Sox, reports Chad Finn at the Boston Globe.  The offer for the 22-year old is reportedly a three-year, major league deal nearing $6MM …

Identifying major holes teams need to fill … It is great fun this time of year to rework lineups, starting rotations and bullpens after a trade or a free-agent signing.  It is just as interesting to determine how teams will fill holes that are left from those trades and signings.

Francisco Rodriguez's agent will wait on contract talks  —  Paul Kinzer, who represents the Angels' closer, says he won't start detailed discussions with teams until the winter meetings in two weeks.  —  Staff And Wire Reports  —  The agent for Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez …

Ex-major leaguer Burgess dead at 81  —  LAMBETH, Ontario (AP)—Tom Burgess, who played briefly in the major leagues before serving as a coach under Joe Torre and Bobby Cox, has died.  He was 81.  —  A member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, Burgess died Monday at his Lambeth home …

Brewers lend a hand in tough times  —  More than 17,000 items donated to assorted charities  —  MILWAUKEE — These days, Brewers Charities president Lynn Sprangers finds herself with one eye on baseball's trade- and free-agent markets and another on the stock market.