Sources: Oakland Athletics, shortstop Orlando Cabrera agree to deal  —  Free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera has agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with the Oakland Athletics, who also are closing in on a deal with veteran infielder Nomar Garciaparra, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney on Monday.

Murphy's blast gives Orioles the win  —  Bergesen makes sub start, hurls three shutout frames vs. Sox  —  ORIOLES 5, RED SOX 3  —  Red Sox at the plate: Second baseman Nick Green doubled in a run in the fourth inning, and then he singled and scored on Ivan Ochoa's game-tying home run in the seventh.

The return of Pedro?  —  Saying he would be a “bargain,” Pedro Martinez talked today about pitching this year, how great he is feeling and also detailed his winter chat with GM Omar Minaya in the Dominican Republic.  —  Martinez said he would not be inclined to take a low-base, high-incentive contract.

About Screech's Unveiling  —  Of course it snowed.  —  I mean, this is the Nats, Spring of '09.  The prospect was four years too old, the GM resigned, the Dominican operation was dismantled, the free agent pitcher held out and got dropped, and the D.C. area was savaged by snow …

Joe Torre's “The Yankee Years.”  —  Joe Torre will be back in town on Tuesday, July 7th, reassuringly on view behind the batting cage at Citi Field as he prepares his Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series against the Mets.  Last year, he took the Dodgers into the National League Championship Series …

The Worst Contracts In Baseball  —  For this exercise I only considered current contracts (so Mike Hampton's eight-year, $121MM deal is out).  Also, there are some lousy deals that were worth less than $15MM total that I chose to leave out. 2006 was a black hole for free agent contracts.

Alex Rodriguez's compliant cousin  —  First cousin has done everything for A-Rod, perhaps even injecting him with steroids  —  A few years ago, Roger Ball called his good friend Yuri Sucart about getting tickets to a Texas Rangers game for a female friend.

NO MRI FOR JOHAN, METS TAKE A POLAROID INSTEAD  —  I can understand not wanting to spend over 45 mil for Manny Ramirez but you mean to tell me that with the first class facilities the Mets crow about down in St Lonesome, they couldn't purchase or lease a state of the art MRI an fly down Dr. Altcheck …

DeJesus could miss the season  —  This according to Joe Torre, but Stan Conte said it's too early to know for sure.  DeJesus has a broken left tibia.  He was admitted to a local hospital, at least overnight, and they will decide tomorrow whether to do surgery.  Good thing the Dodgers signed Furcal for three more years.

Jake Peavy remains interested in joining Cubs  —  Deal might be re-examined after sale of team finalized  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — The Jake Peavy saga began in November and lasted through most of the off-season, leaving Cubs fans wondering if the Padres ace would be in blue pinstripes by Opening Day.

For Now, Kasten Is In Charge  —  Team President Stan Kasten greeted a few media members just before lunch today by saying, “I'm here at the advice of my advisors.”  Those would be his PR guys, Mike Gazda and John Dever, who notified Kasten of the Fourth Estate's collective desire to chat.

Wang feels fine after two innings  —  Here's what matters today: Chien-Ming Wang pitched two innings and his right foot felt fine.  Everything else is window dressing.  —  The Yankees led 5-2 when the starters came out.  The game finished in a 5-5 tie.  George Kontos allowed three runs and there was some sloppy defense.

How John Wetteland helped save baseball in Seattle  —  In a strange way former Yankees closer John Wetteland saved baseball in Seattle, by not saving the fourth game of the American League Division Series.  Wetteland, the new Mariners bullpen coach helped build Safeco Field.

Lovullo OK after broken bat scare  —  Tribe's Triple-A manager needs stitches after being struck in face  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — One minute, Torey Lovullo was having a conversation with hitting coach Derek Shelton about outfielder Trevor Crowe.  The next, a gaping wound above Lovullo's left eye …

MLB Payroll Efficiency, 2006-2008  —  The Commissioner's Office released the final baseball payrolls for 2008 in late December.  Not surprisingly, the New York Yankees spent $75 million more than the next highest team (Boston Red Sox) and $126 million over the average MLB team.

For Reyes, goal made to order  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Jose Reyes now has added incentive for the Dominican Republic to advance far in the World Baseball Classic.  Jerry Manuel said Sunday that a lengthy absence from camp, such as reaching the March 23 finals at Dodger Stadium …