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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Canadian sports entrepreneur, cable mogul Ted Rogers dies  —  TORONTO (AP) — Ted Rogers, creator of Canada's largest cable-television and mobile-phone company and owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, has died, his company said.  He was 75.  —  The founder of Rogers Communications Inc …

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?

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Kruk the same genuine guy off camera  —  John Kruk doesn't change personalities with the flick of a TV camera light.  —  The Krukker you see on ESPN's “Baseball Tonight” is the same guy you'll get if you bump into him in line for a beer at the ballpark.  —  The former Phillies first baseman …

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.

Would Rays trade their MVP?  —  Shortstop Jason Bartlett was voted the Rays' most valuable player, and he was a big part in Tampa Bay's improbable run to the World Series.  —  Now the Rays are willing to trade him, according to a baseball official who has spoken to the Rays.

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.

Sportsman of the Year: Michael Phelps  —  He turned a pool in Beijing into the center of the universe, captivating millions with his exhilarating achievements.  Now he's using his fame to get more kids swimming safely and to promote his sport as more than a once-every-four-years event