Drug violation nets Mets pitcher Mota 50-game ban  —  NEW YORK — Relief pitcher Guillermo Mota was suspended 50 games on Wednesday for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy.  —  The 33-year-old Mota, who finished the season with the Mets and filed for free agency Tuesday, was 4-3 with a 4.53 ERA this season.

Pirates' AAA Skipper Is Latest to Interview  —  The Washington Nationals have interviewed yet another candidate for their open managerial job, talking to Trent Jewett, the manager for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Class AAA affiliate, about becoming Frank Robinson's replacement.

Matsuzaka too pricey for M's  —  Team decides not to bid for rights to Japanese pitcher  —  The Mariners have decided the price for Japanese pitching sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka is too steep, confirming Wednesday they will not bid for the rights to sign him.

'A step in that direction'  —  Yankees bench coach Mattingly could succeed Torre  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Don Mattingly is moving up to New York Yankees' bench coach next season, a promotion that makes him the early favorite to one day succeed Joe Torre as manager.

A's add two more to managerial search  —  Black, Acta scheduled for official interviews for open job  —  OAKLAND — A day after interviewing the second man on their list of managerial candidates, the A's added two more names to that list.  —  Having spoken with their internal candidates …

Ortiz latest Nat to file for free agency  —  Righty says he'd like to stay in D.C., but odds are 50-50  —  WASHINGTON — Nationals right-hander Ramon Ortiz filed for free agency on Wednesday, bringing the total of Nationals free agents to five.  Left fielder Alfonso Soriano …

Burnitz may retire after Pirates decline $6M option  —  PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates declined their $6 million option Wednesday on spare outfielder Jeromy Burnitz and will pay him a $700,000 buyout that allows him to become a free agent — though he might retire.

Detroit Tigers Free Agents  —  With Sean Casey filing for free agency yesterday, three Tigers have now filed.  The other two are Jamie Walker and Matt Stairs.  These players are still the property of the Tigers at this time but will be free to negotiate with any team starting 15 days …

Jeter's no MVP  —  Captain's lack of leadership sank Yankees' hopes  —  Now that baseball's postseason is over, the individual awards will soon be handed out, including the American League MVP.  Boston's David Ortiz and a trio of Twins, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Johan Santana …

Astros dealing with matters of the heart … Business is business, and Astros owner Drayton McLane has better ways to spend his grocery distribution money than on a 38-year-old first baseman — especially one with an arthritic right shoulder that makes the baseball feel like a shot put every time he throws it.

Internet Baseball Awards  —  The Results Are In  —  It's time to announce the winners of the 15th annual Internet Baseball Awards.  More than 1,400 cyberspace baseball fans participated in this effort to honor those players and managers whose performance in 2006 were most deserving.

Rockies decline to exercise options for pitching trio  —  DENVER — The Colorado Rockies announced on Wednesday that they have declined to exercise the 2007 season options of right-handed pitchers Jose Mesa, Mike DeJean and left-handed pitcher Ray King.  —  Mesa, 40, went 1-5 with a 3.86 ERA …

D-backs name Sutton as TV announcer  —  Son of Hall of Famer Don was play-by-play man in Milwaukee  —  PHOENIX — For first time in franchise history, the D-backs will have a new television play-by-play man on Opening Day, and his name is Daron Sutton.  —  The club introduced Sutton on Wednesday afternoon at Chase Field.

Are expanded playoffs good for MLB?  —  The Detroit Tigers didn't win the 2006 World Series, but they did make it there.  And their presence in the Fall Classic keeps alive a streak that's distinctly modern: at least one wild card team has made it to five consecutive World Series.

Getting Matthews tops Giants' to-do list  —  The Giants are making free-agent center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. a top priority this winter, believing he can energize the top of the lineup and bring a dynamic presence to an outfield defense that was among the worst in the major leagues this year.

BERNIE MAY GO BYE-BYE  —  A year ago it was a lot easier to predict Bernie Williams was going to remain a Yankee.  Now, the beloved Yankee icon can't be sure he will return for a 16th year with the only organization he has ever taken a check from.  —  Ironically, the 38-year-old switch-hitting outfielder …