The Baltimore Orioles have had “exploratory talks” with free-agent slugger Manny Ramirez’s agent, executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said on Monday.

Duquette confirmed the Orioles‘ long-rumored interest in Ramirez and said that the team had watched him work out.

“We are still considering the composition of this club, and some of the challenges of integrating a player like Manny into our ballclub and market,” said Duquette, who as general manager of the Red Sox signed Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract in December 2000.

Ramirez will not be an immediate help for any team as he will face a 50-game ban when he signs due to his suspension for a second violation of Major League Baseball’s drug policy.

So you have to wonder why the Orioles are interested in Manny. Yes will be cheaper option than someone like Johnny Damon, but any team that signs Ramirez also get the media circus that comes with him.

I wonder what Orioles manager Buck Showalter thinks of Ramirez and his “Manny being Manny” attitude.

Red Sox DH David “Big Papi” Ortiz said he wants to sign a multi-year deal and avoid salary arbitration for next season.

“We are working on that right now,” Ortiz said at a banquet for the participants in Major League Baseball’s Venezuela-Dominican Showcase. “Hopefully, we will get to an agreement so we don’t have to go in front of the judge.”

The Red Sox have offered a $12.65 million salary to Ortiz, but he has asked for $16.5 million. Ortiz, who hit .309 with 29 home runs and 96 RBIs for Boston last season, wants to come to an agreement soon.

I would like to,” Ortiz said. “I asked a long time ago and they didn’t get to an agreement. My agents are working on it and hopefully, things go good.”

He still holds out hope for a multi-year deal. Arbitration hearings, which are heard in St. Petersburg, Fla., run through Feb. 21.

“They are working on it,” Ortiz said. “There is still time.”

I like Ortiz, but as a 36-year-old DH his power numbers are going in the wrong direction. Since hitting 54 home runs in 2006, Ortiz has hit 35, 23, 28, 32, 29 home runs over the last five seasons. Those power numbers will only continue to fall over the next couple of seasons and it doesn’t make financial sense to invest over $30m for two years in a DH with declining skills.

If you were Boston owner John Henry would you sign David Ortiz to a multi-year deal or would you keep taking him to arbitration.

 photo credit: Eric Kilby

Matt Garza agreed to a new one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs worth about $9.5 million, avoiding arbitration and keeping him in Chicago for now.

Garza had asked for $12.5 million, and the Cubs countered with $7.95 million. Garza made $5.95 million in 2011 where he was 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA in 31 starts last season after coming to the Cubs from the Tampa Bay Rays in an eight-player trade. Garza led the Cubs in strikeouts with 197 (198 innings pitched) and allowed only 14 home runs. His ERA after the All-Star break was 2.45 in 15 starts, seventh-best in the majors for starters.

MLB.com analysts Jeff Nelson and Richard Justice discuss the deal between the Cubs and Garza and whether he will spend the 2012 season in Chicago or get traded.

We love to see our heros fall. And even as they get tripped up, we almost gloat with a sense of pride in capturing their collapse.

Sports stars are no different. Neither is Josh Hamilton.

The Texas Rangers‘ outfielder and a recovering addict was spotted drinking alcohol at a Dallas area bar Monday night, according to the Dallas Morning News. According to individuals who saw Hamilton, teammate Ian Kinsler also showed up at the bar for what appeared to be an attempt to convince Hamilton to return to his home in Westlake.

And so the feeding frenzy begins.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports is just one of many writers who unloaded on Hamilton as soon as the story broke.

“The worst part about Josh Hamilton’s relapse is that he didn’t care. The most famous addict in sports does not go to a bar in the town where he is best known without full knowledge that his exploits will become public in a matter of hours.”

As intelligent as sports writers are, I am unaware of this power that Passan’s possesses in which he is able to deem whether someone cares or not about such a serious issue as an alcohol-related relapse. Hamilton is tested for drugs three times a week. He had an accountability partner, former coach Jerry Narron, to support him in his recovery. If anything, Hamilton does care about his addiction. Furthermore, it’s probably no coincidence that the relapse comes after Narron left the team to become the Milwaukee Brewers‘ hitting coach.

Passan proceeded to call sobriety a “black and white” issue. The problem with that logic is that, while sobriety may be black and white, addiction manifests itself in a sea of gray. It is a long process that goes through many stages, with many ups and downs. On Monday, Hamilton regretfully had a bad day.

In no way is this excusing Hamilton’s actions, but it’s important to keep in perspective all that this guy has been through.

Jean-Jacques Taylor of ESPN Dallas is reporting that Hamilton will have a press conference Friday.

Boston Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett appeared on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk on Thursday and spoke about Bobby Valentine and what went on in the Red Sox clubhouse last season.

Beckett mentioned that he met with Bobby Valentine, on New Year’s Day and Beckett said the meeting went well.

“I don’t think we really got specific with anything. Bobby came to my house and we had a great talk,” Beckett said. “He seems like he’s really excited about this. I think the first thing I said to him was, ‘Hey, congratulations,’ because I don’t think anybody’s ever been handed something like the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox, not only the organization, but the team that we have right now is so talented and he even said, ‘Yeah, I know exactly what you’re talking about. We had a little talk about [the ESPN commentary] and I think it was initiated just as a kind of conversation starter. It wasn’t really anything too detailed. I think it was one of those deals where he felt bad because somebody else told him he should feel bad about it, but it wasn’t anything for me.”

