The Hot Stove Season is upon us and news and information on who’s looking at who is being talking about all over the baseball universe. Here are some of the headlines reported today:

• Nick Cafardo is reporting that the Red Sox did not meet with free agent C.C. Sabathia’s agent and it seems that he is not in Boston’s off season wish list.  The Yankees however remain interested.
• Andy Pettitte is looking to pitch again in 2009 but the Yankees may wait to hear from Mike Mussina before speaking to him.    The Houston Astros could also be interested in Pettitte.
• Jason  Bay’s agent is reporting that his client loves playing in Boston and would be open to a contract extension.
• According to Ken Gurnick, the Los Angeles Dodgers have decided to choose Brad Penny’s $2MM buyout over his $9.25MMoption.
• The Colorado Rockies have talked with the Tampa Bay Rays about Matt Holliday and would be willing to deal pitching or even outfielder Carl Crawford for the Colorado outfielder. There was also talk of the Rockies being interested in New York’s Ian Kennedy.
• Acording to Ken Davidoff, the Mets have shown interest in adding some new arms to their pitching staff, specifically Jon Garland and Ryan Dempster.  Buster Olney reports the Mets having interest in Francisco Rodriguez.
• Keith Law reports that A.J. Burnett will be looking for a 5 year deal.  The Red Sox could be interested but Nick Cafardo reports that Boston wouldn’t be interested in offering more then 3 years.   J.P. Ricciardi remains optimistic about Toronto’s chances or re-signing Burnett.
• Kevin Gregg, Huston Street, and J.J. Putz round out Detroit’s top three candidates for the closer position.
• Manny Ramirez looks to be the New York Yankee’s plan B but if they fail to sign Mark Teixeira and are able to trade Hideki Matsui.
• Peter Abraham believes that the Yankees will trade Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy before next season.
• According to Buster Olney, the Phillies will probably make a two year offer to Pat Burrell.

That’s it for now…Look for more news as it becomes available.

Five first-time winners and four previous winners — including Greg Maddux’s record 18th at pitcher — took home National League Gold Gloves on Wednesday.  Maddux who might retire before the start of the ‘09 season now has two more Gold Gloves than any player in the 51-year history of the award.  The full list of winners include:

Catcher
Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals (First)

First Baseman
Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego Padres (First)

Second Baseman
Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds (First)

Third Baseman
David Wright, New York Mets (Second)

Shortstop
Jimmy Rollins, Philadelphia Phillies (Second)

Outfield
Carlos Beltran, New York Mets (Second)
Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh Pirates (First)
Shane Victorino, Philadelphia Phillies (First)

Pitcher
Greg Maddux, San Diego Padres/Los Angeles Dodgers (18th)

“People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball.  I’ll tell you what I do.  I stare out the window and wait for spring.”

~Rogers Hornsby

It usually happens to me the first week of November when the really cold air starts to move in and the winds from the north strip the trees of their final leaves:  I begin to cope with the fact the baseball season is over.

Sometimes in the summer, I have the TV on, not really watching a game, but enjoying the background noise the sounds of a ball game provides.  The rhythms and cadence of the game are there, even when I’m not paying attention.  In the winter, the TV is usually off in the evening.  What am I going to watch or have in the background that is as warm and inviting as a ball game?

I have contemplated canceling my subscription to the local paper.  The articles are all online and my favorite baseball writers all post their best stuff on blogs anyway, so what’s the point?  For some reason, I keep coming back to the box scores.  Why does that matter?  I don’t know.  But there’s something comforting about starting the day with a cup of coffee and seeing everything laid out in front of me… The standings, the day’s pitching match-ups and yes, the box scores.  It’s nice having them online, but it’s not the same.

It’s all about the routine of summer.  And if you’re a baseball fan, you’re a fan of routine.  You can’t follow a team for six or seven months, through spring training, 162 regular season games and if your lucky the post season, without developing some habits.  And when the season ends, it’s jarring.

Thankfully, there are plenty of diversions.  The GMs are meeting in California.  Next week the hardware will be distributed for Rookie of the Year and Cy Young awards with the MVPs named the following week.  Then there’s the Hot Stove to carry us through December and January.  And before we know it, pitchers and catchers will be gathering in Florida and Arizona.

I can’t wait.

…Jose Canseco has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor smuggling charges in federal court yesterday. He was sentenced to 12 months of unsupervised probation. He tried to bring a fertility drug across the border from Mexico. [USA Today]

…St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter underwent surgery to transpose a nerve in his pitching elbow, a procedure similar to the one that teammate Albert Pujols had last month. The Card’s didn’t say whether or not Carpenter remains on track to be ready by the beginning of spring training. [CBS]

…The Los Angeles Dodgers have bought out 36 year-old catcher Gary Bennett’s contract option for $50,000 dollars on Tuesday. Had they not done that, they would’ve been on the hook for $900,000 dollars plus incentives. Bennett only played for 10 games for the Dodgers last season after signing in December. He was also in the Mitchell Report for using Human Growth Hormone. [CBS]

…The Washington Nationals outrighted first baseman Dmitri Young to Triple A Syracuse on Tuesday.  Young could have refused the assignment and become a free agent, but had he done that he would’ve forfeited the final year of his contract with the Nats. [CBS]

…According to a press release by Major League Baseball San Diego Padres TV Play-by-Play announcer Matt Vasgersian will leave the Padres to join the MLB Network to be it’s in studio host for “MLB Tonight” and “MLB Hot Stove” studio programs. The network launches in January. [MLB]

The Chicago Tribune reports that the White Sox are actively shopping Javier Vazquez and Nick Swisher this winter. Vazquez is a stathead darling who consistently draws praise for his excellent peripheral numbers but who rarely dominates over long stretches the way one might expect. That said, if there’s any truth to the old Bret Saberhagen odd/even year thing, then this might not be a bad time to acquire Vazquez:

Vazquez in even years

1998: 69 ERA+
2000: 119
2002: 108
2004: 92
2006: 98
2008: 98

Vazquez in odd years

1999: 89 ERA+
2001: 130
2003: 139
2005: 100
2007: 127

I’m not saying I necessarily believe there’s a predictable pattern here, but hey, you never know.

