Here are some updates from a little birdie we call the hot stove.

Red Sox
It looks as though the Sox will keep Victor Martinez, posing the question of what to do about Jason Varitek. If he does return they may want to use the DH for his spot. Varitek hit .209 last year. This is well within the range of any Red Sox pitcher to hit.

Milton Bradley
While the money owed to him was supposed to be a hurdle, FoxSports.com is reporting that Milton Bradley trade talks are heating up. Milton Bradley would go to the Blue Jays. The Mets would get Lyle Overbay. And the Cubs would get Luis Castillo. If this goes through it would be an even trade across the board. The Mets would get a first baseman if the decomposing Carlos Delgado does not return. The Blue Jays would get a solid outfielder that may or may not implode their team. And the Cubs would get far away from Milton Bradley.

No Replay
Baseball general managers failed to vote on expanding the use of instant replay. I for one am thrilled for the news. I may be in the minority here but instant replay in baseball needs to be slowly brought in. Granted the games pace would be perfect for side bars on the correct call but the culture of baseball would falter. Ghost tags on a double play, fooling the ump on a close play, even a great pickoff move that may be slightly illegal are all plays that teams and players count on. If these and other examples would disappear the game and players would suffer for it.

And Finally
Sammy Sosa’s most surprising secret may not be his alleged steroid use but the fact that he is actually a white man. That and the fact that the McCourts were not the happiest couple in the world, and well, nothing really surprises me anymore.