It's official (well, as close as can be.) AJ Burnett will opt out of the last two years of his contract, forgoing 2 years and $24 million.

Baseball Prospectus' AL 2008 Internet Baseball Awards have been announced, and Toronto's Roy Halladay placed a strong second in the balloting, trailing only Cleveland SP Cliff Lee, in what could be a preview of the BBWAA Cy Young results.

Though Halladay finished a fair pace behind Lee -- he was more than 25 percent back -- it's worth noting that the good Doctor's final ballot tally was greater than the totals of the third place through eighth place finishers (Lester, F-Rod, Daisuke, Rivera, E. Santana, Mussina) combined.

A.J. Burnett finished 12th in the Cy Young voting. No Blue Jay position player made the top 15 in MVP (which went to Dustin Pedroia), though Halladay was 10th (Lee finished 5th); nor did any Jay crack the top 10 for Rookie of the Year (which went to Evan Longoria).

It's that deadest time of the baseball year, after the World Series, before the Winter Meetings ... The notable trade this week wasn't Tigers/Rockies but rather Pistons/Nuggets ... Who's the MLB equivalent of Allen Iverson, anyway? ... In G.M. news, your World Champion Phillies (that still looks strange) tabbed, to nobody's surprise, Ruben Amaro Jr., while the Red Sox re-upped Theo Epstein ... Is new pitching coach Mike Maddux the Rangers' most significant pitching acquisition since Fergie Jenkins 35 years ago? ... The Brewers placed a "courtesy" bid on CC Sabathia -- where's he going to end up, anyway? ...

What else is going on?

In a move that was widely expected, the Jays have picked up the option on catcher Rod Barajas for next season. 

The [Fill in Team Name HERE]

Your challenge: write the headline and the first sentence or two of the story that appears in this spot next year. Be as serious or as tongue-in-cheek as you want. Can we write plausible (or at least amusing) headlines and scenarios for all 30 teams?

Like this one ...

Sources say the Milwaukee Brewers will hire former Oakland skipper and former Jay Ken Macha as their new manager.  In other news, rumoured Jays trade target Mike Jacobs has been dealt from Florida to Kansas City and  Detroit is not picking up the option on Edgar Renteria.

The Philadelphia Phillies ended their 28 year-old championship drought by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in Game 5 of the World Series Wednesday night at Citizens Bank Park.  Cole Hamels was named Series MVP.

"Game 5 - The Sequel" will basically have an overtime feel to it as it will pick up in the bottom of the sixth inning at 2-2 tonight around 8:30 p.m. EDT, weather permitting.  In a twist similiar to the tradition of the NHL playoffs, I'm asking you to choose who you think will score the winning run and who will be the winning pitcher in this one. 

Mother Nature decided Phillies fans will have wait for a chance to celebrate their first World Series title since 1980 as rain led to the suspension of Game 5. 

Update:  Game 5, Part 2 has been pushed back to Wednesday.  It will pick up in the bottom of the sixth inning, tied at 2-2.

The Philadelphia Phillies, the losingest franchise in all of pro sports, are just one win away from the World Series title after a 10-2 beatdown of the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 last night.

And it goes like this.  The 45 year-old lefty was able to work out the kinks in his "power finesse" repertoire and almost made history by becoming the oldest pitcher to win a World Series game.  Still, the Phillies southpaw and his teammates got to celebrate a wild and wacky 5-4 walkoff win over the Tampa Bay Rays to grab a 2-1 World Series lead.  Mad props to both teams who managed to stay awake after a 91 minute rain delay and give us a good ball game to watch, for those of us who managed to keep our eyes open!

The Toronto Blue Jays have signed former Orioles hurler Adam Loewen to a minor league deal.  The Surrey, B.C. native is trying to follow in the footsteps of Rick Ankiel by becoming a position player.  The Jays also claimed right-handed pitcher Bryan Bullington off waivers from Cleveland.  To make room on the roster, outfielder Kevin Mench has been designated for assignment.

The World Series is now a best-of-five affair after the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2 at the Trop last night.

Ranger shortstop edges Jeter, Pujols for 12th annual honor

Hot of the e-mail "presses" of The Newberg Report ...

The Major League Baseball Players Association has announced that Michael Young is the winner of the 2008 Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award,presented to "the player in either league whose on-field performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement."  Among the off-field ventures ...

Knowing they had to win at least once in Florida in order to win the whole thing, the Philadelphia Phillies are up one game to nothing after a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays last night at Tropicana Field.