Yanks: We have shot at Johan Santana  —  After what he described as a “slow holiday season” for baseball business, Hank Steinbrenner is returning to his office Thursday to begin working on “a final decision” regarding a trade for Johan Santana.  And he believes the Yankees have made the top offer for the Minnesota ace.

Clemens's Interview Could Lead to Lawsuit  —  Roger Clemens will face a lawsuit if he says in a “60 Minutes” interview that his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, was not truthful when he said he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs, a lawyer hired by McNamee said Wednesday.

Larkin mentors Dukes  —  Former All-Star preparing Nats outfielder for Spring Training  —  WASHINGTON — A few days before the Winter Meetings started in Nashville, Tenn., Nationals general manager Jim Bowden called Barry Larkin, his special assistant, to ask if Larkin had ever heard …

Santana affects Kielty's Sox future … Bobby Kielty, like the rest of the baseball world, spent another afternoon yesterday waiting for news of a Johan Santana trade.  —  Kielty, a former teammate of Santana in Minnesota, has a particular interest in any potential deal involving the Red Sox [team stats].

Youk charity effort inspired by.... ugly women?  —  Kevin Youkilis has always seemed like a relatively fun-loving guy.  He horses around with teammates, parties hard when it's appropriate and regularly gets made fun of for his, uh, stellar good looks, but seldom seems to mind.

Leyritz squandered millions on booze, records show  —  Troubled ex-Yankee Jim Leyritz burned through thousands of dollars by buying high-priced booze and partying at expensive nightclubs, court papers reveal.  —  The glimpse into Leyritz's 2003 financial records shows he spent large amounts …

The Most Feared Hitter in Baseball  —  One thing I keep reading regarding the Hall of Fame candidacy of Jim Rice is that he was widely regarded as the dominant hitter in baseball, or “The Most Feared Hitter in the Game” for most of his career, 1975-1986.  One way of measuring how feared …

Hot Stove Report  —  Breaking down baseball's off-season ... so far  —  The Hot Stove season isn't dead yet.  Things can and often do happen in January and February (see A-Rod to the Yankees, 2004)  —  But when the best available free-agent hitters are either facing a federal trial …

More deals ahead for Marlins  —  Tampa Bay Devil Rays' Jorge Cantu fouls off a pitch from Minnesota Twins starter Carlos Silva during the second inning of a spring training baseball game in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius / March 5, 2007)  —  Even after signing Jose Castillo on Christmas Eve …

Take the fifth: Examining bottom starters' impact  —  How do No. 5 starters contribute to a club?  By definition, the fifth rotation slot is for the team's worst starter.  Given the current cost of pitching, the ability to put five quality starters in the rotation is difficult.

Golenbock To Write Steinbrenner Biography  —  Celebrated baseball writer Peter Golenbock, author of Dynasty: The New York Yankees 1949-64, has signed a contract with John Wiley & Sons to write a biography of Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, it was announced today.

Mailbag: Will Vizquel rebound in 2008?  —  Beat reporter Chris Haft answers Giants fans' questions  —  Although he likely will remain a good defensive shortstop, do you see Omar Vizquel rebounding to hit .290 or better ever again?  —  My gut feeling is no, given Vizquel's 49-point slide …

Oakland Athletics Top 20 for 2008  —  John sent me this to post.  He says that the book should be done tomorrow, although we will need a few days to edit and make final grade changes.  Almost there!!  We will start posting Top 20s at an accellerated pace tomorrow, so hold on!

The Pozcars Results!  —  I was going to begin this post by listing off all the things are as fun as tallying up Pozcars ballots, but ... actually, I just did.  There are more painful ways to punish yourself, I'm sure, than creating a fake award and then totaling by hand (or by spreadsheet) the 254 voters.