Jeter mood swing  —  Looks to forget past with jump on spring  —  TAMPA - Even on a European vacation last fall, Derek Jeter couldn't get away from the Yankees' postseason loss to Detroit.  —  A few days after the upstart Tigers put away the Yanks, cementing another disappointing October in the Bronx …

Source: A's agree to 1-year deal with Stewart  —  The Oakland Athletics have reached an agreement with free agent outfielder Shannon Stewart for a one-year deal that could be worth as much as $2.5 million with incentives, pending a physical, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney has learned.

A Look At Harold Reynolds' ESPN Contract  —  Nice little update on the Harold Reynolds Vs. ESPN lawsuit: Those sainted souls at The Smoking Gun have dug up an amended version of Reynolds' suit against the network for firing him — a firing they STILL haven't given a reason for.

Vinny Castilla retires from baseball  —  CAROLINA, Puerto Rico —A little more than four months after playing his last game in the major leagues, Vinny Castilla officially retired from baseball on Wednesday.  —  Castilla played first base in Mexico's 4-3 victory over Venezuela on the last day of the Caribbean Series.

Pirates, Castillo avoid arbitration  —  Opening-day payroll projects to $43 million  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  The Pirates avoided any arbitration hearings this offseason by agreeing last night to a one-year contract with second baseman Jose Castillo.

The Best Pitchers of All Time  —  I've spent the last three weeks listing and discussing the best major league everyday players since 1900 using a special version of Bill James' Win Shares called Win Shares Above Bench.  Today, I'm going to talk about the best pitchers since 1900.

Rays seem ready to dump Devil … TAMPA - When the Devil Rays unveil new logos, colors and uniforms for the 2008 season, they likely still will be known by their old name.  —  Or at least their old last name.  —  After considering a complete change of identity to mark the end of their first decade …

A-ROD TROUBLES ARE OPEN BOOK  —  WON'T SAY IF HE'LL OPT OUT OF DEAL  —  What A-Mess.  Call it Alex in Blunderland.  —  Alex Rodriguez's appearance at a signing for his children's book was mishandled by his publicist and bookstore staff members, turning the ballyhooed event into a media circus …

Professional Gains, Personal Addition  —  Brian Schneider has a list of concerns as he prepares to head north from his home in West Palm Beach, Fla., to Viera, where spring training begins next week.  The Washington Nationals catcher wants to have a more consistent offensive season …

Rotation  —  Manager Charlie Manuel couldn't hide his excitement when Freddy Garcia was acquired from the White Sox in December.  "I'd say we picked us up an ace," he said.  "We've got some good starting pitching."  Regardless of whether Garcia fits the definition of a true ace or not …

Wallace Matthews  —  Business will get personal  —  On the slick, computer-generated renditions of Citi Field, the road bordering the rightfield concourse looks as beautiful as the Champs-Élysées.  —  It is wide and freshly paved and tree-lined, and on the side across …

100 Names You Need to Know  —  Here's the 11th annual list of Sports Weekly's 100 Names You Need to Know.  These are the next wave of players coming into the majors who, in our view, could make the biggest impact during the 2007 season.  —  These aren't necessarily baseball's 100 best prospects.