Expect Sox to break bank for Teixeira  —  Here's a prediction: By the time this is over, win or lose, the Red Sox effectively will have made Mark Teixeira the largest contract offer in the history of your storied franchise.  —  Preposterous, you say?  Clearly, you have not been paying attention.

Yankees-Sabathia: What's the holdup?  —  Things don't move as quickly this time of year as we all hope they would or think they should.  The Yankees offered CC Sabathia $140 million for six years last Friday, and the popular question now is: “What's taking him so long?”

Source: Yankees RHP Mussina decides to retire  —  As expected, New York Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina has decided to retire, according to a baseball source with knowledge of the situation.  Mussina informed the Yankees last week he would give them a decision by the end of this week.

Leitch: The Unfortunate Legacy of Pedro Martinez  —  Remember when Pedro Martinez was to be the savior of the Mets?  Now the Mets don't even want him back.  Pedro's contract, signed in 2004, is off the books, and while he claims he wants to come back, the Mets don't seem to have room for him in the rotation.

On second thought, Pedroia MVP snub was error  —  Why did I leave Dustin Pedroia off my AL MVP ballot?  Let me first say this to the Red Sox nation: In retrospect, it was a mistake.  My opinion on this one was obviously wrong.  —  But I will have you know that Pedroia was 18th …

BERNIE: I'M NOT DONE YET  —  Musician Bernie Williams said last night he has a new CD coming out in April called “Moving Forward.”  —  Just in case any GMs like Brian Cashman are interested, Williams also said he has not shut the door on his baseball career.  Williams, 40, is not totally ready to move forward away from baseball.

Zumaya's rehab affects Tigers' moves  —  Club looking for relief help with righty's status for '09 uncertain  —  DETROIT — Joel Zumaya gave the Tigers a triple-digit fastball route to respectability when he went from the Minor Leagues to the back end of Detroit's bullpen at age 21.

A modest proposal  —  How the Yankees can solve their third-base problem  —  The Yankees need a plan at third base.  What they have now isn't working.  —  Things were so much better when Scott Brosius was around.  That's a third-base plan.  Third basemen who put up on-base percentages …

Prominent hitters who may swing it in '09 or call it a career … The Hot Stove season is off to a fine start for Ryan Dempster, Jeremy Affeldt and Eri Yoshida, the 16-year-old female knuckleballer who was drafted by a Japanese League club this week.  And life is good if your name happens to be CC Sabathia …

Ricciardi: “I don't see us getting involved with anybody”  —  For now, that appears to be the Blue Jays' take on the free-agent market.  Sure, they plan on making a run at re-signing A.J. Burnett.  But beyond that?  Toronto might not be much of a player on the open market.

Astros' 40-man roster grows by three  —  Houston purchases contracts of Bogusevic, Manzella and Sutton  —  The Astros purchased the contracts of outfielder Brian Bogusevic, shortstop Tommy Manzella and second baseman Drew Sutton on Wednesday, adding the Minor League prospects to the 40-man roster …

Mariners hire A's coach Wakamatsu as manager  —  SEATTLE (AP) — Don Wakamatsu has been officially named the new manager of the Seattle Mariners, becoming the first Asian-American field boss in Major League Baseball history.  —  The 14th manager in Mariners history, Wakamatsu was bench coach for the Oakland Athletics last season.

Tough to find the right fit to bolster the Mets' offense  —  Of course they need a closer, and a couple of starting pitchers, and at least a couple of new faces in the bullpen setup corps.  This is where the Mets' off-season focus is right now, and where it should be.