I don't have anything to say up here other than let's go straight to Boston.
- The reaction to the Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval signings is coming in. We might as well start with the official word from Richard Justice and mlb.com, who writes that the Red Sox tossed their idea of "sustainability" out the window in exchange for a "win-now" mode.
- Joe Sheehan writes that there is no master plan in Boston, just a pragmatism that say to do whatever it takes to win at that moment.
- Jonah Keri calls it a "high-risk, high-reward" plan that depends on Ramirez and Sandoval staying healthy and for Boston to find some team willing to trade them pitching.
- Ken Rosenthal says this is like the spending spree the Red Sox went on in 2011 and that didn't work.
- Craig Calcaterra writes that 2015 is not 2011.
- Our friends over at Over The Monster agree that 2015 is not 2011.
- Brian Kenny calls Hanley Ramirez an "odd fit" in Boston.
- Tony Blengino runs the data on Ramirez and Sandoval and says that both should thrive hitting in Fenway Park. Especially Panda.
- Red Sox owner John Henry says that he's still "hopeful" that the team can sign Jon Lester. Aren't you the same numbskull who signed Mario Balotelli? How's that working out for you over in Liverpool?
- Mike Axisa writes that if the Red Sox plan is to now trade Yoenis Cespedes, that might not be as easy as it sounds.
- Paul White looks at where the free agent market now stands.
- So what do the Giants do now? Mike Oz looks at their options going forward. Oz doesn't mention it, but Dave Kaplan is saying that they might call about Luis Valbuena. Makes sense that they would.
- Jon Heyman writes that the Giants are "cast[ing] a wide net" and will look at every option, large and small. He also writes that in addition to Jon Lester, which we've already heard, the Giants are looking at Max Scherzer.
- Rob Neyer tries to explain why no team has tried to copy the Giants' formula for building a champion. Answer: there is no formula.
- One other bit of Giants news. Longtime third-base coach Tim Flannery has resigned. He says he wants to spend more time with his family and on his music. And that's not code for something else.
- The other big contract wasn't with a free agent. The Mariners and Kyle Seager are reportedly close to agreeing to a seven-year, $100 million extension.
- David Schoenfield says "Smart move, Mariners."
- Cliff Corcoran writes "Yep. That's a great play by the M's."
- The Dodgers are interested in trading for Cole Hamels. So they join the Cubs and the Red Sox who get to respond "LOL. But seriously" to Ruben Amaro Jr.'s emails.
- Jayson Stark looks at the pros and cons for the Phillies of dealing Hamels this winter. The problem is that Amaro thinks he needs a franchise-changing (and job-saving) trade that everyone will say that the Phillies ripped the other team off.
- The Dodgers did acquire one pitcher in trade, getting Juan Nicasio from the Rockies.
- The Diamondbacks are currently one of the most aggressive team in the pursuit of Cuban free agent Yasmany Tomas. The Phillies, unsurprisingly, seem to have backed out.
- Add Rob Neyer to those who think that the Marlins haven't changed at all. He thinks it quite unlikely that Stanton will still be in Miami in 13 years. Or even six.
- Neyer also looks back at Ichiro Suzuki's big contract in 2007 that Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria blasted as "inexcusable" at the time.
- David Schoenfield looks at the pros and cons of signing James Shields.
- The Rangers have asked the Braves about trading for Justin Upton.
- Former Cubs farmhand Robinson Chirinos has won the Dallas-Fort Worth BBWAA chapter's first ever Richard Durrett Hardest-Working Man contest. Durrett was the Rangers beat writer who died of a heart attack at age 38 this past summer. Wow. According to baseball-reference, Chirinos was a 2.4 WAR player in 93 games in Texas last year. Admitting that WAR for catchers is really problematic, I'm really happy for Chirinos for his season and this award. I've been told he's a great guy.
- Eno Sarris says that though we were all surprised how good Kole Calhoun was this year, maybe we shouldn't have been.
- Chad Finn talks to severall baseball writers to find out how the profession has changed in the age of Twitter. (h/t Hardball Talk, who add that it's a good thing.)
- John Thorn, the official MLB historian that while he was a great player, Joe DiMaggio is overrated by most people, especially his defense. I agree but with a whole ton of "but . . ."
- More former Cubs farmhand news. Jim Adduci signed with a Korean team, as did Lucas Harrell.
- And finally in related news (and this is related news to the previous story), Brett Anderson is a major jerk.
And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.