Elated Pirates say LaRoche can be a difference-maker  —  PITTSBURGH (AP) — Spring training was only a month away, and still the Pittsburgh Pirates hadn't made one significant improvement to a 95-loss team.  All-Star outfielder Jason Bay couldn't help but be discouraged.

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."

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.

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.

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 …

Putz's breakout season for M's pays off  —  J.J. Putz has always been mindful of a well-worn adage: Getting to the big leagues is hard, but staying there is harder.  —  Thanks to his performance last season, Putz earned the assurance he's going to be around for a while.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

QB Vick raises suspicion at Miami airport  —  Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was reluctant to throw away his 20-ounce water bottle at a Miami International Airport security checkpoint Wednesday morning.  —  The reason, police say: The plastic bottle had a secret compartment that …

Guillen's extension is still in the works  —  The Tigers want to sign Carlos Guillen to a contract extension, and he wants to stay.  On Wednesday, though, assistant general manager Al Avila said there was no progress to report on a new contract for the starting shortstop.