Mets reach oral agreement with Park  —  SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean starting pitcher Chan Ho Park has reached an oral agreement on a one-year deal with the New York Mets, his management company said on Friday.  —  The deal would pay Park a base salary of $3 million …

Can Offense Carry Mets?  —  The Mets have done precious little to strengthen a team that came within one win of going to the World Series last year.  They were foiled in their attempts to add a top notch starter, losing out on both Daisuke Matsuzaka and Barry Zito.

Hank Bauer dead at 84  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Hank Bauer, the tough ex-Marine who set a World Series record with a 17-game hitting streak for the New York Yankees and later managed the Baltimore Orioles to the 1966 title, died Friday.  He was 84.  —  Bauer died in the Kansas City area …

Introducing College Splits  —  Last week, Baseball Prospectus prospect guru Kevin Goldstein marked the opening of the college baseball season with a reminder of just how little we "know" about college players: … To some, that could be taken as a warning; to others, it reads as a simple celebration of the role of the scout.

Angels' outfield has the potential to be superior  —  Are the luxury tax and increased revenue sharing spreading talent around?  Or is this merely a down cycle for big league outfielders?  —  Either seems possible in assessing outfield collections entering 2007.

Rookies have big shoes to fill  —  When historians look back at the 2006 season, they might not fixate on what actually happened during it.  What last year begat - the greatest rookie class in perhaps 25 years - should be a greater gift than the pleasure of watching Ryan Howard blast 58 home runs …

Schmidt criticizes Burrell for strikeouts … DAYTON, Ohio - Unprompted, Mike Schmidt ticked off two names that, well, "tick me off.  Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn, because they strike out so much."  —  This came from a guy who struck out 1,883 times during 18 years with the Phillies, including five seasons of more than 135 whiffs.

Do Not Anger The Basketball Gods  —  You may remember last week when Bulls' Rookie Tyrus Thomas said that he was only in the dunk contest for the money.  Well I don't know if anyone was up late last night like me (watching the Bulls get worked by the Kings), but Ty had a breakaway dunk, and it was Brilllllliant!

Arroyo cashes in with Cincinnati  —  Former Sox pitcher gets $25m extension  —  Bronson Arroyo is furthering his musical career in Cincinnati, but it's his right arm, not his voice, that Reds GM Wayne Krivsky (right) values most.  (TOM UHLMAN/ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Rotation  —  Pitching was supposed to have carried the Padres deep into October, but the staff was undermined by an atrocious lack of offense.  The rotation is still the strength of this team, and it got better — and smarter — with the addition of Maddux.

Division tour: AL West  —  Yahoo! Sports is taking an early look at each division in the days leading up to Feb. 15, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.  Today, the American League West.  —  One of the most fascinating and underrated rivalries in baseball is separated by 365 miles …