Tigers set sights on free agent Martinez  —  Victor Martinez is not known for his strong arm behind the plate.  —  PRINT RSS  —  Updated Nov 11, 2010 6:07 PM ET  —  The Detroit Tigers have made clear their intent to acquire a middle-of-the-order hitter.  —  And right now, they are focused on Victor Martinez.

Carlos Beltran: Waiving no-trade possible if New York Mets want  —  NEW YORK — Carlos Beltran would consider waiving his no-trade clause if the New York Mets approach him with a deal.  —  The 33-year-old was limited to 64 games this year and 81 the previous season because of right knee injuries.

Silver Slugger winners not your usual suspects  —  CarGo, Bautista, Uggla, Tulo among first-timers to earn award  —  There was a changing of the guard among the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award winners.  —  While some of the usual names appeared among the victors when the results …

His Jeterness wins out, and will again  —  won the Gold Glove this year for the same reason he can snag a greatest-hits list of starlets and have his own scent of cologne and instantaneously own any room into which he walks: He oozes Jeterness.  —  Perhaps you have not heard of Jeterness.

Jays thinking of trading for Greinke  —  The Blue Jays have inquired about the availability of Kansas City right-hander Zack Greinke.  —  With Cliff Lee the top free agent on the market, Greinke would appeal to also-rans in the Lee sweepstakes such as the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Angels.

From the field to the silver screen  —  Royce Clayton to play the role of Miguel Tejada in “Moneyball” movie  —  Baseball has a funny way of throwing perceptions for a curve.  Just consider recent events involving the two teams in the Bay Area.  —  San Francisco general manager Brian Sabean …

Mariners broadcaster Dave Niehaus dies  —  SEATTLE — Dave Niehaus, the Hall of Fame broadcaster who called Seattle Mariners games from their first season through this year, has died of a heart attack.  He was 75.  —  The team confirmed the death Wednesday night.

Boras: Great interest in Beltre  —  Free agency is officially underway.  Scott Boras has arrived.  —  Boras was on MLB Network Radio today and told the hosts that in his career as an agent, he has never seen more interest in a player than Adrian Beltre has this year.  —  Of course.

Dan Uggla, at impasse with Florida Marlins, still hopes to sign multi-year deal  —  Dan Uggla just spoke with reporters about winning the Silver Slugger Award, but our talk with him focused on negotiations with the Florida Marlins for a multi-year contract.  —  Here's what Dan …

How Important Are Managers?  —  Not very, according to my new paper. … Here's an old blog post on some preliminary results from the study.  I really wished that I had written a chapter in Hot Stove Economics on this topic, but I just didn't have the time.

Mets Put Out Word That Jose Reyes is Available  —  According to sources, the Mets have put word out to teams that SS Jose Reyes is available and will look to trade Reyes during the Winter Meetings.  —  The Red Sox, Orioles, and Rays have called to get a feel for the situation and trade talks …

HALL OF FAME PUTS ITS SHAME ON THE LINE  —  In his concession speech after losing the 1962 California gubernatorial race, Richard Nixon told the assembled reporters they would miss him.  “You don't have Nixon to kick around anymore,” he said.  The baseball Hall of Fame this week made sure …

Could Carl Crawford be Angels' first $100-million man?  —  The Angels consider Crawford their primary target in free agency, but they may be competing with some big spenders for him.  —  Left fielder Carl Crawford would be a good fit in Anaheim, according to Angels outfielder Torii Hunter.

Pitcher Release Points  —  Mechanics are one of the most important parts of the pitching craft, but they have historically been among the most difficult subjects to study with large samples of objective data.  Most published work has involved the comparison of a handful of photos or videos …