More Hope?  —  The Andy Pettitte signing with the Yankees, apparently taking them out of the Ben Sheets sweepstakes, wasn't the only news Tuesday that could impact the Rangers and their starting rotation.  —  The Boston Herald, citing a source close to the negotiations …

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.

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 …

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.”

Pirates talking to Luis Gonzalez  —  The Pirates are talking to free-agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez, with their most recent discussion having occurred late last week.  —  Gonzalez, 41, a career .283 hitter with 354 home runs and impeccable leadership credentials, batted .261 with eight home runs …

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 …

Flushing Fussing transactions roundup  —  Manuel lends perspective to minor acquisitions  —  Listen: I want to know what's going to happen with Manny Ramirez every bit as badly as everyone else does.  I promise.  But I'm also prone to fixate on the Mets' margins, because …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

Atkins looks forward to 2009 with Rockies  —  Third baseman Garrett Atkins is pointing toward the 2009 season with the Rockies, something he didn't foresee happening when 2008 ended.  —  “I figured they would trade either me or Matt (Holliday), going in (to the offseason),” Atkins said.