Rockies Looking For Starting Pitching

7:22pm: Walt Jocketty did not deny the Fogg-Rockies rumor when asked. Maybe he'll be a little more loose with the rumors than Krivsky was. 9:18am: Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post has details on the Rockies' pursuit of starting pitching. Their search includes some familiar names. Josh Fogg seems like the most likely acquisition; he's a DFA candidate for the Reds. Fogg received an early one-year offer from the Rockies this winter that was later pulled back. Julian Tavarez, another former Rockie, is on the radar again. The Red Sox don't seem to have much use for him. Kevin...

Odds and Ends: Harden, Bonds, Ramon Hernandez

Time to round up today's linkage. Susan Slusser believes Rich Harden and Joe Blanton will both be traded this season. She sees the Yankees and Mets as suitors for Harden, though he's already having a start pushed back. Jim Caple recently made his case for the Mariners to sign Barry Bonds; his logic is sound. Our Brian Bannister Q&A got a mention in the KC Star. Nice! RotoAuthority has the fantasy take on K-Rod's ailing ankles. Pure speculation, but Ken Rosenthal thinks Ramon Hernandez would be a good fit for the Reds. Not sure if the Reds were looking at...

Rosenthal's Latest: Reed, Aardsma, Cueto

Rumor king Ken Rosenthal has the latest at FOXSports.com. Looks like the Padres will give near-regular playing time to Jody Gerut, at least until Jim Edmonds returns. If Gerut performs, Kevin Towers may be able to stop his outfielder search. Still, Rosenthal notes the Padres' interest in Seattle's Jeremy Reed. Reed has two options left, by the way. Rosenthal names three Boston players who are out of options and probably available for little: David Aardsma, Bryan Corey, and Kyle Snyder. The O's are known to be eyeing Corey. You can check out our running out of options list here. The...

Odds and Ends: Jerome Williams, Linden, Lo Duca

Below you'll find the day's random rumors and links. Remember Jerome Williams? He's begging the Giants or any other team to give him a shot, "even if it means in A-ball" according to John Shea. The 26 year-old Hawaiin couldn't find any success last year with Washington. He started out pretty strong with the Giants back in 2003-04. Todd Linden can get out of his minor league deal with Oakland if offered a deal in Japan, which is a possibility. Paul Lo Duca has choice words for the Mets, rejecting the notion that they were ever interested or that he...

Yankees Not Scouting Joe Blanton?

5:05pm: Joel Sherman of the New York post says the Yankees were not watching Blanton specifically. The scouts were just doing normal coverage. 12:22am: According to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Yankees had a scout watching Oakland starter Joe Blanton on Sunday. Blanton, 27, saw his salary escalate to $3.7MM this year as he reached his arbitration years. He'll remain under team control through the 2010 season. The projection would change if Blanton switched to pinstripes, but PECOTA sees a 4.36 ERA in 187 innings from him this year (a performance valued at $8.8MM). The Yankees are...

Dusty Talks To Lofton, Patterson

Cubs center fielders hit a fine .302/.344/.466 for Dusty Baker's 2003 club, which came within five outs of a World Series appearance. Most of the ABs at the position went to Corey Patterson and Kenny Lofton that year. Dusty's managing the Reds now, and both center fielders remain free agents as of February 17th. The Reds have some uncertainty in center field, though Jay Bruce is a stud and Ryan Freel is said to be 100%. According to John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer, Baker has spoken to both Lofton and Patterson recently. They are options for the Reds; Baker...

Odds and Ends

Here are some various trade rumors that didn't quite have enough behind them for individual posts. There's a gossip section in the Boston Herald called Inside Track, written by Gayle Fee, Laura Raposa, and Erin Hayes. They heard that Coco Crisp told fans at the recent Division Champs celebration that he expects to be dealt this winter to make room for Jacoby Ellsbury. By most accounts Crisp has developed into a fine defensive center fielder, and he's under contract for $4.75MM in '08, $5.75MM in '09, and an $8MM club option in '10. Perhaps Crisp could be used to acquire...