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1:30 PM ET, February 17, 2010

Ballbug

 Top News: 
RELATED:
ESPN:
Theo Epstein: Daisuke Matsuzaka's back strain is not serious  —  Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein told a group of reporters on Wednesday morning in Fort Myers, Fla. that Daisuke Matsuzaka has what the team believes to be a mild back strain but that it would not prevent the pitcher from having a normal spring training.
Discussion: Fanhouse MLB Blog
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:
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?
RELATED:
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 …
RELATED:
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Twins cringe at thought of nearly passing on Mauer  —  MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins watched local schoolboy Joe Mauer compete in hundreds of games in three different sports.  They sent 15 scouts to watch him play baseball alone.  They had dozens of talks with him and his family at his St. Paul, Minn. home.
Mark Bowman / Bowman's Blog:
Jurrjens relieved after receiving MRI results  —  Count Jair Jurrjens among the many members of the Braves family who gained a sense of relief on Wednesday morning, when MRI results showed that he isn't dealing with any structural damage in his right shoulder.
Discussion: Talking Chop
RELATED:
Mark Bowman / MLB.com:   Jurrjens encouraged by MRI results
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.
Dan Steinberg / D.C. Sports Bog:
Nats Web site selling Wang jerseys  —  UPDATE: Nats sign Wang.  Mystery ruined.  —  The latest word from the Chien-Ming Wang: “We haven't finalized anything with anybody,” the pitcher's agent told Chico Harlan a few days ago.  Monday morning on Twitter, Bill Ladson reported that …
RELATED:
ESPN.com:
Source: Chien-Ming Wang, Washington Nationals agree on deal
Discussion: Phillies Nation
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: HardballTalk and TYU
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?
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: MetsBlog.com, ESPN and Fenway West
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
Associated Press:
Brian Bruney loses arbitration case with Washington Nationals  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Brian Bruney received a disappointing birthday present, losing to the Washington Nationals in salary arbitration.  —  The reliever was awarded $1.5 million Wednesday instead of his request for $1.85 million.
Discussion: hotstove.com and MLB Rumors
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 …
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:
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Eric Gagne throws in tryout session for Rockies
Discussion: MLB Rumors
Tony Jackson / ESPN:   Dodgers look at minor league deal for Eric Gagne
 
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 More News: 
Rob Neyer / ESPN:
Can Brewers really afford Prince Fielder?
Discussion: JSOnline and HardballTalk
John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
Give Tampa Bay Rays a shot, and Bud Selig gets a stadium
Dave Cameron / ESPN:
Is Clayton Kershaw already declining?
Todd Zolecki / The Zo Zone:
Welcome to Spring Training
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Here we go again with Dice-K?  —  Daisuke Matsuzaka refused …
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yanks invite five more players to camp
Discussion: Bottom9 Baseball
 Earlier Picks: 
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
Gerry / Batter's Box Interactive Magazine:
An Interview with Alex Anthopoulos - Feb 2010
Discussion: Bluebird Banter
 

 
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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