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Updated: November 15, 2011, 9:03 PM ET

[h=2]Brian Cashman meets with 1 agent[/h]
By Wallace Matthews
ESPNNewYork.com
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MILWAUKEE -- New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has only had time to meet with one player agent so far at baseball's annual GM meetings.
But to many, the agent he met with is the only one that counts this off-season: Bob Garber, who represents C.J. Wilson and Roy Oswalt, the two most sought-after starting pitchers in this year's free-agent market.
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"I've been sequestered all day so I've only had time to meet with one agent," Cashman said after the meetings adjourned at 3:30 p.m. after six and a half hours. "I've had a number of agents who have texted me, asking for times to meet. I've responded to all of them, but Garber was like, 'I can meet right now,' so I said 'All right, come on up.'"
Cashman and Garber met at around 4 p.m. in Cashman's room at the Pfister Hotel and discussed both pitchers -- Wilson, the 31-year-old left-hander who went 16-7 with a 2.94 ERA for the Texas Rangers this season, and Oswalt, the 34-year-old righty whose option was not picked up by the Phillies after going 9-10 with a 3.69 ERA in a season marred by persistent lower back problems.
"I haven't made any offers,'' Cashman said. "I'm in no rush to make an offer. I still feel like it's early. I've had some conversations but that's about it.''
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Asked to characterize the conversation as either "preliminary or serious," Cashman said, "We spoke. In a non-descriptive fashion."
As reported by ESPNNewYork.com last week, a baseball insider with knowledge of the club's intentions said the Yankees have reservations about both pitchers. The Yankees are said not to consider Wilson worth his likely price tag, expected to be in the area of $100 million for five years.
And the club has serious concerns about Oswalt's back problems, which have caused him to make several trips to the disabled list over the past few seasons.
Cashman refused to address the team's reported concerns about either pitcher. "In fairness, it's not in my interest to say what I would be more interested or not interested in, but I did talk to him about those two players."
Cashman touched on a number of subjects in a 30-minute session with the media after the meeting's adjournment, and later confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com that the Yankees have spoken with Joe Urbon, the agent for outfielder Grady Sizemore, who is a free agent after eight seasons with the Cleveland Indians, the last two severely shortened by injuries. A knee injury that required microfracture surgery limited Sizemore, 29, to just 33 games in 2010 and 70 games in 2011, in which he batted .224 with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs. Sizemore also missed time this season due to surgery for a sports hernia.
"We spoke to his agent and requested his medical records," Cashman said. "It's too early to say but maybe he'll fit with us as a bench player."
Wallace Matthews covers the Yankees for ESPNNewYork.com.
Follow Wallace Matthews on Twitter: @ESPNNYYankees
 
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Updated: November 15, 2011, 6:02 PM ET

[h=1]Sources: MLB labor deal close[/h]
By Jayson Stark
ESPN.com
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Baseball negotiators are on the verge of a new labor deal that will dramatically alter the landscape of the sport, multiple sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday.
Two sources with knowledge of the negotiations gave almost identical descriptions of those discussions Tuesday, one saying that a deal was "within striking distance" and a second saying that the sides were "on the verge of an agreement."
[h=3]Among other things, (the deal) will pave the way for realignment of the sport into two 15-team leagues, adding a second wild-card team in each league, spreading interleague play throughout all six months of the regular season and making significant changes to the draft, free agency and the so-called "Competitive Balance Tax."
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Negotiations are on hold temporarily, until the conclusion of MLB's quarterly owners meetings on Thursday. But sources said it's possible that negotiations could resume as soon as Thursday evening and could reach a quick conclusion shortly thereafter.
Both sides still need to sign off on the details that have been agreed to by negotiators. And the particulars of several issues remain to be negotiated. However, one source said that, barring unexpected setbacks, they are "in position to reach an agreement in short order."
As baseball officials and players watch from afar as labor warfare threatens to devour the NBA, they are well aware that this agreement will ensure two full decades of continuous labor peace for the first time since the formation of the Major League Baseball Players Association in the 1960s.
This deal, however, figures to be especially historic, as baseball positions itself for the 21st century. Among other things, it will pave the way for realignment of the sport into two 15-team leagues, adding a second wild-card team in each league, spreading interleague play throughout all six months of the regular season and making significant changes to the draft, free agency and the so-called "Competitive Balance Tax."
In recent days, the sides have found ways to come to a meeting of the minds on the last of the major issues that have prevented them from reaching an agreement earlier -- in particular, a plan for curbing spending on the amateur draft and a revamped draft-pick compensation system for teams that lose top free agents.
Details of those changes have yet to emerge. But contrary to reports that compensation picks could be eliminated entirely, some clubs are now saying they've been told to expect that in the future, teams will only have to give up a first-round draft choice if they sign one of a handful of "elite" free agents.
Under the current system, teams are required to give up a top pick in return for signing all "Type A" free agents, as long as their previous club offers them arbitration. Under the new agreement, the formula for classifying players would change to limit compensation only to a select few stars -- i.e., CC Sabathia, but not Grant Balfour.
Sources said that some changes in the new agreement would take effect immediately, while others will have to wait until 2012. The sides had hoped to have a deal in place by the end of the World Series so that the new rules could apply to the current offseason. But now that the offseason is well under way, certain aspects of the agreement will have to be phased in.
The sources wouldn't predict how soon an agreement could be finalized. But one source told ESPN.com it's "possible" that negotiations could conclude by the end of this week.
Senior writer Jayson Stark covers Major League Baseball for ESPN.com.
 
