David Wells blasts Joe Torre, says he'd ‘knock him out’  —  David Wells didn't hold back when he was asked about Joe Torre's new book, “The Yankee Years,” on The Michael Kay Show on 1050 ESPN radio Thursday afternoon - and he may not hold back if he and Torre happen to cross paths.

Hinske, Pirates agree to terms  —  Outfielder Eric Hinske and the Pirates have agreed to terms on the one-year contract, as of late this afternoon.  —  Financial details are not available, but the base salary is around $1.5 million.  —  Remember, as always, that no contract is signed until a physical is passed.

Many ways for Series to become Super  —  Here at Rumblings and Grumblings, we know exactly what the World Series is — namely, the most historic championship extravaganza in sports.  —  We also know precisely what the Super Bowl is — namely, the most convenient sports excuse ever invented to goof off …

Varitek, Sox in stare down  —  With only hours remaining before a team-mandated deadline, the Red Sox and catcher Jason Varitek seem caught in a stare down that could produce an unhappy ending for both the player and club.  —  According to a baseball source, the deadline by which Varitek must accept …

Jeter Owns Up to Taking Stadium Souvenir  —  Tampa, Fla. — Derek Jeter came clean Wednesday night.  He pilfered the Joe DiMaggio sign, as I suspected.  —  When I had last seen Jeter before covering the kickoff party to his celebrity golf classic for his Turn 2 Foundation at the Saddlebrook Resort …

Source: Ex-teammate to testify against Bonds  —  Former major league catcher Bobby Estalella is expected to provide significant testimony to support the government's contention that former San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds knowingly took steroids, according to a source with knowledge of the evidence.

Mets sign Armas, Kielty to minor league deals  —  NEW YORK — Four players coming off poor seasons agreed Thursday to minor league contracts with the New York Mets: outfielder Bobby Kielty, right-handers Tony Armas Jr. and Matt DeSalvo, and left-hander Valerio de los Santos.

Astros ink Newhan to Minors deal  —  Veteran infielder invited to big league Spring Training camp  —  HOUSTON — As expected, the Astros inked infielder David Newhan to a Minor League contract on Thursday, and invited him to Spring Training.  —  Newhan, 35, will compete for a job as a backup infielder …

Mariners sign Mike Sweeney  —  It's a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.  Sweeney has Tacoma connections and I know has always had interest in playing for the Mariners.  His wife, the daughter of former major-leaguer Jim Nettles (who is brother of Graig Nettles) is from the Tacoma area.

Andruw, Braves reunion doubtful  —  Atlanta eyeing other free-agent outfielders on the market  —  ATLANTA — The Braves have had a couple of weeks to discuss Andruw Jones, and in the process, it doesn't appear that they've become any more interested in bringing the veteran outfielder back to their organization.

UnBusted Prospects  —  One of the bigger issues of disagreement between the statistical community and the mainstream media is the predictive power of minor league performance.  It's still widely believed that minor league statistics aren't very useful, and that there is a significant collection …

Olson willing to start or relieve  —  Newly acquired left-hander just ‘ready to get hitters out’  —  Unless something really strange happens, like he gets traded for the third time in about a month, left-hander Garrett Olson will arrive in Arizona in a couple of weeks and compete …

Can Braves afford Abreu?  Ohman?  Glav?  —  On the eve of the opening session of the Braves' voluntary early pitching camp, it's time to assess the team's remaining priority (besides signing Will Ohman, the blog hopes) as we taxi on the runway before spring training.