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News and notes for people who blue themselves (speaking of which, Jason says the currently unknown results will be revealed later this morning):
Indians news
Signing Ubaldo is worth the risk | Indians Baseball Insider (Jim Pete) - Even at a seemingly meager projected two wins, Ubaldo Jimenez is worth it, argues Pete, but not before a long examination of all sides of the issue.
What to expect from a mysterious Ubaldo | Fangraphs (Jeff Sullivan) - Sullivan digs a bit deeper, exploring what Jimenez's eventual employers should expect from him in 2014 and beyond. He credits some of Jimenez's success to a slight increase in velocity, an easy-ish schedule, and an increase in innings caught by Yan Gomes last year, which is news to me.
Naquin gets a taste of the big leagues, steak | Cleveland.com (Paul Hoynes) - Tribe prospect Tyler Naquin goes for a steak dinner with Kenny Lofton and Michael Bourn. That's about the gist of this piece, I just thought it was funny.
Doby deserves a statue more than Thome | Indians Baseball Insider (Michael Hattery) - Hattery delves into the baseball and non-baseball reasons that argue for Larry Doby to be immortalized in statue form. As someone who worshipped Jim Thome as a kid, even I agree giving Thome a statue before some other Tribe greats is a bit weird.
Tribe extends deal with Mahoning Valley | Indians.com (Jordan Bastian) - The Class A short season Scrappers have extended their player development contract through the 2016 season.
Major League 4 a possibility | NBC Sports (Craig Calcaterra) - If this news was a color, it would be green.
Around the league
Mariners close to signing Nelson Cruz | NBC Sports (D.J. Short) - After the Robinson Cano contract, it'll be fun to see what Seattle offers up to Cruz.
Michael Young to retire | CBS Sports (Matt Snyder) - Young hangs 'em among the Rangers all-time leader in grit and heart, another solid candidate for the Hall of Pretty Good. Over at NBC Sports, Michael Poullot uses Young as a jumping off point for a discussion on players likely to reach 3000 hits in their career.
Tampa and Baltimore pursuing A.J. Burnett | CBS Sports (Dayn Perry) - The Orioles are apparently "all in" on the 37 year-old righty according to Peter Gammons.
Bruce Chen's one-year deal is the latest event in a long, strange career | Fangraphs (Dave Cameron) - The Royals re-signed Chen for one year, $4.25 million. He gives up more homers per nine innings than just about any pitcher in baseball, but he's managed to hang around for over ten years.
Don't look too deep into Rays and A's offseason moves | Fangraphs (Jeff Sulllivan) - If you're looking at Tampa and Oakland to fin trends in small-market baseball strategies, you might be looking a little too hard.