What You Missed At Baseball's Winter Meetings

It's seems there's only one organization on Earth that hates the Mets more than Deadspin. The New York Damn Yankees. Brian Cashman couldn't stand to give the crosstown "rivals" even one news cycle to themselves so he flew all the way across the country to sign C.C. Sabathia in the middle of the night and steal the back page headlines from the Mets' new Rod. That's like ... real hate.

On the other hand, I have long claimed (to no one in particular) that throwing money at a big ticket closers is a waste of cash and time. The closer should the last piece of the championship puzzle and you can usually find a cheap one in your farm system or at the trade deadline, after the rest of the pieces are in place. And guess what? Rob Iracane proved me right! (Sorta.) Once again I am vindicated by someone else's hard work and science.

But the New York ball clubs aren't the only folks wheeling and dealing. Just the most successful so far. Here's a recap of what else is going on at baseball's winter meetings in Las Vegas.

• Jake Peavy and the Cubs continued their delicate dance of seduction. Jim Hendry texted Jake's best friend Sally and asked her to IM Jake and see if he wanted to get ice cream after the basketbal game on Friday night. [ Chicago Tribune]

• Cleveland has made a two-year offer to Kerry Wood, so if he passes a physical—which we all know is impossible—he'll be an Indian next year. [ Plain Dealer]

• Steve Phillips contributed to this single sentence repeating what the Baltimore Sun already said about about Cesar Izturis going to the Orioles. Nice work, boys. [ ESPN]

• The O's also traded catcher Ramon Hernandez to the Reds for Ryan Freel. You know things have gone south in your life whenever your name is preceded by the phrase "frustrated utilityman." [ AP]

• The Dodgers re-signed Casey Blake, added free-agent Mark Loretta, and are still praying some calls about Andruw Jones. [ LA Times]

• The Rockies snagged Alan Embree for one year. [ Denver Post]

• A study of maple bats was released that concluded that maple and ash should break at about that same rate, but that maple bat manufacturers just don't know what they're doing. Bud Selig actually paid someone to tell him this. [ Chicago Tribune]

• And finally, the saddest headline imaginable (for one person at least): "Ankiel Shows Up On Bomber's Radar." It would make it easier for them to visit, I suppose. [ NY Post]

See also: • Winter Rumors, Hopes [Crashburn Alley] • Sheets Leaving Home (bye bye) [Viva El Birdos] • An open letter to Brian Sabean [Giants Examiner] • Red Sox set sights on Teixeira [Yahoo] • Marrying for money is bad idea [NY Daily News] Reporting from MLB's Winter Meetings [ESPN The Mag]