Johan Santana Inducted Into Twins Hall Of Fame

The Minnesota Twins have added their 31st member to the organization’s Hall of Fame. The Twins formally announced on Friday that the club has now inducted former starting pitcher Johan Santana.

FanRags

Eye Injury Ended The Career Of Juan Encarnacion

Juan Encarnacion was where he was supposed to be, but it was the wrong place at the wrong time.

RetroSimba

Twins Dismiss Tom Brunansky

Coming off a 103-loss season, hitting coach Tom Brunansky and first-base coach Butch Davis were dismissed Tuesday from the Twins’ big-league coaching staff.

Twin Cities

2015 Baseball Hall Of Fame Ballot Revealed

The 2015 ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame has been unveiled on the BBWAA website and, as was obviously expected, it's headlined by two first-time pitchers who should make it in Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.
CBS Sports

For "Fireman," an ode to closers published in 2010, Mariano Rivera was the cover boy. Providing the foreword for the book was the man who for a long time had been the closing fraternity's poster boy, Lee Smith.
St. Louis Official Site

In five years as a coach, Mark McGwire has achieved something he long wanted: he's just a guy doing his best to help his team win. McGwire does his work -- quite successfully the past few seasons -- and stays out of the spotlight.
St. Louis Official Site

Not many Major Leaguers can claim status as a national baseball icon, a cornerstone for two franchises and a key veteran presence for a third, but Larry Walker has all that on his resume and more.
Colorado Official Site

The 2015 ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame was announced on Monday with Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, and John Smoltz headlining the newest of the 17 additions to the 34 candidates.
STL Baseball Weekly

Torii Hunter, Twins Have 'Common Interest' In Reunion

Free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter told the Pioneer Press on Saturday that he favors the Twins among teams with which he is considering signing and that he could make a decision in a week or so.

Pioneer Press

Dick Allen Finalist For Twins' Pitching Coach Job

Rays minor league pitching coach Neil Allen and former Twin Carl “Big Train” Willis have emerged as the finalists to coach Twins pitchers, according to a source with knowledge of the search.

Star Tribune

Michael Young Mulling Retirement, Offer From Dodgers

Michael Young has a Dodgers offer on the table if he wants it, but with Spring Training now less than a month away, the 37-year-old infielder is still considering retirement.

Los Angeles Officiaol Site

Darren Oliver Not Giving In To Age

The Rangers have two left-handed setup relievers with 37 years of Major League experience between them.

One wants to keep pitching. The other didn't sound too sure on Friday morning.

Arthur Rhodes wants to catch Jesse Orosco. Darren Oliver keeps thinking about staying home with his wife and two sons, especially since he was feeling his age on Friday in the Rangers clubhouse.

Rangers Official Site

Overthinking It: Springer Springs Eternal

Those of you without Google Alerts set for “Russ Springer” may have missed a startling development in the ever-changing middle-relief landscape this past Sunday, as one of the few bullpen constants of the last two decades gracefully passed from the stage. If Springer's official retirement announcement escaped your notice, you needn’t feel inattentive; the news caught my eye only because in an indirect way it made me look good—or more accurately, saved me from looking bad.

Baseball Prospectus

Could Twins Find Interest In John Smoltz?

Greg Olson, a former Minnesota Twins and Gophers catcher from Edina, caught for John Smoltz for four seasons with the Atlanta Braves.

Following Twins closer Joe Nathan's debilitating elbow ligament injury this week, Olson text-messaged Smoltz.

Pioneer Press

Comeback Clause Adds Extra Motivation

If Major League Baseball wanted to give its Comeback Player of the Year Award a less generic name, the Purple Heart Award would be a good place to start.

MLB

Dodgers Re-Sign Hyang-Nam Choi To Minor League Deal

Baseball America

Checking The Numbers: Low Risk, Any Reward?

Back in my sabermetrics infancy at the "Statistically Speaking" blog, one of the first articles I wrote shared the title above and investigated low-risk pitcher signings from 2002-07 in an attempt to determine how frequently these moves positively affected teams, as well as the rate of dollars per win doled out to the players in question.

Baseball Prospectus

Darren Oliver Brings Experience, Effectiveness

Rangers relievers had a combined 3.93 ERA in 2009 and they had just 13 blown saves, second fewest in the league.

Rangers Official Site

Rangers Hound Darren Oliver Until He Signs

Darren Oliver received a new contract on Tuesday. His two sons, Brock and Maxwell, are getting a new dog.

Rangers Official Site

Rangers Most Likely Not In On Matt Holliday, Could Peak At Darren Oliver

Do you think the Rangers will look at Matt Holliday since he played with Clint Hurdle?
-- Bryan B., Arlington

Yes. They will be looking at him playing left field for the Yankees or the Red Sox

Rangers Official Site

Crazy Scoring Streaks

I was playing around with Baseball Reference's indispensable P-I tool, looking for teams that had the longest streaks of scoring four runs or more in a game. There have been three streaks of 20 or more games since 1954: The '94 Indians (23), the '77 Red Sox (21), and the '85 Royals (20). The top streak in the National League came in 2007, courtesy of the Cincinnati Reds in 2007.

The Hardball Times

Cardinals Release Ismael Cardona

Baseball America

Ismael Cardona: Catcher Released by Cardinals

Teams Looking At Bullpen In New Light

New, young and relatively inexperienced closers will be getting opportunities all over the place this season, including in Florida, Detroit, Los Angeles (Dodgers), Texas, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis.

MLB

What's Left On The Open Market?

As spring training nears, there are still plenty of quality free agents on the open market.

The Birdhouse