Here are a couple of stories on the winter meetings. ESPN.coms's Jayson Stark wraps it all up nicely and The News Tribune's John McGrath writes on how the Mariners may have come up short at the meetings but left with their wallets intact.

And there's this take from the Braves side of the Soriano-Ramirez trade by MLB.com with Atlanta GM John Schuerholz saying he feels good about the deal.

Finally, there's joy in Kansas City despite the Royals overpaying for Gil Meche. Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski tells you why. For some weird reason, the link wouldn't work but here's the URL:

www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/columnists/joe_posnanski/16190469.htm

I've combed through the recent comments and will try to answer some of your questions. Here you go:

1. Mark Lowe's status. Don't count on Lowe being ready to pitch on opening day. The News Tribune's Larry LaRue reported that Lowe's elbow surgery uncovered a "bone on bone" situation, which is much more serious than what was expected. Best case scenario is Lowe will be pitching by late April, early May but that's very optimistic. Since he's a young guy and coming off surgery, expect the M's to baby him. If he's ready by the All-Star Break, thank your lucky stars.

2. Who is Horacio Ramirez? He's part of the M's rebuilt rotation, obtained from the Atlanta Braves for setup man Rafael Soriano. Ramirez went 5-5 with a 4.48 ERA last year but owns a lifetime record of 30-22, 4.13 ERA. A main problem for him has been with walks. He averages 3.45 per 9 innings in his career. The Braves, at one time, were high on Ramirez but injuries and the control issue limited him to 14 starts last year. He's been a winner in the past, winning 11 games in 2004 and 12 as a rookie in 2003. The Mariners have to hope a switch to the AL and spacious Safeco Field will help.

3. Jose Guillen's size. A saw a couple of people wondering if Guilen is big enough to be a power hitter. First of all, not that size matters, but Guillen goes about 5-11 and 195 pounds, not 165 as I saw posted. He’s put together, much like Adrian Beltre, who is not quite 6 feet but over 200 pounds. When healthy, Guillen has shown to have plenty of power. Before last year, he hit 31, 27 and 24 homers in his previous three healthy seasons.

4. Who is Sean White? White was obtained from Pittsburgh (via Atlanta) in Thursday’s Rule V draft. He’s a former UW pitcher who must make the team out of spring training or be offered back to Atlanta for $50,000 if he doesn’t. White, who is from Mercer Island, was 5-6 with a 4.40 ERA in Double-A last year. He’s reported to have a good, live fastball.