Pitcher Aaron Crow, who was selected ninth overall in the Major League Baseball first-year player draft by Washington in June, signed a minor-league contract with the Fort Worth Cats on Wednesday.

All signs point to Crow officially being a member of the Cats after Friday’s 11 p.m. MLB signing deadline for draft selections passes. Discussions with Nationals general manager Jim Bowden have stalled, Crow’s agent, Randy Hendricks, said.

“We wouldn’t have had him sign with the Cats if we thought he was going to sign with the Nationals,” Hendricks said. “The last I talked with Jim Bowden, he didn’t think there was anything more to talk about. I didn’t disagree.”

Source: Star-Telegram

...Adam Loewen is done as a pitcher. He's going to reinvent himself as an outfielder/first baseman, perhaps as early as the fall instructional league.

Another surgery on his elbow would have sidelined him for an estimated 1 1/2 years, and he wasn't willing to go down that path.

"I'm always going to be a pitcher," he said. "I've been doing it since I was 9 years old. It's going to be hard to let it go, but God has a plan for me."

- Baltimore Sun

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April 16, 2007.

It's been one year since we lost our friend Brian Bluhm (VTTigers) and 31 of his peers and colleagues.

"We say that the hour of death cannot be forecast, but when we say this we imagine that hour as placed in an obscure and distant future. It never occurs to us that it has any connection with the day already begun or that death could arrive this same afternoon, this afternoon which is so certain and which has every hour filled in advance." -- Marcel Proust

Rotoworld:

MLB suspended outfielder Jordan Schafer 50 games for using human growth hormone.
Perhaps this partially explains Schafer's big leap forward last year, though studies on whether hGH really helps performance have yet to produce much in the way of results. Schafer has been viewed as a big-time talent since long before he was drafted -- Baseball America named him the top 13-year-old prospect in the nation in 2000 -- but he as often as not disappointed before blossoming in 2007.

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/player_main.aspx?sport=MLB&id=5052

Rotoworld:

The Brewers and Luis Vizcaino have reportedly agreed to terms on a two-year, $7 million contract.

So much for Ken Rosenthal's report that he was deciding between the Rockies and Pirates. This is probably about as good of a bullpen bargain as a team is going to get this winter, though it does leave the Brewers with a ridiculous six relievers making at least $3 million (Eric Gagne, David Riske, Derrick Turnbow, Guillermo Mora and Salomon Torres). Lefty specialist Brian Shouse figures to get the other spot, so pitchers like Claudio Vargas, Carlos Villanueva and Manny Parra won't be on the team if they fail to claim rotation spots.

Rotoworld says:

Agent Rocky Hall said he's expecting the Brewers to extend a two-year offer to Tadahito Iguchi.

Iguchi would likely take over as the Brewers' third baseman, with Ryan Braun getting shifted to left. That's not the kind of upgrade the Brewers first seemed to be shooting for when they entertained the idea of moving Braun, but it might work out OK.

Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

I thought it might be a good idea to create one thread to discuss the Winter Meetings. There should be several deals made, and not all of them will be worthy of their own threads. Instead, we can discuss them all here.

First up....

MLB Radio is reporting that the White Sox will acquire Carlos Quentin from the Diamondbacks for Chris Carter.

Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
Indians left-hander Juan Lara was seriously injured Saturday night in an automobile-motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic.

Lara, 26, suffered what an Indians spokesman called "life-threatening injuries" when the car he was in was struck by a motorcycle at an intersection in San Pedro de Macoris, D.R. The two riders on the motorcycle were killed instantly and Lara was hospitalized, according to Bart Swain, Indians director of media relations.

Swain said Lara's car was stopped at an intersection when the motorcycle hit the car broadside. Lara was pinned inside the car.

"We are monitoring the situation closely," said General Manager Mark Shapiro. "Our prayers are with Juan and his family."

Lino Diaz, Indians director of Latin American Operations, was dispatched to the Dominican to check on Lara's condition. Lara made one appearance with the Indians in 2007 and nine in 2006. He spent the majority of the 2007 season at Class AAA Buffalo, going 4-3 with a 3.88 ERA and two saves in 52 appearances. He struck out 50 and walked 27.

Lara has been in the Indians organization for nine years. He's on the 40-man roster and was pitching for Estrellas in the Dominican winter league.

http://www.portlandbeavers.com/promotions/namechange/index.html

As the Portland Beavers continue researching a potential team-name change, the team invites you to give your feedback and rankings for the following list of names, including the current moniker, below.  Recognizing that fan input is integral in a decision of this nature, please read the following descriptions and rank the team names as you see fit, one being your top choice, and five being your least favorite.

The team will collect the online rankings for a period of one week, and an announcement regarding the status of a potential name change will be made at a later date.

*Please note that the logos for the potential new names are initial concepts at this point and are not final.

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The Padres aren't taking any chances with Matt Bush. After Bush developed a sore shoulder, the club shut him down, four outings after the former No. 1 draft pick moved from shortstop to the mound.

Bush, 21, probably won't pitch for another week, but the Padres expect the right-hander to pitch again this summer. He has struck out 11 over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in his four appearances in Rookie ball.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/weblog/2007/07/bush_shut_down.html

I haven't been keeping up with him much this season, but I noticed Dan Mayer's game last night.

ORG LVL PITCHER      IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO  ERA
OAK AAA Meyer, Dan  5.0  3  2   2   3   9  3.27 - W (2-0)

Has anybody been following him this year? How is he looking? He certainly is not the hot shot prospect he was a couple of years ago, but what do you think his chances are of contributing on a major-league staff in the future?

With the Barry Zito situation unlikely to be resolved before the end of the year, the Rangers acted Saturday to add youth and depth to the starting rotation.

According to two Rangers sources, the club agreed to send top pitching prospect John Danks, the team's No. 1 pick in 2003, and reliever Nick Masset to the Chicago White Sox for 23-year-old hard-throwing right-hander Brandon McCarthy. Both teams will also exchange low-level minor leaguers.

Link: Dallas Morning News