Mauer, Twins avoid arbitration with four-year deal  —  MINNEAPOLIS — AL batting champ Joe Mauer and the Minnesota Twins agreed Sunday to a four-year contract worth $33 million, avoiding salary arbitration and ensuring one of the team's young stars will be in uniform for the long term.

Farm-fresh approach to winning  —  The Rangers have committed to the notion that they must build through their farm system.  —  To that end, they aim to make improvements in drafting and developing players, make smart signings in Latin America and hopefully acquire other good, young prospects through trades.

Retooled D-Backs up stakes  —  After 2 rebuilding seasons, club hopes for NL West title  —  Jeff Moorad was talking with friends recently when an old conversation was revisited.  A year ago this time, Moorad was selling them on the wonders of Orlando Hudson, promising they would love …

Spring Training Preview: Tracy seeks winning carryover  —  Says Pirates 'very capable of picking up where we left off in 2006'  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Jim Tracy will open his second season with the Pirates, his seventh as a manager in Major League Baseball …

Matsuzaka Masterpiece: Glimpses of Greatness in Arm of Teenager  —  Daisuke Matsuzaka had dirt on both knees of his gray uniform pants, dirt splattered on the front of his jersey and dirt smudges near his right elbow.  He had pitched 16 innings, thrown well over 200 pitches, and now this stained …

For Nats' Home, a Rapid Ascent  —  Corner-Free Clubhouse Among Unusual Details in Ballpark on Anacostia River  —  During the 2005 baseball season, long before construction began on a stadium for the Washington Nationals, architect Marshall Purnell and others involved in the project toured SBC Park …

Anderson's not on hot seat  —  Beyond the usual suspects: Five players to keep an eye on  —  The blond locks were longer than usual last month.  Looking like he should be in search of the nearest beach, outfielder Brian Anderson instead was at SoxFest, answering questions about his future.

The Accidental Tourist  —  Steve Phillips was the general manager of the Mets when Alex Rodriguez first became a free agent.  In the end the Mets didn't go after Rodriguez and one of the reasons Phillips gave, and people wanted to drop a safe on him because of it, was because he thought A-Rod was a "24-and-1" guy.

Arbitration Goes LA's Way  —  Dodgers relief pitcher Joe Beimel prematurely began his offseason by missing the playoffs because he had cut his hand at a New York bar, and he finished it trying in vain to nearly triple his 2006 salary.  —  A panel of three arbitrators ruled Saturday …

Loewen thinks big … Not long after receiving the best news of his young professional career, Adam Loewen sat alone on a bus.  —  Leaving his Bowie Baysox uniform behind, the 22-year-old pitcher boarded a bus in Altoona, Pa., to catch a flight in Pittsburgh the next morning.

Wallace Matthews  —  3's a crowd....pleaser  —  New York is a baseball town.  Always has been, always will be.  —  How much do we love baseball around here?  —  Last year, more than 7.5 million people went to baseball games in New York.  This year, the figure will be closer to 8 million.

Matsuzaka factor mobilizes Red Sox  —  Team reinventing itself for pitcher  —  It is an open question how Daisuke Matsuzaka adjusts to the world of the Boston Red Sox, but it's clear how much the Sox have already transformed that world for their new Japanese pitcher, to a degree unprecedented …

Wholly Moises  —  News spends time down on farm with new Met  —  VILLA MELLA, Dominican Republic - After a half-hour drive from his mansion in central Santo Domingo, Moises Alou eases his twin-cab, turbodiesel Dodge Ram pickup off the main road in this northern section of the capital.

Rays boost Upton's work load hoping he hits back … ST. PETERSBURG - The Devil Rays think part of B.J. Upton's offensive struggles are the result of concern over his defensive problems.  —  So to lessen his worry, they plan to give him more to do.  —  In addition to Upton playing shortstop and third …

On eve of 90th birthday, DiMaggio still on his game  —  There were nine kids in the home of the Sicilian immigrants at 2047 Taylor St. in the North Beach section of San Francisco.  Dad Giuseppe was a fisherman, mom Rosalie a former schoolteacher, and three of the five boys …

Season's Greetings  —  About 70 players, many new to the Nats, are expected when the club opens spring training this week.  The fans aren't the only ones who will need a scorecard.  —  This week in the home clubhouse at Space Coast Stadium in Viera, Fla., jerseys will hang …

It's deja vu all over again for Sox  —  In some ways, oddly enough, the Red Sox [team stats] are in precisely the same spot they were a year ago.  They have a new, young starter for whom they paid a significant price.  They have a new shortstop and a new second baseman, as well as a new leadoff hitter.