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The Tigers say last year’s World Series is now officially behind them. With another spring training in Lakeland, Florida, signaling the start of a new season, they insist being swept the Giants last October is nothing more than history. Manager Jim Leyland can even look back on last year’s Fall Classic and have a sense of humor about it.

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The song “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” has long been a holiday staple. However, baseball fans know the most wonderful time of the year comes in February when pitchers and catchers start reporting to spring training camps in Florida and Arizona. Reporting dates come a week early this year because of the World Baseball Classic, so batterymen for all 30 teams will be working out by this time next week.

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One of my best friends growing up was an all-state offensive lineman in Pennsylvania, one of the most talent-rich football states in the country. By his own admission, he probably wasn’t good enough to make it to the NFL. However, he was plenty good enough to land a scholarship to a NCAA Division I-AA program.

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Anyone who knows anything about baseball axioms knows that pitching and defense go together. However, the Phillies appear to be trying to challenge that notion as they build their roster for the 2013.

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Rafael Soriano finally came off the free-agent board this week, agent Scott Boras going to one of his “go-to” teams by getting the Nationals to sign the closer to a two-year, $28-million contract. However, with less than a month left until pitchers and catchers report to spring training, there are recognizable names still on the market. Let’s take a look at six of those free agents, ranking them in the order of their WARP in 2012 and having a major-league front-office type comment on each.

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The result of this year’s Hall of Fame voting was a disappointment to so many people on so many levels. It was a disappointment to the fans, especially those of such players as Craig Biggio and Jack Morris, who both seemed to stand a good chance of receiving the minimum 75 percent of the vote needed to gain election. It was such a disappointment to people inside that game that both Commissioner Bud Selig and Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner were compelled to release statements. It certainly had to be a disappointment to the merchants and residents of Cooperstown, who count on the induction ceremony to generate a large amount of revenue for the village. And, despite putting up a brave front, it had to be a disappointment to Hall of Fame President Jeff Idelson because induction weekend plays a large part in supporting the non-profit foundation.

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It took a lot of time and a lot of thought to solve my Hall of Fame voting conflict. As I referenced in last week’s On The Beat, I still had a blank ballot in my hands less than a week before the deadline to submit my vote. I truly agonized over whether to vote for players connected to PED use, like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens. I even considered abstaining from the process, like two long-time baseball-writing colleagues whom I have great respect for, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer and T.J. Quinn of ESPN.

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The Red Sox made no secret of the fact that they wanted to shake up their roster and the clubhouse chemistry that had gone bad when they traded condescending Josh Beckett, sulking Adrian Gonzalez, and deer-in-the-highlights-like Carl Crawford to the Dodgers in a blockbuster trade in August along with innocent bystander Nick Punto. The Red Sox only confirmed their desire to rebuild when they fired manager Bobby Valentine at the end of the 2012 seasons.

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It is almost like the American League East has been put in a time machine and sent backward 20 years. The Blue Jays are the division favorites with less than a week left before Christmas. Toronto hasn't been to the postseason since winning its second consecutive World Series in 1993. Those Blue Jays used to fill SkyDome on a nightly basis, but they now have trouble drawing crowds to what is known as Rogers Centre.

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The way one rival major-league general manager sees it, Dayton Moore just can't win.

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While looking toward the future with our comprehensive slate of current content, we'd also like to recognize our rich past by drawing upon our extensive (and mostly free) online archive of work dating back to 1997. In an effort to highlight the best of what's gone before, we'll be bringing you a weekly blast from BP's past, introducing or re-introducing you to some of the most informative and entertaining authors who have passed through our virtual halls. If you have fond recollections of a BP piece that you'd like to nominate for re-exposure to a wider audience, send us your suggestion.

Take a trip back to the 2007 winter meetings in Nashville in the piece reprinted below, which was originally published as an "On the Beat" column on December 2, 2007.
 

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