10:56am: John Perrotto, the Baseball Prospectus writer who first ran the Pedro-to-the-Astros story, has issued a mea culpa:
Let’s get this straight right off the top: I was wrong, way wrong about Pedro Martinez being on the verge of signing as a free agent with the Astros.
WEDNESDAY, 9:17am: Oritz reports that third baseman Aaron Boone will leave the Astros to undergo open heart surgery. It's unclear when or if he'll ever play baseball again. This appears to be the only big announcement that the Astros had planned for this morning.
TUESDAY, 9:35pm: Jose de Jesus Ortiz of the Houston Chronicle talked to Astros GM Ed Wade, who said the team has had "zero discussions" on the Pedro front. Martinez is not close to signing with the Astros. De Jesus Ortiz was also able to determine in talking to owner Drayton McLane that he is not selling the team or firing, hiring, or signing anyone. The press conference also has nothing to do with steroids. MLB.com's Alyson Footer also confirmed that the Astros are not close to an agreement with Pedro.
Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez spoke to Pedro and learned that the pitcher is down to two options (MLB.com's Ken Gurnick reporting). SI.com's Jon Heyman wrote Monday that the Mets and Dodgers seem to be the likely possibilities.
8:25pm: John Perrotto of Baseball Prospectus says the Astros are close to an agreement with Pedro Martinez.
6:34pm: According to MLB.com's Alyson Footer, the Astros scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning at 8:45am CST. Footer says the Astros confirmed it's not about Ivan Rodriguez. Any guesses?
