There will be a minor increase in the price of White Sox tickets in 2011…..prices and promotions will still be aimed to draw families to the ball park…..chief marketing officer Brooks Boyer says that there will be even more “Value Mondays.” [ESPN Chicago]

Ken Davidoff believes the White Sox are still the leading candidate to sign closer Rafael Soriano……all of their attention is on landing Adam Dunn…..looking like Matsui is still the backup plan if Dunn doesn’t work out…..Matsui wants to play for a team whose home games are on grass. [Newsday]

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On Tuesday, rumors began to circulate regarding Justin Upton and the Arizona Diamondbacks willingness to hear offers for their right fielder.  Thus far, the teams that have expressed an interest in the 23-year old include the Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and as of a few minutes ago, the New York Yankees.  Prior to the start of the 2010 season, Upton — who, on The Golden Sombrero, is commonly referred to as JUpton — signed a 6-year/$50 mil deal with the Diamondbacks that will make him a free agent after the 2015 season.

In 2010, he posted a .799 OPS that included 27 doubles, 17 home runs and 69 RBI, while playing in 133 games.  There are very few players in all of baseball who possess the strength and bat control that Upton does, and I expect that nearly every team will inquire about his availability.  Here is a video of him taking batting practice during Spring Training in 2010:

In late September, with only a few games remaining in the regular season, I wrote a column that highlighted Alexei Ramirez’s outstanding season at shortstop for the Chicago White Sox.  More importantly, I contended that he should be the recipient of the Silver Slugger Award at shortstop.  However, after Tuesday’s disconcerting announcement that Derek Jeter had won the Gold Glove over Alexei Ramirez, I became perturbed by the thought that the Rawlings Silver Slugger Award might ultimately be just another popularity contest.

Thankfully, logic prevailed on Thursday as Ramirez was awarded the first Louisville Silver Slugger Award of his career, ending Jeter’s four-year stranglehold over the honor.

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As we have already mentioned on this site, the selections for the Gold Glove were confusing.  With guys like Jeter winning this once prestigious award, it may be best to now consider it completely meaningless.  What a joke.  Papi’s option was picked up and will inevitably be regarded as a gross overpayment.  This is the one that baffles me, though: Cliff Lee is asking for 7 years at over $160 million.  What?  This guy is 32.

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Since the announcement that Derek Jeter won the American League Golden Glove Award at shortstop on Tuesday afternoon, Chicago White Sox fans, as well as most of the baseball blogging community, have explicitly expressed their outrage and disgust with the selection.

How is it possible that Jeter (-4.7 UZR) received the award over Alexei Ramirez (10.8 UZR) of the Chicago White Sox? To offer insight into this ghastly discrepancy, here is a compilation of the web’s best articles regarding yesterday’s disconcerting announcement:

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