Pedroia Gets His Wish, a Six-Year Contract  —  Dustin Pedroia has a Rookie of the Year award, a Most Valuable Player award, a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger and, of course, a World Series ring.  —  And now Pedroia, the Boston Red Sox' second baseman, has a big-money contract.

Dodgers are worrying about infield first  —  The Dodgers have questions all over the infield.  That's why Ken Rosenthal says there's a bigger priority than Manny or CC.

Hot Stove: CC and the Giants Edition  —  It's been nearly three weeks since the Yankees offered CC Sabathia 140 million of their hard-earned YES Network/New Yankee Stadium dollars.  You may have noticed that CC hasn't said yes.  —  Yet.  —  The Yankees still seem supremely confident that he will, one of these days, weeks or months.

Giants bolster bullpen, agree with righty Howry  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Giants general manager Brian Sabean can check the bullpen off his to-do list heading into next week's winter meetings in Las Vegas.  —  San Francisco took another step to bolster its bullpen Wednesday, agreeing a $2.75 million …

KHALIL GREENE TO BE TRADED TO THE CARDINALS  —  In a continuing attempt to reduce payroll, the Padres were closing in on trading their starting shortstop, Khalil Greene to the Cardinals.  Greene is due $6.5 million next year in the final season of his contract.

And the first free agent is ..... Russell Branyan.  (UPDATED with contract info).  —  The Mariners first free agent signing is third baseman/hitter Russell Branyan. … “Russell gives us a veteran left-handed bat with power and can be used as a first baseman, third baseman or designated hitter,” said Zduriencik.

Cardinals ink lefty reliever Trever Miller  —  Free agent agrees to one-year deal  —  ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with free-agent relief pitcher Trever Miller on a one-year contract for the upcoming 2009 season.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Agents Work to Avoid a Pay Cut for Pettitte  —  Before the Yankees ended their disappointing 2008 season, Andy Pettitte toured the new Yankee Stadium.  While he was in the spacious clubhouse, he picked out the locker that he said he wanted to use in 2009.  —  Whether or not Pettitte …

Braves close to signing Dave Ross  —  Looking to improve the production they received from their backup catchers last year, the Braves are close to signing Dave Ross to a two-year deal worth approximately $3.5 million.  Ross confirmed the signing could come as early as Thursday.

One Man's Hall of Fame Vote  —  Now that it's OK to say you're a liberal without being forced to live in an underground bunker, I will go ahead and admit it: I am a liberal, especially when it comes time to vote for the Hall of Fame.  For the 12th straight December, I will have the privilege …

Arbitration Offers  —  Teams had until Monday to decide whether to offer their free agents arbitration.  As I've written before, I consider this to be something of a bright-line test of competence for an organization, as the risks and rewards are clear, and in almost all cases favor making the offer.

Nationals still searching for identity … The Washington Nationals have gone through numerous incarnations since their big move across the border from Montreal in 2005.  —  They've been a scrappy, overachieving club under manager Frank Robinson.  They've handed out oversized checks …

With Very Important Eyes watching, Sox start youth movement  —  There Chicago White Sox general manager Kenny Williams goes again, attempting to build a team of which, um, the President of the United States can be proud.  —  Yes.  But unlike his campaign ads, Barack Obama was not asked …

Interview: Rick Peterson, Former Pitching Coach NY Mets, Oakland A's  —  Pitching, pitching, pitching.  As it is often heard throughout baseball, you can never have enough of it.  Seasons are often won or lost by the rotation and the strength of the bullpen.