Korea Times: Prelim Roster for WBC Unveiled

Manager Kim In-sik, who led South Korea to the semifinals in the inaugural contest in 2006 after beating the big leaguer-studded United States and eventual champion Japan, selected 45 players including seven playing overseas _ Park Chan-ho, Lee Seung-yeop, Lim Chang-yong, Lee Hye-chun, Choo Shin-soo, Baek Cha-seung and Lee Byung-kyu.

Free agent Kim Byung-hyun, who did not pitch in the 2008 season, was also included.

``Lee Seung-yeop said he would not play at the WBC to focus on his next season in Japan, but the technical committee have included him just in case he changes his mind,’’ Kim said.

Remember kids, in Asia, the last name comes first.

Donovan: Cot’s is one-stop shopping for baseball contract info

And so, back in 2005, Cot’s Baseball Contracts was officially hatched. Cot’s has become, in the ensuing three years, nothing less than the unofficial clearinghouse for MLB contracts, a finely detailed listing of every current big-league deal, from Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million monster with the Yankees (Did you know that the Rangers are still shelling out millions in deferred payments?) to Barry Zito’s $126 million heist from the Giants (which includes a clause that guarantees him hotel suites on road trips).

Want to see who’s a free agent this winter and what kind of contracts they’ve signed recently? Cot’s has it, from Rich Aurilia to Greg Zaun. The highest-paid player on the Twins? Cot’s has that, too. (Justin Morneau has an $80 million deal, but Joe Nathan is going to get paid a team-high $11.25 million in 2009.) The blog has become a regular reference point for worked-up fans, needy members of the media and even big-league front-office types, at least one of whom has told Euston that he’d rather stop by Cot’s than take the time to fire up Major League Baseball’s internal site.

“I was worried, at the beginning, for a couple of reasons. I wasn’t sure that Major League Baseball would be real happy about it,” Euston says. “But once I began hearing from people in the game and working with the clubs, everyone has been very positive. More than a few have told me they have [the site] bookmarked, which I think is very funny.”

Always nice to see a non-MSM site get props from the MSM.

BBTiA: Blake Beavan Interview

Q: Are you cocky, confident, or a combination of the two?

Beavan: Every professional athlete is cocky in his or her own way. That’s what makes you good. Whether it’s cocky as far as showing people in body language, or the quiet cocky, I think everybody is some sort of cocky. I’d say I’m more confident than anything. Back in high school I’d tell you that I was definitely cocky, but now I’ve been through a year and a half of professional baseball, with instructs and stuff, and it brings you back down to earth and humbles you and makes you realize that you aren’t the only good athlete out there—that you are going to have to work just as hard, if not double the effort of the other guys, if you want to be on that stage.

McNary: George Steinbrenner a Hall of Famer? Puh-lease!

“This is such a joke and makes a mochary or the sport!”

Now, the Hall of Fame. Cooperstown is a special place to baseball fans. Only the best of the best belong there, and even some of those (Pete Rose) don’t get in for various reasons. The case for Steinbrenner would include six World’s Championships, and turning a $10 million investment into a billion-dollar empire.

The case against includes Steinbrenner making a mockery of baseball budgets, a mockery of loyalty to the people he hired, and a mockery of the beauty and fairness of farm systems.

Recognizing that some will view this as a non sequitur, the fact that such baseball stars as Andre Dawson, Ron Santo, Graig Nettles, Bert Blyleven and Double Duty Radcliffe are not in the Hall of Fame, makes the notion of Steinbrenner one day having his bust next to those of Ruth, Gehrig, Mays and Aaron absurd.

A Hall of Fame self-promoting businessman?  Yes!

A baseball Hall of Famer? Puh-lease!

Primer Dugout 12-1-08

Happy Birthday to Walter Alston.

FanGraphs: Seidman: Valuing Meche

Meche, with a 4.18 FIP in 199 innings, would be responsible for 92 runs. Conveniently enough, this cancels out with the 92 runs surrendered by the replacement starter, meaning Meche’s value above replacement level is +25 runs. Converted to wins, Meche would be worth 2.5 wins.

