Gammons's take  —  ESPN baseball guru Peter Gammons, while promoting his upcoming “Hot Stove, Cool Music” event, spoke at length this afternoon on sports radio station WEEI about the future of Jason Varitek, Mark Teixeira's icy past relationship with Alex Rodriguez, and numerous other topics.

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 …

Giambi completes one-year deal to return to A's … OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Jason Giambi is returning to his professional baseball roots with the Oakland Athletics.  —  Giambi and the A's finalized a one-year contract with an option Wednesday, bringing the free-agent designated hitter …

Pitcher Patterson retiring from baseball  —  Former Nationals righty unable to overcome pain in right forearm  —  WASHINGTON — Right-hander John Patterson, best known for his years with the Nationals, announced on Wednesday that he is retiring from baseball because of persistent pain in his right forearm.

Washington Nationals  —  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 …

Reds invite 11 to big league camp  —  Outfielder Nix, reliever Fultz among those with Majors experience  —  CINCINNATI — The Reds revealed on Wednesday that 11 players have been invited to Major League Spring Training as non-roster players.  —  There are four pitchers, two catchers …

Cardinals manager passionate animal advocate  —  BC-BBN—La Russa's Pet Project, 1st Ld-Writethru,0675  —  Eds: UPDATES throughout.  —  By R.B. FALLSTROM  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) — Inside Tony La Russa's northern California home, there are more dogs and cats than positions on the baseball field.

Pirates still on Baldelli's trail  —  The Pirates remain active in a narrowing field of teams pursuing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.  —  There had been five or six suitors for Baldelli as of late last month, but two appear to have been removed this week: The Tampa Bay Rays signed …

Citi Field: Where Homeruns Go To Die  —  Citi Field opens for real in three months, but I feel like we still know very little about it aside from its aesthetics.  Dimensionally, we know it'll sport a similar configuration to Shea Stadium, with some variably higher walls and the odd geometric nuance to break from straight symmetry.

First-rounder Castro gets spring invite  —  Prospect was 10th overall pick in '08, three others to join him  —  HOUSTON — Jason Castro has earned high marks practically from the day the Astros drafted him as their No. 1 pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft, and in less than six weeks …

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.

Braves keeping tabs on Kawakami  —  Japanese righty has recently narrowed his list of potential teams  —  ATLANTA — As Kenshin Kawakami gets closer to choosing a Major League employer, the Braves still appear to be appealing to the Japanese right-hander.  —  According to a source familiar …

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.

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 …

Surprise Find: A 139-Year-Old Baseball Card  —  Bernice Gallego of Collectique holds the rare 1869 baseball card that turned up at her shop recently.  The card, a Peck & Synder featuring the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team, is said to be the first baseball card ever produced.