Schilling: I'll play in '08  —  Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said this morning on Boston sports radio station WEEI that he will not retire from baseball at the end of this season, as he previously had planned, and that he is in discussions with the Red Sox on a contract extension for 2008.

Bonds, Giants close to finalizing deal  —  Barry Bonds arrived in San Francisco on Monday, set to take a physical and complete a contract with the Giants nearly two months after they agreed on financial terms.  —  A federal investigation into Bonds' role in a steroids case and a report …

DirecTV Deal Tied to New 24-Hour MLB Channel  —  Some more details are emerging this AM via Eric Fisher, John Ourand and the Sports Business Journal and MLB's effort to make Extra Innings available exclusively through DirecTV.  If you do not have a subscription to the Sports Business Journal, I highly recommend it.

Orioles Agree To Terms With Markakis, Claim Guthrie  —  Baltimore, MD — (Sports Network) - The Baltimore Orioles agreed to terms with outfielder Nick Markakis and claimed pitcher Jeremy Guthrie off waivers from the Cleveland Indians on Monday.  —  Markakis played in 147 games during his rookie campaign last season with the Orioles.

Baseball: Cooperate, or the Bogeyman Will Get You  —  Bud Selig and George J. Mitchell, his chief steroids investigator, have unleashed the threat of Congress on Major League Baseball.  However, Henry Waxman, the chief bogeyman, apparently is not ready to speak publicly about what he might …

Nats Are Cold, Stadium Is Mostly Empty  —  Ha ha.  Just joking, Nats persons.  We all know you're undefeated this year.  —  Anyhow, a media contingent 20-strong gathered outside the Nats' glittering new stadium this afternoon, and by "glittering" I mean "muddy."

Art Fowler, former pitcher and pitching coach, dies at 84  —  SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Art Fowler, who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers' 1959 championship team and became a pitching coach for five major league clubs, died Monday.  He was 84.  —  He died at his home, his son John said.

Objectivity  —  The second thing from Farid's interview with MLB.com's Bill Ladson that I wanted to talk about was the idea of objectivity.  It seems that one of the things that bothers Ladson the most is the idea that he's in the Nationals' pocket, so to speak.

Cincinnati Reds  —  Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel.  All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

Perkins back on track  —  Glen Perkins rebounded nicely after struggling in Class AA last summer, and he could be part of the Twins' pitching rotation this season.  —  Glen Perkins strolled around the Metrodome at TwinsFest over the weekend getting better acquainted with what he hopes …

2007 Hitter Projections  —  Late January means only one thing.  Yup, it is projection season again.  After the postseason rumpus all those clever baseball sorts lock themselves away for a few months, tinker with their spreadsheets and databases before proffering their finest guesses/estimates …

Inside Dish: Mariners' Hernandez plays biggest loser  —  The Mariners were giddy when RHP Felix Hernandez showed up at a team function 20 pounds lighter than he had reported in 2006.  Hernandez, 20, says he learned a lesson after arriving out of shape last spring and dedicated himself …

Mariners star Suzuki may hit trade market  —  Ichiro Suzuki can become a free agent after the upcoming season.  Seattle's lack of recent success has been a disappointment for the Japanese star, but Mariners general manager Bill Bavasi doesn't believe Suzuki is aggravated enough to consider his options elsewhere.