Last year, the average dollar figure per win was around 4.5-4.75 million dollars. With inflation, I’ll call this year’s amount a firm 5 million per win. 2.5 wins multiplied by 5 million dollars per win amounts to 12.5 million dollars. That is, if Meche were a free agent right now and signed a 1-yr deal, 12.5 million dollars would be an appropriate fee. For multi-year deals, we usually factor in a 10% discount rate, since players tend to sacrifice a bit of their monetary value for some security. With that in mind, a 3-yr deal for Meche would come out to 33.75 million dollars. A 5-yr deal would be valued at 56.25 million dollars.

Meche may not have seemed worth the money back in 2006, but as of right now, his average annual value would be somewhere around 11.25 million dollars, just slightly above the 11 mil in his actual contract.

And, uhh Barnald...it’s Herman “Hesh” Rabkin not Meche. Nice try.

TSN: Justice: Yanks sure could use their other closer in Sabathia derby

It’s about time Jack Aker got some credit!

Maybe Joe Torre could have closed the deal with CC Sabathia. After all, he has a great reputation with players.

Perhaps he could have convinced Sabathia that pitching for the Yankees would be a wonderful experience. If Torre could change Mike Mussina’s mind about the Yankees, he might be able to change Sabathia’s.

...Now, as the Yankees nervously await an answer from Sabathia, as they debate whether to throw still more money at him, it’s one of those times where Hank Steinbrenner’s decision to show Torre the door looks more foolish than ever.

The Yankees have millions to throw at free agents this winter, but so far no player has jumped at the money. There’s a sense among some agents that a lot of players don’t want to play for the Yankees.

That gossip could be a bargaining tool, or it could reflect how much less appealing the Yankees have become in the post-Torre era.

NPB: Darvish Signs for 2009

That’s a lot of ￥u’s.

Yu Darvish has renewed his contract for ￥270m ($2.7m), a ￥70m ($700k) increase over 2008. Although Darvish was expected to hit the ￥300m ($3m) mark, he still set a record high for 5th-year players. “The didn’t win and I didn’t earn any personal titles,” explained Darvish.

NPB players are under team control for a minimum of eight years, and pre-free agent players sign get multi-year contracts (not that I’ve heard of anyway). So each offseason players and teams negotiate salaries for the upcoming season. It’s a little like the arbitration process in MLB, but players’ salaries will decrease after a bad year, and there’s never a third party mediator involved. Players who hold out sometimes pay their own way to spring training.

The Columnists: Allen: Saluting two men who changed baseball history: Robinson & Maris

No player, except maybe Robinson for different reasons, faced the pressures Maris did over that long summer and early fall. He accomplished so much. He pulled the country along with him.

He was an introverted, surly, brutally honest guy so the fans and most of his teammates favored Mantle in that challenge. He won five pennants with the Yankees and two more with the Cardinals before retiring after the 1968 season. He died in 1985. He was 51 years old.

The electees of Baseball’s Hall of Fame have ignored him ever since. Shame on them.

Barack Obama will change the nation starting January 20, 2008.

Jackie Robinson changed it on April 15, 1947 and Roger Maris changed the game of baseball on October 1, 1961.

And on December 1, 2008...will somebody please change Maury Allen’s meds!

Boston Globe: Tazawa agrees to 3-year Red Sox contract

Hmm, I wonder if he has the will to learn the gyroball…

According to a baseball source, the 22-year-old Tazawa will arrive in Boston this week after reaching agreement with the Sox on a three-year contract worth roughly $3 million. Tazawa is expected to undergo a physical in the next few days that will allow the sides to clear the final hurdle in negotiations. The Sox hope to officially announce his acquisition by the end of the week.

Though Tazawa was courted by several teams and offered more money by at least one - the Texas Rangers - the pitcher reportedly was interested in pitching for the Sox. Team officials have been scouting Tazawa for more than a year after having made major inroads in the Japan talent pool with the signings of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima during the 2006-07 offseason.

