The Seattle Mariners are kicking off their managerial search by interviewing seven people. Two people are currently Boston Red Sox coaches: bench coach Brad Mills and third-base coach DeMarlo Hale. John Farrell declined the opportunity to.
As has been common knowledge, 22-year old Japanese pitcher Junichi Tazawa requested that the Japanese pro league, Nippon Pro Baseball, not draft him in the amateur draft, allowing him to jump to the major leagues immediately.
You may or may not know this, but I also write for MVN Outsider, the staff page of MVN. Over there, I've been doing a series of 'Being the GM' and today it was the Red Sox' turn. Also, here are RSS feeds for Fire Brand and yours truly.
Jason Varitek has the most ever postseason homers as a catcher. How many did he hit?
Let's take a whirl throughout the rumors in baseball and see what's going on...
In Milwaukee, Doug Melvin picked up Mike Cameron's option, but the Yankees have now come calling -- presumably dangling Melky Cabrera and Ian Kennedy. With Alex Rodriguez being solicited for advice on Cameron and rumblings that the Yankees might sign second baseman Orlando Hudson and move him to centerfield, you can expect to see a new centerfielder roaming the new Yankee Stadium next year.
A back of the rotation starter is being looked at so Clay Buchholz isn't handed the job in spring training. Paul Byrd could return.
Dustin Pedroia, the diminutive second baseman of the Boston Red Sox, notched his first Gold Glove Award today. It was the only Gold Glove a Red Sox player won, a year after Kevin Youkilis took home the hardware.
The Boston Red Sox are hot on the tails of 22-year old Junichi Tazawa to join the club, but there's another Japanese pitcher out there that may end up serving as the Sox's No. 5 starter in 2009.
Kenshin Kawakami, 34, is a free agent (meaning no posting fee) and reportedly has the Red Sox in his sights as the team to sign for. The Sox have mutual interest, apparently. He is a Sawamura Award (Cy Young) winner and Central MVP, winning both in 2004.
It'll be interesting to see if the Sox pursue Kawakami. He's been profiled as high as a No. 3 starter and as low as a back of the rotation starter. The Sox may be hesitant to commit long-term dollars to him, however.
Scott Boras said he thinks Jason Varitek is worthy of a four-year, $52.4 million commitment, which is what the Yankees' Jorge Posada got last year. Posada posted a career best 154 OPS+, the year before his free agency. Varitek? A career worst 73.
Which Red Sox left-hander has the best career winning percentage in games pitched at Fenway?
Bill James has come out with his new handbook for 2009, and in the handbook are the early statistical projections for players next year. This may be especially significant in the case of the Red Sox, as James has a vast amount of knowledge of players in the Red Sox system due to being employed by the team.