Just a few items of note for you this afternoon:

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard won his arbitration case and has been awarded $10 million for 2008. This is the largest amount ever received by a victorious player.
You may be aware that my colleague, Hunter Pence, was injured in a freak accident earlier this week. He’s got the details up at his blog. Here’s wishing Hunter a speedy recovery.
Another colleague, Albert Bianchi at Dejuiced, informs us that New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes will be giving up a celebratory handshake thing he used to do. I can’t speak to that …read more

The San Diego Padres have signed Khalil Greene to a 2-year, $11 million deal. Greene, who had been eligible for arbitration and the subject of wild Boston fan fantasies, now can go back to his regular gig of just being the Padres’ shortstop.

   Photo by Refracted Moments™   some rights reserved
Once again, it’s good to be a Molina. Last winter, Bengie cashed in with the Giants. This time, Yadier has hit the jackpot, re-signing with the St. Louis Cardinals for 4 years, $15.5 million.
Molina and the Cardinals had been scheduled for arbitration, with Molina asking for $2.75 million and the club offering $1.85. Molina earned $525,000 in 2007, so even if he’d lost arbitration, he would’ve won big time.
Molina batted .275/.340/.368 last year and owns a career line of .248/.304/.349 over three seasons and change. He’s 25 years old and he comes with a stellar …read more