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Updated: November 15, 2011, 7:49 PM ET

[h=2]Marlins prez addresses Jose Reyes talk[/h]
By Adam Rubin
ESPNNewYork.com
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MILWAUKEE -- Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest walked into a seventh-floor room at Milwaukee's Pfister Hotel on Day 2 of the GM meetings on Tuesday evening, noticed a large media contingent approaching and said,"Holy cow."
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Typically low-budget operators, the Marlins are being aggressive this offseason and creating buzz. Among the attention-grabbing actions: They showed off their new ballpark and wined and dined free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes last week in Miami.
FoxSports.com reported Tuesday, citing an unnamed source, that the Marlins have extended an initial offer of $90 million over six years to Reyes
"In terms of Reyes, he's just a dynamic player," Beinfest said. "We've seen him a lot in our division. The speed tool, the fielding, the enthusiasm -- he plays with just a lot of joy on the baseball field -- and he's a game-changer in a lot of ways because of the tools he brings. He's a good player. He's a tough guy to play against."
Asked if he thought the pursuit of Reyes might drag out, Beinfest quipped about his relative lack of experience pursuing big-ticket items.
"You're probably asking the wrong guy," Beinfest said."We haven't been big in free agency here in a while. I know we signed Carlos Delgado in '05. Given our situation, we haven't been involved in a lot of free agency. I don't know. The truthful answer is you just don't know the timing of these things. You don't know what other peoples' agendas are. And you don't know where things are heading.
"We would love to secure some players as soon as possible and try to get this team together so we can try to work on the rest of the offseason and make sure our payroll allocations are in the right place. It's just hard to say. Again, we've been aggressive on a number of fronts because we want to improve the team."
Of course, the last time the Marlins went on a spending binge, they ended up having a fire sale the following offseason as the payroll dropped from $60 million to $15 million. In addition to trading Delgado and Paul Lo Duca to the Mets, the Marlins shipped Josh Beckettand Mike Lowell to the Boston Red Sox during the 2005-06 offseason.
"We thought we had a good ballclub in '05," Beinfest said."And you never know how things are going to go. Unfortunately, we had to make that market correction after the '05 season. We just kind of rebuilt with a young team, and that core by and large is still here and part of a team we think is going to be really good. But I think it is different. I think we have stability now in the franchise that we didn't have in '05. We're in our new ballpark. We're going to enjoy the revenues of our new ballpark."
The new ballpark will be spacious -- the outfield wall is 422 feet from home plate at one spot -- and conducive to a player such as Reyes who depends on speed.
"We just don't know how it's going to play with the roof closed, roof open, grass on the field, people in the stands," Beinfest said."The previous place we played, in Sun Life, is a pitcher's park. We've enjoyed that. We've had some speed guys. We've had some power. We would like for this to be a little more of a pitcher's park. We'll just have to wait and see. But the dimensions are generous."
Asked if incumbent shortstop Hanley Ramirez was on board with being displaced for Reyes, Beinfest said: "We'll keep it between us, but Hanley wants to win."
As for the Marlins creating considerable buzz this offseason, Beinfest added: "I think it's just an exciting time for the franchise. Forget about 'free agency this,' and 'we're having lunch with him' and all that kind of stuff. I know it's kind of cute and exciting. But it's just in general the excitement around the franchise, that we have a home, we have a new manager, we have new uniforms, we have a vision of where we want to go. I think it's just excitement in general."
Adam Rubin covers the Mets for ESPNNewYork.com.
Follow Adam Rubin on Twitter: @AdamRubinESPN
 
