Red Sox, Rockies discussing Helton trade  —  The Red Sox are in serious discussions with the Rockies about acquiring first baseman Todd Helton, but a trade hinges on how much of Helton's contract the Rockies would be willing to assume, FOXSports.com has learned.

Former Cardinals GM Bing Devine dies at age 90  —  Bing Devine, the St. Louis Cardinals general manager who helped build teams that won three NL pennants and two World Series in the 1960s, died Saturday.  He was 90.  —  Devine, who had been ill since Christmas, died at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, said his widow, Mary Devine.

Players delve into lineup debate, too  —  Focal point is Tracy's decision to bat Wilson second  —  Cherly Karashin of Carnegie gets an autograph yesterday from Freddy Sanchez at the 2007 PirateFest.  —  For all the staged games available at PirateFest, which opened last night …

Rangers' Otsuka is OK with old role  —  Rangers' former closer willingly returns to pitch in eighth inning  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  For a few minutes Friday evening, Akinori Otsuka awkwardly searched for words to describe his new role as the Rangers set-up man to Eric Gagne.

Super Bowl has nothing on these red-hot topics  —  Not to demean the NFL, but in baseball Indianapolis is home to the Pirates' Triple-A affiliate.  Chicago is home to, well, the Cubs.  —  The Super Bowl TV audience dwarfs even that of American Idol, but so what?

Buehrle knows this is it  —  Sox left-hander, GM Williams agree he's gone after '07  —  White Sox general manager Ken Williams and starting pitcher Mark Buehrle seemed to agree on at least one thing Friday night: After the 2007 season, the left-hander is gone.

Middle Relievers Are Moving Front and Center  —  In an effort to raise the performance standards of their bullpens, teams have raised the standard of living for the pitchers who populate those bullpens.  The more important they are perceived to be, the more money middle relievers are earning.

Santana vows to avoid Twin distractions of pressure and pay  —  MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — By winning his second AL Cy Young Award in three years, Johan Santana set himself up for a big payday when his contract expires after the 2008 season.  —  While the Minnesota Twins ponder the possibility …

Taking Another Global Step, Minaya Leads Group to Ghana  —  On a continent teeming with untapped potential, on a sandy field that doubles as a soccer pitch, a cadre of baseball officials and former players hope to discover the next breeding ground for major league talent.

A Riddle Wrapped Up in a PECOTA  —  I recently made a trade in a Scoresheet Baseball league, which was motivated in part to clear room for Dioner Navarro on my protection list (the primary motivation was to grossly overpay for Chris Carpenter).  —  Navarro has perhaps the single …