Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction. Grady Little is close to accepting the job as special assistant to Chicago Cubs general manager Jim Hendry. According to the Herald, Little will evaluate talent, review scouting reports and assess the club's minor league players. Are there any three aspects of the game for which Gump is less suited? It's kind of ironic, considering his knack for putting players in situations where they were not likely to succeed. No news yet at either the Tribune or Sun-Times. ... Trot Nixon, David Ortiz, Byung-Hyun Kim and Scott Williamson filed for salary arbitration.

Don Malcolm on the Red Sox's off-season (scroll down to January 2): "What we're really seeing here ... is the recognition that there are two constituencies circling over the Red Sox franchise like a pair of vultures. The first, and by far the most numerous, is the general fan base, the damned and damning 'Nation.' However, the second constituency, becoming more distinct in nature, is the one that sees the Jamesian experiment as part of a dawning new age in baseball. The balancing act that Epstein is attempting to negotiate is a series of personnel moves that achieve the results that both constituencies desire but that meet the criteria of a sabermetrically adept organization." ... "The Reputation is Not the Guy" (two parts) ... Ed Cossette asks: "As a Red Sox fan, whom do you most hate? Bill Buckner, Roger Clemens, Bucky Dent, Dan Duquette, Carl Everett, Harry Frazee, Calvin Schiraldi, Dan Shaughnessy, George Steinbrenner or Someone Else." Go vote now!