Before a 3-1 loss to the Devils at the Bell Centre, the NHL’s Canadiens pay an emotional tribute to the late Gary Carter with a five-minute video set to The Eagles’ New Kid in Town. The players don No. 8 Carter jerseys during warmups, and the team’s mascot Youppi!, who once represented the city’s National League team, wears the Expos colors in place of his usual bleu-blanc-rouge (blue, white, and red), honoring the memory of the only Montreal player enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

ByThis Day in Baseball

Before a 3-1 loss to the Devils at the Bell Centre, the NHL’s Canadiens pay an emotional tribute to the late Gary Carter with a five-minute video set to The Eagles’ New Kid in Town. The players don No. 8 Carter jerseys during warmups, and the team’s mascot Youppi!, who once represented the city’s National League team, wears the Expos colors in place of his usual bleu-blanc-rouge (blue, white, and red), honoring the memory of the only Montreal player enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

The Yankees find a taker for P A.J. Burnett, whose inconsistency over the past two years has given management gray hairs. They send him to the Pirates for a couple of players from the low minors, Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones, but have to agree to pay $20 million out of the $33 million due in salary to Burnett for the next two seasons for the privilege of having him taken off their hands.

ByTom

The Yankees find a taker for P A.J. Burnett, whose inconsistency over the past two years has given management gray hairs. They send him to the Pirates for a couple of players from the low minors, Diego Moreno and Exicardo Cayones, but have to agree to pay $20 million out of the $33 million due in salary to Burnett for the next two seasons for the privilege of having him taken off their hands.

Major League Baseball announces that it will void the contract reached by the Baltimore Orioles with teenage Korean pitcher Seong-Min Kim on January 30th. The Korea Baseball Association filed a formal protest after the signing, alleging that the O’s have breached protocol by inking Kim without obtaining prior clearance from Korean baseball authorities.

ByTom

Major League Baseball announces that it will void the contract reached by the Baltimore Orioles with teenage Korean pitcher Seong-Min Kim on January 30th. The Korea Baseball Association filed a formal protest after the signing, alleging that the O’s have breached protocol by inking Kim without obtaining prior clearance from Korean baseball authorities.

Major League Baseball sets up a vetting committee chaired by Bill Bartholomew, chairman emeritus of the Atlanta Braves and including six other major league owners, to evaluate the merits of the various bids to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. 11 groups have cleared the initial round of qualification. The final choice is to be made by current owner Frank McCourt, who will first select five bidders to be submitted to the newly-formed committee for approval; the final sale also requires the approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross. The complex process must be completed by April 30th, when McCourt is required to pay a $131 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife Jamie.

ByTom

Major League Baseball sets up a vetting committee chaired by Bill Bartholomew, chairman emeritus of the Atlanta Braves and including six other major league owners, to evaluate the merits of the various bids to buy the Los Angeles Dodgers. 11 groups have cleared the initial round of qualification. The final choice is to be made by current owner Frank McCourt, who will first select five bidders to be submitted to the newly-formed committee for approval; the final sale also requires the approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross. The complex process must be completed by April 30th, when McCourt is required to pay a $131 million divorce settlement to his ex-wife Jamie.

Oakland signs OF Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $36 million

Oakland signs OF Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $36 million

ByTom

2012 – The A’s sign OF Yoenis Cespedes to a four-year contract worth $36 million, a record for a Cuban defector, outbidding at least five other teams. The signing belies some of the A’s other off-season moves in which they traded established young players in return for prospects, but they see Cespedes as a future franchise player, and his outstanding rookie season will be a key contribution in the A’s unexpected AL West division title.

White Sox sign former University of Southern California quarterback Mitch Mustain 

ByTom

The White Sox sign former University of Southern California quarterback Mitch Mustain to a contract. Mustain saw his football career stall after college and is ready to get back on the diamond after an 8-year hiatus after impressing scouts with a fastball timed at 90 mph.

Pedro Martinez throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the 2012 Caribbean Series

ByTom

Pedro Martinez throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Dominican Republic’s representative, Escogido, takes on Aragua in the 2012 Caribbean Series. The Dominicans have already won the title, thanks to Mayaguez’s 4 – 3 win over Obregon in today’s first game, which means that no other team can finish with more than three wins while Escogido has won its first four games. Mayaguez wins when Luis Figueroa drives in Johnny Monell Jr. with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 9th. The second contest is thus meaningless, and Aragua blanks the new champions, 7 – 0, as Luis Jimenez and Hector Gimenez both homer and Yorman Bazardo pitches 6 scoreless innings.