MLB News: Pro Sports Daily

Sources: Rangers' Josh Hamilton has relapse with alcohol at area bar

February 3

Dallas Morning News

"Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton, recovering from alcohol and drug addictions, had a relapse this week in his quest to remain sober. According to individuals familiar with the episode, Hamilton drank alcohol Monday night at Sherlock's Pub & Grill in Dallas. Teammate Ian Kinsler also showed up at the bar for what appeared to be an attempt to persuade Hamilton to return to his home in Westlake. This was Hamilton's second alcohol-related relapse in three years. In January 2009, he drank to excess in a bar in Tempe, Ariz."

Garza, Cubs settle at $9.5 million

February 3

Chicago Tribune

"The Cubs and pitcher Matt Garza avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $9.5 million contract just before they were to go through the arbitration process Friday morning. Garza, who was 10-10 with a 3.32 ERA in hist first season as a Cub, had been seeking $12.5 million and the Cubs had offered $7.95. Garza's new deal also includes performance bonuses."

Cubs sign Cuban left-hander Concepcion

February 3

Chicago Tribune

"The Cubs have signed left-handed pitcher Gerardo Concepcion to a reported $7 million multi-year, major league contract. Concepcion, 19, defected from Cuba in the Netherlands after being named rookie of the year for the Cuban national team. He will be invited to spring training, but is not expected to make the rotation. The Tribune first reported the team's interest in him during December's winter meetings."

Josh Beckett: 'What goes on in the clubhouse should stay in the clubhouse'

February 3

Boston Herald

"Josh Beckett has broken his silence. Nearly two weeks before Red Sox pitchers and catchers must report to Fort Myers, Beckett made his first public comments about the team's historic September collapse in an interview with MLB Network's "Intentional Talk," hosted by former Sox first baseman Kevin Millar. While fellow starters Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have addressed the pitchers' habit of occasionally eating chicken and drinking beer in the clubhouse during games, Beckett explained he has been busy caring for his infant daughter, born at the end of the regular season. "I think the biggest key is what Lester said to the end that, we stunk on the field and that was the bottom line,""

Indians sign 1B Casey Kotchman; avoid arbitration with Rafael Perez

February 3

Cleveland Plain Dealer

"As spring training gets closer, the Indians' roster seems to change daily. General Manager Chris Antonetti, in his second year on the job, continued to remake the Tribe on Thursday. He signed free-agent first baseman Casey Kotchman to a one-year, $3 million deal plus incentives. The signing isn't expected to become official until today. Earlier Thursday, the Indians reached agreement on a one-year deal with left-hander Rafael Perez to avoid arbitration. Perez will receive $2.005 million plus $25,000 in incentives if he appears in 55 games this season. Perez's signing leaves All-Star shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera as the only unsigned Indian eligible for arbitration. Cabrera has an arbitration"

Pirates set arbitration date with McGehee

February 3

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"The Pirates and Casey McGehee have an arbitration hearing scheduled for Feb. 16 if they cannot agree on terms of a contract before that time. McGehee reportedly submitted a desired salary of $2,725,000, and the Pirates asked for a salary of $2,350,000. The midpoint is $2,537,500. McGehee, 29, is eligible for arbitration for the first time and made $468,000 last season. A source indicated that the Pirates and McGehee have continued to negotiate."

Rangers must decide if Josh Hamilton can be trusted

February 3

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

columnist Randy Galloway

"Too bad that it actually matters. Too bad that a 30-year-old ballplayer cannot pull up a stool at a Dallas bar, have a beer, and as long as he's not driving or causing trouble, have maybe more than a couple of beers. But for Josh Hamilton, it matters. Really matters. Obviously, he cannot be drinking even one beer at any time. On Monday, however, he was drinking more than one at a Dallas bar, and based on available information, drinking many more than just one. Maybe you've heard. Josh has a problem, a problem that is well documented. He's an addict. Once an addict, always ... The most talented ballplayer in the big leagues took another steep fall in this latest episode, and to be"

David Ortiz resolution far from arbitrary

February 3

Boston Herald

"First things first: David Ortiz will play for the Red Sox this season. That much was guaranteed in December when Ortiz ended his free agency by accepting salary arbitration. The issue now, and perhaps at a hearing within the next two weeks, is how much he will get paid, and the difference of opinion is wider than a Billy Cundiff field goal attempt. Ortiz wants $16.5 million; the Red Sox are offering $12.65 million, less than a 2 percent raise from his average annual salary the past five years. The sides have been unable to compromise, and if they remain stalemated, each will make its argument to an independent three-person panel, which will choose either Big Papi's number or the team's."

Report: Tigers nearly traded Curtis Granderson to Red Sox in 2009

February 3

Detroit Free Press

"Last season, Curtis Granderson peppered baseballs into the right-field seats of Yankee Stadium with ease. But if not for the Boston Red Sox balking at the Tigers asking price in 2009, Granderson very well could have been peppering balls off the left-field Green Monster at Fenway Park. The Wall Street Journal's Daniel Barbarisi reports that before the three-team deal that sent Granderson to the New York Yankees that offseason, the Red Sox were very much interested in Granderson's services."

Kotchman inks one-year deal with Tribe

February 3

MLB.com

"When Carlos Pena signed with the Rays last week, the message was clear that Casey Kotchman would be playing elsewhere this season. The Indians have agreed to sign the free-agent first baseman to a one-year deal worth $3 million, plus incentives, MLB.com has learned."

Manhattan woman arrested on charges of harassing Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman

February 3

New York Daily News

"A single mother with a history of stalking has been busted on charges of harassing and extorting money from Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. Prosecutors portrayed Louise Neathway, 36 - who said in an interview published Thursday that she was Cashman's mistress - as a con artist who pestered him for cash. "The defendant extorted approximately $6,000 from the victim and attempted to extort over $15,000," prosecutor Eric Iverson said at Neathway's Manhattan Criminal Court arraignment Thursday. He said it wasn't the first time Neathway had tried to "control and manipulate" Cashman, 44. Her lawyers, Alan Abramson and Stephen McCarthy, countered that prosecutors rushed to judge Neathway,"