Steinbrenner: Yanks' Sabathia offer has time limit  —  NEW YORK — CC Sabathia will have a deadline to accept the New York Yankees' contract proposal.  —  “We've made him an offer.  It's not going to be there forever,” Hal Steinbrenner said Thursday after he was approved as the team's …

METS' CASTILLO DRIVEN TO SECURE 2ND CHANCE  —  This is a story about second base and, Luis Castillo hopes, second chances.  —  To their fans' anguish, Mets officials have persistently said they plan on having Castillo as their second baseman in 2009.  In part that is because the Mets …

Pirates add five to 40-man roster  —  Former top pick Walker could compete for job in Spring Training  —  PITTSBURGH — In preparation for the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 11, Pirates general manager Neal Huntington finalized the team's 40-man roster on Thursday by filling all five open spots.

Carp added to roster  —  The Mets have added first baseman Mike Carp to the 40-man roster, protecting him from selection in the Rule 5 draft on Dec. 11, at the conclusion of the winter meetings in Las Vegas.  The Mets' 40-man roster now has 34 players, leaving room for free-agent additions.

Sox to sign 19-year-old Cuban star Viciedo  —  Dayan Viciedo talks to the media during a press conference in Hialeah, Fla. in June.  He defected and settled in South Florida in May.  (AP photo)  —  The White Sox's collection of talented Cubans is growing.

Volcker Gives Baseball an Update on the Economy  —  He stands 6 feet 7 inches, the size of a slugger, but Paul Volcker is a towering presence on Wall Street, not in Major League Baseball.  Nevertheless, Commissioner Bud Selig recruited Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve …

Hall spot for Moose?  Era, as much as ERA, may help sway  —  Now as long as Mike Mussina stays retired and doesn't pull a Brett Favre ...  Figures that a man most appreciated for throwing one of the best curveballs of his era would throw one last bender in saying goodbye.

O's look at Izturis for shortstop  —  He batted .263 with one home run, 24 RBIs for Cardinals in '08; team doesn't have interest in Furcal, O. Cabrera or Renteria, according to industry sources  —  The Orioles have talked to the representative for free agent Cesar Izturis …

Blackout Policy to Remain Through MLB Network Launch  —  Baseball fans, prepare for more frustration.  —  MLB owners, yet again, tabled restructuring the local and regional television territories for the league at today's quarterly owners meetings in New York, and in doing so …

Utley to undergo hip surgery next week  —  Phillies star could miss Opening Day; Feliz should be ready  —  PHILADELPHIA — Chase Utley will have right hip surgery next week, a procedure that threatens his Opening Day availability and deals a potentially huge blow to the World Series champions' hopes of repeating.

Teixeira could have his pick of offers  —  As many as six teams reportedly in the hunt for slugging first baseman  —  All Mark Teixeira wants for Christmas is a new contract.  —  And who wouldn't, given that the final tally could be in the range of nine figures?

QUOTE(#8): … ok..since when were they called fantastic 4?  pavano won 18 btw n that was prolly his only 13+ win season.  vazquez has the stuff 2 b good but was never a big-game player like lowe is.  brown was good-grt but was past his prime when the yanks got him.  as 4 jarret wright...does he still even pitch?

The boys over at Stick and Ball Guy have been running various Twins blogs through Typealyzer.com and GenderAnalyzer.com, with amusing results.  For instance, the gender analysis is 89 percent sure that AG.com is “written by a man,” so apparently more weight is placed on the constant links …

No winter ball for Mets' Murphy  —  An MRI of Daniel Murphy's right hamstring revealed a Grade II strain that will cause him to skip winter ball in Puerto Rico.  The injury doesn't figure to affect his 2009 season.  —  Murphy injured himself before a Nov. 11 Arizona Fall League game …