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.

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.

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.

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 …

Hill named AL Comeback Player of Year  —  MLB.com reporters honor infielder's courageous story  —  TORONTO — The Blue Jays simply did not know what to expect from Aaron Hill this year.  The concussion that the second baseman suffered last season was serious enough that the team admittedly …

Note: Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya on WFAN at 5 pm  —  Jeff Wilpon and Omar Minaya talked with Mike Francesa for more than an hour on WFAN today.  —  To listen to the entire interview, go to WFAN.com.  —  By the way, to watch Chris Carlin's one-on-one interview with Wilpon following today's …

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 …

DC-Internet Baseball Writers Association Names 2009 Player Achievement Awards  —  The Washington, DC chapter of the Internet Baseball Writers Association is an organization comprised of internet writers, on-line media outlets, and bloggers.  —  In accordance with its stated goal of promoting …

Angels-Red Sox umpire list?  Rick Reed's not on it  —  You might recall that the Angels were less than thrilled with the umpiring crew during their last visit to Fenway Park.  The Angels cried foul after a 9-8 loss to the Red Sox, with Mike Scioscia claiming that plate umpire Rick Reed twice failed …

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.

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.

Twins could have packed it in but scrapped into tiebreaker  —  MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins still can't believe they're alive.  —  Yet, somehow, they have survived long enough to force a tiebreaking game Tuesday (5:07 ET, TBS) at the Metrodome against the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central title.

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.

New York Yankees slashing premium seat prices by up to $1,250  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees are reclassifying more than a quarter of their ritzy Legends Suite seats next season and slashing prices on many of the remaining tickets by up to $1,250.  —  A total of 538 seats along …

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.