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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It seems as though Andy Pettitte will be pitching for the Yankees after all in 2008. From the Houston Chronicle:

When reached by telephone this morning, Randy Hendricks, who was in route to Nashville for the start of baseball’s winter meetings today, confirmed that he has advised the Yankees that Pettitte will play for them in 2008.

“Many teammates have called urging Andy to return as well as manager Joe Girardi,” Hendricks said. “It’s well known that the Yankees have publicly stated that they were ready for Andy when Andy was ready.”

What does this mean for the Yankees in their pursuit of Johan Santana? Will it change their stance on him or will Hank Steinbrenner stick to his guns and pull the offer today?

Only time will tell the answers to those questions.