On the Beat  —  Ruminations and Meditations  —  Rickey Henderson holds two of the greatest records in baseball history, and on Monday he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer.  Henderson and Jim Rice were elected by the 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and they'll be inducted on July 26 in Cooperstown.

METS' OFFSEASON FOUNDERING AS THE BRAVES SWIPE VETERAN  —  The Mets aimed Lowe, bid low and missed, leaving them little choice but to scroll lower on the free-agent depth chart.  —  One step forward for GM Omar Minaya with Francisco Rodriguez's addition to the bullpen last month …

Cora close to deal with Mets  —  Former Red Sox infielder Alex Cora is close to finalizing a one-year, $2 million deal with the New York Mets.  The 33-year-old Cora played with Boston from July 7, 2005 — when he was traded from Cleveland for infielder Ramon Vazquez — through last season.

Santana looks doubtful for WBC  — Johan Santana just completed a conference call with reporters a few minutes ago and it looks like he's doubtful for the World Baseball Classic as he recovers from offseason knee surgery.  Santana pitched the final month of last season with a torn meniscus …

Former Padres manager Gomez dies  —  Preston Gomez, the original manager of the major league Padres in 1969, died Tuesday morning in Fullerton.  He was 85.  —  Gomez never fully recovered from head injuries suffered in March when he was hit by a pickup truck while crossing a service station driveway in Blythe.

How John Smoltz Convinced The Red Sox He Was Worth A Chance  —  The viewpoints of Nick Scherer and the Red Sox weren't all that different.  —  “When I think of a great pitcher,” said Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech baseball team, “I think of John Smoltz.”

Catching up with Benson  —  I had a nice chat last night with former Orioles pitcher Kris Benson, who surprised me with a phone call around 10 p.m. I didn't recognize the number and screened him.  —  Benson is throwing off a mound today after restricting himself to a long-tossing program …

At what point is rotation depth a concern?  —  At the moment, here are the starting pitchers with more than a game or two of major-league experience the Yankees have available to them:  —  CC Sabathia, A.J.Burnett, Chien-Ming Wang, Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Ian Kennedy, Alfredo Aceves, Jason Johnson, Dan Giese, Kei Igawa.

Scully pulls up his own chair  —  Dodgers announcer watches a replay of his broadcast of Larsen's World Series perfect game and offers a review.  —  Vin Scully recently watched the MLB Network replay of the perfect game pitched by Don Larsen for the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1956 World Series.

Who's on first?  —  So Quis and I were at dinner last night (Chipotle...it was lovely) and we got to talking about the Padres 2009 infield.  More specifically...what's it gonna look like.  Obviously we know Adrian Gonzalez will be at first and Kooz will be at 3rd...but then what?

What's right move on Giants lefties?  —  Lowry, not Sanchez, could be moved in deal if arm holds up  —  SAN FRANCISCO — It has been widely assumed that Jonathan Sanchez will be the pitcher the Giants trade in their quest for a proven hitter if they can't sign a free agent.

Minor League Transactions  —  This installment considers all transactions reported by MLB between Dec. 24, 2008, and Jan. 12, 2009.  The previous installment is available here.  —  Arizona Diamondbacks  —  Signed: 2B Guillermo Reyes  —  Baltimore Orioles