New York Yankees' Mark Teixeira says he believes Andy Pettitte is leaning toward retirement  —  NEW YORK — New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira has been exchanging text messages with Andy Pettitte during the offseason as Pettitte sits at home in Deer Park, Texas deciding whether to pitch for the Yankees in 2011 or retire.

Jenks admits frustration over terms of departure  —  White Sox didn't imply disrespect while moving in new direction  —  CHICAGO — When the White Sox need to protect a ninth-inning lead during the 2011 season, the sounds of POD's “Boom” will not be heard at U.S. Cellular Field.

Inside MLB End of Year Payrolls - AL West (1999-10)  —  Yesterday, we published our look at the end of year player payrolls for each of the clubs in the AL East from 1999-10.  Today, we're looking at the AL West over the same 12-year period.  —  While the AL East was a study …

Soria Wouldn't Block Trade To Yankees  —  The Royals have looked firm this offseason in their unwillingness to ship off Joakim Soria.  The All-Star closer, on the other hand, appears comfortable with migrating to another market and, more specifically, to New York.

Kimbrel poised and ready for closer's challenge  —  Craig Kimbrel is only 22.  He's about to get a shot at taking over the Braves closer job this spring, with the retirement of Billy Wagner.  He has a lot on his mind.  —  But at home in Huntsville, Ala. on Tuesday afternoon …

Himelfarb Hears a Hu … Amid widespread protests from fans decrying the organization's inaction, the Mets acquired infielder Chin-lung Hu from the Dodgers for southpaw Mike Antonini.  —  Hu, 27, hit .317/.332/.438 in 223 plate-appearances last year in the hitter friendly Pacific Coast League last season.

Jack Morris falls short of Hall of Fame  —  Although he might have defined an MLB decade, Morris just isn't worthy of Cooperstown  —  The Hall of Fame is set to announce this year's inductees, an annual event that's as much a part of winter as free-agent signings, blizzards …

Nolan Ryan: MLB is overpaying some free agents that shouldn't be getting paid what they are  —  Here are some highlights:  —  Cliff Lee was offered a massive amount of money by all three teams that wanted him.  When you were offering up those numbers, did you ever wish that you had been pitching in this era instead?

2010: A magical year in Rangers history  —  ARLINGTON — The Washington Senators lost 96 games in 1968 before Ted Williams took over as manager and led them to a dramatic 20-game improvement the following season.  —  The Senators still finished fourth, but Williams was Manager of the Year …