With the Red Sox getting ready to meet in their suite to talk about what’s going on in the Johan Santana sweepstakes, Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe shares his thoughts about what he thinks they will be talking about.

If the Sox do not trade for Johan Santana, an outcome last night as plausible as a deal going down, it may stem in part from some ambivalence on the part of club officials on whether they really want to do it. Theo Epstein and Co. enjoy watching the kids develop and win–going out and signing Santana makes them more like the Yankees. And surprisingly, there might be a greater willingness, at least on the part of some on the baseball ops side, to let Jacoby Ellsbury go in a Santana deal, and hold onto Lester, the belief being that 1) Ellsbury’s value will never be higher and 2) Lester may have a higher upside than he’s given credit for. At the same time, the Sox are well aware of the attachment many fans already have developed to Ellsbury. On the other hand, how do you pass up the chance to acquire Santana, a pitcher as special as Pedro Martinez was a decade ago?

These are the thoughts that get kicked around while waiting to see if anything develops at the midnight gathering of the Sox brass, development people and scouts.

Edes makes great points and I have to agree with him. As fans, we have become very attached to Ellsbury as well as Lester. But baseball is a business and that’s the one major thing we as fans need to remember.

Our resident blogger on the Red Sox, Curt Schilling chimes in over at 38 Pitches telling us about what’s it like as a player being involved in trade talks.

The first and I think most important part is that guys like Jon Lester, Jed Lowrie and anyone else being named in this deal are learning that this is truly a business when it comes to the team you are playing for. Jon’s been through this before, so has Coco, but it’s a shock to the system that first time. I was caught totally unaware and blown away when it first happened to me because I first heard about the trade to the Orioles as I was walking to the bullpen to pitch a game in AA and happened to pass by a TV and saw my name scrolling across the ticker, “The Orioles have traded Mike Boddicker to the Boston Red Sox for OF Brady Anderson and RHP Curt Schilling”, BOOM!  That’s how I found out baseball wasn’t about personal loyalties when it comes down to the business aspect. It’s not a bad thing, you certainly wish it were different as a player but the sooner you get it the easier this life becomes to live, especially over the winter and around the trade deadline.

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Kentucky head coach Billy Gillispie got some bad news on Monday as his freshman guard Alex Legion has decided to transfer.

Pretty much the same bad news for Washington Huskies head coach Lorenzo Romar as another of the members of his 2005 heralded recruiting class, Adrian Oliver, has decided to transfer as well.

Adrian Banks, Arkansas State’s leading scorer, has been suspended indefinitely from the Indians squad after being arrested for firing a gun within the city limits of Jonesboro, AR.

The Tennessee women got some bad news when they found out freshman center Kelly Cain will be out for the season with the knee injury she suffered during a preseason practice. She will have knee surgery to fix the problem and will redshirt this year.

Don Imus returned to the airwaves this week on WABC in New York and apologized again to the women’s program at Rutgers for the remarks he made.

“I will never say anything in my lifetime that will make any of these young women at Rutgers regret or feel foolish that they accepted my apology and forgave me,” he said. “And no one else will say anything else on my program that will make anyone think that I didn’t deserve a second chance.”

A look at the polls after the jump.

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With the Patriots playing in the Monday night game in Baltimore, head coach Bill Belichick’s weekly visit with “The Big Show” on WEEI in Boston was delayed until Tuesday afternoon. But as we have done lately we start with that conversation between the coach and the talking heads.

Patriots QB Tom Brady said on the 4^th down play when the Ravens sideline called timeout he was stopped short of the first down marker because he heard the whistle and let up. He said he would have had the first down in there was no whistle.

Brady also joins Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner and Hall of Famer Dan Marino as the only quarterbacks to throw for 40 TD’s in a season in the history of the NFL.

As I noted in the game notes Monday night was the 21^st time since taking over in 2001 that Brady has led a game winning drive in the fourth quarter or OT when tied or behind. It is the third time he has done it in the last four games. “Captain Clutch” also has done it six times in the playoffs including three times in Super Bowls. He is the only quarterback in the Super Bowl era to have done that. That is once again why Belichick will take him any day over any other quarterback in the league and quite possibly why he is the very best to have to played the position.

New England WR Randy Moss talked about the game with the media immediately afterward in the press room and he said the Ravens were talking trash all night long.

“Coach Belichick doesn’t coach us or raise us that way. So for us to come up and shut them up with a last-second touchdown, that’s what really felt good.”

“There was just so much trash talking, man, from guys who really hadn’t done anything in the league. So basically, me being a 10-year vet and seeing those guys out there talking smack, they haven’t done nothing yet. So it was a good thing for the offense that Jabar Gaffney came up with a key catch, luckily, for six and, you know, we shut them up, and that was a good thing. I’m not a trash talker. I talk with my play, not with my mouth.”

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Buster Olney and Peter Gammons just reported on Sportscenter that the Marlins and Tigers have made a deal. The deal is Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis from the Marlins heading to Detroit for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo and three minor leaguers.

