Police: Cabrera was drunk during fight with wife  —  First baseman had .26 blood-alcohol level  —  Miguel Cabrera had a blood-alcohol level more than three times the legal limit when he was involved in a physical altercation with his wife early Saturday morning, according to the Birmingham Police.

Mets likely to give Backman minor-league gig amid staff shakeup … The Mets will announce a few changes to their coaching staff today, but a more intriguing personnel decision is on deck.  —  The team now appears willing to give scrappy fan favorite Wally Backman a second chance to return to baseball in a minor-league job.

Trevor Hoffman, Milwaukee Brewers agree to 1-year, $8 million deal  —  Trevor Hoffman has agreed to another one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  Hoffman  —  Hoffman, who turns 42 next week, had 37 saves and a 1.55 ERA with the Brewers this season, pushing his career saves total to 591, the major league record.

Braves pack up and look towards 2010  —  Club hoping to find postseason glory in Cox's last year  —  ATLANTA — Turner Field was primarily quiet on Monday morning.  Rookie reliever Kris Medlen came in to pack up a few more belongings and Braves manager Bobby Cox once again provided reason …

Live: Minaya and Jeff Wilpon talk to Media  —  Omar Minaya and Jeff Wilpon will now address reporters from the media room in Citi Field.  —  Wilpon said he is disappointed in the team's results, which he labeled as ‘unacceptable.’  —  He said the team will change their medical protocols …

This time, Angels might run wild on Red Sox  —  The Red Sox can't throw anybody out.  The Angels love to run.  Ken Rosenthal says that's a recipe for trouble.

Strasburg sees first game action as pro  —  Nationals' top Draft pick debuts in instructional league  —  VIERA, Fla. — Special.  Phenomenal.  A star in the making.  —  Nearly two months after receiving the largest signing bonus for a drafted player and four months since he last pitched in a game …

Introducing ... the SweetSpot Network!  —  As you might have noticed already, there are changes afoot here in SweetSpotLand.  In a sort of experiment that's likely to become much more than that, this month we're partnering with blogs covering eight of the nine still-alive teams.

Q&A With Mike Rizzo  —  So, here's the full let's-begin-the-offseason Q&A with GM Mike Rizzo.  If you want the microwave version, here goes: 1) Rizzo seems to want a veteran baseball guy as his next manager.  2) He doesn't believe Bryce Harper is the surefire No. 1 pick in 2010, as Stephen Strasburg was this year.

Minaya might hire fired GMs  —  Omar Minaya reached out to Kevin Towers and J.P. Ricciardi over the weekend to express his support after the two were fired as general managers and also to lay the groundwork to speak to both soon about possible jobs in the Mets' organization, The Post has learned.

Griffey to get $3.15M for return  —  SEATTLE — Ken Griffey Jr. will collect $3.15 million of a potential $5 million for returning to the Seattle Mariners.  —  The 39-year-old slugger earned an additional $1.15 million in bonuses tied to playing time and home attendance, according to contract details obtained by The Associated Press.

Inside The Numbers: Final 2009 MLB Regular Season Attendance  —  With Major League Baseball feeling the full weight of the recession and decreasing seating capacity in two new ballparks, the 2009 regular season ended with 73,364,441 in total attendance a decline of 6.65 percent.

Carpenter and Hill voted comeback players of year  —  NEW YORK - Chris Carpenter has been voted NL comeback player of the year and Aaron Hill has won the AL award.  —  Limited to four starts over the prior two seasons because of elbow surgery and a shoulder injury, Carpenter was 17-4 …