We'll be keeping track of events of some importance at the Winter Meetings here...
6:12pm: For whatever reason, the Chronicle decided to ask Ron Washington what he thought about the Astros. He likes Bo Porter, and he likes Scott Feldman. Also, Jeff Luhnow and the Astros promised their new acquisitions that they wouldn't become immediate trade bait.
6:05pm: If you saw What The Heck Bobby's cumulative Winter Ball stats, you would see that Jon Singleton is hitting .283/.405/.565. That doesn't mean that the Astros aren't willing to *try* to upgrade at 1B - even with "Chris Carter" and "Brett Wallace" on the 40-Man.
5:31pm: Jayson Stark says the Astros are looking for a reliever who might be able to close. Among them? Jose Veras.
4:57pm: Apparently Lucas Harrell is drawing some trade interest.
4:14pm: Three execs talked to Buster Olney, all of whom guessed David Price would end up in Seattle.
4:09pm: Jonathan Mayo has a Rule 5 preview
3:00pm: Astros officially announce the release of Eric Thames
2:00pm: Alex White is throwing off the mound in Kissimmee and is on track to begin Spring Training healthy.
1:30pm: One GM says Chris Sale isn't really on the market.
12:51pm: According to McTaggart, the Astros will "take a flier" on a Rule 5 pick
11:58am: The White Sox would want a package better than what David Price will get to trade Chris Sale.
11:56am: The Phillies are shopping Domonic Brown. (Brown hit .272/.324/.494 with 97K in 540 PAs in 2013).
11:10am: Angels outfielder Mark Trumbo is "in play."
10:18am: Lancaster GM Derek Sharp was named the California League Executive of the Year
10:12am: White Sox pitcher Chris Sale is available for a ridiculous package of players in return.
10:03am: Astros announce they have hired Tom Koch-Weser as Coordinator of Advance Information, and will be responsible for advanced scouting, with an emphasis on video. Koch-Weser has written for Yahoo Sports as well as the blog for STATS.
9:56am: Roy Halladay is retiring.
9:10am: Joe Torre, Wife-beatin' Bobby Cox, and Drunk Drivin' Tony LaRussa have been unanimously elected by the Veterans' Committee to the Hall of Fame.
8:10am: Rakuten's president may not post Masahiro Tanaka this season.
7:19am: Matt Kemp's agent will be surprised if he isn't traded this off-season.
6:11am: Jon Heyman says Reid Ryan is a nice guy. (Ed. Note: Today needs to get going.)
Brian McTaggart: Luhnow looking at another reliver and a bat this week.
Evan Drellich: Astros preparing for Thursday's Rule 5 draft.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
