Yankees After Darvish For 2009?  —  I'm surprised it took this long, but the Yu Darvish to MLB rumors may have just officially kicked off right along with the new year.  A Sports Hankook (Korea) report, relying on a Japanese source, says that the Yankees plan to nab Darvish following the 2008 season.

Buscema: First Hall of Fame ballot no easy decision  —  NEW YORK — After seemingly endless analyzing, re-analyzing and agonizing that often threatened the sanity of everyone around me as well as my own, I finally had decided.  —  So I noted the time at 12:52 p.m. yesterday as I typed …

Lawyer for Clemens Explains Strategy  —  In a lengthy conversation Friday with Rusty Hardin, Roger Clemens's lawyer, I was particularly interested in his answers to two questions.  To Hardin's credit, he answered both candidly with no attempt to obfuscate the answers with typical lawyerly prattle.

Rangers achieve main offseason goals  —  Texas adds depth to outfield, first base, bullpen for 2008  —  ARLINGTON — Eddie Guardado and Kazuo Fukumori have been added to the bullpen, Milton Bradley and Josh Hamilton have been added to the outfield and Ben Broussard and Chris Shelton are ready to form a possible platoon at first base.

Hillenbrand's life away from baseball is wild with animals  —  The two-time All-Star and his wife have opened a farm and stables in Arizona full of creatures, some rare and exotic, with hopes of opening a petting zoo for needy children.  —  GILBERT, Ariz. — Don't get Shea Hillenbrand wrong.

Royals sign Tsao to Minor League deal  —  Kansas City, MO (Dec. 31, 2007) — The Kansas City Royals have signed right-handed pitcher Chin-Hui Tsao to a 2008 minor league contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training in Surprise, Ariz.  —  Chin-Hui Tsao (pronounced Cheen-Way Sow) …

White Sox hope to rise from ashes in '08  —  Acquisitions of Cabrera and Linebrink should improve club  —  Given the chance to heap some form of thinly-veiled, added criticism upon Ken Williams before the end of 2007, designated hitter Jim Thome instead chose to view their aggressive general …

Dodgers reload for playoff run  —  Colletti adds talent without trading away youngsters  —  LOS ANGELES — To rebound from their fourth-place disappointment, the Dodgers went for quality over quantity in the offseason, hiring Joe Torre as manager and signing free agents Andruw Jones and Hiroki Kuroda.

What's past is past  —  Mets try to expunge 2007 season from their memory  —  NEW YORK — The flip of the calendar has moved the Mets merely one day further from their September downfall, but it has also replaced the four-digit number that marks the point of the greatest bringdown in the 46-year history of the franchise.

Sox in position to build on success  —  Veteran leadership around young core gives club balance  —  They did it again.  But can they do it again and again?  That's the big question entering 2008.  —  The Red Sox are already the first team in the 21st century to win multiple World Series, doing it twice in a span of four years.

Buzz: Kazmir's Day may be Numbered  —  “Even though he is entering his first year of arbitration eligibility, there's already talk that Scott Kazmir's days as a Ray are numbered,” writes the St. Petersburg Times.  —  According to the report, the Rays approached Kazmir about a long-term extension last year, ‘but nothing developed.’

Santana Situation shows exactly what's Wrong with Baseball  —  Johan Santana is still a Twin - for now.  The Big Market Teams (BMT) are low-balling the Twins with offers that won't include another star player (like Jose Reyes or Robinson Cano) or two-top shelf prospects (like Jacoby Ellsbury and Jon Lester).

A look at Jennings  —  Another possibility if the Rangers decide to look outside for a fifth starter is Jason Jennings, who was born in Dallas and played at Baylor.  He's 29 years old and spent last season in Houston.  Jennings had surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right elbow …