Yanks Still Living Ugly American Dream  —  Sports Commentary  —  NEW YORK — God bless the Yankees.  While the rest of us fret over non-existent 401ks and keep one eye open for the nearest soup kitchen, the Yankees have brilliantly devised a nifty stimulus recovery package.

Mets to meet with Boras about Lowe, Perez  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Still looking to fill out the rotation, the New York Mets are ready to make their push for a proven starting pitcher.  —  Mets executives set up a face-to-face meeting Wednesday with agent Scott Boras to talk about two of his free-agent clients …

Rockies complete deal for Marquis  —  Acquisition of right-hander leaves one rotation spot available  —  DENVER — The Rockies' acquisition of right-hander Jason Marquis from the Cubs, which became official Tuesday, put their starting rotation ahead of where it was this time last year …

Duncan designated for assignment  —  Bombers clear room on 40-man roster for first baseman Teixeira  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees designated first baseman Shelley Duncan for assignment on Tuesday, clearing room on their 40-man roster for Mark Teixeira.  —  Duncan, 29, played parts of the past …

YANKS SIGN JOHN RODRIGUEZ  —  Outfielder John Rodriguez, a native New Yorker who played two seasons with the Cardinals, was signed to a minor league contract by the Yankees, the Post has learned.  —  Rodriguez was originally signed by the Yankees in November 1996 and played in their minor league system through the 2004 season.

Reds agree to terms with Hairston  —  Infielder/outfielder expected to be everyday shortstop in 2009  —  CINCINNATI — The Reds have reached an agreement with free-agent infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2 million, a baseball source told MLB.com on Tuesday.

More on Mitre; Dissecting Romero's claims  —  I managed to get hold of Matt Sosnick from Sosnick-Cobbe Sports, the firm that represents Sergio Mitre.  Sosnick is not Mitre's representative; Paul Cobbe is.  Matt was kind enough to take a few moments to help clarify some things about Mitre's story.

Indians, Pavano reach one-year deal  —  Injury-plagued right-hander looking to re-establish career  —  CLEVELAND — In New York, he was viewed as oft-injured and overpaid.  —  In Cleveland, he'll be viewed as a low-cost starting option with major upside.

Giambi Lived Up to Expectations  —  With the unveiling of Mark Teixeira as the Yankees first baseman, there seems to go with it a purging of Jason Giambi and the declaring of his time in pinstripes to have been for naught.  Between his strange injuries and illnesses, his steroid scandal …

Sources: O's, Uehara agree on multi-year deal  —  Likely slated for starting rotation, RHP would break ground as first Japan native to play for O's  —  The Orioles appear to have filled one vacant spot in their wide-open rotation while at the same time officially opening the door to the Far East.

2009 starts...slowly  —  Glad to be back and am ready to start a brand new year of covering the Mariners.  Many thanks to all of you who wrote in and emailed me privately about my knee surgery.  I'm happy to report that things are progressing well.  —  On to the Mariners …

St. Louis Cardinals' cash flow not as fluid as many thought  —  Not that the Cardinals have spent that much this offseason, but they might have less to spend than many have surmised.  —  After a couple of minutes of calculations at his Busch Stadium desk Tuesday, Cardinals vice president …

YANKS SET TO LOWER OFFER TO PETTITTE  —  Andy Pettitte's chances to return to the Yankees have dropped precipitously because in the aftermath of the Mark Teixeira signing the organization is now strongly inclined to lower the $10 million offer that the lefty already has been resistant to all offseason, the Post has learned.