Despite his having no professional experience in Japan, Tazawa’s deal is a major league contract, meaning he will occupy a spot on Boston’s 40-man roster. Nonetheless, Tazawa is expected to begin his career in the minor leagues, though his ascension to the majors could come rapidly.

Red and Black: Smoltz offers basketball insight

Hey, if Cincinnatus Powell can make the pros...why not Atlantus Smoltz?

The Georgia men’s basketball team got a visit from an Atlanta sports legend after practice Sunday - a baseball legend.

Pitcher John Smoltz visited Athens Sunday to speak with the team and to display his skills, as the Atlanta Braves legend then went shot-for-shot with head coach Dennis Felton in a game of H-O-R-S-E.

Smoltz was hitting NBA range 3-pointers while warming up and remained mostly silent throughout the contest, while Felton was more vocal, calling out, “Money” after shots and also jabbing Smoltz on occasion by saying, “You traveled a long way to get beat, John.”

Felton outlasted the strong shooting of Smoltz, putting the pitcher out on a 3-point shot from the right wing.

“I shook a little when I saw John’s stroke,” Felton said. “I expected him to be good because our mutual friends had been telling me how good of a basketball player, but when I saw his stroke and his range, I wasn’t ready to shoot quite that deep. But I am clutch, that’s all I can say.”

Conlin: Time to say bye, bye to McNabb and Burrell after decade in Philly

Not since the tearful breakup of Goreaphobia has Philadelphia seen such loss.

Burrell was never what we wanted him to be - or what he wanted himself to be. But the body of his work will not be easy to replace. He never made an All-Star team or won a home run, RBI or batting title even though the scouting reports gave him a puncher’s chance at all of those. Pat just was not athletic enough or healthy enough to hide the lack of foot speed that limited his outfield range and made him a liability on the bases. Pat is an American League DH trapped within the broader parameters of the National League game.

At 32, Burrell probably has a half-dozen productive slugging years ahead of him. He wound up earning nearly as much salary per year as Drew so far and when you measure their power numbers and games played, it really is no contest. Pat has played nearly two fewer seasons than Drew yet has appeared in 97 more games, hit 59 more homers and driven in 190 more runs. In a lineup tilted toward lefthanded power hitters, Burrell has been the one righthanded bat in the middle of the lineup who pitchers had to get past.

...From this late-autumn vantage point, it is hard to see him coming back unless he makes Ruben Amaro an offer the new GM can’t refuse. Will Pat be offered arbitration by today’s deadline? Somebody out there in DH land will offer him 3 years with an option and $35 million or so. Hey, 25-30 homers and 90-100 RBI just aren’t that easy to come by.

Looking back, the Phillies could have picked Little League World Series hero Sean Burroughs, the 9th pick in ‘98, who played four big-league seasons for the Padres and hit a total of 11 homers.

Rosenthal: Ibanez more intense than most about training

Storing all those wonderful tools in the right way will keep them playable for decades!

Did you hear the one about Raul Ibanez and the hyperbaric chamber?

“The first thing people say is, ‘Oh, you mean like Michael Jackson?’” Ibanez says, chuckling. “I’m not afraid of that stigma.”

Ibanez isn’t afraid of anything that will make him a better baseball player, which is one reason he is a coveted free agent six months shy of his 37th birthday.

The hyperbaric chamber, he says, oxygenates his red-blood cells, aiding him in recovery. But the chamber is just one aspect of his training, and not a very large aspect at that.

You name it, Ibanez is doing it — joint alignment, muscle activation, active-release techniques, even Brazilian jiujitsu. He speaks with conviction about trying to reach his “genetic threshold,” or physical peak. He even keeps three hitting advisors — former major leaguers Edgar Martinez, Chili Davis and Kevin Seitzer — on speed dial.

Angels Mailbag: Spencer: Where will Garret Anderson land?

