According to a team press release, the Cardinals and RHP Braden Looper have agreed to a three-year deal…
…three-years…are you kidding me…
…wow…
…now wonder RHP Julian Tavarez thinks he can get net a four-year deal…
Spanning seven seasons, Looper is 25-29 with 3.47 ERA and 103 saves…

For those unable to log in and chat with David Wright at MLB.com today, you can read a transcript of the discussion here…

Appearing on WEEI in Boston, Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino disccused the current state of OF Manny Ramirez, saying…
“Our commitment to Manny is to make a good-faith and extensive effort to see if there is a trade that is a win-win proposition that gets him to a part of the country or a team that [...]

Former Mets farmhand P Matt Peterson was designated for assignment by the Pirates to make room for P Roberto Hernandez on the 40 man roster…
…oh, how the mighty have fallen…

Appearing on ESPN News,Tim Kurkjian said that the White Sox and Rangers are discussing a trade that would send 3B Hank Blalock to the Sox for P Jon Garland and 3B Joe Crede…
…which is a great deal for both teams…
Kurkjian also said that the Dodgers are the frontrunners to land free agent Nomar Garciaparra, although [...]

MLB.com has announced the winners of their This Year in Baseball Awards…
Pedro Martinez’s shuffle off the mound through the sprinkler at Shea won Best Blooper, while David Wright’s bare-handed, diving catch against the Padres won Play of the Year…
…great work, guys…next year, let’s win the world series, too…

Jim Caple pens a quick column at ESPN Page 2 regarding the Hall of Fame…
In it, Caple plays stand-up comic, and offers up a few zingers at the expense of the Mets and their new back-up first baseman Julio Franco…
Among others, Caple writes…
“By the end of the contract, Franco will be the oldest thing in Shea [...]

Today at MLB.com, Mets 3B David Wright will take part in an online chat with readers looking to ask him a question or two…
The chat will run from 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM EDT…
To take part in the chat, you must register here…
…good luck…

Appearing as a guest on WFAN, Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com and the Sporting News said he believes that Red Sox OF Manny Ramirez and A’s LHP Barry Zito will both eventually be traded this off-season…
…a bold to quite bold statement, ken…
…i like it…
…by the way, several of you e-mailed me asking about a rumor that [...]

 …information in this notebook comes from a collection of conversations with a very friendly assistant general manager, fellow bloggers, beat writers, team sources, agents and media departments, all associated with both american and national league teams…
The bullpen philosophy…
Don’t expect the Mets to make any major acquisitions for the bullpen.  They want to – because they [...]

The Chicago Tribune, Sun Times and Herald all write that the White Sox will now look to trade a starting pitcher, most likely either RHP Jose Contreras or RHP Jon Garland…
…the buzz from chicago is that the team is seeking an upgrade at third base…
The out-spoken Garland, 26, was 18-10 with a 3.50 ERA last [...]

Mets Manager Willie Randolph told reporters that the addition of 1B Julio Franco will allow 2B Chris Woodward to play mostly second base during spring training, writes the New York Times…
…if an acquisition for a second baseman is not made, i see no reason why woodward can’t win the job against kaz matsui, anderson hernandez, [...]

In the Star-Ledger, Don Burke cites a Mets executive as saying the team is ‘unwilling’ to go beyond three-years for free-agent RHP Julian Tavarez…
…the buzz around the bullpen market is that tavarez is seeking at least a four-year deal…
According to Michael Morrisey of the New York Post, the same goes for any contract offers the [...]

In the Journal News, Peter Abraham writes about the Curse of Santa Cluas…
As Abraham points out, John Franco wore the Santa outfit at the Mets Christmas Party in 2003, he rarely pitched the followiing season and was then pushed out the door.  In 2004, Mike Cameron played Santa, and the following season smashed up his [...]

According to the Boston Herald, the Red Sox have offered RHP Rudy Seanez a one-year incentive laden deal…
…teams have spent their money, and there is little left for the bullpen…it seems like the market has shrunk for these guys, and will shrink further as they rush to latch on with a team, to avoid being [...]