Top News:
Associated Press:
Ron Gardenhire, Bud Black honored — NEW YORK — San Diego's Bud Black has barely beaten out Cincinnati's Dusty Baker as the NL Manager of the Year, while Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire has won the AL award. — Black topped Baker by one point in results released Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
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Jeff Fletcher / BBWAA.com:
2010 Managers of the Year — Gardenhire Wins AL Award, — Black Wins in NL — Despite the loss to injury of closer Joe Nathan for the whole season and slugging first baseman Justin Morneau for half the schedule, Gardenhire directed the Minnesota Twins to a 94-68 record and won …
Discussion:
NBCSports.com, blogs.chron.com, The Zo Zone, Gaslamp Ball, Purple Row, Full Count and Phillies Nation
Kelly Thesier / MLB.com:
Twins' Gardenhire voted AL's top manager — Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has been a perennial contender for the American League Manager of the Year honor since he took the helm of the club in 2002. And now, he's finally the winner of that prestigious award.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Lone Star Ball and The Joy of Sox
David Pinto / baseballmusings.com:
Counting Down to Managers — The BBWAA countdown clock is set …
Counting Down to Managers — The BBWAA countdown clock is set …
Discussion:
Boston Globe and Yahoo! Sports
Bob Nightengale / USA Today:
Red Sox still talking Justin Upton; Yankees fall short
Red Sox still talking Justin Upton; Yankees fall short
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily and Full Count
Wallace Matthews / ESPN:
Source: New York Yankees, Derek Jeter disagree on Captain's worth — Source says Jeter, Bombers not on same page when it comes to Derek's dollars — ORLANDO, Fla. — If the Yankees could get Derek Jeter to agree to a three-year contract for $21 million per year, they would sign off on it today.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, Bronx Baseball Daily, lenNY's Yankees and The LoHud Yankees Blog
RELATED:
Joel Sherman / New York Post:
Rangers visit Lee, but Yankees are favorites — Tweet — ORLANDO, Fla. — The Rangers sent their top executives to meet Cliff Lee on Monday in an attempt to retain the free-agent lefty, but the strong feeling among executives canvassed is that Lee will end up a Yankee.
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily, River Avenue Blues, lenNY's Yankees, TYU and It's About The Money
New York Post:
Yankees prepared to brush Jeter back — Tweet — ORLANDO, Fla. — In a meeting in Tampa last week, Yankees officials did the requisite lap of respect with Derek Jeter. They honored his place in organization history, his meaning to the fan base and his legacy on and off the field.
Discussion:
ESPN, BronxBanterBlog.com, New Jersey Online, Bronx Baseball Daily, Bottom9 Baseball and Mike Silva's …
Fox Sports:
Diamondbacks could be big players — FOX Sports — The Diamondbacks lost 97 games last season with Justin Upton in right field and Stephen Drew at shortstop. — They might not be worse if they traded one, or even both. In fact, they might be better — at least long-term — if they received the right players in return.
Discussion:
Philliesflow.com and The Daily Fungo
RELATED:
Troy E. Renck / Denver Post:
Rockies want to keep De La Rosa, as long as it's for less than four years
Discussion:
MLB.com, MLB.com Hot Stove blog, MLB Rumors, Fanhouse MLB Blog and All Things Rockies
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Blue Jays On Verge Of Acquiring Rajai Davis — The Blue Jays are on the verge of acquiring outfielder Rajai Davis from the Athletics, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Minor league reliever Trystan Magnuson is one of the players heading to Oakland in the deal, MLBTR has learned.
