Roy Oswalt has expressed a preference to pitch for the Texas Rangers or St. Louis Cardinals, but the economic limitations of those two teams have prevented them from making an acceptable offer. As a result, the Red Sox, Phillies, and Reds have all maintained contact with the right hander, who is running out of time to make a decision.

The Chicago Cubs and Matt Garza agreed to terms on a one-year deal worth almost $10 million, but that hasn't quelled rumors about the right hander being available on the trade market.

Manny Ramirez' attempted comeback has generated some interest around the majors, with the Athletics, Orioles and Blue Jays reportedly keeping tabs on the disgraced former World Series MVP.

The Athletics seem to be casting their net very wide this offseason. According to Peter Gammons, Billy Beane is also considering extending a spring training invitation to Magglio Ordonez.

The LoHud Yankees blog provided a run down of Bronx Bombers with the opportunity to make a good impression during Spring Training. Included on the list is Jorge Vazquez, a powerful first baseman who is gaining traction as a possible DH candidate.

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Breaking News: We are adding a fourth writer to the mix! See below.

After the departures of two of our best writers, Travis and I are happy to announce the additions of four new writers to the staff here at Pinstripe Alley.

To address a concern here, the idea of quality vs. quantity did come up in our discussions, and we feel that each writer brings their own perspective to the site, so we will have both quality (from the fantastic writing) and quantity, from the number of writers providing the excellence!

Anyway, we would like to thank all that applied, and if you have any comments, questions, concerns about who was not hired, please email me and/or Travis. This thread is to welcome the new writers, not at all complain about those that were not hired.

Join me after the jump to learn about the additions!

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As most of you already know by now, I've made the decision to step down from my position at Pinstripe Alley.

Life has a funny way of changing things; in the past year I've become the father of a beautiful baby girl, and also had to contend with some not-so-beautiful additional responsibilities at work. One of these changes has been wonderful, the other, not so much, and I'll let you guess which is which (hint: don't factor 3 AM feedings and leaky diapers into your guess).

We always have less free time than we'd prefer, but now I have a lot less of it than I used to, and it was going to be difficult for me to continue pulling my weight and carrying my fair share of the weekly schedule here at PA. I was offered a position to write one analysis post a week for the Yankees blog It's About The Money (stupid), and I've decided to accept it because it's a better fit for my schedule right now.

I want to thank the moderaters of PA these past two years, Ed, John, Travis, and Brandon, for giving me the opportunity to be a lead writer and share my thoughts with all of you. I also want to thank all of you individually for taking the time to read what I've written and comment on it. It's been a lively ongoing debate and I've learned a lot throughout the process. Lastly, I will say this - if you ever want to be a writer for this site one day, don't be shy! Write fanposts. Put your thoughts out there. (Study up your grammar, too). That's how I got started. You all have something worthwhile to add to the conversation, you just need to put it out there.

It's been a pleasure everyone. You'll still find me lurking around here from time to time, and I'd be honored if you continued to follow me at my new blog.

Recently we have discussed many topics here at Pinstripe Alley, and the designated hitter is one of them. I've heard some crazy ideas, and some not so crazy ideas, like my pitch for the Yankees to sign Casey Kotchman.

Here's your chance to explain who you think the Yankees should sign/trade for to play DH, or if you think the Yankees should give Eduardo Nunez more playing time.

Other options include Jorge Vazquez, Andruw Jones on a permanent basis, and some I cannot even think of.

In other news, the Yankees are still talking to Eric Chavez' representatives, but do not seem to be near a deal. Personally, I'd rather the Yankees sign someone that does not get injured every day of their life.

As for the Pinstripe Alley writers search, we are nearing a conclusion. I will email all the candidates our conclusion when we finalize the decision, then I will write a quick post here saying who got the jobs.

Anyway, discuss the DH!

Happy February, folks! When I woke up today, I noticed the weather (in New Jersey) is extremely nice for a February day, In fact, I immediately thought it felt like a spring day. A baseball day.

We are nearing the baseball season, and the Yankees roster is almost set. Other than the minor signings here and there, and the likely addition of a DH, we know what we will be seeing in 2012, and that is quite exciting.

I saw tweets throughout the day joking about what the pitching matchup is at Yankee Stadium tonight, but I couldn't laugh, as I miss baseball too much.

Hockey certainly helps fill the void for me, as does college basketball to a lesser extent (go Scarlet Knights!) (sigh) but nothing quite lives up to waking up on a spring day and knowing there will be a baseball game to watch.

This month we will be seeing the first "action" of the baseball season. I could not be any happier. For the season so far I have tickets to see the Diamondbacks play the Mets on May 8tth, the Reds play at the Yankees on Saturday May 19th, the Yankees play in Washington vs. the Nationals on June 16th, and tickets to see Albert Pujols and the Angels visit the Yankees on August 13th!

(Note: Unless otherwise noted, WAR refers to fangraphs' calculation of the metric)

Is it better to maximize the number of times a reliever can be used or the length of his appearances? Yesterday at frangraphs.com, Dave Cameron tried to answer that question by comparing bullpen performance over the last 30 years and concluded that because there hasn’t been an aggregate improvement, teams would be better off returning to the past practice of using relievers for longer stints.

According to Cameron’s data, not only have modern bullpens failed to improve performance over the last 30 years, they also haven’t been called upon to pitch more often. Instead, the number of relief innings pitched has simply shifted from premium relievers to those filling out the roster. In other words, according to this conclusion, the Sergio Mitres of the world have become common place on major league rosters, despite little evidence to suggest that they provide some measurable derivative value.

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Ryan Braun will be in New York this evening to accept his MVP award from the BBWAA. Braun has shied away from the public eye since it was revealed that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs, which has made his appearance at the event a cause of great interest. In addition to Braun, former Mets SS will be back in town to accept the BBWAA's "You Gotta Have Heart" award.

The Daily News caught up with Michael Pineda back in his native Dominican Republic and got his thoughts about being traded to the Yankees and playing in New York.

The Red Sox and Rockies were reportedly close to a trade involving Marco Scutaro, but both sides backed away from the deal. The Red Sox have been facing a budget crunch, and the $6 million freed up by trading Scutaro could help out in the team's pursuit of another pitcher.

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Understandably lost amid the furor surrounding the Yankees and Mariners decision to swap talented young players was news that 49-year old Jamie Moyer, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery, signed a minor league contract with the Rockies. So much for out with the old.

Baseball is a young man's game, but unlike most other sports, there's still plenty of room for older players. Over the years, the number of 40-year olds in the game has ebbed and flow, but the barrier hasn't been that difficult to cross, especially during the last 30 years. However, 50 is another story altogether.

Hoyt Wilhelm and Jack Quinn are the only two pitchers since 1901 to be active at the age of 49, so, if Moyer throws a pitch with the Rockies, he'll join that select company. An appearance would also put him on the precipice of the 50-year old club, which, for pitchers, is the exclusive domain of Satchel Paige, who, at the age of 59 (age-58 season), made an appearance for the Kansas City Athletics in 1965.

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