And The Beat Goes On: Feb. 7th

Inspired by Turntable.fm, here's a decidedly non-hip hop track calling all the way back to the golden age of late-90s top-40 radio:

● Evan Grant holds forth on the continuing Josh Hamilton saga, and says that the Rangers will be okay with letting Hamilton walk in free agency, because they will know in good conscience that they got Josh's best years, and that his best years will be behind him after he leaves Texas. 

There are some really sordid rumors flying around right now about what, exactly, Josh Hamilton did at Sherlock's last Monday, and what he may have been caught doing on film/video. You can probably find those rumors/accounts with little problem if you look hard enough, and I really don't have a problem with people discussing it (so long as they don't stray too far over the line), but until/unless something of substance that's worth talking about hits the internet, I'm not touching any of this hearsay.

● Jon Paul Morosi writes that this could be the greatest season yet for baseball.

● If you'd like to get mad at somebody evidently mistreating the media as opposed to the media mistreating someone else, this is a good link for you. The Reader's Digest version: Howard Megdal writes a book excoriating the Wilpons for their involvement with Bernie Madoff and their irresponsible stewardship of the Mets organization, and gets his clubhouse access revoked by the team. 

● Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Cardinals and Roy Oswalt could not agree to terms on a deal that would be "mutually beneficial" for both sides, and it's sounding like the Cardinals themselves have moved on from signing Oswalt. So, basically, we have a pitcher who only wants to pitch for the Rangers or Cardinals, but is apparently unwilling to back off of his $10 million asking price or acquiesce to pitching a bit out of the bullpen ... and now both of the teams he wants to pitch for seem to have moved on. Well played.

● Brian Cashman's got 99 problems ... and a crazy you-know-what is one.