Top News:
Sports Illustrated:
Busy Mariners obtain Bradley from Cubs for Silva … The Mariners and Cubs reached agreement on a deal that would send outfielder Milton Bradley to Seattle in exchange for pitcher Carlos Silva and $6 million, SI.com has learned. — The money, which will be paid out over two years …
RELATED:
Larry Stone / Seattle Times:
Shocker: Mariners trade Carlos Silva for Milton Bradley — The Seattle Mariners have found a way to get rid of one of their last lingering problems. The club today traded Carlos Silva, who still has two years remaining on the four-year, $48 million contract given him by former general manager Bill Bavasi …
ESPN:
Cubs trade Bradley to Mariners for Silva — The Mariners and Chicago Cubs have announced a trade that sends right-handed pitcher Carlos Silva to Seattle for outfielder Milton Bradley. — Bradley — According to sources familiar with the deal, the Mariners will send a total of $9 million …
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
Duk / Yahoo! Sports:
Cubs look like biggest loser in problem swap with Mariners — era at Wrigley Field has finally come to an end. — And the days of the Mariners cutting huge checks for the huge and hugely ineffective Carlos Silva — Those are gone, too. — The Cubs and Mariners swapped Bradley, Silva and their regrettable contracts.
Discussion:
Bugs & Cranks
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Cubs & Mariners Swap Bradley & Silva — 12:50pm: In a press release of their own, the Cubs say they're getting cash from the Mariners as part of the deal. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says the M's are sending $9MM to Chicago, which would save the Cubs $6MM.
Discussion:
MLB.com, FanGraphs Fantasy Baseball, GoatRiders of the Apocalypse, Jorge Says No! and Fenway West
Mark Feinsand / Blogging The Bombers:
Say goodbye to Johnny, say hello to Nick — Johnny Damon's run in pinstripes has come to an end. — The Yankees are inching toward an agreement with Nick Johnson on a one-year, $5.5 million deal to become the team's new DH, which would mark the end of any chance for Damon to return for fifth season in pinstripes.
RELATED:
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Nick Johnson's one-year deal with New York Yankees likely spells end for Johnny Damon with Bombers — Shortly after introducing Curtis Granderson as the newest Yankee, Hal Steinbrenner said his team wasn't finished with its offseason moves. — Apparently, he wasn't kidding.
George A. King III / New York Post:Yankees move closer to DH deal with Johnson
Discussion:
It's About The Money, Jorge Says No!, The Yankee Universe, Baseball & The Boogie Down, Beyond the Box Score, Boston Globe, U.S.S. Mariner, DRaysBay, Lone Star Ball, Bronx Baseball Daily, NESN.com, River Avenue Blues, The iYankees Blog, The LoHud Yankees Blog, Yankeeist, Respect Jeter's Gangster and YanksBlog.com
Sports Illustrated:
Mets might have to battle ‘mystery’ team in Bay derby, plus more notes … Jason Bay reportedly has a mystery team bidding on him. But beyond the Mets, who remain keenly interested and in touch with his agent Joe Urbon, nearly all of Bay's market is remains mystery at this point.
RELATED:
Joe McDonald / Providence Journal:
Lowell-to-Texas deal hits snag over possible thumb injury — Now that Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein has locked down a starting pitcher and an outfielder in John Lackey and Mike Cameron, the GM's next order of business is Mike Lowell. — The Sox and the Rangers are in the midst …
Chuck Richter / Angelswin.com:
Angels interested in Javier Vazquez — According to a reliable source, the Angels are talking to the Braves about starting pitcher Javier Vazquez. The Braves, however, would prefer to deal Derek Lowe (and his $45M contract). The names of the players in a potential deal are not known …
RELATED:
Jodie Wagner / Youth Sports Daily:
Marlins' Chris Volstad to appear at Bucky Dent camp Dec. 22 — Florida Marlins pitcher Chris Volstad will make a guest appearance at Bucky Dent's Baseball School on Dec. 22 at 9:30 a.m. — A Palm Beach Gardens High School graduate, Volstad will begin his third season with the Marlins this spring.
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
Max Marchi / Hardball Times:
Catching Sabathia: Jorge's vs Jose's way — Today we are going to compare C.C. Sabathia's pitching patterns when he is caught by Jorge Posada with those when he is caught by Jose Molina. — I know, I know. It's A.J. Burnett who wasn't in the same page with Jorge, prompting manager Joe Girardi …
Tim Ott / MLB.com:
Season's best claim TYIB Awards — Stars Mauer, Greinke, Jeter among fan favorites for 2009 — We set up the ballots, and once again, the fans spoke loud and clear in naming this past season's best hitters, pitchers, performances and moments in the 2009 MLB.com This Year in Baseball Awards.
Will Lingo / Baseball America:
Baltimore Orioles Top 10 Prospects — Baltimore Orioles … The 2000s were a decade to forget for the Orioles. But they finally can see enough legitimate big leaguers in place or on the horizon to believe there's hope for the future. — Since Baltimore won the American League East …
The Big Lead:
ESPNLA.com Has Assembled Quite a Team [UPDATED] — A source has leaked us the staff for the new ESPNLA.com team, and Eric Neel, the site's managing editor, has assembled a talented group of writers. ESPN has done some serious poaching, allegedly stealing writers from the LA Times, LA Daily News, and Sports Illustrated.com.
Matthew Pouliot / Circling The Bases:
Stubborn Francoeur has a ways to go — Matthew Cerrone has a fine interview with sabermetric whipping boy Jeff Francoeur over on Metsblog.com, where you can watch the video or read the text. I'll just post the first question and response, since it was the one most interesting to me:
Discussion:
Mack's Mets
RELATED:
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:Interview: Me and Francoeur, on Stats, Leadership & Fans
Discussion:
BBTF's Baseball Primer …
