Analyst's Role With YES Shifts away From the Studio  —  David Justice, who was cited in the Mitchell report as having purchased human growth hormone, will no longer be a studio analyst for the YES Network but will contribute columns and participate in chats on the channel's Web site.

SIGN-ING UP  —  NAME SET AT YANKS' NEW PARK  —  The House That Jeter Built has a new sign that unmistakably promises great baseball will be played there.  —  The words “Yankee Stadium,” solidly etched in gold-leafed stone, were hoisted by crane onto the team's new South Bronx home this week.

Around the horn: Middle infielders  —  Reyes, Castillo are catalysts on offense, standouts on defense … By the end of last season, the middle of the Mets' infield was limping, literally and figuratively.  Luis Castillo, short of two months with the team, was hobbled by a balky knee …

Cubs sign Lieber  —  The Cubs signed right-handed pitcher Jon Lieber to a one-year, $3.5 million deal on Wednesday with around $4 million in incentives based on games started and innings pitched.  —  “It gives us more depth with our starting pitching,” manager Lou Piniella said.

Encouraging prospects  —  Rookie program shows Sox' stock is on the rise  —  Clay Buchholz (left) and Dustin Richardson hope they're in the running to make the Red Sox.  (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)  —  When you looked out at the football field in the indoor bubble at Boston College's …

The Worst Form of Government, Except for All the Others (Probably)  —  Apparently they were voting for something or other in Michigan yesterday.  But the bigger election story came, as election stories so often do, from Washington.  Only this one had nothing to do with the White House.

Youkilis, two others file for arbitration  —  Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis and relief pitchers Javier Lopez and Kyle Snyder are among the 110 big-league players who have filed for salary arbitration, according to information released by the players' union.

Twins Notes: Money, Money, Money, and Money  — Over at MLB.com, Kelly Thesier reports that “so far it appears no progress has been made” in the Twins' attempt to lock Justin Morneau up to a long-term contract extension.  Morneau told Thesier that he's “looking for a long-term deal …

Okajima looking forward to homecoming  —  TOKYO - Boston reliever Hideki Okajima [stats] is looking forward to starting the 2008 season on home soil — even though he'll be thousands of miles from Fenway Park [map].  —  Okajima was in Tokyo on Wednesday promoting Boston's season-opening series …

Rockies back to business  —  Owner unsure NL champs can keep Holliday long term  —  In the 11 weeks since the lights faded to black in the World Series, putting to bed one of the most stirring sports stories in Colorado history, Rockies owner Dick Monfort has been a popular target in public.

In Baseball, Fear Bats at the Top of the Order  —  HE will always be a rookie to me, but Jimmy Rollins, the reigning National League most valuable player, once gave me a poignant piece of wisdom that typically would flow from mentor to mentee, not the other way around.

Observations that can't wait  —  Picked-up pieces while waiting for the AFC Championship game . . .  — Please tell me you were rooting for the Colts.  Wouldn't this 19-0 ride be more satisfying with a butt-kicking of Indy at the Razor?  Wouldn't that be like beating Derek Jeter and Friends en route to the 2004 World Series win?