Dunno...but Spencer’s definitely landed on Anderson’s Christmas gift list.

Is there any word on what’s going to happen with Garret Anderson? He has always been my favorite Angels player. He has one of the sweetest swings in all of baseball. Losing his bat and leadership would be a large blow to the Angels. I just can’t envision him finishing his career out with another team. It’s just heartbreaking.

Spencer:....Because of his easy manner and graceful style, Anderson’s full complement of skills never have been fully appreciated, it seems to me. Critics might be surprised to learn that he consistently grades highly defensively, among the top five in left field, and that he is known as a smart, effective baserunner. Along with his remarkable offensive consistency, he has been clutch throughout his career. His 3-for-19 performance in the 2008 American League Division Series—he lined out once and had two drives caught at the wall—was an aberration. Only two hitters—Boston’s Mike Lowell and Texas’ Milton Bradley—surpassed Anderson’s .371 average in close- and late-game situations.

According to the Bill James Handbook, Anderson enjoyed in 2008 his most productive overall season since 2003 in the win shares category. I don’t know if his Angels days are over, and neither does he at this point. But if he doesn’t return, I have a feeling it will be another case of how we don’t fully appreciate somebody until he (or she) is gone.

Baseball-Intellect: San Diego Padres Top-15 Prospects of 2009, No’s 1 - 5

1. Kellen Kulbacki | OF | Age - 23 | Grade - B+

2. Mat Latos | RHP | Age - 21 | Grade - B+

3. Kyle Blanks | 1b | Age - 22 | Grade - B+/B

4. Cedric Hunter | CF | Age - 21 | Grade - B

5. Jaff Decker | CF | Age - 19 | Grade - B-

Murray Chass on Baseball: Padres Wallow in Divorces

Not since the great Judge Voltaire Perkins spouted..."Tears are the silent language of Bill Grief.” have I seen such a mess!

This was the worst year of John Moores’ 14-year ownership of the San Diego Padres. It began with Moores’ wife of 44 years, Becky, filing for divorce and went downhill the rest of the year until the Padres finished in last place with 99 losses, their worst season under Moores.

The divorce, which a baseball official described as “a messy divorce,” will eventually be settled, most likely in court, but there’s no guarantee what will happen to the Padres. They are headed for more perilous times. The divorce, for which Becky Moores filed claiming irreconcilable differences, is a major part of the reason.

“It’s having some impact,” said Sandy Alderson, the chief executive officer. “Four or five months ago I wouldn’t have expected it to have any impact.” Could the divorce affect the ownership of the team? “I think it could affect ownership. It could lead to a partial sale. We’ll have to wait and see. As a result of what’s happening, it could.”

YFSF: Biology is Destiny

Will genetic testing lead scouts into the nursery schools? A humorous musing from YFSF:

The more progressive baseball organizations are closely monitoring these tests, sending baseball scouts to observe the children whose gene scores suggest they will become elite baseball players. Scouts from Oakland, Boston and the New York teams were in attendance for four year-old Jimmy Willard’s snack time. One scout was particularly impressed with the toddler’s competitive spirit and make up. “The kid wanted his apple sauce and he wanted it now!” Another thought he lacked command. “He missed his mark a number of times. The carrots he threw ended up all over the place.”

Cincinnati Enquirer: Dye still may be in play

Just hope Dye doesn’t wear #2 as a Red…

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said Saturday that the offseason remains quiet.

“Most clubs shut it down on the holidays,” he said.

As for talk that the Reds could be interested in outfielder Jermaine Dye, whom the Chicago White Sox are reported to be shopping, Jocketty said:

“I’m not going to comment. But we have talked to the White Sox about some players. Nothing is close.”

The way tampering rules work, Jocketty cannot say he’s pursuing Dye. But in the case of San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene, Jocketty was comfortable shooting down the rumor.

Kovacevic: Pirates in the Caribbean: Mining for diamonds

Part 1 of Dejan Kovacevic’s fine piece.

Here, baseball never sleeps.

