Two things as another snowy weekend ends...

• The results of the annual baseball writers Hall of Fame election are due to be announced tomorrow. The only sure thing is the election of Rickey Henderson in his first time on the ballot. Sox fans (including me) are waiting to see if Jim Rice gets in on his 15th and final try. I have always thought Rice was deserving of induction since he meets my definition of a Hall of Famer: he was a dominating player at his position for a long period of time. If he had two more good years, he would have been in a long time ago. As it is, he has to hope he gets 15-20 more votes than he did last year to get in.
• Theo Epstein's bargain shopping continued yesterday, as it came out that the Red Sox signed reliever Takashi Saito to a one year contract, with an option for 2010. Saito has been with the Dodgers the last three years and saved 39 games in 2007. However, he had elbow trouble last year and didn't pitch much. This signing is right in line with the rest of Theo's pickups since Teixiera signed with the Yankees - short guaranteed money for guys with high upsides but significant risk that they are going to contribute to the club. Obviously, the strategy is to stockpile a bunch of guys and hope they hit on a few of them. I hope it works out.