Piniella likes 'challenge' of Cubs job  —  North Siders top his list; Rangers, Giants interested  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — If the Cubs want veteran manager Lou Piniella, the feeling appears to be mutual — especially with the New York Yankees no longer an option for 2007.

Surgery ahead for Unit's back  —  Randy Johnson almost certainly will have back surgery in the coming weeks to repair a herniated disk, and it's possible that he may not be ready to start spring training on time, GM Brian Cashman said yesterday.  —  Still, the Big Unit is expected to be ready for Opening Day.

Mets set for Arch enemy  —  Out to deck Cards in NLCS after suffering St. Louis blues in '05  —  During one of last season's lowest moments, as the Mets neared the end of a 2-8 early September road trip that knocked them out of the wild-card race, Willie Randolph put his arm around David Wright …

ALCS Game 1: Tigers win, but will it be costly?  —  The Tigers got on Barry Zito early for five runs and knocked him out in the fourth inning.  Nate Robertson pitched five innings of shutout baseball.  They weren't the most uneventful of innings, but the runs column still read 0 when Fernando Rodney came into the game.

Red Sox Notebook: Arroyo's strategizing his return to the Red Sox  —  Bronson Arroyo may be in Cincinnati, but his heart is still in Boston.  —  In fact, he may already be planning his return.  —  "I still miss playing in that uniform, especially when I turn on the TV and they are 10 games …

Reyes vs. Molina: A Game Within Games  —  If the National League Championship Series is reduced to a 90-foot race, the Mets should win by five-hundredths of a second.  —  This is the amount of time that José Reyes is working with when he tries to steal second base against Yadier Molina.

Howard chosen player of the year by peers voting in TSN balloting  —  The writers might disagree, but Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard is the players' choice.  —  The Sporting News announced yesterday that Howard, in his first full season, won the publication's major league player of the year award as voted by players.

Glavine burns to eat innings  —  Tom Glavine wore a bandage on his left index finger yesterday, and said he burned himself cooking a meal for himself last week before his start against the Dodgers.  —  He is expecting his start tonight to be a lot better than that meal was.

Time is now for Orioles to make bid for A-Rod  —  In case you haven't noticed, New York has soured on Alex Rodriguez, and I think it's probably fair to say that A-Rod isn't humming Frank Sinatra right now, either.  —  So, start spreading the news.  A-Rod might be available, and there is a team near you that could use his services.

White Sox Have New Start Time: 7-Eleven  —  It is not easy to conjure $500,000 out of the ether, but the Chicago White Sox have discovered a way.  Their financial trick was really quite simple.  —  They changed their evening game times at U.S. Cellular Field.

Twins pick up $12 million option on Hunter for '07  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Torii Hunter will be back with the Minnesota Twins for at least one more year.  —  The Twins said Tuesday they picked up Hunter's $12 million option.  —  Hunter, 31, a five-time Gold Glove winner in center field, was a big part of the Twins' AL Central title.