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.

Marquis gone; Peavy in focus?  —  The Cubs finished off the Jason Marquis-for-Luis Vizcaino trade with the Colorado Rockies as expected Tuesday.  —  But will it look more like a Marquis-for-Jake Peavy deal by the time they open spring training next month?  —  General manager Jim Hendry …

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.

Dodgers offer one-year deal to all-time save leader Trevor Hoffman  —  The Milwaukee Brewers also are in pursuit of the closer, who is expected to make his decision this week.  Meanwhile, the Giants are considering offering Manny Ramirez a three-year deal.  —  The ninth inning at Dodger Stadium could be Trevor Time this year.

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 …

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.

Orioles open door to Asia  —  Pitcher Uehara to become team's first Japan native  —  The Orioles have filled one vacant spot in their wide-open rotation while simultaneously opening the door to the Far East.  —  Japanese right-hander Koji Uehara has agreed to a two-year, $10 million …

Mariners pick up low-cost reliever  —  Walker signs one-year deal worth $750,000  —  The Mariners signed free-agent reliever Tyler Walker to a one-year contract Tuesday after a month of inactivity.  —  Walker, 32, a former closer for the San Francisco Giants who has pitched setup relief …

Corky Simpson: The writer who didn't vote for Rickey Henderson  —  So I was putting together some research on which BBWAA members had published their ballots for the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame, trying to get a feel (albeit from a small sample size) of what the 2009 voting might look like.

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.

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 …

Future Shock  —  Cardinals Top 11 Prospects  —  Five-Star Prospects  —  Four-Star Prospects  —  Three-Star Prospects  —  Two-Star Prospects  —  Just Missed: Mitch Boggs, RHP; Jon Jay, OF; Peter Kozma, SS  —  Ranking Challenges: Spots one through four are almost too easy, but it's a bit messy from there down.

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 …

City Trades Yankee Stadium Suite for Cash  —  After intense criticism, the Bloomberg administration has given up a perk it worked fervently to secure: a free luxury suite at the new Yankee Stadium.  —  The city will relinquish use of the 12-seat box in exchange for whatever revenue …