There are all kinds of news to get to this week, including the latest news, rumors, and transactions that if you pay close attention to, can help you not only win, but dominate your fantasy league.

General Rumors

·         Mark Bowman of MLB.com is reporting that Tom Glavine and Braves GM Frank Wren met yesterday morning in Atlanta for breakfast.  The article points out that the Braves have $6-7 million to spend on both an outfielder and pitcher.  The outfielder possibilities include Adam Dunn, Bobby Abreu, Nick Swisher, and Xavier Nady.  The latter two are currently with the Yankees and would require a trade to bring to Altanta, however, Dunn and Abreu are both free agents who’s perspective salaries are dropping quickly due to the bad economy.

·         Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com feels that the Phillies have some bullpen issues to work out in Spring Training.  Currently they only have one veteran southpaw in the pen, Scott Eyre, because J.C. Romero will be suspended for the first 50 games of the 2009 season after failing a performance enhancing drug test earlier this off-season.  As of right now, there will be four guys competing for the 5^th spot in the Phils rotation which include J.A. Happ, Kyle Kendrick, Chan Ho Park, and Carlos Carrasco.  Odds are that whoever loses out on the job will take a bullpen role, especially Happ who is the only lefty of the group.  Joe Beimel is an option as far as free agency goes, but will cost more to roster than any of the before mentioned guys.

·         Doug Melvin is sticking to his claim that Ben Sheets will no longer be a Milwaukee Brewer in a recent article by Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.  The article points out that if it does happen, it won’t be for a few weeks until Sheets price continues to drop and more is revealed about his health.  Sheets and agent Casey Close are unwilling to negotiate a contract similar to Brad Penny’s or John Smoltz which are both structured around a $5-6 million base salary with a few million dollars worth of incentives.

·         Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com feels that the Cubs are still considering adding more pitchers to supply their Spring Training roster, and aren’t ruling out a deal for Jake Peavy.  He does report that the Cubs feel content with their current roster after acquiring Aaron Heilman yesterday.

·         Multiple sources are reporting that Randy Wolf appears to be headed to the Dodgers including this article by Ken Gurnick of MLB.com.  As far as Manny Ramirez goes, it still appears that the Dodgers are the best suitors, however, not much progress has been made lately.  A few different articles still aren’t ruling out the Giants, but continue to point to the Dodgers as the best fit. 

·         Multiple sources are claiming that Mets GM Omar Minaya met with Pedro Martinez in the Dominican Republic earlier this week to discuss a contract offer for 2009.  The Mets are still actively pursuing Oliver Perez and have had an eye on Randy Wolf, whom we already mentioned is likely headed to the Dodgers.  Martinez reportedly hasn’t received any offers so far this off-season from any major league teams.

·         Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register is reporting that although the prices of free agents are falling rapidly, the Angels feel content with their current roster heading into 2009.  Their payroll is reportedly around $95 million heading into 2009 which is lower than the $110 million they spent last year.

·         Beat writer David O’Brein of the Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that Will Ohman may still sign with the Atlanta Braves.  Ohman would be a tremendous addition to the pen as a veteran lefthander, but could also be signing somewhere else soon once all of the arbitration hearings are done.  The Phillies remain a possibility who as earlier reported, are still looking for a left hander.

·         T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com is reporting that the Rangers and outfielder Marlon Byrd are close to signing a one-year deal to avoid going into arbitration.  Byrd is currently asking for $3.6 million while the Rangers are offering $2.7 million. 

·         Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com is reporting that Cubs starter Ryan Dempster has turned down an offer from his homeland Canada to pitch in the World Baseball Classic to the Cubs pleasure, however, fans back home are not happy.  Rosenthal mentions that Larry Walker is one of the many criticizing Dempster for not sporting the Canada threads.

·         Garrett Atkins is maintaining his claim that his current contract situation is not distracting him according to an article by Thomas Harding of MLB.com.  Atkins is currently trying to negotiate a one-year deal worth $7.95 million, however, the Rockies are only offering $6.65 million.  If they don’t come to an agreement soon, he will head to arbitration.  In a separate article, Harding is reporting that pitcher Kris Benson auditioned for nine teams last Saturday, one of which was the Rockies.  His agent Gregg Clifton is claiming that he is ahead of schedule for the 2009 season.

