Flannery seeks adventure  —  Why would Tim Flannery leave the security of the Padres broadcasting booth for the uncertainty of a third-base coaching job with the Giants?  —  "For adventure and excitement," Flannery said yesterday after confirming that he has agreed to join Bruce Bochy's Giants staff.

Mariners won't bid for Matsuzaka  —  Team instead expected to pursue Schmidt and/or Eaton  —  SEATTLE — There figures to be a handful of Major League teams who will be involved in the posting process for the right to sign Japanese starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.  —  But the Seattle Mariners won't be one of them.

Rockies exercise club option on Byung-Hyun Kim  —  DENVER — The Colorado Rockies announced today that they have exercised the club option on right-handed pitcher Byung-Hyun Kim for the 2007 season.  —  Kim, 27, was 8-12 with a 5.57 ERA (155.0 ip, 96 er) with 61 walks and 129 strikeouts in 27 games/starts for Colorado in 2006.

MLB stars rally, tie Yomiuri Giants  —  TOKYO — Quicker than you could say "World Baseball Classic carryover", the traveling team of Major League Baseball All-Stars put together an epic comeback in the top of the ninth to stave off defeat against the Yomiuri Giants.

Matthews has Angels interested  —  Team also reportedly will bid on Zito, but not Japanese sensation Matsuzaka.  Stoneman tells Kennedy he will not be retained.  —  The representative for free-agent center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., said the Angels are "extremely interested" …

For 12th time, Pudge honored for his 'D'  —  American League Gold Glove winners include seven repeats  —  A battery that helped power the Detroit Tigers into the American League playoffs for the first time in 19 years came equipped with a golden touch.  —  Left-handed starter Kenny Rogers …

Braves announce minor league coaching staffs for 2007  —  ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves announced their 2007 minor league coaching staffs today, including four new hires.  —  Dave Brundage, who spent the last 19 years as a player, coach and manager in the Seattle Mariners organization, takes over as the Richmond (AAA) manager.

Wells leaning to retirement, but will file … David Wells will spend much of this month in Africa hunting lions, leopards and water buffalo on safari with a bow and arrow.  —  He still maintains that he's finished as a professional baseball player.  But in the event he changes his mind …

Reliever Guillermo Mota suspended 50 games  —  Reliever Guillermo Mota was suspended for 50 games Wednesday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance, becoming the third player penalized this year for violating Major League Baseball's toughened drug policy.

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.

Randa on free-agent list but off market  —  Y ou may have seen former Royal Joe Randa's name pop up on the list of free agents available for 2007.  —  Just ignore that.  —  "That was just paperwork, just a formality," Randa told me.  "I'm retired.  I pretty much made up my mind …

Generalities in Pitch Location  —  How often have you heard a player attribute his success to "throwing more pitches inside," or heard a manager say a pitcher was "hitting his spots?"  Pretty much everyone talks about pitch location, but how often is it actually quantified?

Tigers extend Dombrowski's contract  —  Four-year deal keeps executive in Detroit through 2011 season  —  DETROIT — The Tigers' comeback from 119 losses to the World Series in three years will mean a long stay for Dave Dombrowski, who agreed on Thursday to a four-year contract extension to remain with the Tigers through 2011.