A-Rod scoffs at Joe-Fraud  —  Alex Rodriguez told friends Monday that he is “not bothered at all” by the reports that Joe Torre apparently took some shots at him in his forthcoming book, and dismissed talk of an “A-Fraud” persona or any Derek Jeter obsession as old news that no longer applies to his standing in the Yankee clubhouse.

ON 2ND THOUGHT, PUT JOBA IN 'PEN  —  NOW that Andy Pettitte is signed, sealed and finally delivered, it's time the Yankees throw a high, hard one at the opposition.  Forget about Joba Chamberlain being in the rotation - he needs to go back to the bullpen.  From Day 1 of spring training.

Red Sox give Varitek deadline on offer  —  Boston reportedly asks veteran catcher for decision by Saturday  —  BOSTON — The Red Sox should know by the end of the week if Jason Varitek, their primary catcher since 1999, will be part of their 2009 squad.  —  The Boston Herald — citing a …

Don't believe Perez rumor  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  I just saw this report that Jon Heyman said on the MLB Network that the Brewers might have interest in free agent lefty Oliver Perez.  —  Don't count on it.  —  When I ran Perez's name by Brewers general manager …

MASN Names Rob Dibble As New Color Announcer for Nationals Baseball  —  2-Time All Star, World Series Champion, MVP of the NLCS, XM/Sirius Broadcaster  —  MASN has named Rob Dibble as the new color commentator for the Washington Nationals.  He will join play-by-play man Bob Carpenter …

The Baseball Tattoo Hall of Fame: Mickey Mantle and Pete Rose  —  Holy Chuck Hustle, Batman!  I think we've finally found a few tats that can beat that Brewers + Grateful Dead job we posted last summer.  The above tattoos of Mickey Mantle (leg) and Pete Rose (arm) were both done …

Bucks' season could make future tense  —  Snap.  —  Michael Redd tears his anterior cruciate ligament.  —  Crackle.  —  Redd also tears his medial collateral ligament.  —  Pop.  —  The Milwaukee Bucks' playoff chances in a must-have-it year take a monumental hit …

Winter Notes: Puerto Rican League  —  As mentioned, the Puerto Rican League was full of more veterans than prospects in its return, but it still had plenty of storylines.. Consider:  —  IAN KENNEDY, RHP, YANKEES  —  Kennedy had as bad a year in 2008 as he had in 2007 …

Pirates add Fogg-like pitcher Vasquez  —  Hearing dates set for McLouth, Maholm; payroll near $50 million  —  If there is a familiar feel to the statistics of Virgil Vasquez, the pitcher the Pirates claimed off waivers yesterday from the Detroit Tigers, there probably is a reason …

Justice, Gooden deny Radomski's allegations  —  David Justice and Dwight Gooden denied allegations made by former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski during an exclusive interview with “Outside the Lines” on Sunday.  Radomski told ESPN that Justice lied about knowing him and purchasing …

Jimenez open to long-term deal  —  The Rockies want to lock up starter Ubaldo Jimenez long-term.  But they have only a short time to secure a multiyear deal.  —  “It's on our agenda, absolutely,” general manager Dan O'Dowd said Monday.  “But we would not want to drag that into spring training.”

Astros sign Rodriguez, Geary to one-year deals  —  Club avoids arbitration with pair of pitchers  —  Meeting their deadline to work out deals before having to hunker down for arbitration hearings, the Astros signed starting lefthander Wandy Rodriguez and reliever Geoff Geary to one-year contracts.