Sources: Rangers pick Washington as manager  —  The Rangers will step outside the organization for the "fresh perspective" general manager Jon Daniels said he wants to bring to the clubhouse.  —  Two baseball sources said Sunday night that the club had hired Oakland third base coach Ron Washington.

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 …

Hot Stove: Slammin' Sammy's return?  —  Slugger contemplating return to Majors after year off  —  The free-agent market is 163 players deep so far this offseason.  —  Actually, you might want to add one more name to the list.  —  Sammy Sosa, the only player in Major League history to hit …

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 …

Hall, Rays move even further apart  —  Despite being traded from the Devil Rays to the Dodgers in June, Toby Hall still proudly considers himself part of the Tampa Bay community, and on Monday night he is hosting his second annual Spikes and Strikes charity bowling event at Splitsville in Tampa.

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.

Dunn Job 1 for Jacoby  —  New coach has ideas  —  Brook Jacoby will work on fine-tuning the other 24 players' swings, too, but his prior experience working with Adam Dunn could prove his biggest asset.  —  The Reds hired Jacoby as their hitting coach Friday, hoping his well-rounded approach …

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 …

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 …

Mussina nearly signed  —  You can forget the idea of Mike Mussina going to the Mets.  His agent said there has been "significant progress" in getting an extension signed.  —  Look for Mussina to sign a new two-year deal sometime this week, probably worth $11 or $12 million a year.

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.