Tigers warned Cabrera after bar altercation in August, reports show  —  Birmingham — During an altercation at a Birmingham bar in August, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera allegedly mocked a teenager about his weight and challenged a man to a fight in an incident that resulted …

ChiSox pick up Garcia's option … The White Sox exercised the option for next year on veteran right-handed pitcher Freddy Garcia.  —  Garcia, 34, will make a $1 million base salary, plus a possible $2 million in incentives.  —  Garcia went 3-4 with a 4.34 ERA in nine starts with the White Sox …

Strasburg's pro debut  —  Stephen Strasburg's legacy is no longer built on hype alone.  The Nationals' No. 1 draft pick actually pitched in a real, live professional baseball game today, so we finally have some tangible evidence of his ability.  Strasburg's line from today's Florida instructional league …

Omar Minaya, Jeff Wilpon, And Dave Howard Interview Recap  —  More photos » by Mary Altaffer - ASSOCIATED PRESS  —  No good can come of this.  (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)  —  Browse more photos »  —  Following their press conference at Citi Field yesterday, Omar Minaya …

Mets ax two coaches, but spare many  —  Chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon labeled 2009 “totally unacceptable,” but the first day of the Mets' offseason Sunday brought only modest adjustments to Jerry Manuel's coaching staff and no hint of radical upcoming maneuvering.

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 …

Raissman: Keith says he may not return to SNY  —  Is the four-year SportsNet New York partnership of Gary Cohen, Ron Darling, and Keith Hernandez over?  —  Was their Sunday call of Nelson Figueroa's 4-0 shutout of Houston, in the Mets' season finale, the trio's final performance together?

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 …

Hall of Fame broadcasters Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrin to call postseason action  —  KABC 790 and KHJ 930 to provide live game broadcasts  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers today announced that Hall of Fame broadcasters Vin Scully and Jaime Jarrín will call much of the action …

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 …

Hoffman option has escalators  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  A source just confirmed to me that closer Trevor Hoffman indeed has reached agreement on a new deal with the Brewers that will pay him $8 million next season with a mutual option for 2011 that has escalators in it.

Former Rockies pitcher Chacon arrested in Greeley  —  GREELEY, Colo.—Authorities say they have arrested former major league pitcher Shawn Chacon at a Colorado bowling alley on charges related to unpaid gambling markers in Nevada.  —  Greeley police say Chacon was arrested Monday night, and booked in the Weld County Jail.

When 'pens succeed, playoff wins follow  —  Since start of the division-play era in 1969, thriving bullpens vital to October success … I have five bold postseason predictions:  —  1. The Philadelphia Phillies will not win the World Series.  —  2. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim will not win the World Series.

Angels hope to vanquish ghosts of postseasons past, beat Red Sox  —  Before the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox met for the final time of the regular season in mid-September, Bobby Abreu and David Ortiz talked about the likelihood the teams would face each other for a third consecutive year in an American League Division Series.

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 …

Rays dismiss hitting coach Henderson  —  Club to commence offseason search for replacement  —  ST. PETERSBURG — The Rays announced Monday that hitting coach Steve Henderson, along with quality assurance coach Todd Greene, will not be back with the team in 2010.

BP: For the pen, it's also in the Cards  —  St. Louis boasts strongest relief corps of all the teams still playing  —  STAY AHEAD OF THE GAME Become an Insider Today  —  Last week, I ranked the playoff rotations.  I came to this conclusion: the Cardinals were easily in the best position …

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.