Yankees one of three teams pursuing Damon  —  The Yankees clearly are not Johnny Damon's first choice for 2011 employment, which makes sense.  While the Yankees have expressed interest in bringing back Damon for next season, as Newsday reported on Wednesday, they don't have a clear, everyday role for him.

Rockies acquire Lindstrom from Astros  —  The Rockies filled a key spot in their bullpen by acquiring right-hander Matt Lindstrom from the Astros.  Full details will come soon.  —  Lindstrom, who turns 31 on Feb. 11, went 2-5 with a 4.39 ERA for the Astros last season.

Ken Davidoff's baseball insider  —  My 2011 Hall of Fame ballot  —  Yup, it's that time of year again.  Here's my ballot from last year and my 2009 ballot.  This marks my fifth ballot in all.  —  This year, I found myself facing a new dilemma: Too many good candidates for the 10 spots available on the ballot.

Nationals reach two-year deal with Sean Burnett  —  The Nationals have reached an agreement with reliever Sean Burnett on a contract extension that will keep the left-handed reliever with the Nationals through the 2012 season with a dual option for 2013, according to a league source.

Gonzalez negotiations won't factor in Pujols  —  Prior to officially acquiring slugger Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres, the Red Sox were assured by the slugger that the contract terms he desired on an extension would not change in the event that an Albert Pujols mega-deal raises the market, ESPNBoston.com reported on Thursday.

Cards assistant GM Abbamondi is leaving  —  Cardinals assistant general manager John Abbamondi is leaving the club to accept a vice president position with the San Diego Padres, both teams confirmed Wednesday.  It is the second departure from the Cardinals' front office this winter …

Uecker's holiday wish: Good health in 2011  —  MILWAUKEE — Bob Uecker has an offseason home on a golf course in Scottsdale, Ariz., but he usually travels home to wintry Wisconsin for the holidays.  Not this year.  He's staying south this Christmas to rest up from heart surgery …

Oakland City Council approves money for A's ballpark study  —  The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to spend as much as $750,000 on an environmental study for a new ballpark, even though the owner of the A's is trying to move the team to San Jose.  —  The council voted 6-2 to hire LSA Associates …

Offseason Spending Details By Team  —  MLB teams have made over $1.2 billion in salary commitments so far this offseason, according to data compiled by MLBTR.  The seven most aggressive teams have combined for $828MM in commitments this winter.  In other words, the Red Sox, Nationals …