A source with knowledge of the situation has revealed that Manny Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras, asked the Dodgers to increase their offer to $55 million. After asking for the increase, the negotiations reportedly broke down.

Curt Schilling said on Saturday that he'd like to pitch for the Cubs, or a team that has never won a World Series title. "Absolutely I'll come back," said Schilling, who has helped lead the Diamondbacks to their first title and the Red Sox to their first in 86 years. "The challenge would be in a place like Tampa Bay or Chicago," he continued. He added that he'll make a decision within a couple of weeks.

The Red Sox have given veterans John Smoltz and Brad Penny a chance to make their rotation, but aren't interested in doing the same for Pedro Martinez. Sources revealed that Martinez's people reached out to Boston earlier this week to gauge their interest, but there was none. Martinez has drawn interest from a number of clubs, including the Dodgers, Pirates and Indians.

The Dodgers had reportedly set as deadline of Friday afternoon for their negotiations with free agent Manny Ramirez, but the sides are still far apart. Multiple sources within the organization are beginning to wonder whether owner Frank McCourt's feeling towards agent Scott Boras will begin to sour negotiations. Boras and McCourt are reportedly close on the amount of a proposed contract, but are disagreeing on the amount of deferred money in the deal.

Nomar Garciaparra has revealed that he will either sign a contract to play for the Athletics, or decide to retire. FOX Sports originally reported the story. Garciaparra batted .264 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 163 at-bats for the Dodgers in 2008.

Pedro Martinez is hoping that his play for the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic will lead to a few formal contract offers. The Dodgers, Pirates and Indians have reportedly showed interest, but no offers have been made.

Giants president Larry Baer has declined to reveal whether or not the team had made Manny Ramirez a formal offer, but they are believed to be a player. San Francisco could reportedly offer Ramirez a deal longer than two years, that also allows both sides to end the pact early if they so choose. On Thursday, Ramirez and agent Scott Boras turned down a two-year, $45 million deal from the Dodgers.

Manny Ramirez rejected a two-year, $45 million offer on Thursday, but the Dodgers are holding out hope that he'll agree to a deal by a set deadline of Friday afternoon. The Dodgers have set a deadline of Friday noon pacific time. Both the Dodgers and agent Scott Boras have been quoted as saying that negotiations will resume on Friday morning.

According to a source, the two-year, $45 million offer that Manny Ramirez rejected from the Dodgers included a sizable amount of deferred payments. The offer would have paid Ramirez $10 million this season and $10 million in 2010, with the remaining $25 million paid out over the next three years.

Manny Ramirez rejected the Dodgers' latest offer on Thursday via a letter from Scott Boras. "We love Manny Ramirez and we want Manny back, but we feel we are negotiating against ourselves," said Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. "When his agent finds those 'serious offers' from other clubs, we'll be happy to re-start the negotiations. "Even with an economy that has substantially eroded since last November, out of respect for Manny and his talents, we actually improved our offer. "So now, we start from scratch."