Youngsters in coastal La Romana play on a dump site, having shoved the debris to the outfield for a de facto fence. On a narrow slice of cobblestone in the capital Santo Domingo, two 20-year-olds engage in a Brooklyn-style game of stickball, except that the gear is a tree branch and rock. By night, from November to January, 15,000-seat stadiums are jammed with singing, roaring crowds to support the six-team Dominican Winter League, with many native major leaguers delighted to participate on $11,000 salaries as a show of national pride.

“Baseball used to be America’s national pastime,” Gayo says. “Now, it’s the Dominican game. It’s been in the culture from the time the Cubans brought it here in the mid-1800s to now, when it’s the country’s passion. And that’s how it has to be. Baseball is a game you play with your heart.”

MLB.com: Gilbert: D-backs face several decisions

Dunn (Type A): This seemed like a no-brainer back when the D-backs acquired him in August. Part of the team’s justification for giving up the young players it did for the slugging outfielder/first baseman was the expectation of receiving two Draft picks when Dunn departed as a free agent. Since that time, though, the economy has slumped and it is not known whether that will impact what teams will offer Dunn.

While there likely is still a market for a player who has hit at least 40 homers in each of the last five seasons, offering him arbitration is risky. Should he accept it—and Dunn made no secret of the fact that he liked playing in Phoenix and meshed well in the clubhouse—he would be due a raise from the $13 million he made last year. Given the D-backs’ budget issues, that could be a problem. It is something the team will think long and hard about before Monday.

This is crazy talk. I cannot believe the Dbacks will decide to NOT offer Dunn arbitration. What’s the worst thing that can happen--you end up with a 40 home run 1bman? What say ye?

Seamheads: Lynch: The Promising Life and Tragic Death of Austin McHenry

Austin McHenry jumped out of my ‘69 Big Mac so fiercely even the Mohs scale tilting cover couldn’t contain him!

McHenry was finally admitted to a hospital in Cincinnati where doctors discovered that the fallen player had a brain tumor.  He went under the knife on October 19, but the surgeon, Dr. George Heuer, couldn’t remove the whole tumor due to its location.  Regardless, the surgeon hoped McHenry would make a full recovery.  Less than a month after the operation, however, The Sporting News questioned whether McHenry would ever be well enough to play ball again.  The paper soon got its answer when McHenry was sent home from the hospital on November 22 with no hope of recovery.

Less than a week later, McHenry died at his home in Mount Oreb on November 27 with his wife and two kids at his side.  Upon hearing the news of McHenry’s death, Rickey issued a statement to the press: “We do not look upon the death of Austin as that of a ballplayer, but as a dear friend.  He was one of our most popular players, and was a particular favorite of the younger fans, especially the young boys.”

The Sporting News was equally eloquent.  “No ball club ever had a more loyal player and there are few outfielders in the game today who are as good as McHenry was at his best.  His death is a distinct loss to baseball.”

McHenry was only 27 years old.

Boston Globe: Cafardo: Derek Lowe in win-win situation

Lowe: “(I’ve Been Taking the) Truth Drug”

This Lowe doesn’t bear much resemblance to the guy who left the Sox after 2004. Back then, his out-of-control personal life seemed to consume him. The Red Sox didn’t want to deal with it and let him become a free agent. Lowe feels leaving was the best thing.

“I think I’m a lot better pitcher now, teammate now, than I was four years ago,” he said. “Sometimes you have to learn, and I think getting out of Boston was the best thing for me.

“I was able to sit back and analyze what’s going on. What’s good, what’s bad. And I think hopefully that’s what happened. Sometimes you need a dose of reality as to why a team didn’t want to keep you around.

“You have to be honest with yourself, and once you do that, it’s all right to say I may have made some mistakes in my time there, as long as you can change them and understand them. And I think that’s what has happened the last four years.”

N.Y. Times: City Pressed Hard for Use of Luxury Suite at Yankee Stadium (RR)

And here I thought Rocky Colavito loading his Caddy up with pilfed candy after his final Yankee Stadium game was a big deal.

