At Charity Event, Cashman Has Plenty to Say, Just Not About Torre's Book  —  PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. — While Joe Torre was making his various stops across the New York metropolitan area Tuesday, speaking at length about his new book and all the controversial topics within, Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman …

Minaya rules out Manny  —  Omar Minaya has ruled out bringing in Manny Ramirez or any other major expenditure.  The lone pieces still being sought are a lefty reliever on a minor-league deal and a righty bat for the bench, perhaps via a spring-training trade.

Moorad, Padres agree on sale of team  —  SAN DIEGO — Former agent Jeff Moorad has reached an agreement for his group to buy the San Diego Padres from majority owner John Moores.  —  Moorad, who resigned last month as chief executive officer of the Arizona Diamondbacks …

Atkins, Rockies avoid arbitration  —  Sides won't have to attend hearing after agreeing to one-year pact  —  DENVER — The Rockies and Garrett Atkins reached a one-year, $7.05 million agreement Tuesday to avoid an arbitration hearing that was scheduled for Friday.

Reports: O's, Wigginton agree on 2-year deal  —  The Baltimore Orioles added a versatile infielder on Tuesday, with free agent Ty Wigginton agreeing to a two-year contract.  —  The deal, pending a physical, is worth a total of $6 million, according to the Baltimore Sun.  Foxsports.com was the first to report the story.

Wang has first mound session this year  —  TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees right-hander Chien-Ming Wang threw 27 pitches Tuesday in his first mound session this year as he rehabilitates his injured foot.  —  Wang missed the final 3½ months of last season after hurting his foot running the bases.

Rocket's positive test doesn't prove steroids, HGH  —  Tests that link Roger Clemens' DNA to blood in syringes provided to investigators by Clemens' personal trainer Brian McNamee could bolster prosecutors' claim that Clemens lied about steroid use.  But both legal and medical experts cautioned …

JETER: I SUPPORT A-ROD  —  TELLS SI.COM ‘OUR WHOLE TEAM IS BEHIND HIM’  —  Derek Jeter spoke to SI.com today and fully backed teammate Alex Rodriguez, who has taken more heat since it was revealed in Joe Torre's new book that the third baseman was nicknamed “A-Fraud” by teammates.

Hurdle's new mantra: consistency  —  The Rockies don't like distractions.  They traded Matt Holliday when contract talks failed, overhauled the coaching staff this offseason and avoided arbitration with all of their players.  But manager Clint Hurdle's contract exists as a potential disruption …

For the Twins, the Washburn ship has sailed  —  OK everyone, time for a deep breath.  —  I did some checking today, and the Twins have lost their appetite for a Jarrod Washburn trade.  Also, the glitch that makes you scroll through multiple pages to see the bottom of our blog comments is only temporary.

'03 Sample at Issue in Bonds Trial  —  A urine sample that Barry Bonds provided as part of the anonymous testing that baseball conducted in 2003 has tested positive for performance-enhancing substances, according to people familiar with the matter.  —  Although the samples …

Pieces of his mind  —  Picked-up pieces while still mourning John Updike, the greatest writer of them all and the man who wrote “Picked-Up Pieces” . . .  Sorry, I can't get into a lather about this Michael Phelps bong photograph.  He has apologized appropriately.

ROYALS SIGN BANNISTER  —  The Royals signed pitcher Brian Bannister to a one-year $1,737,500 contract, avoiding arbitration, the Post has learned.  —  Bannister can earn an additional $25,000 by pitching 200 innings and also by making the All-Star team.  —  In the arbitration process …