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11:50 AM ET, February 17, 2010

Ballbug

 Top News: 
Fox Sports:
Sources: Mets make push for Barajas  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  —  The Mets are making “a hard push” for free-agent catcher Rod Barajas and negotiating with him on a one-year deal, according to major-league sources.
RELATED:
RELATED:
Alex Speier / Full Count:
Epstein: Matsuzaka should have ‘normal spring training’  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said that right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka felt some discomfort in his mid-upper back while playing catch on Friday, which the team subsequently determined to be a “really mild strain.”
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:   Here we go again with Dice-K?  —  Daisuke Matsuzaka refused …
Rob Bradford / Full Count:
What we learned in Fort Myers Monday
John Tomase / Boston Herald:
Victor Martinez deal not up for discussion
Discussion: NESN.com
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Wang agrees to deal with Nationals  —  Right-hander will be coming back from shoulder surgery  —  The Nationals have agreed to terms with right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, a baseball source has confirmed to MLB.com.  The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
RELATED:
Nationals Journal:
Nats reach deal with Wang
ESPN.com:
Source: Chien-Ming Wang, Washington Nationals agree on deal
Discussion: Phillies Nation
SJK / NoMaas.org:
The Mother of All Interviews: NoMaas v. Brian Cashman  —  Turn your speakers up. … SJK: Since you were given full authority over baseball decisions after the 2005 season, how do you believe the organization has changed — whether it be fiscally, philosophically, or in methodology?
Discussion: TYU and WasWatching.com
RELATED:
Fox Sports:
Sources: White Sox still in Damon hunt  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  —  Johnny Damon to the White Sox?  The idea certainly is not dead.  The question is how alive it might be.
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
Inbox: Where should Padres hit Eckstein?  —  Beat reporter Corey Brock answers fans' questions  —  Will David Eckstein be slotted in the No. 2 hole in the lineup or would he be better suited at the end of the lineup so that we can have more speed at the top of the lineup?
Chris Morris / News & Advance:
Former Major League pitcher Jim Bibby dies at 65  —  Jim Bibby, a longtime Madison Heights resident and former Major League Baseball player, died Tuesday night at Lynchburg General Hospital.  He was 65.  —  Bibby died around 9 p.m., said Jimmy Wright, a close family friend.
Discussion: BronxBanterBlog.com
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Catcher Joe Mauer will test staying power with Twins  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The sun is a rumor at 5:30 in the morning.  The temperature is a bone-chilling 5 degrees, with a wind chill south of zero.  Lungs sting just trying to catch a breath.  —  And a line of humanity, bundled from head to toe …
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Gagne looking for a return to Dodger Blue  —  Scouts have watched club's all-time greatest closer throw  —  LOS ANGELES — Eric Gagne wants to be a Dodger again.  —  General manager Ned Colletti said that his scouts have seen Gagne throw but that the club has not made an offer or decided whether it would.
Discussion: MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Tony Jackson / ESPN:   Dodgers look at minor league deal for Eric Gagne
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Eric Gagne throws in tryout session for Rockies
Discussion: MLB Rumors
Rob Bradford / WEEI:
LOWELL BRACES HIMSELF FOR AN UNCERTAIN SPRING  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Mike Lowell isn't blind to what awaits.  —  He knows that his current lot in life promises to be one of spring training's most talked-about issues.  The third baseman also realizes why such interest might run rampant …
Discussion: ESPN, MetsBlog.com and Fenway West
Bob Kimball / USA Today:
Bringing Negro Leagues into the digital age  —  Baseball fans who love statistics - now there's a redundancy - are about to get a jolt of satisfaction courtesy of two historians.  —  Chicago limousine dispatcher Scott Simkus, 39, and North Carolina book editor Gary Ashwill,42 …
NY Daily News:
The new Yankee Stadium is built, but where are the promised ballfields for kids?  —  One of the big questions Yankees manager Joe Girardi must decide before the end of spring training in Tampa Bay is whether Curtis Granderson or Brett Gardner will be the team's new centerfielder on Opening Day.
Discussion: TYU
John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
Give Tampa Bay Rays a shot, and Bud Selig gets a stadium  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Welcome to Tropicana Field, Mr. Commissioner.  —  Hope you didn't have any trouble finding the place.  I know it's kind of out in the boondocks.  And I'm sure that explains why you have been forced — regrettably …
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yanks invite five more players to camp  —  Two infielders, three pitchers will join Spring Training list  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The Yankees extended five additional invitations to Major League Spring Training on Tuesday, bringing the total number of players scheduled to be in camp to 65.
Discussion: Bottom9 Baseball
Dave Cameron / ESPN:
Is Clayton Kershaw already declining?  —  History shows that young, elite pitchers start going downhill earlier than you may think  —  Editor's note: Hot Stove U. is a six-week course devoted to higher learning, a series consisting of 30 need-to-know topics for 2010.  —  The setup
 
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 More News: 
Todd Zolecki / The Zo Zone:
Welcome to Spring Training
Associated Press:
New York Yankees' ‘core four’ won't allow letdown, CC Sabathia says
Wally Fish / Kings of Kauffman:
Billy Butler's Company
Alex Remington / Yahoo! Sports:
What can the Mariners expect from Ken Griffey Jr. in 2010?
Associated Press:
Orioles forced to institute rules after TV ad injury
Discussion: Yahoo! Sports
 Earlier Picks: 
Steve Gilbert / MLB.com:
D-backs' Parker ready to begin throwing
Discussion: HardballTalk
Gerry / Batter's Box Interactive Magazine:
An Interview with Alex Anthopoulos - Feb 2010
Discussion: Bluebird Banter
Corey Brock / MLB.com:
New Padres GM enjoying frenzied offseason
Tommy Bennett / Baseball Prospectus:
Expanded Horizons  —  Thomas and Glavine  —  Come on, Honey, Let's Play the Match Game
 

 
From WeSmirch:

New York Daily News:
Peter Greene, 60, actor in ‘Pulp Fiction,’ ‘The Mask,’ found dead in NYC apartment

Charlotte Griffiths / Daily Mail:
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor set to swap Royal Lodge for ‘shoebox-sized’ temporary property on remote part of King's estate

TMZ.com:
Kylie Jenner Rocks Red Dress at Holiday Party in Los Angeles

 
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