Top News:
Mark Sheldon / MLB.com:
Reds make pitch for Rhodes — Agent confirms Cincinnati's offer to free-agent left-hander — CINCINNATI — Lefty relief help became a primary need for the Reds once Jeremy Affeldt departed for the Giants as a free agent. — Could that need be filled by veteran Arthur Rhodes?
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
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Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
D-backs offer arbitration to trio — Arizona declines to extend offers to Dunn, Johnson — PHOENIX — The Diamondbacks offered salary arbitration to three of their five free-agent players hours before Monday's deadline. — Second baseman Orlando Hudson and relievers Juan Cruz …
Sports Illustrated:
Sabathia, Ramirez, Burnett offered arbitration — NEW YORK (AP) -Star pitcher CC Sabathia and slugging outfielder Manny Ramirez headlined a group of 24 players offered salary arbitration Monday by their former teams. — Starters A.J. Burnett, Derek Lowe and Oliver Perez also were offered arbitration …
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:News: These People will officially Cost Draft Picks
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
New York Post:
IF PETTITTE SIGNS ELSEWHERE, IN BRONX HE'LL BE A PHONY FOREVER — OVER the past few months, as the economy has tanked, I have received a higher volume of e-mails from fans frustrated at the amounts being offered to players. — Yet, good economy or bad, I almost always stand with the players.
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:No talks with Abreu — Brian Cashman said today the Yankees are …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, NJ.com, Hardball, Lady At The Bat, For the Record, iYankees, MLB Rumors and Newsday
Los Angeles Times:
Arbitration isn't offered to Rafael Furcal, Garret Anderson — Dodgers offer arbitration only to Ramirez, Lowe and Blake; Angels don't offer it to Anderson, but he may still return. — Both local baseball teams on Monday failed to offer key veteran players arbitration …
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Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
24 Free Agents Offered Arbitration — By Tim Dierkes [December 2 at 12:40am CST] — All of the arbitration offers are in. Here's a list of which free agents were offered arbitration. If these players decline the offer and sign elsewhere, the original club will get one or two draft picks.
Discussion:
Sabernomics, The Bottom Line, MVN, Rays Index, Associated Press, The Crawfish Boxes, Around the Majors, Mets Tailgate and Brew Crew Ball
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Union-News:
Sox Monster interview: Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News — Editor's note: As those of you who have been poking around on Red Sox Monster for a while realize, we seek to do the occasional question and answer e-mail exchange with journalists of note. — Evan Grant, Rangers beat writer …
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ESPN.com:
Teen signs as Japan's first female pro ballplayer — TOKYO — A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player. — Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009.
Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
Grace just kept hits comin' in his career — First baseman takes 2,445 career knocks to Hall of Fame ballot — When Mark Grace was called up to the Cubs in May 1988, it was to replace a struggling Leon Durham and platoon at first base with Manny Trillo. — “This is something a kid dreams …
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Fred Mitchell / Chicago Tribune:
Reds' Dusty Baker wants to manage Kerry Wood again — Kerry Wood answered the call from the bullpen last season for the Cubs, reinventing himself as a capable closer with 34 saves. — Will he pick up the phone when Dusty Baker from division foe Cincinnati calls him?
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, MLB FanHouse, Chris Sabo's Goggles, SPORTSbyBROOKS, MLB.com, Redleg Nation and MLB Rumors
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David O'Brien / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Hampton turns down Braves, signs with Astros — Free agent left-hander took less money to be closer to children — Now that he's finally healthy, pitcher Mike Hampton is bolting the Braves. — The veteran free agent agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with Houston …
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Chris Dutton / Hardball Times:
Batters and BABIP — What we did — Batting average on balls in play—the rate at which batted balls other than home runs become hits—is commonly used as a measure of pitching performance. However, precious little work has been done to explore BABIP from the hitter's perspective.
Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Texas Rangers offer Bradley salary arbitration — egrant@dallasnews.com — The Texas Rangers are prepared for Milton Bradley to sign elsewhere as a free agent, but if he goes the club will at least receive a memento of his time in Texas. — By offering Bradley, a Type B free agent …
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George Vecsey / New York Times:
Giving the Mets' New Ballpark a Bad Name — With a mixture of rage and pride, I drove past the Mets' new ballpark Monday and noticed that offensive name still up there. — As Citigroup grovels for a bailout from public funds, the Mets insist the name will not change.
Alyson Footer / MLB.com:
Astros decline any arbitration offers — No compensation for Houston if Wolf, Brocail sign elsewhere — HOUSTON — The Houston Astros declined to offer salary arbitration to all four of their free agents, general manager Ed Wade confirmed on Tuesday. — The Astros had four free agents eligible …
Philly.com:
No arbitration offers to Moyer, Burrell — Paul Hagen reporting ... Conventional wisdom had it that, if nothing else, the Phillies would offer salary arbitration to at least lefthander Jamie Moyer. — Conventional wisdom whiffed. — National League sources confirmed to the Daily News …
Tom Krasovic / San Diego Union-Tribune:
To surprise of no one, Padres decline to offer salary abitration to Hoffman — The Padres, as expected, declined to offer salary arbitration to closer Trevor Hoffman on Monday. — As a result, another club can sign Hoffman without forfeiting a draft pick, and the Padres can negotiate …
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Associated Press:
Canadian sports entrepreneur, cable mogul Ted Rogers dies — TORONTO (AP) — Ted Rogers, creator of Canada's largest cable-television and mobile-phone company and owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, has died, his company said. He was 75. — The founder of Rogers Communications Inc …
Discussion:
Fox Sports
