Ken Kadokura

Links for Friday…

• Troy E. Renck of the Denver Post says the Orioles have "mild interest" in Josh Fogg.  If Fogg can't find an appealing job elsewhere he'll report to Triple A Colorado Springs for the Rockies.
• Via the Twitter feed of John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer…the Reds have talked about Geoff Jenkins and Frank Catalanotto but nothing is close.
• Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker has a Sports Hochi report saying recently released pitcher Ken Kadokura is reaching out to the Cardinals and Orioles.
• Ryan Shealy cleared waivers and was sent to Triple A, clearing up the Royals' first base/DH logjam.
• The website FINalternatives.com says Rangers owner Tom Hicks defaulted on more than $500MM in loans.
• Joel Sherman of the New York Post looks at the payrolls for the Mets and Yankees.
• Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune says Hal Steinbrenner "told close friends he plans on hiring Lou Piniella as a consultant when his managerial contract with the Cubs runs out after the 2010 season."
• According to Tom Krasovic of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Padres GM Kevin Towers said he still might add another starting pitcher.
• Albert Chen of Sports Illustrated writes about the advanced defensive metrics that are becoming prevalent in the game.
• Dave Cameron of FanGraphs writes about the ethics of service time manipulation.
• SI.com's Jon Heyman noted yesterday that "The Giants like Xavier Nady and wouldn't mind bringing the University of California product home at some point."