Boras overrating Beltre and Crawford?  —  Adam Dunn will be available for any team looking for power at first base.  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.

Constructing a Periodic Table  —  Click the image to see the full chart.  —  There are few charts in the world as well-known and recognizable as the Periodic Table of the Elements.  On charts and folders and schoolbooks everywhere, the periodic table has been around for almost 150 years.

Clint Hurdle takes over Pittsburgh Pirates, says he's not scared of long losing skid  —  PITTSBURGH — Clint Hurdle has been hired as the Pittsburgh Pirates' manager, saying he's not intimidated by the franchise's record 18 consecutive losing seasons.  —  Hurdle replaces John Russell …

Close calls to come during awards season  —  Tight races include NL Rookie of the Year, AL Cy Young  —  There will be no shortage of close calls and no-brainers this week as baseball's award season rolls on.  —  On tap are the Baseball Writers' Association of America awards …

Source: Jose Contreras, Philadelphia Phillies nearing 2-year contract  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — Jose Contreras and the Philadelphia Phillies are close to a two-year, $5 million agreement, a source told ESPNdeportes.com.  —  Contreras  —  The source also said the deal includes a third-year option and performance incentives.

New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson's father struck by car, dies at 87  —  John Alderson, a veteran of three wars and the father of New York Mets GM Sandy Alderson, died on Saturday night as the result of injuries suffered when he was struck as a pedestrian, according to St. Petersburg Police.

D'Backs Sign Blum To Two-Year Deal  —  The Diamondbacks officially signed Geoff Blum to a two-year deal, according to the team.  When it became apparent that the D'Backs were close to a deal, Jack Magruder of FOX Sports Arizona reported that the contract will be worth just over $2MM.

On $-per-Win Estimates of Baseball Players' Worth  —  Frequently, I receive a comment or e-mail that brings up the dollar-value estimates at Fangraphs.com.  Fangraphs is a fine site with lots of interesting numbers, but I don't think the dollar-value estimates listed on the site …

Pujols vs. Votto, and Musial's MVP standard  —  TOWER GROVE - This idea had its roots in 1948.  —  More than six decades ago, St. Louis Cardinals icon Stan Musial nearly pulled off the statistically unthinkable - a clean sweep of the offensive leader boards.

Rangers may look to deal at GM Meetings  —  Club trying to land starter, could use deep farm system as bait  —  ARLINGTON — A trip to the World Series put the Rangers behind in the offseason.  —  “We've been trying to catch up for the most part,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said.

Padres acquire OF Cameron Maybin from the Florida Marlins in exchange for RHP Edward Mujica and RHP Ryan Webb  —  The San Diego Padres announced today that they have acquired outfielder Cameron Maybin from the Florida Marlins in exchange for right-handed pitchers Edward Mujica and Ryan Webb.