Padres trade Barfield for Cleveland prospects  —  The Padres have ignited the hot-stove season Wednesday, trading second baseman Josh Barfield to the Indians for highly regarded Triple-A third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and Triple-A pitcher Andrew Brown.  —  Barfield, 23, gave the Padres …

New York Yankees  —  Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel.  All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

Hitting coach for A's expected to join Cubs  —  On the heels of losing third-base coach Ron Washington, who was hired as the Texas Rangers' manager Monday, the A's now appear as if they will have to find a batting coach.  —  According to several sources, A's hitting coach Gerald Perry …

MLB completes sweep with walk-off  —  FUKUOKA, Japan — In the United States, it has become universally known as the walk-off homer.  Here in Japan, the adjective they use for a game-ending blast is "sayonara".  —  On behalf of all the Major League All-Stars who wreaked havoc here for the past week …

Second choice not tops  —  Mixed reviews on Igawa after so-so effort against major leaguers  —  OSAKA, Japan - As the hype surrounding Daisuke Matsuzaka has escalated, many teams were beginning to believe that the Hanshin Tigers' Kei Igawa might be a more attractive pitching option.

Garciaparra 'open' to third, outfield  —  Whether he returns to the Dodgers or joins another team, first base is not necessarily the first option for Nomar Garciaparra.  —  The Dodgers on Tuesday signed utility infielder Ramon Martinez to a one-year contract worth $800,000 …

Suspended Mota still might be in plans for pen  —  The Mets still have significant interest in re-signing Guillermo Mota, despite last week's revelation that the reliever will miss the first 50 games of 2007 after failing a test for performance-enhancing drugs.

Phils essentially held hostage by Burrell's no-trade clause … PHILADELPHIA — Phillies general manager Pat Gillick is quite nimble for a 69-year-old.  Just think of all the hoops he jumped through before dealing Jim Thome and Bobby Abreu, high-profile players with big salaries and complete no-trade clauses.

Notes: Nationals dismiss Paciorek  —  Color analyst and former Major Leaguer says he will retire  —  WASHINGTON — Tom Paciorek said Tuesday he was told by Mid-Atlantic Sports Network that his contract will not be renewed as the Nationals' color analyst.  —  Paciorek, who teamed with play …

Cockrell a hit with Rockies  —  When Alan Cockrell lost the Rockies' hitting instructor position after a five-month stint during the 2002 season, he headed 63 miles down Interstate 25 to take over as boss of the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox offense.  Four years later …

Red Sox don't exercise their option on Foulke  —  On a day Theo Epstein listed a closer among the needs of the Red Sox as he heads into next week's general managers meetings in Naples, Fla., Epstein announced the team was not exercising the $7.5 million option on Keith Foulke …

Lopes wants to stress Phils' need for speed  —  Seldom does the first-base coach get this much attention, but, hey, Davey Lopes is here to do more than pick up the helmets, and everyone knows it.  —  Part of the Phillies' beefed-up coaching staff, Lopes drew a crowd of reporters during …

Pitcher of the year?  In KC?  —  A few years ago a reporter told me a story I've since forgotten.  Along the way, though, he mentioned that he had covered the Great Alaska Shootout and he had to vote for a first and second all-star team.  This haunted me for weeks — this idea that there was a second-team All-Great Alaska Shootout.

2006 All-OOPs Team  —  OOPs, here it is!  The sequel.  The most Overrated Offensive Players in the game.  —  Last December, we introduced criteria for identifying overrated offensive players (or OOPs).  It is simple and straightforward:  —  1. Batting Average > League Norm

Under The Knife  —  The Dick Martin Award for 2006  —  It's exciting to me that teams now wait for the Dick Martin Award.  I have received e-mails and calls not only from teams, but readers and listeners wondering just how the award came out this year.  I'm even more excited that the DMA …