The Bloomberg administration was so intent on obtaining a free luxury suite for its own use at the new Yankee Stadium, newly released e-mail messages show, that the mayor’s aides pushed for a larger suite and free food, and eventually gave the Yankees 250 additional parking spaces in exchange.

The parking spaces were given to the team for the private use of Yankees officials, players and others; the spaces were originally planned for public parking. The city also turned over the rights to three new billboards along the Major Deegan Expressway, and whatever revenue they generate, as part of the deal.

The e-mail messages between the aides to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Yankees executives were obtained and released by Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, Democrat of Westchester, who questions whether taxpayers were adequately protected in the city’s deal with the team.

Sports Justice: If Astros are having financial woes, Drayton should say so

Yeah...about as honest as Drayton Callie’s pathetic Sheriff Wayne Unser…

Why can’t Drayton McLane just be honest with us about his finances? Does he think we’re dumb? Back when he was losing money and needed public cash for a new stadium, he had no problem talking about how Houston had to pony up to keep its baseball team.

He even promised to open his books after the 2002 labor agreement was finished. He now says he can’t do that because Bud Selig won’t be happy about it. It’s always something.

McLane has given Ed Wade a tough off-season assignment. He has told him to keep the payroll at around $100 million. To keep the current team together would mean a $120-million payroll.

So with Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman untouchable and with Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada untradeable, Wade is shopping Jose Valverde and Ty Wigginton.

Empire State Blog: Shumway: A Moose For Cooperstown

Mmmm...from Michu Meszaros to Mike Mussina with love.

First, Mussina suffers from playing in an era that featured many fantastic pitchers.  If he pitched the bulk of his career in the Eighties or Fifties, he’d be regarded as one of the top pitchers of those eras.  We don’t penalize Duke Snider for being only the third best center fielder in New York during the Fifties.  We don’t penalize Paul Molitor for being only the fourth best third baseman of the Eighties.  And we shouldn’t penalize Mussina either.

For example, the careers of Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, Fergie Jenkins, and Jim Palmer all spanned through the same era.  Are we going to kick any of them out?

...And therein lies the difference between a real HOF candidate like Moose and pretender candidates like Don Mattingly, Jim Rice, Steve Garvey, and Gil Hodges.  The aforementioned men are only a few steps away from being viable Hall of Famers.  Mussina is only a few steps away from being an inner-circle Hall of Famer.

Reeves: Can all of those line drives clear the Hall of Fame fence?

That’s Al Oliver’s vicious line drives…

What Oliver didn’t do was hit those magical career marks that Hall of Fame voters look for: 3,000-plus hits and 300-plus home runs (though the new standard is 400-plus homers). Oliver had 2,743 career hits and just 219 career homers. In fact, he only hit 20 or more homers twice in his career, topping out at 22 with the Expos, also in ’82. Yet, I once watched him drive three shots into the seats in a game one afternoon at Tiger Stadium.

Oliver claimed that a doctor had once told him that his eyesight was so good, it caused him to automatically hit line drives right at fielders. I never quite understood that reasoning, but there’s no question that Oliver hit more line drives than any player I ever saw.

Hall of Famer, though? I’m happy that the Veterans Committee has that decision to make now. I’m certainly not going to quibble if someday they tell me that he is.

And start the body count. An early HOF vote for Jim Rice.

Needing 75 percent of the vote for election, Rice received 72.2 percent last year. No, his numbers haven’t changed any since then, but some voters’ minds may have.

Not mine. I’ve always felt like Rice deserved to be in the Hall and not just because of some pretty awesome numbers.

K.C. Star: Mellinger: Royals, Chiefs battling the Curse of the Shuttlecocks

Jeez...why not go back to ‘69 and come up with Curse of the Cram - Morehead.

Strange. Turns out the evil plaguing Kansas City’s pro football and baseball teams the last 15 years looks nothing like Carl Peterson’s ego or David Glass’ wallet.