·         Multiple reports originally stated that the Brewers were interested in Oliver Perez, however, Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Doug Melvin has expressed no interest in him.

·         Although Lenny Melnick doesn’t buy into it, the Kansas City Royals are considering starting Mark Teahen at second base in 2009, a position he once played at St. Mary’s College according to Jason Beck of MLB.com.  Manager Trey Hillman though is still uncertain of if it will happen, but the article points out that Teahen was fielding ground balls at second base earlier this month at minicamp.

·         The Pittsburgh Pirates and utility man Eric Hinske are close on reaching a one-year deal according to Dejan Kovacevic (one of the best) over at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.   Hinske hit 20 home runs last year with the Tampa Bay Rays and would join an already crowded outfield in Pittsburgh, but could be an option at third base.

·         Matthew Leach of MLB.com is reporting that the Cardinals have four, and maybe even five possible closers heading into 2009 including Ryan Franklin, Chris Perez, Jason Motte, Kyle McClellan, and Josh Kinney.

·         Almost every source reporting on the Red Sox is anxious to see whether or not Jason Varitek will act on the current offers on the table from the Sox by Saturday, the deadline set by GM Theo Epstein.  Both offers feature a one-year deal worth $5 million, but one of them features a team option for $5 million for 2010, which if they refuse to exercise, Varitek can accept $3 million for 2010.

·         Multiple reports state that Sean Casey will retire today and join the MLB Network after 12 spending 12 seasons in Major League Baseball.

·         Bill Ladson of MLB.com is reporting that the Nationals are still interested in bringing back reliever Chad Cordero. 

·         Phil Miller of the St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting that the Twins are currently relying on Brian Buscher and Brendan Harris to play third base in 2009.

Baseball News

Below is a list of stories that contain some of the latest baseball news.  I’m going to keep this as short and sweet as possible. 

·         Maicer Izturis and the Angels have agreed to a one-year $1.6 million deal to avoid arbitration.

·         Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez, both who suffered injury plagued seasons in 2008, are expected to hit at the heart of the Indians lineup in 2009.

·         Paul Maholm and Nate McLouth are both headed to arbitration after failing to reach deals with the Pirates.

·         The Blues Jays have reached minor-league contracts with both Jason Lane and Brandon Fahey.

·         Corey Hart and Rickie Weeks are both hoping to get a one-year deal rather than going to arbitration with the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brewers signed Craig Counsell to a one-year, $1 million deal.

·         After reporting that Max Scherzer was suffering from some discomfort last week, he now says that he feels fine.

·         Zack Greinke and the Royals have reached an agreement on a $38 million, four-year deal which could mean the same thing is coming for Ervin Santana in Anaheim.

·         Andy Pettitte and the Yankees reached an agreement on a one-year deal worth $6.5 million, when he was offered $10 million just a couple months ago.

·         The Yankees are optimistic about the health of both Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, and that they will be ready for Opening Day.

·         Brandon Lyon and the Detroit Tigers have reached two-year deal; we expected this was coming weeks ago.

·         Designs have been released for a new stadium for the Florida Marlins which includes a retractable-roof.

·         Alex Gonzalez is reportedly going to be 100% for Opening Day.

·         Rangers reliever Joaquin Benoit will miss most, if not all, of the 2009 season after having a torn rotator cuff repaired.

·         Will Clark has been hired by the San Francisco Giants as a special assistant.

Feel Good Stories

Often times fans are blinded from the off-the-field work that players do, so I’ve decided to include some articles detailing that this week:

·         B.J. Upton hosted the first ever B.J. Upton Celebrity Golf Classic earlier this week to benefit The Society of St. Vincent de Paul.  He did take a few practice swings, however, his shoulder is keeping him from playing in the tournament.

·         Curtis Granderson, a very philanthropic player, is holding an art contest where fourth graders are encouraged to submit illustrations for his new book, All You Can Be.

That’s all we have for this week, all 1,646 words!  Have a strong opinion about your favorite team, or hear a rumor that we didn’t get to?  Comments below are strongly encouraged- so why wait? 

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