On Boxing Day, the pursuit of Masahiro Tanaka finally begins. The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. So for the new capped fee of $20 million, any one of the 30 Major League teams can get in on the bidding and getting a deal done by 5pm on January 24. Tanaka was a spectacular 24-0 this season with a miniscule 1.27 ERA. He is the same age Yu Darvish was when he was posted two years ago and, like Darvish, wants the challenge of pitching in the Majors. The Blue Jays were in on the chase for Darvish, but to what extent we will never really know. There were rumblings at the time that the Blue Jays barely lost out to Texas and their winning bid of $51.7 million. But Alex Anthopoulos and the organization would never confirm or deny that and in the end, it was felt the Rangers were actually bidding against themselves just to be sure they got Darvish. Texas signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal but if certain conditions are met, the sixth year turns into a player option. So far its been a good investment by Texas. Darvish is 29-18 over two seasons with 401 innings, 498 strikeouts and 169 walks. He was added the American League All-Star roster his first year, and only missed last years mid-summer classic due to an injury. Most scouts believe Darvish to be a better pitcher than Tanaka, who projects by many to be a number 2 or 3 starter, rather than a staff ace. When Tanaka won the Sawamura Award as top pitcher in Japan in 2011, over Darvish, he conceded that although he had slightly better numbers than Darvish in a couple of categories, he said "as a pitcher, Im nowhere near his calibre". The Blue Jays self-imposed five-year limit on contracts is one thing working against them, although Anthopoulos conceded a couple of weeks ago that the Jays might go to six years for the right player. The biggest thing going against the Jays is the desperation of some of those big-name teams that figure to be in on the bidding and the marquee presence of others. The Yankees pitching staff needs an infussion of youth and talent. The Dodgers havent won a World Series since 1988 and Texas has never won one. Boston is in that year-by-year battle for bragging rights and now that theyve won three World Series titles this century to the Yankees two, they arent going to let up now. The Blue Jays may make an offer just to say they did, but Id bet on Texas or the Yankees to be Tanakas ultimate landing spot. A couple of trivia points on Darvish. The first Major League hit he surrendered was to his countryman Ichiro Suzuki and the first home run he surrendered was to Edwin Encarnacion of the Blue Jays on April 30, 2012. Darvish still won that game though, 4-1. Another Babe It was on December 26 of 1919 when the most infamous deal in Red Sox history went down. It was the day Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees. This is the story of another player who went by the nickname "Babe". Werner Birrer was a reliever and occassional spot starter for parts of three seasons in the 1950s with the Tigers, Orioles and Dodgers. Hes better known for his years pitching in the International League, in Buffalo, the city where he was born. He ultimately made it into the Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame and was a valued member of the community as a teacher and a coach. Babe Birrer passed away back in November at age 85. He had one day in his career where it all came together and earned him the sobriquet "Babe". On July 19 of 1955, Birrer came on in relief in the sixth inning to try and protect a 5-4 Tigers lead over Baltimore. Not only did he pitch four shutout innings of relief to earn his second of four career saves, Birrer slugged a pair of three-run homers to propel the Tigers to a 12-4 victory over the 0s. What was so special about that? Well, those were the only two home runs and only six runs batted inn of Birrers entire career. As far as anyone knows, he is the only Major League player in history to cram all of his home runs and RBI production into just one game. For that one day, that one game, Werner Birrer was called "Babe" by his teammates for the rest of his career. Oddly enough, the two relievers who surrendered those home runs to Birrer, George Zuverink and Art Shallock, are both still alive and amongst the 100 oldest surviving Major Leaguers. Shallock is 89 and 245 days, Zuverink 89 and 128 days. Just a little known page in the book of Tigers history. . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. [url=http://www.superstardamessale.nl/adidas-neo-schoenen-kopen.html]Adidas Neo Schoenen Dames . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. . Peter Holland and Brad Staubitz were sent to Toronto on Saturday as the Maple Leafs traded defenceman Jesse Blacker and draft picks to the Anaheim Ducks. [url=http://www.superstardamessale.nl/originals-heren-dames-superstar-adidas-sli... Heren/Dames Superstar Adidas Slip On Trainer Grijs/Zilver . