Rangers should steer clear of Sosa  —  Slugger, a shadow of former self, could be a clubhouse distraction  —  There's no need for the Rangers to sign Sammy Sosa.  —  They don't need him to contend in the American League West or take spring training at-bats away from young players such as Jason Botts, Victor Diaz and Nelson Cruz.

World champ Cards visit White House  —  Team has brief ceremony with President Bush to celebrate  —  WASHINGTON — St. Louis manager Tony La Russa, pitching coach Dave Duncan, chairman of the board/general partner William O. DeWitt and a group of players got a chance to meet President George W. Bush at the White House last August.

Phillies add new fire to their lineup  —  Will it be enough to heat up the super-cool Pat Burrell?  —  There isn't much chance the Phillies deliberately attempted to add energy and attitude to their roster by emulating the Eagles' mid-season resurgence.  —  So it's mere coincidence …

Unsigned Bonds Awaits Further Review  —  Six weeks after they agreed to terms on new contracts, Barry Bonds and J. D. Drew remain unsigned.  Bonds hasn't signed with the Giants; Drew hasn't signed with the Red Sox.  That prompts a thought.  If both contracts were to fall through …

Pirates, Sanchez far apart in arbitration  —  Gonzalez, Nady sign, but five others exchange salary figures  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  The Pirates avoided arbitration with closer Mike Gonzalez and first baseman/outfielder Xavier Nady by agreeing to one-year contracts yesterday …

Drew, Red Sox continue negotiating contract  —  It was Dec. 5, at about 6:45 p.m., in the lobby of The Dolphin Hotel in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., when Scott Boras announced that J.D. Drew had agreed to a five-year, $70 million deal with the Red Sox.  Today is Jan. 17, 2007.

Marcus Giles detained after fight at Qualcomm  —  New Padres second baseman Marcus Giles was handcuffed, detained and escorted from Qualcomm Stadium during Sunday's Chargers playoff game after getting involved in a fight on the stadium's club level, according to police.

Pitching still a major concern for most teams  —  Major league teams have increased their spending to outrageous new levels, and for what?  —  The free-agent market is nearly dry, spring training is a month away and a significant number of teams are still worried about their starting pitching.

An Interview With Broadcasting Legend Ernie Harwell (Part 1)  —  I've never been a huge fan of audiobooks.  If given the choice between sitting down and reading a book or listening to a book on CD, I'd normally opt for print.  For once though, I've found an exception.

Win or lose, Cubs will have to pay  —  Arbitration season in swing; Zambrano seeking $15.5 million  —  Carlos Zambrano followed Cubs general manager Jim Hendry's spending spree closely from his Venezuelan home this off-season, knowing his turn to cash in was just around the corner.

Nats, Snelling Agree; Other Deals Pending  —  The Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year, $450,000 contract with newly acquired outfielder Chris Snelling yesterday, thus avoiding an arbitration hearing with one of their six eligible players.  However, none of the others is expected …

Big pay boost for LaRoche  —  Braves, first baseman $900K apart in arbitration offers  —  Adam LaRoche's career-best performance in 2006 helped earn the Braves first baseman what will amount to about a 700-percent raise for the upcoming season.  —  LaRoche asked for $3.7 million …

Torres to management: Bring the bat  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Reliever Salomon Torres became the latest Pirates player to speak up in hopes that upper management is doing all it can to acquire a left-handed power hitter.  —  "We have almost all the pieces that we need.

A's avoid arbitration with 1-year deals for Bradley, Scutaro, Calero  —  OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — The Oakland Athletics agreed to one-year contracts with outfielder Milton Bradley, infielder Marco Scutaro and right-hander Kiko Calero on Tuesday, avoiding arbitration for all three regulars.