Discussion:
Baseball America, Yahoo! Sports, Bluebird Banter, Drunk Jays Fans, Al's Ramblings and Batter's Box Interactive …
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Aaron Gleeman / NBCSports.com:
Blue Jays acquire Rajai Davis from A's for Trystan Magnuson
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Lone Star Ball
Murray Chass / Murray Chass On Baseball:
THE DARK SIDE TO OVERTAKE CY YOUNG AWARD
THE DARK SIDE TO OVERTAKE CY YOUNG AWARD
Discussion:
Beyond the Box Score
Nick Collias / MLB Rumors:
Athletics Open Bidding On Beltre At Five Years? — 2:48pm: SI.com's Jon Heyman hears that Beltre's camp is using Torii Hunter's five year, $90MM contract as a comparable for their expectations (Twitter link). — 2:01pm: Enrique Rojas of ESPN Deportes tweets that Oakland offered Beltre five years …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, NESN.com, Athletics Nation, Fenway West and SOX & Dawgs
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Aaron Gleeman / NBCSports.com:
Report: A's offer Adrian Beltre a five-year, $64 million deal — Oakland has wasted little time making moves this offseason, bidding $17 million for the negotiating rights to Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, trading Vin Mazzaro and Justin Marks to the Royals for David DeJesus …
Discussion:
Over the Monster and Bottom9 Baseball
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Epstein denies any ‘line’ on Beltre; A's reportedly make offer
Epstein denies any ‘line’ on Beltre; A's reportedly make offer
Discussion:
ESPN, SOX & Dawgs, Full Count, Red Sox Monster and NESN.com
Albert Pujols / Sports Illustrated:
Pujols wants A-Rod deal and more notes from GM meetings … ORLANDO, Fla. — Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt, who may be the best businessman in a room full of millionaires and billionaires here at the Waldorf Astoria at Disney World, indicated he believes the Yankees would retract Alex Rodriguez's monstrous deal if they could.
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Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Quick Q&A: Why didn't the Mets trade for Dan Uggla?
Quick Q&A: Why didn't the Mets trade for Dan Uggla?
Discussion:
NBCSports.com and baseballmusings.com
Jon Paul Morosi / Fox Sports:
Tigers, right-hander Joaquin Benoit nearing deal — The Detroit Tigers are nearing a multi-year agreement with right-hander Joaquin Benoit, major-league sources told FOXSports.com. — The deal could be for as long as three years, sources say. — Benoit, 33, is one of the more intriguing arms in a deep class of relief pitchers.
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Justin Upton Rumors: Wednesday — One AL exec told SI.com's Jon Heyman (Twitter link) that Arizona's asking price for Upton is “ridiculous.” — The Rockies inquired on Upton, according to the Denver Post's Troy Renck. A Diamondbacks official expects the team would be willing …
Discussion:
Pinstriped Bible … and The Sommer Frieze
RELATED:
New York Post:
Arizona gauging interest in Upton
Arizona gauging interest in Upton
Discussion:
Boston Globe, Comcast SportsNet and FishStripes
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
White Sox Willing To Discuss Gavin Floyd — The White Sox are willing to discuss righty Gavin Floyd, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post. I'm sure the return would have to be significant, as Floyd is locked up affordably through 2012 with a club option for '13.
Discussion:
Examiner
RELATED:
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Numbers tell surprising free-agent story — Sure, Lee, Rivera and Soriano are recongizable, but don't forget these other arms … You don't need Rumblings and Grumblings to tell you that Cliff Lee, Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano are the three most ballyhooed free-agent arms that money can buy this winter.
Discussion:
GoatRiders of the Apocalypse, MLB Rumors and SignOnSanDiego.com
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Josh Willingham unlikely to receive extension — The Nationals have three options this offseason with left fielder Josh Willingham, who is entering his final year of arbitration and will be a free agent following the 2011 season. They could sign him to a multi-year contract extension …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Jackie MacMullan / ESPN:
David Ortiz wanted ‘something different’ — Slugger says he's ‘fine’ with Sox picking up option but doesn't understand doubters — David Ortiz reports he doesn't have a single pain in his body — not so much as a twinge. — “When I get up in the morning, I jump out of bed like my [6-year-old] son, D'Angelo,” he said.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, Boston Globe and Full Count
