Winter Meetings First Pitch Post

I originally had this post titled "Winter Meetings Kickoff Post," then I realized that I was mixing sports thanks to three solid months of football. For this week, at least, it's time to forget about the gridiron and turn our thoughts to Dallas, where trade rumors will fly and free agents will get rich at baseball's winter meetings.

Today's the opening day of the meetings, and Twinkie Town will have updates throughout the day on the latest rumblings from Texas. We'll be looking heavily at the Twins, of course, with the local nine hoping to find a way to complete a rebuilding job in one off-season. For more on what the Twins are looking for, see Jesse's wide-ranging preview post.

We'll also be keeping an eye on the rest of the AL Central, with the White Sox looking to do a little bit of deck-clearing and the Tigers trying to find a way to stay on top. And we'll be following the big names league-wide, with luminaries like Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Jose Reyes still waiting to sign up for 2012, and plenty of other names rumored to be on the trading block.

Our first update comes later this morning, as everyone settles in, lights the Hot Stove fire, and starts the rumor mill a-churnin'. We'll be discussing all day here. Stop on back to talk about what's going on.