Top News:
Trsullivan / Postcards from Elysian Fields:
Cliff Lee is going to Philadelphia Phillies — The Rangers were told Monday night that Lee is going to the Phillies, It is a done deal — YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! (RC)^2 (Ar See Squared) Roy-Roy-Cole-Cliff. The Phantastic Phour! YESSSSS!!!!!!
Discussion:
HardballTalk, LA Times Sports Blog, BronxBanterBlog.com, Bronx Baseball Daily, The LoHud Yankees Blog, Full Count, The Good Phight, FanGraphs Baseball, Mets Merized Online, Pinstripe Alley, baseballmusings.com, lenNY's Yankees, Sliding Into Home, Phillies Nation, NESN.com, Lookout Landing, MetsBlog.com, The Zo Zone and Baseball Time in Arlington
RELATED:
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 …
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Phillies Agree To Sign Cliff Lee — The wait is over. In a surprising development that leaves two top American League teams empty-handed, Cliff Lee has agreed to sign a five-year, $115MM deal with the Phillies. The contract also includes a reachable vesting option for a sixth year.
Discussion:
Red Sox Monster, Amazin' Avenue, Al's Ramblings and Halos Heaven
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Phillies swoop in and bring back Lee — ARLINGTON — Free-agent pitcher Cliff Lee is headed back to Philadelphia. — The Rangers worked as hard as they could to re-sign Lee, but their pursuit came to an end on Monday when he informed the club that he was signing with the Phillies.
Discussion:
USA Today, Crashburn Alley, Pinstriped Bible …, Babes Love Baseball, Fanhouse MLB Blog and Bats
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 / ESPN.com:
Sources: Cliff Lee to return to Phillies — Pitcher Cliff Lee reached an agreement on a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies late Monday night, a Texas Rangers team source told ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett. — Lee personally notified the Rangers that they were out of the running …
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
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Phillies Emerge as Strong Third Bidder for Lee — Nobody wants to be unemployed around the holidays, but Clifton Phifer Lee of Little Rock, Ark., does not seem to mind. The Yankees, the Texas Rangers and, now, the Philadelphia Phillies are eagerly awaiting Lee's decision on where to continue his career …
Marc Carig / New Jersey Online:
Yankees waiting after making first offer to Cliff Lee
Yankees waiting after making first offer to Cliff Lee
Discussion:
MLB Rumors and Bronx Baseball Daily
Craig Calcaterra / HardballTalk:
The Rangers are going after Adrian Beltre. Have they lost out on Cliff Lee?
The Rangers are going after Adrian Beltre. Have they lost out on Cliff Lee?
Discussion:
MLB Daily Dish, baseballmusings.com, Lone Star Ball and Texas Rangers
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Cliff Lee Rumors: Monday
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 …
Cliff Lee contract watch: Pitcher won't decide between Yankees …
Discussion:
Let's Go Tribe!, It's About The Money and ESPN
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
RELATED:
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
Sports Illustrated:
Royals keep eye on Lee talks while mulling Greinke's fate
Royals keep eye on Lee talks while mulling Greinke's fate
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Texas Rangers
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Zack Greinke Rumors: Monday
Zack Greinke Rumors: Monday
Discussion:
HardballTalk and Bronx Baseball Daily
Susan Slusser / SFGate:
Matsui gets physical tomorrow, then press conference in afternoon — Hideki Matsui won't take his A's physical until tomorrow morning, The Chronicle has learned from two sources, so there won't be any announcement today, unless it's one of those “pending a physical” types of announcements, and the A's don't really do those.
Discussion:
Bronx Baseball Daily and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Joe Eskenazi / The Snitch:
Will Hideki Matsui Bring Porn Collection to Oakland?
Will Hideki Matsui Bring Porn Collection to Oakland?
Discussion:
Can't Stop The Bleeding
Susan Slusser / SFGate:
Matsui signing could come Monday, press conference Tuesday
Matsui signing could come Monday, press conference Tuesday
Discussion:
HardballTalk, MLB Daily Dish, Fanhouse MLB Blog, MLB Rumors and NESN.com
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 …
Several Mets Show Up Months Early For Spring Training After …
Discussion:
New York Mets Fan Blog, Mets Fever and Kranepool Society
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
RELATED:
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 ESPN
RELATED:
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