We were talking about outfielders?

Meanwhile, over in the Swisher corner, didn’t the White Sox just trade for him? And didn’t he just have a bad year? I’m thinking that unless they believe he’s washed up at age 27 (Ben Grieve sends his regards [note to self: don’t trade for young Oakland outfielders]), they’re better off holding at this point because his value is… well, look at his last two seasons and you tell me:

2007: .262/.381/.455, 127 OPS+
2008: .219/.332/.410, 92

Swisher’s list of most comparable players through age 27 reads like a who’s who of disappointment: Greg Vaughn, Jose Cruz Jr., Cory Snyder, Carmelo Martinez, Phil Plantier, Preston Wilson, Austin Kearns. Those are some decent players, but the early returns on guys like Cruz, Plantier, and Kearns suggested something more than “decent.”

His own past performance and list of comps notwithstanding, nobody knows what the future holds for Swisher in terms of performance — the best we can do is make educated guesses. That said, Swisher doesn’t strike me as a particularly hot commodity at the moment, unless it’s in a buy-low situation. And if the White Sox are willing to sell low, then wouldn’t they be better off holding?

The only trouble is that, if you can parse anything from GM Kenny Williams’ series of one-word responses in the Tribune article, Swisher’s status in the current lineup is far from certain. Williams states that Swisher won’t play center field, where he probably gives a team its greatest value (unless he really can’t handle the position, in which case why do teams keep throwing him out there?). The article also indicates that he may not be able to displace the older, declining, and more firmly entrenched Paul Konerko at first base. The team isn’t hurting for corner outfielders, and a future Hall of Famer occupies the DH spot. Where does that leave Swisher?

It’s an awkward situation, to be sure, and one that may not be easily or happily resolved. Take a productive center fielder, turn him into an unproductive first baseman, and then try to flip him for something of value. That’s not a strategy I would want to adopt, but what the heck do I know?

Darek Braunecker, A.J. Burnett’s agent, let the Toronto Blue Jays know on Tuesday that his client has decided to opt out of the last two years of his contract and $24 million behind to hit the free agent market.

The Blue Jays expect to make a strong push to re-sign Burnett, a Type A free agent.  The club have exclusive negotiating rights with Burnett until November 14.  Burnett lives outside of Baltimore during the offseason and is hopeful to stay on the East Coast.  Two of the teams considered to be in the running — the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles — are also in the American League East. 

For Burnett, 2008 was only his second injury-free season in 10 Major League years.  The right-handed starter who turns 32 in January went 18-10 with a 4.07 ERA in a career-high 34 starts.

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Pitcher Andy Pettite plans to pitch in 2009.  Pettite spoke with a Houston television station on Tuesday he would like to re-join the Yankees but also left the door open for other possibilities.

His agent, Randy Hendricks, confirmed that Pettite decided he wants to pitch in 2009 in an e-mail to MLB.com, according to a story on their website.

Pettite has not yet officially filed for free agency.  In ‘08, the left-handed starter went 14-14 with a 4.54 ERA in 33 starts.  If Pettite returns in ‘09, it will be the 15th season for the 36-year-old who has played for the Yankees and Astros in his career.  Pettite has 215 career wins and one of 63 Major League pitchers to record 2,000 career strikeouts with 2,002.

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More Yankees news:  The club declined the options on first baseman Jason Giambi and pitcher Carl Pavano on Tuesday.  The pair are now free agent eligible.

Giambi’s option — $22 million for ‘09 — was bought out for $5 million.  The 37-year-old Giambi hit .247 with 32 home runs and 96 RBI in 145 games in ‘08.  Giambi completed his seventh season as a Yankee after seven seasons in Oakland, a team often rumored as a possible landing spot for the 14-year veteran.

Pavano’s option — $13 million for ‘09 — was bought out for $1.95 million.  After signing a huge four-year, $39.95-million deal in 2005 with the Yankees, Pavano made just 26 starts as a Yankee — $1,536,538 per start — and missed all of ‘06 due to Tommy John surgery.  In ‘08, Pavano who turns 33 in January went 4-2 with a 5.77 ERA in seven starts.

It is unlikely for Pavano to return to the Yankees.

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Not all is sunny in Philadelphia.  Despite a World Championship, new general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. and manager Charlie Manuel told third base coach Steve Smith he would not be invited back in ‘09 on Tuesday.

The removal of Smith as third base coach is Manuel’s first change to his coaching staff in two seasons.  The team also announced that all other members of the coaching staff will be asked to return for the ‘09 season.  According to a Philadelphia Inquirer story, the relationship between Manuel and Smith was strained for some time and the manager was most unhappy that one of his staff members was suspended twice for on-field incidents.