It looks, well, harmless. The evil comes in two parts, each 18 feet long, mostly white with orange tips, and made of aluminum and plastic. It is displayed in the lawn of the Nelson-Atkins Museum. You may know this evil as the Shuttlecocks.

...The Curse of the Shuttlecocks could be blamed for any number of Royals disasters. Kerry Robinson climbed the center-field fence to rob a home run only to see it bounce on the warning track and over his head. Ken Harvey was hit in the back with a cutoff throw. David DeJesus was picked off when he — literally — fell off first base.

Tony Peña showered with his clothes on, Muser told everyone to drink tequila, and Buddy Bell lost 19 games in a row. You know, when Bell said he’ll “never say it can’t get worse,” maybe he knew all about the Shuttlecocks.

“Sounds like to me that you want someone to remove those badminton birdies,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore says. “We’ve got more to worry about than the Shuttlecocks.”

Singer Ronan Tynan is a Yankee wannabe

NO NON-YANKEE FANS NEED APPLY!

Tynan — famous for his stunning rendition of “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch at Yankee Stadium’s more significant games — loves baseball and the entire way of life in States.

“I love Ireland, but I’m really crazy about this country and I’m thrilled how great it’s been to me,” Tynan said while calling from his Manhattan apartment. “I love everything about America. I’m crazy about the Yankees and the sport itself. It’s the perfect game. I love the American people and how things are here. It’s a wonderful country. There’s no place that quite celebrates their holidays like America.”

...Tynan will be offering more than holiday numbers at the Basie. He’ll also be previewing songs from his as-yet-untitled forthcoming album of contemporary tunes made famous by such acts as U2, Eric Clapton and even New Jersey’s own Bruce Springsteen.

“I can’t get Springsteen’s “The Rising’ out of my head,” Tynan said. “The song I love to sing is “Into the Fire.’ The song is just amazing. He’s such an awesome talent and incredible artist.”

Of course, Tynan will offer his version of “God Bless America” at the Basie. He said he recently received word that he’ll be performing on Opening Day at the new Yankee Stadium in April.

“It’s an honor,” Tynan said. “I love my association with the Yankees.”

Rosenthal: Looming arbitration may force everybody’s hands

Adam Dunn

The Diamondbacks traded three players for Dunn on Aug. 11, figuring they would get two youngsters back in the draft after he left as a free agent. At the time, few doubted that the team would offer Dunn arbitration — and few doubted that he would reject it and seek greater riches elsewhere.

Dunn, the only major leaguer to hit 40 or more homers in each of the past five seasons, still appears likely to command a sizable multiyear deal, most likely from an American League club.

But the D-backs, who recently cut 31 employees from an admittedly bloated front office and parted with Randy Johnson over financial differences, might be unwilling to risk that Dunn would return at a salary of $15 million to $16 million.

Then again, if the D-backs made the offer, it’s doubtful that Dunn and his agents would determine by midnight Saturday that a multiyear contract was beyond their reach. What’s more, the D-backs always could trade Dunn if he accepted their offer. In that sense, he would be an asset on a one-year deal; the Nationals, among other teams, would jump.

Thanks to Barnald.

Sources: Orioles revisit trade talks for Pie

This Pie deal could get hairier than the Mom’s Apple Pie debacle.

The Orioles have revisited trade talks with the Cubs about outfielder Felix Pie, according to industry sources, and could end up as the third team in a three-way deal that would send marquee right-hander Jake Peavy from the San Diego Padres to Chicago.

Pie, once considered one of the best young prospects in the game, was an Orioles target at this time last year when the two teams discussed a trade involving two-time All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts.

Orioles president Andy MacPhail said today that a deal is not imminent but acknowledged that Pie is the kind of player the Orioles are pursuing to broaden the club’s position depth.

“We have a lot of different irons in the fire,” MacPhail said. “We’re in the process of determining who our trading partners might be and which free agents we might have a chance to sign. We’re basically in the same position as everybody else, waiting for a couple of big dominoes to fall.”