Reds make pitch for Rhodes  —  Agent confirms Cincinnati's offer to free-agent left-hander  —  CINCINNATI — Lefty relief help became a primary need for the Reds once Jeremy Affeldt departed for the Giants as a free agent.  —  Could that need be filled by veteran Arthur Rhodes?

IF PETTITTE SIGNS ELSEWHERE, IN BRONX HE'LL BE A PHONY FOREVER  —  OVER the past few months, as the economy has tanked, I have received a higher volume of e-mails from fans frustrated at the amounts being offered to players.  —  Yet, good economy or bad, I almost always stand with the players.

24 Free Agents Offered Arbitration  —  By Tim Dierkes [December 2 at 12:40am CST]  —  All of the arbitration offers are in.  Here's a list of which free agents were offered arbitration.  If these players decline the offer and sign elsewhere, the original club will get one or two draft picks.

Teen signs as Japan's first female pro ballplayer  —  TOKYO — A 16-year-old Japanese girl signed with a regional baseball team Tuesday, becoming the country's first female professional baseball player.  —  Eri Yoshida, a knuckleball pitcher, will play for the Kobe 9 Cruise in a new independent league starting in April 2009.

Reds' Dusty Baker wants to manage Kerry Wood again  —  Kerry Wood answered the call from the bullpen last season for the Cubs, reinventing himself as a capable closer with 34 saves.  —  Will he pick up the phone when Dusty Baker from division foe Cincinnati calls him?

Grace just kept hits comin' in his career  —  First baseman takes 2,445 career knocks to Hall of Fame ballot  —  When Mark Grace was called up to the Cubs in May 1988, it was to replace a struggling Leon Durham and platoon at first base with Manny Trillo.  —  “This is something a kid dreams …

Fuentes will talk with Mets, maybe at winter meetings  —  Brian Fuentes intends to meet face-to-face with the Mets, either in Las Vegas during next week's winter meetings or afterward in New York.  —  Fuentes, 33, went 1-5 with 30 saves in 34 chances and a 2.73 ERA for the Rockies last season.

Batters and BABIP  —  What we did  —  Batting average on balls in play—the rate at which batted balls other than home runs become hits—is commonly used as a measure of pitching performance.  However, precious little work has been done to explore BABIP from the hitter's perspective.

Marlins don't offer arbitration to any  —  Club won't receive compensation if players sign elsewhere  —  MIAMI — Should any of the Marlins' Type B free agents sign with another club, the Marlins will not receive any compensation in return.  —  As expected, on Monday …

Texas Rangers offer Bradley salary arbitration  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  The Texas Rangers are prepared for Milton Bradley to sign elsewhere as a free agent, but if he goes the club will at least receive a memento of his time in Texas.  —  By offering Bradley, a Type B free agent …

Hampton turns down Braves, signs with Astros  —  Free agent left-hander took less money to be closer to children  —  Now that he's finally healthy, pitcher Mike Hampton is bolting the Braves.  —  The veteran free agent agreed to a one-year, $2 million contract with Houston …

Astros decline any arbitration offers  —  No compensation for Houston if Wolf, Brocail sign elsewhere  —  HOUSTON — The Houston Astros declined to offer salary arbitration to all four of their free agents, general manager Ed Wade confirmed on Tuesday.  —  The Astros had four free agents eligible …

No arbitration offers to Moyer, Burrell  —  Paul Hagen reporting ...  Conventional wisdom had it that, if nothing else, the Phillies would offer salary arbitration to at least lefthander Jamie Moyer.  —  Conventional wisdom whiffed.  —  National League sources confirmed to the Daily News …

To surprise of no one, Padres decline to offer salary abitration to Hoffman  —  The Padres, as expected, declined to offer salary arbitration to closer Trevor Hoffman on Monday.  —  As a result, another club can sign Hoffman without forfeiting a draft pick, and the Padres can negotiate …