White Sox pull offer to Damon  —  The Chicago White Sox have pulled their offer to free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon off the table.  —  “It became clear to us in our recent negotiations that the money that we were offering was not going to be good enough for Johnny at this time,” …

Healthy Renteria determined to rebound  —  Giants shortstop played through pain last season  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Edgar Renteria admitted Friday that he felt “embarrassed” under the scrutiny of Giants fans and the organization as a result of his subpar performance last year.

Matsui, big bat arrive (reporters too)  —  DH, making splash at Angels camp, hopes to play outfield  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — Frank Sinatra's ode to New York was ringing in his ears in early November, and while he has a celestial new home with the Angels now, Hideki Matsui hasn't completely left behind …

Theriot loses arbitration case vs. Cubs  —  MESA, Ariz.— Shortstop Ryan Theriot lost his arbitration hearing with the Cubs on Friday and will be paid $2.6 million in 2010.  —  Theriot filed for $3.4 million, an $800,000 difference that the Cubs felt was too high to negotiate a settlement.

Source: Cleveland Indians, first baseman Russell Branyan agree to one-year, $2 million deal  —  First baseman Russell Branyan, who hit 31 homers for the Mariners last season, has decided to sign a one-year, $2 million deal with the Indians, a baseball source said Friday.

Lefty speaks: Sign Josh Beckett  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  FORT MYERS - If Jon Lester [stats] were running the Red Sox [team stats], Josh Beckett [stats] would already have a contract extension.  —  But since Lester merely pitches, the best he can do is offer …

Five coaches who could make a difference  —  Sometimes a team's Most Valuable Player isn't a player  —  In the big leagues, there isn't much of a difference between a September to remember followed by October glory and five months of contention disappearing as quickly as those hot August nights.

Colorado's Jimenez looks good in first bullpen  —  Ubaldo Jimenez is hoping a couple of minor adjustments will allow him to go deeper into games for the Colorado Rockies.  —  Jimenez threw his first bullpen session of spring training Friday, and pitching coach Bob Apodaca was pleased with what he saw.

Andy Pettitte still has passion for baseball  —  TAMPA, Fla. - This was late November, when the galaxy was perfectly aligned for Andy Pettitte's farewell to baseball.  He'd just pitched the Yankees to a world championship, and now home in Texas, was running through the checklist of reasons to stay there.

Jerry Manuel says he wants to move Jose Reyes to No. 3 spot in NY Mets lineup  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — For the second year in a row, Mets manager Jerry Manuel said in his first spring training press conference that he is considering taking Jose Reyes out of the leadoff spot.

Swisher hopes to gain from weight loss  —  Yanks outfielder feels stronger after dropping 12 pounds  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Nick Swisher lost 12 pounds this offseason.  Which is good, because the camera supposedly adds 10.  —  The result was a thinner, leaner Swisher making a cameo this winter …

Preliminary Top 50 2010 draft prospects  —  I can't emphasize enough how preliminary this is; the Division I season starts this weekend and most of the prep players on this list have yet to play a game this spring as well.  Spring performances, health issues and late bloomers …

Filings running wild (updated).  —  It was about time for some new divorce news, though I didn't expect the newest developments to be this explosive.  Let's start with the Wall Street Journal's John Emshwiller: … The Times' ever-handy Bill Shaikin offers Jamie's resulting demands: