Braves To Acquire Javier Vazquez  —  By Tim Dierkes [December 2 at 7:42pm CST]  —  7:42pm: O'Brien believes Chicago's return to be Flowers, Lillibridge, third baseman Jon Gilmore, and pitcher Santos Rodriguez.  —  7:05pm: MLB.com's Mark Bowman says the White Sox will actually receive four players in the deal.

Astros sign Brocail to one-year deal  —  Right-handed pitcher returns for fourth season with club  —  HOUSTON — The Houston Astros announced today that the club has signed right-handed pitcher Doug Brocail to a one-year, $2.5-million contract, plus incentives.

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.

Pictures: From Citi Field Tour  —  I took the following photos while touring Citi Field today:  —  ...and, of course...  I will post the full gallery and hi-res images tomorrow.  —  RSS 2.0 You can skip to the end and leave a response.  Pinging is currently not allowed.

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.

Jays' owner, media mogul Rogers dies at 75  —  Ted Rogers, owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, died at his home on Monday.  He was 75.  The founder of Rogers Communications Inc., Canada's largest cable television and mobile phone company, was treated in October for an existing heart condition, the company said Tuesday.

Bet on Yanks to go all in on pitching  —  At Winter Meetings in Vegas, Cashman to woo arms beyond CC  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees haven't exactly been watching the phone waiting for CC Sabathia's call, but their odds of garnering a response from the game's top free-agent pitcher may increase …

Talks between O's, Markakis on hold  —  Right fielder to monitor free-agent market before revisiting contract-extension negotiations; agent says he expects exchanges to resume in late January  —  Contract-extension talks between the Orioles and their star right fielder Nick Markakis …

Giants ramp up interest in Howry  —  Reliever more attractive after Cubs decline to offer arbitration  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Still seeking right-handed relief help, the Giants have accelerated their pursuit of right-hander Bob Howry, who became a more attractive option Monday when his former team …

Former baseball player arrested on drug charges  —  TAMPA - A former Major League baseball player who lives in the Bay Area is in jail facing drug charges.  —  Tampa police arrested Derek Bell, 39, Monday night on four counts of possession of drug paraphernalia.  —  Arrest records show he lives in Valrico and is unemployed.

Giving the Mets' New Ballpark a Bad Name  —  With a mixture of rage and pride, I drove past the Mets' new ballpark Monday and noticed that offensive name still up there.  —  As Citigroup grovels for a bailout from public funds, the Mets insist the name will not change.

Los Angeles Angels  —  Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel.  All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

D-Backs don't offer Dunn arbitration  —  The Diamondbacks offered salary arbitration to Juan Cruz, Brandon Lyon and Orlando Hudson but decided against offering the option to Adam Dunn.  —  Once offered arbitration, a player has until Dec. 7 to accept or decline.