Market favors a Ramírez deal  —  The list of possible trading partners for the Red Sox in a Manny Ramírez deal shrank by another team yesterday, even as an exploding market makes the remaining $38 million on Ramírez's contract appear a relative bargain.

Morneau upsets field in AL MVP race  —  Twins first baseman tops Jeter, Ortiz and Thomas  —  MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Morneau had some stiff competition when it came to earning American League Most Valuable Player honors, and that was just on his team.  —  But while the Twins had multiple candidates …

Soriano says wanting to win led to exit  —  Former Nats slugger reiterates he enjoyed time in Washington  —  WASHINGTON — Left fielder Alfonso Soriano said on Monday that remaining with the Nationals was his top priority, but he decided to sign an eight-year, $136 million contract with the Cubs instead.

Pierre, Dodgers close in on deal  —  Sources say the club and the center fielder have agreed to terms on a five-year contract believed to be worth about $44 million.  —  With the free-agent landscape for power hitters becoming increasingly bleak, the Dodgers moved quickly to obtain speed …

Bucs make 40-man roster adjustments  —  Three make first appearance for Rule 5 Draft protection  —  PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates announced their 40-man roster late on Monday night, just prior to the midnight ET deadline for rosters to be submitted.

Prospectus Matchups  —  Most Valuable  —  After decades as a baseball fan, I still can't figure out what the hell the Most Valuable Player Award is supposed to be.  Maybe that's the charm of the award: every season, it means something a little bit different.  In some years, it's for the player who had the best season.

Alou in, Glavine inches out  —  Moises Alou officially became a member of the Mets yesterday, but Tom Glavine may have moved a step closer to leaving Flushing and returning to the Braves.  —  In keeping with his transaction-a-day approach over the last week, Omar Minaya finally announced …

Pitcher gets taste of the US  —  Sox brass flies out to dine with Matsuzaka  —  From the team that made a working dinner out of Thanksgiving (Curt Schilling) and conducted high-wire negotiations on a Dominican airport tarmac (Pedro Martínez) comes news of another potentially portentous meeting …

For Wright, Alou move 'bittersweet'  —  After time away, star finds changes abound at Shea  —  NEW YORK — After a long season, a too-short postseason and barnstorming in Japan, David Wright returned home to Virginia on Monday and learned his baseball home had undergone a facelift.

Cards cut Bigbie, add 4 to roster  —  Outfielder Larry Bigbie's injury-riddled, frustrated and brief time with the Cardinals likely ended Monday as the team requested release waivers on him as part of a handful of moves.  Bigbie missed all but 25 at-bats of the season because of various injuries …

Alou signs one-year deal with Mets  —  Club declines Glavine's option, but hopes to re-sign him  —  NEW YORK — The offensive shortfall against left-handed pitching that afflicted the Mets in late summer has been addressed, so too the situation involving Tom Glavine.

The Bizarro MVP  —  In 1994, Jeff Bagwell hit .368, reached base forty-five percent of the time, slugged .750, and cranked thirty-nine homers in exactly 400 at-bats.  He far outclassed the rest of the National League and, when the writers got around to voting on individual awards for a sport mired …