Braves, Wilson agree to $2 million, 1-year contract  —  ATLANTA (AP) — Craig Wilson, who could contend for playing time or a starting job in left field or first base, agreed Thursday to a $2 million, one-year contract with the Atlanta Braves.  —  The 30-year-old hit .251 with 17 homers …

Padres make Wells offer, want answer by end of week  —  Kevin Towers won't call it a deadline.  —  But he'd like to get an answer from pitcher David Wells "by the end of this week."  —  The Padres have made a formal contract offer to the 43-year-old left-hander after what Towers described as a series of "positive dialogues."

Washington Nationals set to begin week-long Winter Caravan Monday, Jan. 22-Monday, Jan. 29  —  Nationals Manager, players, front office executives and broadcast personalities get on the road prior to start of Spring Training with several stops in the District, Maryland and Virginia

Inside Shea: Olivermania?  —  (Editor's Note) Gotham Baseball Magazine is proud to announce the newest addition to our editorial staff, Howard Megdel.  He has covered both sports and news with an equal amount of excellence and we're priviliged to have him.  Join us as we welcome him to Gotham Nation.

Sosa's return could bring big dividends  —  Rangers general manager Jon Daniels began the day Wednesday awaiting a new arrival, wondering just how big he might be.  —  Sammy Sosa?  Oh, yeah, him, too.  —  But of more immediate concern was the imminent arrival of Daniels' first-born.

Bonds' leaked results could handcuff Giants  —  Six weeks after he reached a tentative deal to return to San Francisco for a 15th season, Barry Bonds remains a non-Giant.  —  He has no contract.  He is not on the 40-man roster, and his one-year, $15.8 million agreement has not been formalized …

NL report card  —  Senior Circuit makes gains on American League  —  The National League had some catching up to do, and it did just that this winter.  The NL imported Barry Zito, Carlos Lee, Freddy Garcia and Randy Johnson from the American League.  If this keeps up, things will even out before long.

Mitchell asks owners for cooperation  —  Former Senator says help will aid steroid report's credibility  —  PHOENIX — Former Senator George Mitchell, who has been heading up a nearly year-long investigation into steroid use in Major League Baseball, told the owners on Thursday that he needs …

Historical Win Shares Above Bench  —  You may come to the Hardball Times to catch up on Bill James' Win Shares during the season.  The history of Win Shares is briefly covered in this article, so I won't go into all of that here.  But I will say that Win Shares is a fairly controversial …

January 18: Looking at the roster  —  Willie Randolph is fond of saying spring training is an open competition, but that's not really the case with the Mets this year.  Here's the way I see how the Mets' 25-man could shake out.  —  The only real competition I see, barring injuries, is for the fifth starter.

Expert Ties Ex-Player's Suicide to Brain Damage  —  Since the former National Football League player Andre Waters killed himself in November, an explanation for his suicide has remained a mystery.  But after examining remains of Mr. Waters's brain, a neuropathologist in Pittsburgh is claiming …

Nationals sign four prospects  —  Club continues to stock system as Spring Training nears  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals agreed to terms on professional contracts with catcher Sandy Leon, shortstop Adrian Sanchez, center fielder Jesus Morales and first baseman Juan Urdaneta on Wednesday.