Top News:
Fox Sports:
Phillies still bidding for prize ace — 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. — The Yankees and Rangers are not alone. — The Phillies are still bidding for free-agent left-hander Cliff Lee …
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Fox Sports:
Gauging the value of Garza vs. Greinke — Matt Garza is a sexy trade option for other teams this offseason. — 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.
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Sources: Cliff Lee closer to decision — Pitcher Cliff Lee, the preeminent name on Major League Baseball's free agent market this winter, moved closer to a decision on his future Monday night, weighing offers from the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers against a spirited late bid by his former team …
Discussion:
ESPN, NESN.com, ESPN and MetsBlog.com
Matt Forman / Baseball America:
Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe) — For a team that has lost more games than any other in major league history, the Phillies are in heady territory. Though they fell short of their third straight National League pennant in 2010, it would be hard to argue that this isn't the best era in franchise history.
Discussion:
Phillies Nation and The Good Phight
Marc Carig / New Jersey Online:
Cliff Lee wait has Yankees on hold — NEW YORK — Only hours after the Yankees made their first offer to free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee at baseball's winter meetings last Thursday, general manager Brian Cashman said he was prepared to wait. — Even though the Yankees have other needs …
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Bronx Baseball Daily
Craig Calcaterra / HardballTalk:
The Rangers are going after Adrian Beltre. Have they lost out on Cliff Lee?
Discussion:
baseballmusings.com, MLB Daily Dish, Lone Star Ball and Texas Rangers
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday
Discussion:
BronxBanterBlog.com, New York Post and Bugs & Cranks
Christian Red / NY Daily News:
Cliff Lee contract watch: Pitcher won't decide between Yankees …
Discussion:
It's About The Money, Wall Street Journal and ESPN
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nationals are out of Lee sweepstakes
Discussion:
Nationals Inquisition, The Good Phight, Federal Baseball and NESN.com
Keitholbermann / Baseball Nerd:
Off A Cliff — With Carl Crawford already under the Red Sox …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, The Mighty Quinn Media Machine, New Jersey Online and HardballTalk
Jerry Crasnick / MLB:
Sources: New York Yankees, Texas Rangers unlikely Zack Greinke fits — The stakes are high as the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers wait for free agent Cliff Lee to decide where he'll be pitching in 2011 and beyond. The winner of the Lee sweepstakes will have an ace left-hander to plug in at the top of its rotation.
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily, HardballTalk, Pinstripe Alley, MLB Daily Dish, JSOnline and ESPN
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Sports Illustrated:
Royals keep eye on Lee talks while mulling Greinke's fate … Royals general manager Dayton Moore is sitting and watching the Cliff Lee negotiations, and the price for Moore's own Zack Greinke has to be rising with each new bid for Lee, the best October pitcher in the game and the top free-agent still available.
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Texas Rangers
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Nationals ‘aggressively pursuing’ trade for Zack Greinke and Matt Garza; but can they make it happen? — Once Cliff Lee signs — we can all only hope it happens before the next presidential election — the rest of this offseason's starting pitching dominoes can start to fall.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Zack Greinke Rumors: Monday
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily and HardballTalk
Associated Press:
MLB's Average Salary Finishes Over $3 Million — NEW YORK (AP) — The average salary in Major League Baseball finished over $3 million for the first time. — The 912 players in the big leagues before rosters expanded in September averaged $3,014,572, the Major League Baseball Players Association said Monday.
Discussion:
Associated Press and By Gosh, It's Langosch
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Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
Wilson, Oberkfell among new Mets coaches — NEW YORK — Sandy Alderson has his manager. Now, Terry Collins has his staff. — The Mets officially announced their 2011 coaching staff Monday, naming Dave Hudgens their new hitting coach, Ken Oberkfell bench coach, Mookie Wilson first-base coach and Jon Debus bullpen coach.
Discussion:
Faith and Fear in Flushing, MetsMinorLeagueBlog.com and Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Randy Medina / The Apple:
Several Mets Show Up Months Early For Spring Training After …
Discussion:
New York Mets Fan Blog, Mets Fever and Kranepool Society
Joe Eskenazi / The Snitch:
Will Hideki Matsui Bring Porn Collection to Oakland? — The imminent possibility of the Oakland A's signing Hideki “Godzilla” Matsui could certainly fill some holes in the Athletics' lineup. — We'll refrain from recycling the above phrase to make the obvious pun regarding Matsui's other claim to fame: his extensive porn collection.
Discussion:
Can't Stop The Bleeding
RELATED:
Susan Slusser / SFGate:
Matsui gets physical tomorrow, then press conference in afternoon
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily and MLB Rumors
Susan Slusser / SFGate:
Matsui signing could come Monday, press conference Tuesday
Discussion:
HardballTalk, San Francisco Chronicle, MLB Daily Dish, Fanhouse MLB Blog, MLB Rumors and NESN.com
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Dodgers add three on Minor League deals — LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers on Monday announced the signings of three veterans to Minor League contracts with invitations to Major League camp. — Infielder Juan Castro, catcher JD Closser and utilityman Eugenio Velez have signed on …
Discussion:
VIN SCULLY IS MY HOMEBOY, MLB Rumors and Mike Scioscia's tragic illness
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Rob Bradford / Full Count:
Sources: Mariano Rivera initiated contact with Red Sox — According to multiple major league sources, Mariano Rivera's representatives were the ones to initiate contact with the Red Sox in an attempt to get the team interested in the closer. While the Red Sox would ultimately make a two-year offer …
RELATED:
Richard Durrett / ESPN:
Texas Rangers sign Matt Treanor — The Texas Rangers announced Monday that they have re-signed free agent catcher Matt Treanor to a one-year contract worth $850,000 for 2011. — “We appreciated the qualities that Matt brought to our club in 2010, both on the field and the presence he had in our clubhouse …
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish and Yahoo! Sports
Mike Klingaman / The Toy Department:
Heaven can wait, says Weaver — The New York Times said he was dead. But Earl Weaver, the Orioles' former manager, says it will take more than a story in the newspaper to see him off. — Weaver, 80, is alive and kicking - though with less animation than he did around umpires …
Discussion:
HardballTalk
