Turn on the Hot Stove

With the World Series out of the way the 2009 Hot Stove season has officially begun. Here's one of my favorite baseball reporters, Buster Olney, starting up the stove...

In news that maybe only I care about, the Chicago White Sox declined an option of Ken Griffey Jr. leaving the 38-year old future Hall of Famer a free agent this offseason. With Griffey's rapidly declining numbers, a name still commanding somewhere around $6-8 million a year, and a (deserved) desire to play for a championship contender you got to wonder where Griffey will land this summer. Too bad he doesn't fit with the Twins in any way. I'd be the first in line to purchase that Griffey Twins jersey!

LEN III documents all the players that filed for free agency yesterday. As expected, Eddie Guardado, Nick Punto, and Dennys Reyes file for the Twins. If I were a betting man, I'd guess that only Punto returns.

And now for something completely different...

MLB.com's Kelly Theiser got to take a tour of Target Field this week. Her article isn't too exciting, but it's worth checking out the two picture galleries to see the park start to shape.

Have a great Friday Twins fans!