Top News:
Bill Chastain / MLB.com:
Rays win arbitration hearing with Upton — Panel sides with club, outfielder to make $3 million in 2010 — ST. PETERSBURG — An arbitration panel has sided with the Rays in their hearing with B.J. Upton, which means Tampa Bay's center fielder will make $3 million in 2010 rather than the $3.3 million he sought.
RELATED:
George A. King III / New York Post:
Yankees trainer Gene Monahan ill — A very familiar face and important cog in the Yankees' universe won't greet the players in Tampa this week when spring training camp opens. The Post has learned that legendary athletic trainer Gene Monahan will miss his first spring training in 48 years due …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Monahan to miss spring training — NEW YORK — New York Yankees trainer Gene Monahan will miss his first spring training in 48 years because of what the team called “a significant illness.” — The team said Sunday that the longest-tenured active head trainer in the major leagues could also miss the start of the regular season.
Discussion:
The Yankee Scrolls
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
Yankees prospect Jesus Montero's a big hit with bat, but 20-year-old working hard on his defense — TAMPA - Under a slate-gray sky, the Yankees' best prospect steps in front of home plate, prepared to block it. About 10 yards away, a coach with a thin fungo bat swats a ball at him …
Steve S. / TYU:
Dave Eiland-'Hughes Rules' not like Joba's — In an interview yesterday with WFAN's Ed Coleman and Yankee beat reporter Sweeney Murti, Yankee pitching Coach Dave Eiland cleared up some of the confusion surrounding the restrictions that will be placed on Phil Hughes this season.
Anthony McCarron / NY Daily News:
New York Yankee Brett Gardner plans to add bunting to his hitting arsenal — TAMPA - Brett Gardner hits during the winter at the Charleston Baseball Academy, about 10 minutes from his South Carolina home, tweaking his swing and keeping sharp. This offseason, Gardner spent a lot of time working …
RELATED:
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Jeter's Next Contract Is About More Than Money — It is, all at once, the biggest issue and the biggest nonissue that will hover over the Yankees this season: Derek Jeter is in the final year of his contract. — That fact by itself is important. But the Yankees have said for months …
James / True Grich:
Talking baseball with Marlins Scout Roger Jongewaard — Today was my lucky day. My wife Cheryl and I headed over to one of our favorite restaurants in Long Beach this morning; Jongewaard's Bake n' Broil (a place I mentioned in an earlier post) and while we were waiting to be seated …
Discussion:
Angels blog
Doug Miller / MLB.com:
Love in the air for all-time Valentines — From Rose to Valentinetti, a lineup that is fit for Feb. 14 — It's Valentine's Day, and since there are still at least 72 hours before we hear about pitchers and catchers reporting to some Spring Training camps in Florida, it's …
Discussion:
The LoHud Yankees Blog
Paul Hoynes / Plain Dealer:
Hey, Hoynsie! Paul Hoynes answers your Cleveland Indians questions … Hey, Hoynsie: Holy mackerel, did GM Mark Shapiro and the Cleveland Indians braintrust really offer Orlando Hudson — benched by the Dodgers last year for Ronnie Belliard — over $5 million? Say it ain't so Hoynsie!
Ellen McCarthy / Washington Post:
OnLove: The wedding of Josh Wilkie and Jesse Keith — In the electric first days of her freshman year at college, Jesse Keith began to worry that she might not like a lot of the other kids at George Washington University. So many of them seemed unfriendly, and overly interested in designer jeans.
Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Money player — Why the critics of J.D. Drew may be off-base — When it comes to on-base percentage - which Theo Epstein and the Sox value greatly - you have to hand it to J.D. Drew. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff) — The locker sits at the end of the row, closest to the door that leads to the field …
Chad Jennings / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Yankees re-sign some minor league depth — Via Baseball America's latest minor league transactions, the Yankees have re-signed RHP Paul Bush, 3B Marcos Vechionacci and OF Edwar Gonzalez to minor league deals. It does not seem any of the three will be brought to big league camp.
Brian Costa / New Jersey Online:
Health, rotation, defense: The three biggest issues facing NY Mets in spring training — CAN THEY POSSIBLY STAY HEALTHY? — This would be a big issue for any team coming off the kind of year the Mets had in 2009. But the need for the Mets to avoid injuries — and to manage them better …
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
