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1:30 PM ET, December 17, 2010

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 Top News: 
Matt Eddy / Baseball America:
Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe)  —  Omar Minaya seemingly could do no wrong in the early part of his tenure as Mets general manager.  He lured premium free agents Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez and Billy Wagner to Queens with rich contract offers.
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Mike Puma / New York Post:
Mets armed for trade  —  Mets on Twitter  —  Tweet  —  As the Mets continue to search under every rock for a starting pitcher, there is a growing sense help won't come from the free-agent scrap heap.  —  Though free-agent righty Chris Young remains squarely on general manager Sandy Alderson's radar …
Andy Martino / NY Daily News:
Mets moving slowly on free agent starting pitcher Chris Young …
Discussion: HardballTalk
Peter Abraham / Boston Globe:
Sox add Jenks to the mix  —  The Red Sox firmly believe relief pitchers are not worth a contract of longer than two years.  History shows such deals usually come to be regretted.  —  General manager Theo Epstein paid the steep price for his convictions yesterday when striking a deal with righthander Bobby Jenks.
RELATED:
Jennifer Floyd Engel / Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
No time to go stupid: Rangers have staff options
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Source: Jenks deal pending physical
Enrique Rojas / MLB:
Edgar Renteria dislikes Giants' $1M offer  —  ORLANDO — Edgar Renteria understands the best part of his major league career is over and baseball is a business, but he still hoped for better treatment from the San Francisco Giants after helping the team to the World Series in October.
RELATED:
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Renteria: Giants' Offer Showed “A Lack Of Respect”
Discussion: The Fish Pond and Bugs & Cranks
Paul Sullivan / Chicago Tribune:
Wood back in ‘family’  —  Reliever signs 1-year deal for $1.5 million to return to Cubs  —  Kerry Wood with Ryan Dempster at Ron Santo's funeral.  (Steve Green, Associated Press / December 10, 2010)  —  In what may be remembered as the Pizza Summit, Kerry Wood and Cubs general manager …
RELATED:
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Kerry Wood returns to Cubs for 1 year, $1.5 million  —  In a move that surprised even the Cubs, former staff ace and closer Kerry Wood agreed to return to his baseball roots and sign with his original team for one year, $1.5 million, according to a source.  —  In taking the below-market deal …
Fox Sports:
A's acquire Nats slugger Willingham  —  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 A's, continuing their quest to upgrade their offense, have acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Nationals.
RELATED:
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:   Mike Rizzo and Josh Willingham on the trade
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Orlando Hudson signs with Padres  —  The Padres have signed free-agent 2B Orlando Hudson to a two-year, $11.5 million deal, according to Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com.  —  There is not much of a market for Hudson, according to ESPN.com.  —  The Mets are not interested, at least as far as I can tell.
Discussion: MLB Rumors and Gaslamp Ball
Stephen Nohlgren / St. Petersburg Times:
Tampa chamber agrees to take up Rays stadium debate  —  TAMPA — When the Tampa Bay Rays reached the World Series in 2008, Mayor Mike Nutter of Philadelphia picked up the telephone to propose a traditional wager with his counterpart in this region.  —  Let's see ... Tampa Bay ... that's area code 813, right?
Discussion: Rays Index and HardballTalk
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Tigers To Re-Sign Magglio Ordonez  —  The Tigers agreed to re-sign Magglio Ordonez to a one-year deal, the team announced.  The contract is worth $10MM, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (Twitter link).  Ordonez, a Scott Boras client, turned down two-year offers elsewhere, according to Heyman.
RELATED:
Chris Haft / MLB.com:
Hall won't beckon, but Rueter had fine career  —  Southpaw's tenure with Giants marked by reliability, winning  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Kirk Rueter knows he won't be enshrined in Cooperstown.  But he'll remain entrenched as a success in San Francisco.  —  Rueter, who spent 10 …
Jeff Passan / Yahoo! Sports:
Pitchers bring no relief to payroll  —  The simultaneous sounds of the relief-pitching market this offseason - cha-ching, followed by muahahaha - resounded their deepest yet this week when the contract craziness that started with Joaquin Benoit  —  reached a laughable nadir.
Discussion: MLB Rumors and FanGraphs Baseball
Pete Iorizzo / Albany Times Union:
Online bond shattered by tragic accident  —  When he didn't tweet about Cliff Lee, she knew something was wrong.  —  During the weekend Steven Smith had posted dozens of Twitter messages, a prolific output that his 578 followers had come to expect.  —  Smith lived in Scotch Plains, N.J., but place is moot in the Twitter universe.
Bill Ladson / MLB.com:
Nationals remain interested in adding Webb  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals are not done looking for pitching.  According to a baseball source, Washington continues to be in the mix to acquire right-hander Brandon Webb.  The source said Webb is not in a hurry to make a decision.
Minnesota Vikings:
Vikings Announce Ticket Policy and Game Logistics for Monday's Game vs. Bears  —  Eden Prairie, MN (December 16, 2010) - The Minnesota Vikings have announced the ticket policy and game logistics for the upcoming Monday night Vikings-Bears game at TCF Bank Stadium.
 
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 More News: 
Alison Korn / Toronto Sun:
Votto wasn't my choice  —  Sorry, but I am one Olympian …
Joe Posnanski / Joe Blogs:
Being There With Greinke  —  Russian Diplomat: “Tell me …
Discussion: HardballTalk
Associated Press:
Rangers steal team-record nine bases in fifth straight loss
Discussion: Over the Monster
Anthony DiComo / MLB.com:
For Davis, metrics don't tell whole story on ‘D’
James Bailey / Baseball America:
The Best Baseball Books Of 2010
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Rockies Looking At Aardsma, Balfour, Coffey
Discussion: Mariners blog and JSOnline
Brian McTaggart / MLB.com:
Inbox: How are Astros addressing needs?
Discussion: MLB Rumors
 Earlier Picks: 
Tony Jackson / ESPN:
Los Angeles Dodgers, ex-Minnesota Twins pitcher Matt Guerrier …
Discussion: ESPN and True Blue LA
Troy Renck / All Things Rockies:
Rockies acquire Morales, in mix for backup catcher's job
Discussion: Purple Row
Associated Press:
AP Source: Nishioka, Twins Agree on Contract
Ben Badler / Baseball America:
Rangers Sign Dominican Shortstop Triunfel
Discussion: Lookout Landing
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Mo says Red Sox made pitch for his services
Adam Kilgore / Nationals Journal:
Nationals nearing deal with Chien-Ming Wang
Discussion: Yahoo! Sports and MLB Daily Dish
 

 
From WeSmirch:

Julia Moore / People:
Joe Alwyn Has ‘Moved on’ from Ex Taylor Swift: 'He's Dating and Happy' (Exclusive Source)

Vanessa Serna / Page Six:
Britney Spears says there has been ‘no justice’ after settling conservatorship case: ‘My family hurt me’

Keith Caulfield / Billboard:
Taylor Swift Makes Historic Debut at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

 
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