COUNTDOWN TO ECSTACY

Murray, Carter...and Ryno? The first two appear to be locks to make it to the Hall of Fame later today, and it wouldn't come as a shock if Sandburg made it too. Here are the ballots from two more writers: Kevin Kernan of the New York Post, and Jayson Stark of ESPN. The Kernan piece is an especially good reason why baseball writers may not be the best choice to vote players into the Hall. Dale Murphy and Donnie Baseball get the nod over Bert Blyleven (?), who is profiled by Jim Caple . Kernan's case for his picks doesn't exactly leave the reader with confidence in the voting process.

BARTOLO CLOSER TO BEANTOWN?

The Red Sox have reached an agreement in principal with free agent third baseman Bill Mueller, according to the Boston Globe. "Muller's deal, believed to be worth about $4.5 million over two years, is significant because the Sox would be unlikely to make such an investment on a backup infielder." Which means the Hillenbrand-for-Colon talks are hot once again.

"'I think today we're finally making some progess,' said a source close to the negotiations. 'I think both sides want to get this done. But where it leads, who knows?'"

In another interesting comesmetic development, the Globe noted:

"...Preliminary work is under way for construction of seating atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park. The team's request for a permit to built 312 seats of a deck above the storied Wall is pending with the city, which is expected to isse a ruling this month. Until then, the Sox said, they have been cleared to begin an early phase of the project. 'We have been authorized to do further preliminary work, and that is all that is going on at this stage,' team spokesman Kevin Shea said."