Pirates agree to terms with Kolb, Sanchez  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  The Pirates today agreed to terms on a minor-league contract with free-agent reliever Dan Kolb and avoided arbitration with third baseman Freddy Sanchez by agreeing to a one-year contract.

Lies, Damned Lies  —  PECOTA Takes on Catching Prospects  —  Catching prospects are sort of like pitching prospects.  There are a few guys who distinguish themselves, but mostly you're left with an unwashed mass of players with some residual value by virtue of the fact that there are just 60-70 catchers …

Pavano Hopes His Pitching Will Silence His Critics  —  Off-season conference calls with most baseball players take on a casual mood.  Questions about a player's credibility in his clubhouse or the public perception that he is a loafer are hardly staples.  —  But welcome to the world of the Yankees right-hander Carl Pavano.

Ghana's 'Old School' Little Leaguers  —  iTeam correspondent T.J. Quinn is in Ghana, traveling with Mets GM Omar Minaya, Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, former Yankees GM Bob Watson, former Giants and Cubs manager Dusty Baker, and former major leaguers Reggie Smith and Al Jackson (an original Met) …

Rays not rushing to restock bullpen … ST. PETERSBURG - The Devil Rays likely are going to have to wait a while to get any relief.  —  The Rays - most likely - will open spring training on Feb. 17 with the 57 players they now have on the roster.  —  Team officials remain committed …

Juan Gonzalez eyes return to Majors  —  Coming back from injuries, slugger sets sights on 500 homers  —  CAROLINA, P.R. — For eight seconds about every other inning, the boisterous crowd at Estadio Municipal Roberto Clemente Walker Stadium gets silent.  The horns cease and the chants …

Veteran Dominican seeks opportunity … CAROLINA, Puerto Rico — Jose Lima never doubts his ability to rise from the ashes and have another resurgence in baseball, as he has done several times in his career.  —  "There's still a lot of 'Mambo' left," Lima told ESPNdeportes.com …

Mets coaches receive new contracts  —  Peterson signed through 2009; rest of staff also ink deals  —  NEW YORK — Ten days after the Mets extended the contract of manager Willie Randolph through the 2009 season, they announced they have signed pitching coach Rick Peterson for the same period.

The world according to VORP … Twenty years ago, if you mentioned "on-base percentage" you had to explain it.  Or maybe not.  It's pretty self-explanatory.  But you had to wink to reassure everyone that you didn't really buy into such nontraditional claptrap.

RF Drew still not appearing on Red Sox roster  —  BOSTON — It took the Boston Red Sox five weeks to work out a deal with J.D. Drew and seven more to get the agreement on paper, and they still haven't added him to their roster.  —  There's no holdup, the team said Friday.