This is the most stunned I’ve been by a Red Sox transaction during the Theo Epstein era. I like to think I’m usually on the same page with the Boston braintrust when it comes to which players to pursue. But I fully expected the Red Sox to come out of this winter with Matt Holliday,…

I’ve seen a hell of a lot of jaw-dropping tweets today, but this one from the St. Louis Cardinals takes the cake: La Russa has been selected by commish Bud Selig to serve on a panel to discuss ways to improve the game. Biggest problem facing the game today?  They’re too long. Biggest reason they’re…

Jayson Stark and Jerry Crasnick are reporting that the Red Sox have reached a tentative deal with Lackey, and that it’s “worth slightly more than the $82.5 million, five-year contract A.J. Burnett signed with the New York Yankees last year.” This jibes with what Aaron was hearing earlier. Lackey. Matsui. Halladay. Lee.  Remember this morning…

Jon Heyman reports that the rumored three-way trade in which the Phillies get Roy Halladay and ship out Cliff Lee has come to pass, with Lee going to the Mariners. The Phillies landing Halladay is not the biggest surprise. He’s been rumored to be going there for a while. The Lee piece of this equation,…

Chien-Ming Wang’s agent told Buster Olney of ESPN.com that the free agent right-hander may choose not to sign for several months despite at least a half-dozen teams expressing interest. Wang will meet with Dr. James Andrews next month to determine the next step in his recovery from shoulder surgery and may want to show teams…

Craig Counsell has officially re-signed with the Brewers, getting a one-year deal worth $2.1 million in guaranteed money and another $500,000 in incentives based on playing time. Counsell made $1.5 million in 2009 while having one of the best seasons of his career and rightfully gets slightly more than fellow left-handed-hitting utility infielder Alex Cora,…

Ken Rosenthal is reporting that Jamey Carroll has multiple multi-year offers on the table. Blogmate Matthew Pouliot ranks Carroll as the 73rd most desirable free agent on the market right now, so we can totally expect the floodgates to open after he signs. I mean, all anybody could talk about in Indy last week was…

Yesterday general manager Brian Cashman “cut off a question about not having a designated hitter” and insisted that “Juan Miranda can be a DH,” which is noteworthy following this afternoon’s news that Hideki Matsui is close to signing with the Angels. “I don’t want to over-sell anybody, but I think Juan Miranda will do a…

 . . . and would like to have a player like Hideki Matsui on their roster: The Los Angeles Angels are in serious discussions with Hideki Matsui about supplanting Vladimir Guerrero as their designated hitter, a source familiar with the team’s thinking told ESPN.com. I can only hope that those “serious discussions” are taking place…

While the Pirates were jerking Matt Capps around last week, and then blaming the media for their inability to trade him, GMs from multiple other teams were waiting for him to fall to them. MASN reports that the Orioles are interested. The Arizona Republic has the Dbacks interested as well. Ditto the Chicago Tribune and…

ESPN.com’s Jorge Arangure reports that Kelvim Escobar is scheduled to pitch later this week in Venezuela after making just one appearance during the past two seasons because of shoulder problems. According to Arangure the Mets have already offered Escobar a minor-league contract and the Rays are also interested. Escobar has been primarily a starter since…

I sat for two (virtual) interviews over the weekend.  The first one was short:  Six “Batting Practice Fastballs” from Scott Simkus, the awesome brain behind the Negro Leagues Strat-o-Matic card set. Nothing as heady as that here. I mostly talk about my pajamas and the type of booze baseball writers drink. A much longer and…

This morning an unnamed source told Ed Price of Fanhouse that John Lackey would be taking a physical exam for the Red Sox and now FOXSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal confirms that while offering further details: Free-agent right-hander John Lackey underwent a physical Monday with the Red Sox, an indication that he is close to an agreement…

David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution points out that the Braves last won a divisional title in 2005 while using 18 different rookies, yet with Kelly Johnson getting non-tendered over the weekend only one of those guys remains on the team: Brian McCann. O’Brien notes that the “Baby Braves” were “celebrated for their energy,…

John Heyman reports that Cliff Lee is willing to do an extension with the Phillies, and that that wild idea of Rosenthal’s about Philly maybe trading Lee right now isn’t happening, but that if the Phillies want Lee beyond 2010, it’s gonna cost them:  $23 million a year.  No hometown discount. Lee thinks he’s worth…

Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus reports that the Red Sox have made an offer to fireballing Cuban lefty Aroldis Chapman. The deal: a $15.5 million dollar package that includes a major league deal. As of this morning, Chapman was scheduled to audition for a number of teams tomorrow. One wonders if the offer is contingent…

I put this in the form of a question, because the very guy tweeting qualifies it. It’s FanHouse’s Ed Price who is tweeting the Lackey-Sox rumor, but his own tweet says he’s “Working to confirm.”  Price is a nice fellow, but he’s been a bit quick on the draw before. Such as last week when…

General manager John Mozeliak has repeatedly said that the Cardinals are comfortable going with 26-year-old prospect David Freese as their Opening Day third baseman, so he can’t be too happy with this news from the weekend: David Freese was arrested in St. Louis County early Saturday morning on suspicion of driving while intoxicated, Maryland Heights…

Great story about Johan Santana’s annual trip to his hometown in the remote mountains of Venezuela, where he spreads holiday cheer: He lives in Florida in the off-season, but late every year, he returns to Tovar, bearing gifts by the truckload. He organizes the Cy Youngazo, or the Great Cy Young, where he hands out…

With Sabathia, Burnett and Pettitte ensconced 1-2-3, and with the Yankees talking up Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes as starters, and with the team tendering contracts to Chad Gaudin and Sergio Mitre, one would think that the last thing they’d need is another couple of starting pitchers.  According to Mark Feinsand of the Daily News,…