Valentine casts vote for Hillman  —  Padres managerial candidate Trey Hillman has never played or managed in the major leagues.  —  However, one of baseball's most experienced managers says Hillman would be a "very good choice" to manage the Padres.  —  "Trey is a hard-working …

Dangerous arms race  —  Pitching-needy Yanks, Mets must proceed carefully  —  If there are two lessons to be learned from the Cardinals winning the World Series behind rookie Anthony Reyes, castoffs Jeff Weaver and Jeff Suppan, and staff ace Chris Carpenter, it is that good pitching always prevails …

Riding a stationary cycle  —  Trade talk recurs, Ramírez goes nowhere  —  One American League general manager put it this way when asked if he thought Manny Ramírez would finally be traded this offseason: "He's been on the block for, what, five years?

Braves' Giles could join his brother in S.D.  —  The emergence of Padres rookie second baseman Josh Barfield last season seemingly ended the chances of Marcus Giles joining his older brother, Brian, in San Diego.  —  Not so fast.  —  The Braves are open to trading Marcus Giles …

Yankees pick up Sheffield's option  —  Right fielder expected to be dangled as trade bait  —  NEW YORK — Gary Sheffield is still a member of the New York Yankees.  For now, anyway.  —  The Yankees announced Sunday that they have picked up Sheffield's $13 million option for the 2007 season …

Moose close to new deal  —  Arn Tellem, the agent for Mike Mussina, said yesterday that he and the Yankees have made "substantial progress" in their negotiations for a two-year contract.  —  At this rate, Mussina's contract, which is expected to be worth as much as $25 million …

MLB clinches Japan Series with rout  —  TOKYO — Over the first four innings, it seemed as if Daisuke Matsuzaka — who has the Far East and the United States abuzz these days — had secretly entered this Japan All-Star Series disguised as Horoyuki Kobayashi.

Pedro's agent says pitcher feels great  —  Retirement may well be an option for Pedro Martinez if his shoulder does not heal to his liking, but there was no talk of quitting coming from the righthander at his birthday party last week, according to one guest.

Mulder on radar at Shea  —  At age 24, Mark Mulder had 49 career victories, a 21-win season and four postseason starts.  He was considered one of baseball's premier young pitchers, seemingly a cinch to get a huge contract once he finally became a free agent.

Reassessing Hand That Rocked the Series  —  The lone lament that the World Series ended after five games is this: We did not get to see Kenny Rogers pitch Game 6.  —  We did not get a chance to see if Rogers would break Christy Mathewson's postseason streak of scoreless innings (he needed five).

Lineup shake-up all but certain  —  Expect Williams to give batting order needed makeover … Brian Anderson wanted to kiss the ground when he arrived back in the United States late Thursday, but he was afraid he would throw up.  —  The White Sox outfielder, who was battling a stomach virus …

Clemens' indecision contagious, problematic  —  First of all, if Roger Clemens wants to pitch someplace else, it's your fault, not mine.  —  I couldn't have been nicer to the guy.  I've praised him endlessly.  I've said nice things about his pitching, his chari-table work and how he helps old ladies across the street.

Sox take a flier on fading top prospect  —  The White Sox hope to rehabilitate the troubled career of Luis Terrero, once a top prospect, after signing him to a one-year contract Friday.  —  He has been released twice and suspended twice already, but the 26-year-old outfielder …