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9:30 AM ET, February 3, 2011

Ballbug

 Top News: 
Ian Begley / ESPN:
Mark Cuban won't initiate bid for Mets  —  NEW YORK — Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban won't be calling the New York Mets to place a bid on the minority stake of the team that was recently put up for sale.  —  But if the Mets want to reach out to Cuban to sell him on the merits of owning …
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
SNY May Be Part of Mets Deal  —  Team Would Consider Selling Part of Network if Needed to Lure Minority Partner  —  The New York Mets would consider selling a portion of its share in the regional sports cable network SNY if it can't otherwise sell a minority stake in the team, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Discussion: MetsBlog.com and ESPN
NY Daily News:
Lupica: Trustee aims to smear Wilpons  —  This is what you are supposed to believe now, as the trustee for the victims of Bernie Madoff, a lawyer named Irving Picard, tries to shake down Fred Wilpon, his family, his partners:  —  That after all these years in New York …
Discussion: HardballTalk
Mike Ozanian / SportsMoney:
New York Mets Book Value: -$225 million  —  Ever since he bought controlling interest of the New York Mets in 2002, Fred Wilpon has used leverage to juice his MLB franchise.  He borrowed heavily to buy out Nelson Doubleday, even promising his former partner tens of millions of dollars …
Discussion: ESPN and Mets Merized Online
Wall Street Journal:
Madoff-Hit Mets Seek Cash
New York Times:
Madoff Had Wide Role in Mets' Finances
Robneyer / SBNation.com:   Madoff Even Closer to Mets Than We Thought
Fox Sports:
Dye won't settle for minor-league deal  —  Jermaine Dye was first among AL outfielders in homers from 2005-09, yet can't get a job.  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Dodgers avoid arbitration with reliever Kuo  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers and reliever Hong-Chih Kuo reached agreement Wednesday on a one-year, $2.725 million contract, with another $675,000 possible through bonuses.  —  Kuo is coming off a record-breaking All-Star season.
Discussion: Yahoo! Sports
RELATED:
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Dodgers Avoid Arbitration With Hong-Chih Kuo  —  The Dodgers have avoided arbitration with reliever Hong-Chih Kuo by agreeing to a one-year, $2.725MM contract with the southpaw, reports MLB.com's Ken Gurnick.  Kuo can earn an extra $700K in incentives, with $600K of those bonuses related to games finished …
Discussion: ESPN and True Blue LA
Mark Polishuk / MLB Rumors:
Yankees Remain In Contact With Kevin Millwood  —  The Yankees have added Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia in the last week, but the team is still in contact with Kevin Millwood, reports Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman (Twitter link).  It could be that the Yankees just want to give themselves …
RELATED:
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Pitching targets in the trade market
Discussion: ESPN, River Avenue Blues and MLB Rumors
Buster Olney / ESPN:
Discussion: HardballTalk
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Rays Sign Felipe Lopez  —  The Rays signed infielder Felipe Lopez to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to Spring Training, the team announced.  ESPNDeportes' Enrique Rojas reports (in Spanish) that Lopez will earn $1MM if he makes the Major League roster and can earn another $1MM in incentives.
Discussion: Fanhouse MLB Blog
RELATED:
Joe Frisaro / MLB.com:
Dawson to join Marlins on overseas troops visit  —  MIAMI — A couple of years ago, Marlins special assistant and Hall of Famer Andre Dawson had the sobering experience of visiting wounded soldiers at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.  —  It was during a series with the Nationals …
Discussion: FishStripes
Kevin Goldstein / Baseball Prospectus:
Texas Rangers Top 11 Prospects  —  System In 20 Words Or Less: One of the best systems in the game has dropped dramatically due to a combination of graduations, trades, and disappointments.  —  Five-Star Prospects  —  1. Martin Perez, LHP  —  Four-Star Prospects  —  2. Jurickson Profar, SS
Dave Cameron / FanGraphs Baseball:
Can Matt Cain Sustain His Low HR/FB Rate?  —  Any time a general theory that applies to most people is advanced, people naturally begin to look for the outliers, and they often use the examples at the ends of the spectrum to cast validity on the theory.  Or, they just dismiss the theory …
Discussion: Paapfly.com and THE BOOK
RELATED:
Rory Paap / Paapfly.com:
Matt Cain ignores xFIP, again and again
Discussion: Past and Present and El Lefty Malo
Graham Womack / Past and Present:
My interview with Rob Neyer  —  Editor's note: The following conversation took place this morning by phone.  For the second straight day, I've got to say it: Thank you Rob Neyer  —  First off, thank you so much for being up for this.  I just got a few questions.  I know you're a busy guy.
 
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 More News: 
Matt Eddy / Baseball America:
Minor League Transactions: Jan. 25-31
Discussion: True Blue LA and ESPN
Matthew Cerrone / MetsBlog.com:
Video: Piazza & Leiter, playing catch, talking catching
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Yankees Acquire Justin Maxwell
Tim Kurkjian / MLB:
Pitchers' extended workloads can be a major concern
Discussion: baseballmusings.com and ESPN
 Earlier Picks: 
Sports Illustrated:
In period of parity, not even a high payroll guarantees a playoff berth
Discussion: HardballTalk and Lone Star Ball
Paul Farhi / Washington Post:
Redskins owner Dan Snyder seeks dismissal of City Paper writer
John Shea / SFGate:
Sweet Lou joining the champs
Associated Press:
Storm causes Wrigley Field damage
 

 
From WeSmirch:

Tamantha Ryan / Page Six:
50 Cent's ex Daphne Joy accuses him of rape, physical abuse amid Diddy lawsuit drama — but he denies it

People:
Gypsy Rose Blanchard Announces Separation from Husband 3 Months After Prison Release

Jeff Conway / Forbes:
Olivia Colman Reflects On Her Beloved Career: ‘I Have Been Very Lucky’

 
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