Hank Blalock News

Day 1 of the Winter Meetings unfolded in routine fashion for the Orioles, who spent the opening hours meeting with teams and agents in an initial fact-finding session.

Texas offered arbitration to free agents C IVAN RODRIGUEZ and OF MARLON BYRD, and declined to arbitration to P JOAQUIN BENOIT, P EDDIE GUARDADO, CIF HANK BLALOCK, SS OMAR VIZQUEL, and OF ANDRUW JONES.

Outfielder Marlon Byrd and catcher Ivan Rodriguez have been offered salary arbitration by the Texas Rangers.

Would another lefty hitter like Hank Blalock, right, be the best fit for the Pirates? Browse more photos>> Straight to the point today: one thing I find a bit strange about the idea of the Pirates pursuing Rick Ankiel and/or Hank Blalock is that both those guys are left-handed, whereas most of the Bucs' other options at first base and right field ...

The good thing about being the Orioles this offseason is that they need pretty much everything and they have pockets full of cash.

THE GREAT FREE agent-auction of 2009 began last Friday. There were 171 ballplayers hoping - no, praying - their agents would be able to leverage them into a lucrative change of scene.

If this offseason is anything like last offseason -- and it just might be, given the continuing economic problems in the real world -- the free-agent market will take quite awhile to develop.

Baseball's free-agent signing period begins Friday, and the Orioles have money to spend and holes to fill.

The Hot Stove league, where players start swapping teams during baseball's off-season, begins in earnest today as free agents begin negotiating with other clubs and signing contracts for the 2010 season.

Catcher Ivan Rodriguez was one of five Rangers who filed for free agency on Thursday, the first day eligible players could file.

Clint Hurdle might have been a man without a job, but he wasn't a man without options only six months removed from his job as manager of the Colorado Rockies.

Five Texas Rangers were among the crush of major leaguers who filed for free agency on the first day of the filing period.

No hitting coach ever has been credited with leading a team to the World Series.

And here's the full roster. Arizona Fall League 2001 retrospective by Geoff Young October 21, 2009 I own a few baseball books, and from time to time, I'll scour the shelves for inspiration.

The Dodgers are easily the most interesting team to watch this post season. WTF is there to enjoy watching Yanks-Angels? I'm rooting for some wholesomely debilitating swine flu, and perhaps a slip and fall or three Best case scenario: Arod cranks a liner right into the melon of that no-talent hack of a girlfriend, and Jeets pulls his groin on a ...

The national impact of the unprecedented halting of a rapist's execution after two hours and temporary reprieves for other condemned inmates likely will become clear over the next few months as courts examine the state's lethal-injection procedures, experts say.

By ANTHONY ANDRO SEATTLE - The Texas Rangers saw enough of Seattle ace Felix Hernandez to know that he's worthy of American League Cy Young consideration.Hernandez won his 19th game of the season Sunday, and went 4-1 against the Rangers this year.

Rangers officials on Tuesday said the 2010 budget and payroll is expected to stay pretty close to what the team spent in 2009.

Attendance is up, they had their first winning season in five years and their young players are one year older and wiser.

Here would be a good offseason, according to Rangers officials: Re-sign Marlon Byrd and Ivan Rodriguez.