Holiday Week Notes

Some holiday notes and news...

• The Mets have unsuccessfully tried to get Oriole pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, the Birds' #3 prospect,  for Ike Davis. They're still talking to the Pirates (who won't surrender Nick Kingham), Brewers (who won't give up Tyler Thornburg) and O's, according to Mike Puma of the NY Post. They're lucky there's a market at all for him - first base is a bare cupboard - after Davis hit .205 last year and .227 in 2012, and the team has all but announced Lucas Duda will be their 2014 first baseman.
• Buster Olney of ESPN picks the top ten rotations in MLB; the Pirates are fifth (behind a subscription wall). 
• Saber Bucs has a Jose Tabata/Roberto Clemente comparison through their age 24 seasons. Pretty close, tho JT is gonna have to pick up his game over the next decade to stay in the park.
• Tyler Kepner of the New York Times writes a post-season feel good piece about the Buccos' 2013 resurgence. In a similar vein, Will Graves of the Associated Press calls the Pirate turnaround the Pennsylvania sports story of the year.
• Michael Clair of MLB Daily Dish posts "Last year, a number of things had to break right for the Pirates to reach the NLDS. They'll need to count on that kind of luck again."
• Pirate owner Bob Nutting has been selected as the local Newsmaker of the Year by the Pittsburgh Business Times. 
• Ex Bucs: The Cubs agreed to terms with pitcher Jose Veras on a one-year contract with $4M guaranteed and an option year.
• Richard Justice of MLB.com warns hot stovers to tighten their seat belts; the bidding on RHP Masahiro Tanaka "could get insane." Joe Luica of The Outside Corner rates the various teams' interest for Tanaka. He thinks the Bucco thermometer is low.