New mix in Sox's outfield  —  Erstad signing near; groin surgery sidelines Podsednik  —  With SoxFest just a few days away, the shape of the White Sox's outfield has taken a dramatic turn with the impending signing of free agent Darin Erstad and recurrence of an old groin injury …

Ex-Yank Leyritz: Good riddance, Randy  —  NEW YORK - As badly as one wanted to leave, another wanted to stay.  The winters of Randy Johnson and Bernie Williams took different paths, and those paths were a hot topic last night at a dinner honoring the 1977 Yankees.

Rays to pad infield depth with Pena … ST. PETERSBURG - Seeking to increase depth with their infield plans unsettled, the Devil Rays are close to signing first baseman Carlos Pena to a minor-league deal.  —  Under some alignments, the Rays could end up with Ty Wigginton and Greg Norton splitting time at first base.

Ohka and Blue Jays reach preliminary agreement  —  TORONTO (AP) — Right-hander Tomo Ohka and the Toronto Blue Jays reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a one-year, $1.5 million contract.  —  Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi said the deal was pending a physical.

Cards hope to learn Weaver's fate this week  —  The Cardinals probably will learn this week whether their two-year offer to free-agent pitcher Jeff Weaver is enough to keep the righthander in their starting rotation three months after he became a cog in their World Series championship push.

Rollins, Phillies confident about chances in '07  —  PHILADELPHIA — Pitchers and catchers don't report to spring training for another three weeks and exhibition games are still more than a month away.  The Philadelphia Phillies already are talking about the postseason.

Perlozzo offers thoughts on baseball's economics … WASHINGTON // Washington Nationals owner Theodore Lerner wants to curb spending on player salaries, New York Yankees President Randy Levine wants to limit his team's luxury tax payments, while Baltimore Orioles manager Sam Perlozzo …

Delgado may miss opener  —  Carlos Delgado might not be with the Mets when they open the season in St. Louis on April 1.  —  The first baseman told El Nuevo Dia in Puerto Rico that his pregnant wife Betzaida Garcia's due date roughly coincides with Opening Day.  "My child comes first," he told the newspaper.

Rays payroll shrinks as goodwill is spent … Stu, I thought we were friends.  —  You, me and our 3-million or so neighbors.  —  I thought there was a rapport.  I thought we all understood one another.  You wanted a major-league franchise and we wanted to see what a real one looked like.

Reid denies McNabb unhappy with Eagles  —  'People are making a lot of things up here that aren't true,' coach says  —  PHILADELPHIA - Less than a week after he canceled Donovan McNabb's news conference, coach Andy Reid dismissed reports that his star quarterback is unhappy with the organization.

Four teams that could surprise in '07  —  To start with, some parameters.  —  A team can't qualify as a surprise if it won 87 games last season (the Blue Jays), if it contended as recently as 2005 (the Indians) or if it spent $300 million this off-season (the Cubs).

Managing to remain humble  —  ST. CLOUD, Fla. — Little about Manny Acta's house stands out.  —  Sure, it's a nice place: Four bedrooms plus a playroom, with an enclosed pool and hot tub in the backyard and a huge HDTV in the living room.  —  But that's what most upper-middle class homes look like these days.