More on this when more information becomes available.

Update 7:43 PM: The other players the Marlins are receiving are Dallas Trahern, Eulogio De La Cruz and Burke Badenhop.

Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz was named the top DH in baseball as he won his 5th straight Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award. He is the first person to win the award 5 straight times and joins Martinez as the only player to win it 5 times.

Big Papi was the uniamimous winner of the award with Jim Thome from the White Sox finishing second, Frank “Big Hurt” Thomas from the Blue Jays finished third and Travis “Pronk” Hafner from the Indians finished fourth.

Ortiz played in 140 games in 2007 as the DH, finishing with a .338 avg along with 33 home runs and 113 RBIs.

The stove has gotten a lot hotter this afternoon in the Johan Santana sweepstakes.

This is the latest from Peter Gammons:

3:28 p.m., from Peter Gammons

• The Twins and Red Sox appear to be getting closer to finalizing a Johan Santana deal. Boston has sweetened its offer by adding a fifth player to the trade proposal — outfield prospect Ryan Kalish, a ninth-round draft pick in 2006 out of Red Bank Catholic High School (Shrewsbury, N.J.).

Then there is this from Rob Bradford over at the Boston Herald:

According to a source familiar with the negotiations the Twins have told they want to complete the Johan Santana deal by the end of today.

From what I can gather about what Gammons is reporting is that the Twins were leaning towards the 4 for 1 deal. That deal was Jon Lester, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson for Santana. It’s also shocking to see the Twins impose a deadline now as the Red Sox have said they weren’t going to set a deadline. However, I fully expect this to speed things along for both squads as they both have other needs to take care of.

Last year in Lowell, the Red Sox short-season affiliate, Kalish hit .368 with 3 home runs and 13 RBIs in just 23 games. He also stole 18 bases. Kalish did suffer a season-ending wrist injury but is expected to be 100% for 2008.

If this is the deal the Sox have indeed offered the Twins, I sure hope they pull the trigger so the Sox can start negotiations with Santana’s agent.

Yesterday at the Winter Meetings, MLB fashion police czar Bob Watson announced their will be a new rule called the “Francona Rule”.

“There’s going to be, for lack of a better term, a ‘Francona Rule,’” said Bob Watson, Major League Baseball’s Vice President of Rules and On-Field Operations. “You can only wear your uniform top or jacket. You can’t wear your night-shirt, or whatever it is. You can wear it before games, or after games, but not during games. You have to have your uniform top at all times.”

As Francona says in the interview below, doesn’t MLB have anything better to worry about. He also talks about the players’ names being mentioned in the trade talks with the Twins.

Wow is all I can say right now. A lot happened while we were sleeping last night with the talks involving Johan Santana and the Red Sox. So let’s take a look what transpired while you were drooling on your pillow last night.

Amalie Benjamin from the Boston Globe reported at 2:11 AM that the Twins requested medical records on Jon Lester.

The Red Sox have traded medical information with the Minnesota Twins on Jon Lester, which means that talks between the two teams have progressed, with the Twins taking a serious look at the Sox offer.

While it looked like things between the Yankees and Twins might be breaking down tonight, that might have left the door open for the Red Sox to slip in and grab Johan Santana.

Then Gordon Edes of the Globe added this around 3:05 AM this morning.

The Red Sox and Twins are through negotiating for now. Both Sox GM Theo Epstein and Twins GM Bill Smith have called it a night, but momentous news may await in the morning. As Amalie Benjamin reported an hour ago, the sides have exchanged medical information on pitcher Jon Lester and Johan Santana, indicating that a deal may be in place.

There were indications that the Twins would be getting center fielder Coco Crisp, pitcher Justin Masterson and infielder Jed Lowrie in addition to Lester, the winner of the Series-clinching Game 4 and a favorite of pitching coach John Farrell. But that was not confirmed. Repeat, That has not yet been confirmed. We’re working on it.

Even if an agreement has been reached between the teams, the Sox are expected to request a 72-hour window in which to try and negotiate a contract extension for Santana.

Personally, it’s tough to decide which trade I want to see happen. It would be sad to see Lester, Coco or Ellsbury go but then you look at what you’re getting in return. If I was pressed to say which deal I would favor more, I’d rather see the 4 for 1 swap happen only because I think Ellsbury has the most upside as he showed during the playoffs this year.

Stay tuned folks, the hot stove got a lot hotter last night and should only burn hotter today.

Update 10:20 AM: It does look like it’s a 4 for 1 deal if it’s going to happen. Lester, Crisp, Lowrie and Masterson for Santana.

Update 11:00 AM: Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald is reporting that the Red Sox and Twins will sit down later this morning to continue their talks.

The Red Sox and Twins will resume “serious negotiations’’ later this morning as they close in on a blockbuster deal that would bring ace Johan Santana to the Red Sox, according to a baseball source involved in the negotiations.

