Links and Such

• MSNBC with a story about spring training returning to Charlotte County. Fun fact:

"Initially, we'll order 700 dozen balls for spring training," Westmoreland said. "Port Charlotte is unique in that there are a lot of lakes around the facility so we may lose a little more than we have in the past."

• Remember the Hit Show jingle? The creator is in the news.
  
• Bluebird Banter ranks Fred McGriff as the 22nd best Blue Jay of all-time. In contrast, McGriff would have to rank top 10 for the Rays, maybe top 5, right?
  
• David Price is a good person. 
• This is always fun to see in a newspaper:

However, other observers see additional forces at work, primarily an industry-wide trend,in which teams place higher value on younger, cheaper talent, at the expense of older, pricier veterans. Teams have discovered that a 23-year-old making $500,000 can do the same job as a 35-year-old making $10 million

• This too:

Teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland A's, who are usually non-spenders in the free agent market, have made some noise this offseason. Yet, a group of perennial all-stars remain available as the winter season ends and pitchers and catchers report soon. The following is a breakdown of the top signings this offseason as well as the top free agents still available.

• USA Today's Sports Weekly's 100 names you need to know in baseball features quite a few Rays, including David Price at number one, Wade Davis, Reid Brignac, and Fernando Perez.
• Finally, from the "UGH" file, Mel Stottlemyre, who preaches "Establishing the fastball" to his pitchers is Team USA's bullpen coach. You stay away from him Kazmir, you stay far, far away from him.