What are the Orioles thinking?  —  There are two ways to view the Orioles' investment of nearly $42 million in relievers Jamie Walker, Danys Baez and Chad Bradford.  —  A. The Orioles, coming off nine consecutive losing seasons, needed to overpay each reliever in a three-year contract to attract him to Baltimore, or,

Yankees win rights to Igawa for $26,000,194  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Yankees got a chance to sign a Japanese pitcher on their second try this offseason, winning the rights Tuesday to Kei Igawa after losing out to the Boston Red Sox two weeks ago for Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Cardinals close to bringing back Kennedy  —  The Cardinals, bringing back one of their former prospects, are on the verge of signing free-agent second baseman Adam Kennedy to a three-year, $10 million contract, FOXSports.com has learned.  —  Kennedy, 30, will replace free agent Ron Belliard …

Sox, Drew close  —  Outfielder in line for $70m, five years  —  There is still contract language to be worked out, and some question about whether the fifth year of the deal is guaranteed.  But the Red Sox are nearing the completion of a deal with J.D. Drew that would pay …

Lieberthal is ready for blue  —  Veteran catcher would be happy to back up Martin, if a couple of hurdles don't stop him.  —  Like pitcher Randy Wolf, catcher Mike Lieberthal is a Philadelphia Phillie who grew up in Southern California.  —  And like the left-handed starter whose …

Any deal for Figgins full of complexity  —  The agent for speedy Chone Figgins believes the Los Angeles Angels will trade his client.  —  With 114 stolen bases over the last two seasons, Figgins, 28, would appear to be a potential help to the White Sox.  —  But other factors suggest …

Throw clueless GM Littlefield off Pirates' sinking ship  —  The Pittsburgh Pirates might be one of baseball's two or three franchises truly beyond resuscitation, and I can tell you why in three words: Dave Motherbleepin' Littlefield.  —  In his five tragic years as the team's executive zookeeper …

Leaving Tucson will be tricky  —  Sox need replacement before Glendale move  —  Moving their spring-training home from Tucson to Glendale, Ariz., might seem easy for the White Sox.  —  Their toughest task will be finding a team to replace them at the facility they share with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Bill James on the Fielding Bible Awards  —  We are fortunate today to be joined by Bill James.  Bill was gracious enough to answer a few questions we had on defensive metrics and the 2006 Fielding Bible Awards!  —  Baseball Digest Daily (BDD): With the increasing amount of data becoming available …

Hawpe off trade market  —  Rockies right fielder Brad Hawpe isn't going anywhere and the starting rotation could return intact as well.  After receiving inquiries from the Cardinals, Phillies and Pirates, the Rockies assured Hawpe's agent Tuesday that they have no plans to trade the 27-year-old slugger.