Welcome to 'Duk's Dozen, a streamlined selection of 12 morning-fresh links and items to start your day. It welcomes submissions here or via Twitter.      

1. Did the Giants just send Tim Lincecum(notes) a giant bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates so they can have a happy Valentine's Day with their ace?

A report from John Shea states that the team has offered Tiny Tim a three-year deal worth $37 million and it would be broken down into a $9.5 million salary in 2010, $12.5 million in '11 and $15 million in '12. Lincecum would then have one year of arbitration remaining when the proposed deal expires.

According to Shea, Lincecum's camp countered with a deal "north of $40 million" and I'm going to throw out the wild idea that three years and $37 million won't be the final numbers inked on a settlement should one occur. (It should be noted that no other reliable outlet has confirmed this offer.) Lincecum is holding all the leverage here and asking him to settle for $9.5 million for a season he requested $13 million is playing it cheap. SF Chronicle

2. Our pal Maury Brown drops by again to give us an inside view of what Friday's arbitration hearing might be like if the two sides can't come to an agreement. Yahoo! Sports

3. Larry Stone checks in with an interesting look at all the non-roster invitees out there. You know, the guys who wish they had Lincecum's problems? Seattle Times

4. Everyone will be glad to hear that Derek Jeter(notes) has reported to Florida in the best "conducting an interview without actually saying anything" shape of his life. NYDN

5. Jake Peavy(notes) already looks like a great addition to Chicago's clubhouse chemistry. He just asked the White Sox to not consider him for the Opening Day starter spot, preferring that the honor go to Mark Buehrle(notes) instead. Gaslamp Ball

6. STEW NEWS! I'm happy to announce that today marks Big League Stew's second birthday. We can't thank you enough for your continued readership and, please, help yourselves to a nice slice of cake. Here's to a great year three on the Stew.

7. Todd Zolecki tries to debunk the bandbox myth of Citizens Bank Ballpark. MLB.com

8. Yes, President Obama just compared the huge salaries of unproductive bank CEOs to the huge salaries of unproductive ballplayers. Paul Krugman is not happy. Hardball Talk

9. From a money standpoint, Mark Cuban is glad he didn't buy the Cubs. Wrigleyville 23

10. Red Sox fans are getting defensive now that everyone's stealing their Truck Day idea. I have no way to prove this, but I'm pretty sure news features about the local team packing up and heading south for February and March have always existed. They're just being spread to a wider audience these days, thanks to the Internet. Red Sox Monster

11. It took 20 years, but a Cubs preview magazine has finally surpassed Billy Ripken's Fleer card for the most amusing and profane printing error in baseball history. Desipio

12. Now this is funny: A Braves fan opposed to signing Johnny Damon(notes) visits Braves caravan, tries to fashion a Frank Wren autograph into a legal guarantee. Talking Chop