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70.STILLWATER, Okla. -- Clint Chelfs latest career day against Baylor sent another shockwave through the top of the BCS standings, and put Oklahoma State within reach of a Big 12 Conference championship in the process. The Oklahoma State (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) quarterback passed for a career-high 370 yards and accounted for four touchdowns as the No. 11 Cowboys dismantled the No. 3 Bears 49-17 Saturday night. Chelf, who was 19 of 25 passing, has thrown for 703 yards in his last two games against Baylor (9-1, 6-1) -- including last years 41-34 loss in Waco. His latest performance came in a win, a crushing one that delighted the record crowd of 60,218 in Boone Pickens Stadium. "I couldnt be more proud of what hes accomplished," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "Hes been a good leader and he does it quiet. Hes been humbled, and for that hes had success." The loss for the Bears almost certainly dooms their national title aspirations, leaving Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State as the lone remaining unbeatens near the top of the BCS standings. Theyll certainly line up in that order when the new numbers come out Sunday. Bryce Petty was 28 of 48 passing for 359 yards for Baylor, which had its school-record 13-game winning streak snapped and hasnt won in Stillwater since 1939. "This is very difficult," Baylor safety Ahmad Dixon said. "... This hurts. Our chances of still winning the Big 12 arent over, but we wanted something bigger than that. "We wanted something thats never been done before, and that was to go to a national championship. That dream came down." Oklahoma State has won 10 or more games in three of the last four seasons, and can win the Big 12 by beating rival Oklahoma at home in two weeks. If Chelf, who lost the starting job earlier this season for the Cowboys, plays like he did on Saturday night against the Sooners, a win is certainly possible. The senior threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score against the Bears, against whom he set his previous career best with 333 yards passing last year. He also had a 48-yard reception and finished with 438 yards of total offence. Tracy Moore finished with five catches for 126 for Oklahoma State. While the Cowboys had 594 yards of total offence, it was the usually high-flying Bears who were grounded. Baylor entered Saturday averaging a national-best 61.2 points and 684.8 yards per game, but they had no answers for a Cowboys defence that held the high-powered attack in check most of the way. Oklahoma State forced three Baylor fumbles and also stopped the Bears on two key fourth-down attempts in the second half -- both which led to Cowboys touchdowns. Baylor finished with 453 yards of total offence, and Antwan Goodley had 10 catches for 118 yards receiving. "(Oklaahoma State) played extremely well, played with a lot of energy, made plays when they needed to make plays," Baylor coach Art Briles said.dddddddddddd. After falling behind 35-3, Baylor appeared on the verge of cutting the lead to 35-17 early in the fourth quarter. However, Petty fumbled after a wild snap deep in Oklahoma State territory and Tyler Patmon returned it 78 yards for a touchdown to put the Cowboys up 42-10. The score put the exclamation point on a thoroughly one-sided performance. Chelf lost the starting job earlier this year to sophomore J.W. Walsh, slowly working his way back to the role of top option for the Cowboys. The senior accounted for four touchdowns in last weeks win over Texas, but he was at his best Saturday night -- capping the stunning performance with a 33-yard touchdown pass to Jhajuan Seales. As has been the case for most of the season, Gundy didnt make Chelf available to talk following Saturdays win. His coach, however, had plenty to say about his recent performances. "Im happy with the groove hes in right now," Gundy said. "And so, we just want to let him keep going." Baylor appeared on its way to the early lead when Petty broke free on a third-and-2 on the Bears second possession -- with no defenders in his path to the end zone. However, the quarterback -- who entered the game leading the Big 12 in total offence -- tripped short of the end zone and fell down at the Oklahoma State 1. Two plays later, Shock Linwood fumbled when he tried to stretch out for the touchdown -- with James Castleman knocking the ball loose and recovering for the Cowboys. That was followed by a 99-yard touchdown drive for Oklahoma State. Kye Staley capped the quick turn of momentum with a 2-yard touchdown run to put the Cowboys up 7-0, a drive that included a 51-yard pass from Chelf to Marcell Ateman. Oklahoma State pushed its lead to 14-0 in the second quarter when Chelf found Charlie Moore for a 12-yard touchdown over the middle. The completion was Chelfs 11th-straight of the game. Chelf didnt have an incompletion until Oklahoma States final possession of the first half, and he finished the half 12 of 13 passing for 238 yards. "Hes a leader," Oklahoma State wide receiver Josh Stewart said. "Thats what we want from our quarterback, and he gives us everything we need." The Cowboys held Baylor to three three-and-outs on seven possessions in the first half. The Bears entered the game having been held to 17 three-and-outs all season, and their three points at halftime was their lowest first-half total since being held scoreless by Oklahoma State in 2011. "Well bounce back from this," Petty said. 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