Posted by basebal5 on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 9:06 am

From the Baseball Digest Daily Picture Gallery (stay tuned for a picture feature very soon)

(Bill Richardson/BDD)

BDD Offers –

New Articles: Dissecting the 2008 HoF Election, by Craig Brown
Home Runs and the Power of Perception, by Geoff Young

Legal Analysis of Clemens vs McNamee, by lawyer Gordon Berger.
The Bloggers Roundtable – Boston Red Sox (the Chicago Cubs are next)
Baseball Bloggers vs Baseball Reporters, by Dave Rouleau
Fan Mania – The Tigers Go Wild, by Rob McQuown
Does Juan Piere Help a Team?, by Rob McQuown
Waiting For Their Pitches, by Jonathan Hale
San Diego Padres Starting Pitching Analysis, by Dave Rouleau

BDD's Big League Futures, our minor league department, is now up-and-running and even has a news feed on our main page.  Original material will also be added soon by Jim Pratt and Dave Rouleau.

You can hear the latest edition of the BDD Radio Show, with Jim Callis and a Phillies beat writer, Scott Lauber.

Join the Baseball Digest Daily Facebook group!

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All Baseball Transactions Friday

Dear readers, today's Roundup will be short on comments and analysis, due to my traveling schedule to Toronto (from Quebec City) to cover the Baseball Canada's National Teams Award Banquet and Fundraiser (look at the incredible guests) on Saturday.  I will bring back notes and pictures for a complete report on the event next week.  The Roundups will then return early Monday morning.

- Major League Baseball has created a department of investigations to examine allegations of illegal drug use by players and 'other threats to the integrity of the game'.  Excerpt of the NY Times article:

“A news release from Selig said Major League Baseball was also setting up a hot line for club employees to report violations. In addition, the release said, all clubhouse personnel will be required to certify, in writing, each year, “that they have no undisclosed, actual knowledge of the use, possession or distribution of a prohibited substance by a player or other club employee.”

The department of investigations will work independently from clubs “and will have broad authority to conduct investigations,” Selig wrote.”

J.C. Bradbury, over at the Baseball Economist, thinks the new task force misses the point completely.

MLB and the NFL have joined the top two US Olympic-related organizations to help rid sports of drugs.

John Donovan of Sports Illustrated talks about the need for Don Fehr and Bud Selig to work together immediately to implement the Mitchell Report recommendations.

- Former St-Louis Cardinals General Manager Walt Jocketty was hired by the Cincinnati Reds as a special advisor to owner/CEO Bob Castellini.  Excerpt:

“During the 56-year-old Jocketty's tenure, the Cardinals went to the postseason seven times and won the 2006 World Series. He was named Major League Baseball's Executive of the Year by The Sporting News in 2000 and 2004 and by Baseball America in 2000.

Jocketty and St. Louis mutually decided to part ways on Oct. 3, following a difficult 78-84 season. Since then, there was speculation he'd eventually join the Reds in some capacity because Castellini was once a minority shareholder with the Cardinals. That familiarity proved important as Jocketty accepted the job once Castellini reached out.”

- The Milwaukee Brewers signed CF Mike Cameron to a one-year deal with a club option for 2009.  The contract is worth 7 M$ in 2008 with the possibility of earning more with incentives.

The Texas Rangers signed LH reliever Eddie Guardado to a one-year contract worth 2 M$, with 4 M$ more in possible incentives.  The 37-year-old will serve as mentor for the young pitchers, less than two years removed from elbow ligament-replacement surgery.

A few other minor deals were completed Friday.

SF Giants third baseman Pedro Feliz, 32, is a target for many teams looking to add pop and good defense at the hot corner.

- As mentioned in the Roundup two days ago, the Braves are talking to the Athletics about CF Mark Kotsay.  Read my analysis here.

- Another sign that the Chicago White Sox are looking to compete in the AL Central in 2008 is their desire to add another arm to their starting rotation and Ozzie Guillen recently traveled to the Dominican Republic to scout RHP Bartolo Colon, who pitched for the White Sox in 2003.

- You can read an interview with Detroit center fielder Curtis Granderson here.

- Take a closer look at Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano.

- Astros outfielder Hunter Pence posted his latest blog yesterday.

- The Minnesota Twins named their Spring Training invitees, with former Nationals starter Zach Day among them.

- Major League clubs are increasingly adopting the new trend of setting winter mini-camps for prospects.  The Dodgers are the latest to try the experiment and assistant general manager to player development, De Jon Watson, is glad its taking place:

“Watson, assistant general manager for player development, has the cream of the farm system crop at Dodger Stadium this week and next for the organization's first winter mini-camp. Halfway through, it's a big success.

“There's already been a lot of positive feedback,” said Watson, recently promoted to his new title after being hired as farm director only a year ago. “This is something I've always wanted to do, something I mentioned during my interview process. I just thought it was a great tool to implement in helping our young players with the transition from the Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues.”

- All signs are indicating that the Toronto Blue Jays, who have located their Triple-A team in Syracuse since the major league club was added in the expansion of 1977, will be left to find another domicile for their farm team.  The NY Mets are showing interest in establishing their AAA team there, especially now that the Alliance Bank Stadium has been equipped with a brand new natural playing surface. 

The love/hate relationship between Toronto and Syracuse is probably nearing its end and that could be very good for every parties involved. 

Debate of the Day: Finish the following sentence – The whole Clemens-McNamee saga will one day…..

You can reach me at drouleau@baseballdigestdaily.com