Beinfest has major holes left to fill  —  HOLLYWOOD — After the rookie-laden Marlins surprised the baseball world with 78 wins in 2006, the front office hoped to spend the off-season adding players who could make the team into a playoff contender in 2007.  —  But with spring training 10 days away …

Sticking With The Plan  —  Moving Papelbon To Closer A Long Shot, Francona Says  —  BOSTON — To anyone still clinging to the notion of Jonathan Papelbon closing games when the season begins in April, Red Sox manager Terry Francona says it's time to let go.

Boras pulls his Sox on: Super agent's bond with Hub club grows stronger  —  NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — On the wall-panel controls for the five flat-screen TV's in the conference room of the Boras Corporation, NESN is one of the prominent pre-set buttons that an employee, or Scott Boras himself, can push.

Pedro in fight to the finish  —  Pedro Martinez is working his way back into shape in hopes of returning to his old form and the Mets in time for a run to a World Series title.  —  Barring a change of heart, Pedro Martinez will likely retire once the remaining two years of his Mets' contract are up.

Book on Rodriguez: Expect misfortune  —  If he didn't have that quarter-of-a-billion-dollar contract, that gorgeous wife, that precious 2-year-old daughter and the head of Ricky Martin grafted onto the body of Arnold Schwarzenegger, you might be tempted to believe that Alex Rodriguez just doesn't have any luck at all.

Dodgers preseason preview  —  Lots of pitching but little offensive firepower will make winning a grind  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team that have historically built upon a strong pitching staff with a solid ace, from the days of Koufax and Drysdale to Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser.

Hicks: Third team not a crowd  —  New Liverpool co-owner insists he won't forget about Rangers, Stars  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  Tom Hicks spent Tuesday assuring sports fans on both sides of the Atlantic that he is about winning.  —  Early Tuesday, he and Montreal Canadiens owner George Gillett Jr …

Harang gets four-year, $36.5M deal from Reds  —  CINCINNATI — Right-hander Aaron Harang agreed to a four-year, $36.5 million deal Tuesday, making him the Cincinnati Reds' highest-paid pitcher.  —  The 28-year-old Harang emerged as one of the NL's top starters last season despite pitching …

Rivera shut down as precaution  —  Colorado Springs - Stiffness in Oscar Rivera's left shoulder forced Mexican coaches to choose opportunity over country.  Rivera, a candidate to make the Rockies' rotation, did not appear in the Caribbean World Series this week as precaution.

Izzy seems right on schedule  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals pitchers and catchers aren't due to report for another week, but the first significant pitch of the spring may have been thrown Tuesday behind Roger Dean Stadium.  —  Climbing a mound for the first time since having hip surgery Sept. 21 …

The Best Young First Basemen of 2007  —  This week, I will continue my position-by-position review of the game's best players by examining young first basemen.  The following list differs from traditional prospect lists in two ways.  First, anyone under 25 is eligible.

The man behind the numbers  —  Former math professor creates statistics uber-site  —  If you're a baseball fan at all and you can find your way onto the Internet, you know Baseball-Reference.com.  It's the one-stop shop for baseball statistics, an ever-growing repository of data that is truly staggering in depth and breadth.

D-Backs, Byrnes agree to deal  —  PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks and outfielder Eric Byrnes agreed to a $4,575,000, one-year contract Tuesday, avoiding arbitration.  —  Byrnes was the last Arizona player in arbitration.  A hearing had been scheduled for Feb. 15.

D.R. wins fifth straight, clinches title  —  Dominicans clinch Caribbean title with win, P.R. loss  —  CAROLINA, P.R. — Their red, white and blue uniforms read "Dominicano Soy," Spanish for "I am Dominican," but there is one word missing from the jerseys.  —  Campeon, the Spanish word for champion.

Rangers, Chen agree to minor league deal  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Left-hander Bruce Chen agreed to a minor league contract Tuesday with the Texas Rangers and will go to spring training with the chance to compete for a spot in the starting rotation.  —  Chen was -7 with a 6.93 ERA in 12 starts …

Lew Burdette dead at 80  —  Ex-Braves right-hander went 3-0 in '57 World Series  —  WINTER GARDEN, Fla. (AP) — Lew Burdette, MVP of the 1957 World Series when he pitched the Milwaukee Braves to their only championship, died Tuesday.  He was 80.  —  Burdette had been ill for an extended period with lung cancer.

Planning Ahead in Milwaukee  —  I'd imagine that it's no secret to most of my readers that I'm a Brewers fan.  I've written with wonder about Milwaukee's stars on multiple occasions.  Today, I get to shower accolades on Doug Melvin for locking up Bill Hall through the 2010 season.

MLB would like to cream Bonds, not clear him  —  Many wish Bonds would just disappear from baseball  —  The truth, quite simply, is that nobody really wants him.  Not his bosses.  Not his teammates.  And certainly not the powers entrusted with the care of our national pastime.