Sox should make move on Manny  —  Rats.  I was pretty sure Manny Ramírez was going to win the MVP award.  Too bad he was topped by winner Justin Morneau, runner-up Derek Jeter, David Ortiz, and an ensemble cast of American League worthies.  —  Here in Red Sox Nation …

Acta Completes His Staff  —  Nats Manager Adds Ex-Skipper Corrales, Retains Page  —  Manny Acta officially filled out his coaching staff for his first season as the Washington Nationals' manager yesterday, hiring former major league manager Pat Corrales as his bench coach on a staff …

Rangers take step to fill leadoff spot  —  Catalanotto signs $13.3 million deal with former club  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers realize that the chances of re-signing center fielder Gary Matthews are decreasing as the offseason goes along.  —  They still aren't sure who will play center field …

D-Rays have what other teams want  —  Think the Red Sox's Manny Ramirez is a bargain with only two years left on his contract?  Discerning shoppers on the trade market should check out the Devil Rays' stash.  —  Left fielder Carl Crawford is signed for $27.5 million over the next four years, including two club options.

Floyd has no hard feelings  —  Cliff Floyd's stay with the Mets ended without a phone call Monday when general manager Omar Minaya officially introduced Moises Alou as the team's new leftfielder.  —  As much as Floyd enjoyed the Mets' turnaround over the last two years, and hoped for a return to Flushing …

TRUST OF BRAVE GM KEY ISSUE FOR GLAV  —  It's business, not personal.  At least, that should be John Schuerholz's hope if he wants to bring Tom Glavine back to Atlanta in 2007.  —  After a season in which the two men had a serious falling out, the Atlanta GM declined to discuss the health …

Rockies, Francis agree to four-year, $13.25M deal … Pitcher Jeff Francis has reached agreement on a four-year, $13.25 million contract with the Colorado Rockies, a source told ESPN.com.  The contract includes a fifth-year club option that could bring the total value of the deal to more than $20 million.

Introducing Dr. Frank Quietly  —  Stephen A. Smith, Mr. Quite Frankly himself, is apparently still slumming it in the newspaper business every now and then.  To comment on Stephen's latest piece, we've invited a very special guest blogger to join us here at FJM.  Please welcome Stephen's polar opposite, Dr. Frank Quietly.

Probabilistic Model of Range, First Basemen, 2006  —  Here's how PMR ranks the first basemen:  —  Probabilistic Model of Range, First Basemen.  Model is Based on 2006 Data Only.  Minimum 1000 Balls in Play.  —  Player In Play Actual Outs Predicted Outs DER Predicted DER Difference  —  Kendry Morales

Q&A WITH ANGELS' JUSTIN SPEIER  —  Fresh off the signing of a four-year, $18-million contract with the Angels, right-handed reliever Justin Speier addressed his new deal and his role with his new team on a conference call with the Southern California media Tuesday.

Dodgers add three to 40-man roster  —  Pitching prospects Hull, Hammes, Megrew protected  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers added pitchers Eric Hull, Zach Hammes and Mike Megrew to the 40-man roster Tuesday.  —  Hull, who will be 27 in December, is a 5-foot-11, 185-pound right-hander.

Rear View Mirror  —  Got an intriguing note yesterday from reader Cliff Corcoran.  Check it out: … Corcoran's question, which I'll get to in a second, raises a larger issue: We often think we know what an old uniform looked like, because of templates like this or this.