Beltrán Responds to Torre's Comments  —  Carlos Beltrán is about to enter his fifth season in New York — has it been that long already? — but he just as easily could have been doing so for the Yankees and not for the Mets.  —  A quick rehash: Scott Boras, Beltrán's agent …

Great Winter For Yankees' Cashman  —  CROMWELL — It will be nearly a year before Brian Cashman can say if he really did “win the winter,” as the big acquisitions he has made for the Yankees seem to indicate.  Among the many things to ponder: How long will it take CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and A.J. Burnett to adapt to New York.

Moorad reaches deal to buy Padres  —  Former D-backs CEO has five years to complete purchase  —  Padres majority owner John Moores has signed a contract with Jeff Moorad, a general partner of the Diamondbacks, agreeing to initially sell about a one-third interest in the franchise to his group …

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.

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.

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.

Wang throws off mound, rehabbing foot  —  Buzz up!  —  TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—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 3 1/2 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 …

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 …

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.

Giants play waiting game with Ramirez  —  Team would benefit from adding slugger, but won't do long-term deal  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Besides ranking as the Giants' chief rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers also could serve as an example to them in the Manny Ramirez saga.  —  Stand firm.

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.

Martinez pushes DR past Puerto Rico  —  Outfielder's two-out pinch-hit homer lifts Tigres de Licey  —  MEXICALI, Mexico — Dominican Republic outfielder Fernando Martinez wants to be a star in New York.  Being a hero at the 2009 Caribbean Series in Mexico will suffice for now.

'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 …