HERE WE GO

***WHO GOES INTO THE HALL?***
I've gone over the list, which became much easier when you eliminate the 'cheaters,' and I've come up with four that I would vote for.

Jack Morris - He pitched for 18 years, won 254 games and had a career 3.90 ERA. He also won 7 games in the post season. He was the go-to guy wherever he played.
Lee Smith - 18 years, 478 saves, c'mon. What does a guy have to do?
Tim Raines - 23 years, 2600 hits, 808 stolen bases and a .294 career average. He was also a good fielder with a decent arm. He should already be in the Hall but I guess he didn't play for the Yankees long enough.
Craig Biggio - 20 years, all with the Houston Astros. He had 3060 hits and a .281 lifetime average. He also scored 1844 runs, 15th on the all-time list.

And the biggie - no suspicion of  steroid use for any of them.

***THIS YEARS FREE AGENTS***
18 have already been signed, but that still leaves 147 players waiting for offers, pens at the ready.  Nine of them are 40 years old or more. Historically, not much more than half of them will end up with jobs, which means that about 60 of them will begin their quest for the Hall of Fame in 2018.
Nick Johnson is one of them. His position is listed as DH, which, in his case, stands for Designated Hurt.

***RUMORS***
Mariano Rivera will probably sign with NY for $11 million plus some incentives, before the Winter Meetings.
Josh Hamilton is reportedly asking for 7 years at $25 million a year. Based solely on his ability, he's probably worth that, but he brings an awful lot of baggage with him, too much for a team to gamble on 7 years.
David Wright of the Mets has been offered a 7-year extension. He should take it. I don't think he could get that much more elsewhere. He's not the power hitter that  usually commands huge money.
The Red Sox may come back from the meetings with a new first baseman - Joe Mauer. Two years ago, this rumor would have been laughed out of the rumor-monger mill. His recent physical problems seemed to have soured the Twins on his value.
Nick Swisher to the Red Sox? Be still my heart. Wasn't Jonny Gomes enough?

***THEY SAID IT***
" A new study finds people who have just been playing music have a higher tolerance for pain. In a related story, fans at Washington Wizards games will be given kazoos."  -- RJ Currie
" Ndamukong Suh was fined $30k for kicking Matt Schaub in the groin, but claims it was “inadvertent.” Right, like he’s going to say “Of course I meant to kick a QB in the nuts?”  -- Jancie Hough
   [I love Janice Hough - CP]
" New York Giants tight end Martellus Bennett is being called a hero after catching a fan who fell from the stands. The fan has a lot to be grateful for, mostly that a Kansas City Chiefs receiver wasn't standing below him"  -- Brad Dickson
" It's starting to feel a lot like Christmas. Holiday decorations are going up, carolers are singing and Colorado just fired its football coach."  -- Brad Dickson
"To take four people to a Dallas Cowboys game with hot dogs and Cokes and some souvenirs will run you $634.78. My God, you could get a 50-inch HDTV at Best Buy for $550 and have enough left to buy 84 beers."  -- Rick Reilly
"Cardinals third baseman David Freese walked away OK after crashing his SUV into a tree after swerving to avoid a deer in the St. Louis suburb of Wildwood, Mo. For those of you scoring at home, that's an E-5 on a rundown play."  -- Dwight Perry
" Bud Selig vowed to keep Marlins fans in mind while monitoring Miami's salary-dump trade to the Blue Jays: And the amazing thing is that his nose didn't grow an inch."  -- Jerry Greene
"Tulane is the latest school to join the Big East for football. Perfect, now they can change the conference name to the “Big Easy” and be done with it."  -- Janice Hough
" Reports from the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show had guest performer Justin Beiber saying there was nowhere else he'd rather be. The guy's 18. This is news?"  -- RJ Currie

CP-