Foulke has it his way  —  Theo Epstein must have hung up the phone and done a backflip, maybe a handspring, maybe even a cartwheel, too.  He probably put on a tutu and did pirouettes down Boylston Street to share the news with Johnny from Burger King.  —  Keith Foulke is gone.  —  Whoppers for everyone.

Mets, Citigroup strike stadium deal  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Goodbye, Shea Stadium; hello, CitiField.  —  The Mets and Citigroup Inc. have agreed on a 20-year sponsorship deal for the team's new ballpark that is worth more than an average of $20 million annually and includes stadium naming rights, a baseball official said Saturday.

McCann earns first Silver Slugger  —  Braves catcher enjoyed award-winning sophomore season  —  ATLANTA — When the Braves traded Johnny Estrada in December, they showed Brian McCann they were fully confident in his ability to be their everyday catcher.  But even McCann couldn't have foreseen …

Abreu burning it up in Arizona  —  First baseman coming up clutch for Mesa in AFL action  —  Michel Abreu already has plenty of good things to remember from his Arizona Fall League season.  —  The highlights include a seven-game hitting streak capped by a two-homer, five-RBI performance.

Clock ticking for Ramirez, Cubs  —  After a relatively dormant stretch in negotiations, talks between Cubs general manager Jim Hendry and the representative for free-agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez moved into overdrive the last 36 hours, with agent Paul Kinzer insisting Friday night the club …

Acta to be named Nats' next manager  —  Former Mets coach to become second skipper in team history  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals will name Mets third-base coach Manny Acta as their new manager on Tuesday, according to a high-ranking baseball official.  Acta will sign a two-year contract, but terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bergolla stays hot in Venezuela  —  Infielder one of several Reds prospects in offseason leagues  —  William Bergolla may not look like Ted Williams, but he's hitting like him this fall.  —  Bergolla continued his scorching Venezuela Winter League campaign this week …

Padres bid on Japan's Iwamura  —  Padres General Manager Kevin Towers said yesterday the club forwarded a bid for the negotiating rights to Japanese third baseman Akinori Iwamura, viewing the versatile 27-year-old as a candidate for second base, an outfield spot or a super-utility job.

Benson won't seek trade … The Orioles have had talks with the New York Yankees about acquiring 30-year-old pitcher Jaret Wright, according to an industry source.  The Orioles likely would have to part with a reliever in return for Wright, who has fallen out of favor in New York after two inconsistent seasons.

Report: Sosa denies steroids played part in success  —  Sammy Sosa, contemplating a return to baseball in 2007, would like to end the speculation that steroid use played a part in his impressive career slugging statistics.  —  "No question about it," Sosa told the Chicago Tribune on Friday.

Yankees Deal Sheffield To Detroit  —  After exercising their $13 million option on him last weekend, the Yankees pulled the trigger on trading outfielder Gary Sheffield on Friday, sending him to Detroit for righthanders Humberto Sanchez, Kevin Whelan and Anthony Claggett.