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Updated: November 15, 2011, 3:35 PM ET

[h=1]Cartoon bird back on Orioles' caps[/h]
Associated Press


BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles are going retro in 2012, bringing back the cartoon bird for their caps as part of a uniform change for the upcoming season.
The new cartoon bird head utilizes elements from the 1970 and 1983 versions. The home cap will feature the bird head on a white front panel with a black back and orange bill and button. The road caps will feature the bird on black with an orange bill and button.
For the first time since the 1992 season, the Orioles will wear an orange jersey for select home games. The Orioles will continue to wear black jerseys for Friday home games and will wear the orange jerseys on Saturdays.
Also, each jersey will feature a patch to mark the 20th anniversary of Camden Yards.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

 

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Red Sox get new manager:

Report: Red Sox to name Valentine manager
Posted on: November 29, 2011 6:44 pm
By Matt Snyder

Bobby Valentine will be named the next manager of the Boston Red Sox, Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.com is reporting. If true, the hiring caps off one of the weirdest managerial searches in recent memory.

First, the Red Sox were going to hire someone from their first wave of interviews. Then the Cubs hired Dale Sveum and all of a sudden the Red Sox went back and started over, expanding their search. Then we heard reports that a manager would be named Tuesday, only to find out that would be delayed until later in the week. Tuesday, the saga took another turn.

Karl Ravech of ESPN -- the studio host of Baseball Tonight, not a reporter, mind you -- tweeted that Gene Lamont had been eliminated from contention for the manager job. That would leave only Valentine as a candidate, so the logical conclusion was that he would be hired. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe then reported that Valentine is the choice over Lamont "but that could change."

Lamont hadn't been notified of anything, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com. And Alex Speier of WEEI.com had a team source that says reports indicating Lamont is out were "not true." And Cafardo noted there hadn't been any contract negotiations between Valentine and the Red Sox.

Then came the Edes report that Valentine will be hired.
So we can't be sure the work is all done, but there's some smoke here that indicates there's a fire. It's very likely Valentine came to a verbal agreement and just hasn't signed an offer yet.

Valentine, 61, managed the Rangers for parts of eight seasons and then the Mets for parts of seven seasons. He won two NL wild cards and one NL pennant with the Mets and has 1,117 wins against 1,072 losses in his managerial career. Valentine also served as a manager in Japan for several years and is currently a baseball analyst for ESPN -- a position he'll obvious leave to take the Red Sox job.

Valentine has a huge contingent of fans who seem to hate him while others love him. He once wore a "disguise" (a fake mustache) in the dugout after being ejected from a game and has always been rather boisterous. Now he'll be the head of one of the most polarizing teams in baseball that is coming off an epic collapse followed by a nightmare of an early offseason.

Basically, if nothing else, this is going to be entertaining.
 
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Agreed. He hasn't managed since 02'.

i dont its the perfect type of manager they need he holds his players accountable for their actions something terry francona was not doing the last few seasons..
 
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New Miami Marlins logo/Uniforms.. These new uniform's is like the Flint Tropics and Miami Hurricanes uni's mixed together on crack lol
 
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Pujols to the Angels...10 years, 250 mil, full no-trade clause.

Shocked...I did not think he would leave St Louis, but Arte Moreno knows how to get shit done.
 
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Pujols to the Angels...10 years, 250 mil, full no-trade clause.

Shocked...I did not think he would leave St Louis, but Arte Moreno knows how to get shit done.

Wow I'm a reds fan so I'm glad he's gone and the angels r a perfect fit due 2 having the dh for when he gets older. Now I wonder what the angels do when kendry Morales gets back healthy
 
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Yeah their gonna have 2 make another move because their outfield is crowded with Wells,Abreu,Hunter,Mike Trout and even trumbo and they still have Peter Bourjos ... I wish the reds had that problem lol.
 
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