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A quick round for Thursday…

• In case you missed the biggest story in baseball, it seems as if Alex Rodriguez will be returning to the Yankees. See our feature on my thoughts. In short, it’s a real good thing all the way around.
• In the past seven days, the Yankees have offered close to a total of 380 million dollars to keep their three big free agents: Posada, Rivera, Rodriguez.
• Mike Lowell seems to be drawing a fair amount of interest from teams. I can’t really understand why teams would give him more than a two year deal. He clearly was aided by Fenway Park and is the ideal candidate for a breakdown season. The Yankees are rumored to be talking to him about playing firstbase. I would think they would learn their lesson about signing someone so the Sox couldn’t resign them. I don’t think they are too pleased with the Johnny Damon investment.
• In news outside of New York (evidently there are other teams out  there besides the Yankees), the Braves met with Tom Glavine yesterday. There was no contract offer, but signs seem to point to him landing there on a one year deal. I worry that Glavine is getting a case of Steve Carlton in him. I am too young (32) to remember the real dominant Carlton, but I do remember him when he pitched for the Cleveland Indians. It was not pretty. I hope guys like Glavine, Maddux, and Clemens don’t suffer that same fate.
• The Texas Rangers met with Torii Hunter. Texas will probably be a player on a few guys as they have more money than usual with AROD’s money finally off of their books. Unfortunately, there are few difference makers available.
• In an effort to bolster their offense, the Twins picked up Craig Monroe. Monroe is coming off a horrendous season, but could provide some power for the often punch-less Twins. Unfortunately, one of the reasons given for acquiring Monroe was his success against Minnesota. Yes, that always works out. In the Minnesota newspapers, manager Ron Gardenhire stated that he wanted the first tier offensive players coming in. From this move, it looks like it is business as usual for the Twins who have not brought in an offensive player of consequence in quite some time.

That’s all for today as most papers are dominated with AROD. Once this situation is resolved, I’m sure teams will start to make their moves. Enjoy the day. Fire back.