Matthews is the centerpiece  —  After failing to land a slugger, Angels sign the slick-fielding outfielder to a five-year, $50-million contract.  He might bat leadoff.  —  The Angels, convinced Gary Matthews Jr., won't be a one-year wonder, signed the free-agent center fielder to a five-year …

Holiday Inn award honors utility pair  —  Eckstein, Inge named Look Again Players of the Year  —  An unheralded irony exists in a strange parallel between the film industry and the game of baseball.  —  In the movies, the year's best supporting actor gets an Oscar just for playing a role over a finite period of time.

Wallace Matthews  —  Mets making turkeys of fans  —  On the joyous occasion of Thanksgiving Day, let us take a moment to thank the New York Mets.  —  For nothing.  —  Last week, the club gleefully announced its sweetheart stadium deal that will hand over to them, rent-free …

Patience is key for rebuilding team  —  The Royals have saddled their fans with four 100-loss seasons in the last five years, but management says the team's quest for a turnaround will be focused on patient rebuilding, not a quick-fix solution.  —  "We've had enough of the 100-loss seasons …

Wallace Matthews  —  Crowns most valuable for Jeter  —  If it's any consolation to Derek Jeter, in 1980 "Ordinary People" won the Oscar for Best Picture over "Raging Bull."  A quarter-century later, people laugh about that one and someday, they'll laugh about this one, too, the year Ordinary Player …

Moving forward after a step back  —  The Brewers were a lot of peoples' dark-horse contender in the National League Central this past season.  After reaching the .500 mark in 2005 following 12 consecutive losing seasons, they seemed poised to make a move.  —  Milwaukee had a solid rotation …

Type A behavior  —  Justin Speier has 17 career saves in 459 outings in a career mostly spent in middle relief, and for that, he got a four-year, $18 million deal from the Angels.  Ted Lilly, on the other hand, is 37-34 as a starting pitcher in the American League East the last three seasons …

Speed never slumps  —  Dodgers finalize five-year, $44M deal with Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES (AP) — With power in short supply on the free agency front, the Los Angeles Dodgers went for speed.  —  Juan Pierre and the Dodgers finalized a $44 million, five-year contract Wednesday …

Orioles ink Walker to three-year deal  —  Left-hander completes physical; veteran Parrish re-signs  —  BALTIMORE — The Orioles confirmed a long-standing rumor Tuesday when they announced that they had signed left-handed reliever Jamie Walker to a three-year contract worth $12 million.

A Modest Baseball Proposal  —  Would Microsoft pay an overseas competitor $26 billion just for the right to talk to one of its software engineers about a job?  Not likely.  Any board parting with 9% of its company's market value for an individual would face a lynch mob at the next shareholder meeting.