Beckett won 13 games in 2011 and basically halved his ERA (2.89) from the season before (5.78). But he was named as one of the Boston pitchers drinking in the clubhouse during games as the Red Sox season disintegrated.

“I think the biggest key is what [Jon] Lester said to end that: We stunk on the field, and that was the bottom line,” Beckett said. “If we would have pitched better, none of that stuff would have even been an issue. And it shouldn’t be an issue anyway, because what goes on in the clubhouse should stay in the clubhouse. I don’t care who says that or whatever, I’m not saying we don’t make mistakes in the clubhouse — and I think [former Sox player and current MLB Network analyst Kevin Millar] will definitely respond to that because, hell, they were drinking Jack Daniels and they won the World Series [in 2004] — it’s just what goes on in the clubhouse, it’s supposed to stay in the clubhouse.”

The San Diego Padres have added some pitching depth by signing former Arizona Diamondbacks starter Micah Owings to a one-year deal worth $1 million.

“Micah will compete for a spot on our staff,” said executive vice president/general manager Josh Byrnes. “He is a proven contributor as a starter and as a reliever. Micah’s character and versatility made him a priority for us as we looked to add depth to our pitching staff.”

Owings finished the 2011 campaign perfect, going 8-0 and compiling a career- best 3.57 earned run average in 33 games (four starts) for Arizona. A third-round draft pick in 2005, Owings has played five seasons with the Diamondbacks (2007-08, 2011) and Reds (2009-10), appearing in 132 games (68 starts) with a 32-31 record and a 4.91 ERA.

MLB.com analyst Jeff Nelson talks about the deal, and why it is a good signing for both Ownings and the Padres:

In Jason Heyward’s first year in the majors he was a hitting machine.

Tthe then 20-year-old lefty outfielder hit 18 home runs, drove in 72 runs and batted .277. He also chipped in 11 stolen bases and finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting to Buster Posey.

Everyone was expecting Heyward to build on his rookie year last season, but instead of progressing he hit the dreaded sophomore slump as he hit just .227 with 42 RBIs and 14 HRs.

MLB.com analyst Jeff Nelson talks about how Jason Heyward has spent the offseason getting into better shape in an attempt to regain his 2010 form:

Red Sox fans have to hope that he is bluffing, but Boston general manager Ben Cherington said tonight that the Red Sox are “unlikely” to add another starting pitcher before Spring Training.

The two biggest names left on the free-agent market are Roy Oswalt and Edwin Jackson, Jackson met with the Texas Rangers on Monday, and both have been repeatedly tied to the Sox.

Asked specifically about Oswalt at a Fundraiser at Fenway Park on Wednesday, Cherington made the Sox’s involvement seem tepid.

“We wouldn’t rule out adding a starter, but I think it’s unlikely at this point,” Cherington said. “Keep looking for ways to improve the team, including the pitching staff, but I wouldn’t expect any major changes between now and the report date.”

According to the Boston Globe the Sox have made an offer to Jackson for one year and between $5 million and $6 million. Jackson has said from the get-go that he was seeking a multiyear deal. So that offer is not going to get it done.

Without adding Oswalt or Jackson, the Red Sox will begin spring training on February 19th with three guaranteed starters their rotation: Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz.

Boston plans to bring relievers Daniel Bard and Alfredo Aceves to camp with the intention of at least of them becoming a starter, and Cherington has signed three experienced starters with injury histories, Vicente Padilla, Carlos Silva and Aaron Cook, to minor league deals with an invitation to big league camp.

Compare that rotation to the Yankees who can role out a starting rotation of CC Sabathia, Ivan Nova, Hiroki Kuroda, Michael Pineda and one from A.J. Burnett, Freddy Garcia and Phil Hughes.

It’s a good job that Red Sox nation is being distracted at the moment with the Patriots reaching the Super Bowl. But when pitchers and catchers report in a little over two weeks, a lot of Red Sox fans will be asking questions about a starting rotation that is simply not good enough to compete with in the east.

MLB.com’s Jeremy Brisiel and Jeff Nelson talk about the Yankees hiring former Cubs GM Jim Hendry

The Los Angeles Dodgers franchise moved closer to new ownership in the last couple of days as the number of bidders was whittled down.  More than 20 groups were reported to have placed bids before the deadline.

It is being reported that perhaps as many as 10 groups remain in the running but no definitive list has been released.  Bits of news though has started to trickle out about who’s still in and who’s out of the running to own one of the most storied and in recent times one of the most troubled franchises in baseball history.

Reportedly out of the running is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.  He is though at this point in time just about the only one who has been reported as being out though it has not been confirmed.  It was reported that Cuban was out by the Los Angeles Times.

Those who are still reported as being in include hedge fund manager Steve Cohen who is being represented by Steve Greenberg, son of Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg.  Steve is a former agentand deputy commissioner and frequent banker for baseball team sales.

Joe Torre former manager of the Dodgers is also reported as still being in.  Torre left his position as an MLB executive vice president in order to join a group headed by real estate developer Rick Caruso.

Former Los Angeles Laker and Hall of Famer Magic Johnson is also reported to still be in the running.  Johnson is part of a group that includes former Atlanta Braves president Stan Kasten.

It looks like the Hershiser/Garvey group may not have made the next round and possibly also the group headed by White Sox exec Dennis Gilbert.

It is rumored that Stan Kroenke, the world’s biggest sports mogul, has reached the second round as well as Josh Macciello, and the family of Roy Disney headed by Stanley Gold.

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