Scott Boras, you've done it again.

On the eve of baseball's Winter Meetings, the super agent jumped in and worked a seven-year, $126-million deal for free-agent client Jayson Werth(notes) and the Washington Nationals.

That's also, more or less, what fellow Boras clients Matt Holliday(notes) and Barry Zito(notes) make.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reported it first.

It's not so much the $18 million-per-season outlay that's shocking, but it's the length of the deal — Werth (pictured) turns 32 in May — along with the destination. Washington, unlike the front-running Philadelphia Phillies, tends to finish at the bottom of the NL East.

[Related: Details emerge about Jeter's new contract with the Yankees]

The Nats are seen as a team on the rise, but — with Stephen Strasburg(notes) out for the 2011 season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and super prospect Bryce Harper barely old enough to vote — Washington doesn't seem on the verge of contending.

General manager Mike Rizzo, though,

"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and the show's favorite player, Chase Utley(notes), have finally met.

Utley and teammate Ryan Howard(notes) guest starred on the popular FX sitcom Thursday night, and the results were not unlike the Philadelphia Phillies' 2010 season: Good, but it could have been better.

If you've never seen "It's Always Sunny," imagine "Seinfeld" taken a step too far. The show is about the funniest and most morally corrupt people you'll ever meet. They have many shenanigans and laughs. And they love the Phillies. One character in particular, Mac, loves Utley. A little too much.

Not surprisingly, "Sunny" writers chose to make the two Fightins' play straight men for the Dennis and Charlie characters at a charity fundraiser in Atlantic City. It was the safe choice.

Crossing Broad has video, though you also could pay and download the episode on iTunes if you're kicking yourself for missing the broadcast.

Switching it around by having the players act out would have

The Interwebs recently became fascinated with what Derek Jeter(notes) would look like dressed in every other major league uniform — especially that of the New York Yankees' greatest rival.

But as news breaks of 41-year-old Mariano Rivera(notes) re-signing in the Bronx, details have emerged about the Boston Red Sox's attempt to pry him away as their closer.

Enter Sandman to Fenway Park — as Jonathan Papelbon's(notes) replacement?

It could have happened, if Mo had taken mo' money.

Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated Tweeted around midnight that Boston was among three teams who offered Rivera a three-year contract. Rivera reportedly is on the verge of signing for $30 million over two seasons with the Yankees.

You see, Yankees fans, what happens when the Empire and one of its superstars play nice during contract negotiations? Weird, huh? That's apparently what happens when one side exercises some humility.

Writes reporter Christian Red in the New York Daily News:

[A] deal came together,

If Bud Selig's new round of playoff expansion is motivated by another sinister and unstated goal — to give the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox more chances to win the World Series — the honchos at Major League Baseball probably ought to think of another way.

By checking regular-season win-loss records since 1995, the overlords would find that the Red Sox and Yankees would have made the playoffs only one additional time each because of an extra wild card spot. Both of those instances came in the past three years — the Red Sox this season and the Yankees in '08.

On two other occasions, the Red Sox finished with the best record among non-playoff teams, but would have needed tiebreakers to make the playoffs. And only one other AL East team — the 1998 Toronto Blue Jays — would have benefited from a second wild card spot.

So, the Yankees and Red Sox franchises in this way aren't much different from the Angels, Indians and Athletics; those teams "missed out" on two AL playoff spots

New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has something else up his stocking this Christmas, even as he negotiates a new contract for captain Derek Jeter(notes).

Dressed in full elf costume, Cashman plans to rappel the 350-foot, 22-floor Landmark Building in downtown Stamford, Conn., this weekend right alongside Santa Claus himself.

What in the elf is going on here?

Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York has the details:

"I've been leaving milk and cookies for Santa for some time now, but this year I wanted to take a more active role in assisting him," Cashman said. "As an elf, you have to be willing to build toys, wrap presents, prepare reindeer for flight, or rappel off buildings for Santa. I take my role as an elf seriously because there are a lot of children out there counting on him."

Cashman, a nearby resident, apparently has seen Stamford's Heights and Lights festival before and expressed interest in being in the show.

Well, that's just great. First we got elves who want to be

The actor who played Willie Mays Hayes in "Major League" and (sigh) Bobby Rayburn in "The Fan" might get a chance to make a baseball comeback in the California Penal League.

The Orlando Sentinel reported Friday that a federal judge has denied Wesley Snipes' demand for a new trial. Snipes must surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (or, ironically, to U.S. Marshals) and begin serving 36 months for tax-related crimes. At least they didn't get him for killing Juan Primo.

Judge William Terrell Hodges wasn't buying Snipes' contention he didn't receive a fair trial. Snipes lawyers say they received two emails from jurors who claimed Snipes was guilty before the trial started.

Regardless, you can't steal home from Uncle Sam:

Snipes, 48, an Orlando-born star of "Jungle Fever," "White Men Can't Jump," and the Fugitive sequel "U.S. Marshals," was convicted in 2008 of three misdemeanor counts of willfully failing to file federal tax returns. [...]

Best known as the vampire-killing hero in the

Major League Baseball didn't let him get near the Chicago Cubs.

Nolan Ryan outmuscled him for the Texas Rangers.

The guy who owns his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates apparently won't let them go.

Now, a report out of Texas says the Houston Astros are for sale.

Oh, Mark Cuban!?

From My Fox 26 in Houston:

Major League Baseball sources told FOX 26 Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane, Jr. has retained Allen & Co., an investment-banking firm in New York City, to help him sell his franchise.

MLB sources told FOX 26 Allen & Co. will attempt to sell the Astros franchise for $800 million.

So all the rambunctious internet billionaire/Dallas Mavericks owner needs to do is pay $800 million and he'll finally own a baseball team? No problem, he'll just write you a check.

Wait a second, here. McLane wants how much? As a frame of reference, the Cubs (plus a cable channel) went for $845 million. Nolan and Co. paid $593 million at an auction for the Rangers.

McLane (holding the keys on the right) paid

Stan Musial is flat-out awesome. It was just announced that he'll be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom after serving his country in World War II and by being one of Major League Baseball's top ambassadors for nearly 70 years.

But I like to think the Flat Stanley program run by the St. Louis Cardinals helped influence the White House to select Stan "The Man" as one of 15 Medal of Freedom recipients.

Back in May, the Cardinals began encouraging fans to print out the cartoon image of Musial seen above, take a self portrait with "Flat Stan the Man" and post it to the team's website. They created some cool galleries with it. The campaign also engaged fans via Twitter and Facebook.

The original concept behind Flat Stanleys was to give students, often as pen pals, a mutual friend about whom to write as they exchanged correspondence. Stan Musial was a natural choice for this and not only because of his convenient first name. Not only is he the best player in team history (for now),