The Chicago Cubs and free agent pitcher Kerry Wood are closing in on a one-year contract that includes an option for the 2013 season, according to Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. Wood would presumably return to fill his role as the set-up man to closer Carlos Marmol, who could use some help with Sean Marshall's departure.

What is Theo Epstein's real value to the Cubs? As the Cubs and Red Sox continue attempting to figure that out, here's my take...

Where is Matt Garza headed and why is it so important? I think the answer to the first part is the AL East, the answer to part two is in the article...check it out!

Sponichi: Talks between Texas Rangers and Yu Darvish are apparently not going well
by Gen on Jan.07, 2012 @ 12:29 pm, under MLB, NPB
Yu Darvish began his training in Miyazaki on Friday. The media was pretty much shutout from the workouts — the Nippon Ham Fighters asked reporters to refrain from making contact with Darvish (for interviews and photos).
Sponichi reports that talks between Darvish and the Texas Rangers are not going well — Darvish is looking for around 1.5B yen (or US$20M) a year at five years while the Rangers’ first offer may have been around 616M yen a year at six years. They also note that the two sides have yet to really start the negotiation process.
In a separate article, Sponichi wonders if Darvish has refrained from making comments to the press because he wants to make sure he can easily slide back into pitching for the Nippon Ham Fighters in 2012.
link: http://yakyubaka.com/2012/01/07/sponichi-talks-between-texas-rangers-and-yu-darvish-are-apparently-not-going-well/

Good article.

I didn't include trend lines for readability purposes, but basically only one of those peripherals is moving in the right direction. Jimenez has been cutting down on his walks since the start of last year, but his strikeouts are actually flat to decreasing, he's giving up more HR/FB, and his line drive percentage has jumped since last August leading to his higher BABIP.

But here's some good news: The Indians don't play in Colorado.

Yes, Jimenez is moving to the more offensively potent AL, but his away splits are significantly better than his home splits (and that includes a 3% difference in LD%). Progressive field is above league average in terms of park factors, but teams score almost .4 runs per game less there. The only catch is that the park plays better for home runs than Colorado, but overall the new home digs should help Jimenez regain his form.

Satchel asks whether we can quantify exactly when a baseball player stops being good, starts being great, and when he becomes a star. Great essay and a must read.

It looks like Chapman is going to be called up by the Reds. It will be interesting to see what he looks like in the majors.

After rumors for about a week, it appears the move is finally done. I am still skeptical about how much impact Manny will have, considering his lack of production and playing time of late. I don't think he will be able to help the Sox make up the deficit in the South. Maybe they will but not because of Manny.

"The deadline for offering salary arbitration to impending free agents is midnight tonight. Here's what we know so far…" via Amazin' Avenue