The package of players the Twins receive is still in flux and there are two packages under discussion, with still varying mixes of players in each. The first is left-hander Jon Lester and center fielder Coco Crisp, the other is headed by center field prospect Jacoby Ellsbury. The Red Sox have successfully held the line on not including Ellsbury in a package with either Lester or Clay Buchholz, their other top starter.

The names, in some combo, minus one or two, include starter Justin Masterson and shortstop Jed Lowrie.

The Result

What can you say about this game? My heart is still pounding in my chest as the Patriots were pushed to the brink by a team who had nothing to lose by playing the game of their season.

The Ravens who were 13-3 last year are most likely the NFL’s biggest disappointment this year. But to their credit they came out and really pounded the Patriots on the ground. The Patriots trailed most the night only leading for a short time in the first quarter and at the very end, which is when it counts the most, as they came away from Baltimore with a hard fought come from behind 27-24 win.

When the chips were down the Patriots defense, which couldn’t stop Willis McGahee all night, came up big with an interception near the goal line and then two three and outs giving Tom Brady chance after chance to get New England to 12-0.

And on a night when Brady wasn’t at his best he shows why his coach wouldn’t take any other quarterback with the game on the line. Even when he was missing receivers the Pats were able to get second chances on penalty calls as they drove the field in the final two minutes and when it mattered the most he wasn’t going to let it slip by. With 44 seconds left he hit Jabar Gaffney for a ball juggling, toe tapping game winning touchdown. It was Brady’s 21st game winning drive in the 4th quarter or OT it is the most in the NFL since 2001.

The Pats had four fourth down chances in the last two minutes. They converted on the Brady scramble, they got stopped but the time out call gave them another shot. Then they were stopped again but the flag was thrown for the motion penalty. Then they got their final reprieve on the Ravens holding call in front of the end zone. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many 4th down chances happen even in a youth or high school game.

This team needs to play a lot better if they plan on beating Pittsburgh next Sunday. You almost have to wonder if playing three primetime night games in a row was a distraction.

Scoring Plays

1st Quarter

• NE – Gostkowski 21 yard FG – Patriots 3-0
• BAL – Boller 4 yard pass to Mason – kick good – Ravens 7-3

2nd Quarter

• BAL – Stover 29 yard FG – Ravens 10-3
• NE – Evans 1 yard run – kick good – tied 10-10

3rd Quarter

• BAL – McGahee 18 yard run – kick good – Ravens 17-10
• NE – Brady 3 yard pass to Moss – kick good – tied 17-17

4th Quarter

• BAL – Boller 2 yard pass to Wilcox – kick good – Ravens 24-17
• NE – Gostkowski 38 yard FG – Ravens 24-20
• NE- Brady 8 yard pass to Gaffney – Patriots 27-24

Offensive Player of the Game

Ravens RB Willis McGahee had 30 carries for 138 yards and 4 catches for 21 yards.

Defensive Player of the Game

Patriots LB Tedy Bruschi had 10 tackles and 2 assists.

Turning Point(s) of the Game

Brady gets 13 yards on 4th and 6th with 1:40 left.

Ravens bench calls a time out on 4th down as the defense had stopped Brady short of the 1st down marker.

A holding penalty on Ravens on 4th down gives Patriots first and goal. The next play Brady throws 8 yards to Gaffney for the game winning TD.

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For the most part, it was a day of a lot of talking and no action in the Johan Santana sweepstakes so let’s take a look at all the days news involving Santana and the teams involved.

In the Monday morning edition of the Providence Journal, they reported that Santana would only accept a deal to the Yankees or Red Sox.

Santana, who has a full-no trade clause and intends to wield it to land a six-year contract extension from any team striking a deal for him, told the Twins that he would veto a trade to any team except the Yankees or Red Sox. He also warned them that he would not accept a deal in-season, forcing the Twins to move him this week or lose him to free agency after the 2008 season, when his current contract expires.

This turned out to be not true as Santana’s agent, Peter Greenberg, told the Star-Tribune.

The Star Tribune has just been contacted by Johan Santana’s agent, Peter Greenberg.

Greenberg said Santana is mad after reading reports that he’s ordered the Twins to trade him to either Boston or New York.

“Johan told me to tell you that’s completely inaccurate,’’ Greenberg said. “He’s upset about that. He’s put no limitations on (Twins GM Bill Smith) to do his job.’’

Greenberg declined to confirm if Santana would waive his no-trade clause if he’s still with the Twins when the 2008 season starts. “That’s a long way away,’’ Greenberg said.

Within that same article, the Twins were reported as being upset about these comments that Hank Steinbrenner made and were thinking of filing tampering charges.

“Because as much as I want Santana, and you can make that clear — for his sake, to know that I do want him — but the fact is that I’m not going to play the game,’’ Steinbrenner said.

It’s unknown right now what the Twins are going to do about it, but you have to think Yankees GM Brian Cashman might be a little upset about this.

Keep reading for more “As The Santana Turns”.

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