Sunday Roundup: Manny for Helton? Bernie & Barry.

The Helton deal has traveled from rumor to an actual possibility. Buster Olney says that Boston and Colorado are in "high-level talks" with an underwhelming package possibly going to the Rox:

In the current proposal, the Red Sox would send Lowell, Tavarez and prospects to the Rockies. But the identity of the prospects could hold up the deal: The Rockies want relief pitchers Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen, while the Red Sox do not want to give up either at this time.

The brilliant Woody Paige, jester of ESPN's "Around the Horn," threw his take into the pot. Paige believes the Rockies should be getting Manny Ramirez back for any Helton deal. He then compares Manny to Dante Bichette, reminding us that this is Woody Paige we're reading.

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Newsday believes it is doubtful that San Francisco will cut ties with Bonds. Good for Barry, bad for Earth.

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Bernie's still torn on his decision for 2007. Here's what Bern Baby Berned about:

"That's the part of this game that's always hard to deal with, the business side," he said. "When this point comes, it's always hard. It doesn't come as a surprise to me. As a player you should never take that personally."

"There are a lot of things I can't control," he said. "Right now I'm just going to stay in shape and see what happens. I've got to wait and see what my options are."

The find it hard to believe the Yankees will retain Williams as a 5th outfielder. And it is even harder to believe - even a classy yeoman like Bernie - could swallow such a low-profile demotion. He would spend 80% of his time in the dugout, have to claw for plate-appearances, and would have little effect on the outcome of games.

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As the El-Train turns, the drama in Chisox town has just begun. As talked about yesterday, Mark Buerhle and GM Kenny Williams are not on the best of terms right now.

"I picked up the paper [Saturday] morning, read this article and it made me sad,'' Williams said. ''I've told you guys before that one of the things that's tough for me to balance is becoming close to the players, and I am close with them, a lot of them. That makes it particularly hard when you have to handle the business of baseball. There's a way to do it and a way not to do it. In an effort to be truthful, honest, candid, this just doesn't work.''

Sounds like someone's getting more mushy and less menacing. Williams still scares the hell out of me. While Chicago shows their disinterest in Buerhle's future, they may be seeking a return of defensive impresario Aaron Rowand. Rowand is a free agent after the 2007 season.

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This just in: Johan Santana is going to get paid a lot of free-agent money. The Boston Herald says that Santana Has Power. That's like saying "The W" has an approval rating problem.

If the two sides can’t work something out by the end of spring training, Santana’s tenure with the Twins could be in doubt.
“If the team really wants to retain him they’re probably going to have to do something soon,” said Greenberg, who added it’s unlikely for his client to seek an extension in the final year of his deal with free agency approaching.

If Kansas City is willing to give Gil Meche a five-year, $55 million deal, imagine what Santana and his agent, Peter Greenberg, could have commanded this winter.

This is a scary thought. Since Santana is about 10-times the pitcher Gil Meche is, is it fair to just multiply $55 million by 10 and give Johan half a billion dollars?