Rangers close to deal with Beltre  —  Two-time Gold Glove third baseman had stellar 2010 for Boston  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers' big free-agent purchase of the offseason is close to being completed.  Get ready for Adrian Beltre to take over for Michael Young as the Rangers' third baseman.

O's agree to terms with Gregg on two-year, $10 million deal with club option for 2013  —  The Orioles added another important piece to the back of their bullpen today, agreeing to terms with veteran right-hander Kevin Gregg on a two-year, $10 million deal, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Hall of Fame needs to deal with steroids era  —  Powers in Cooperstown need to fix the process instead of making votes so hard to cast  —  There's a Cooperstown crisis coming.  Nobody seems to want to acknowledge it.  Nobody seems to want to deal with it.  But it's coming, all right, whether the Hall of Fame is ready or not.

Yankees: Andy Pettitte situation not affecting moves  —  NEW YORK — Even as Andy Pettitte stays silent on his future, two of the lefthander's friends believe that he'll come back for a 17th season.  But the Yankees continue to act as though Pettitte will retire, and general manager Brian …

Bill Buckner to manage Brockton Rox  —  BOSTON — Bill Buckner is coming back here, and in uniform, too.  —  The former Red Sox first baseman has been hired to manage the Brockton (Mass.) Rox, a team in the independent Can-Am League, Rox co-owner Van Schley confirmed Tuesday.

ESPN: Hall passes for Alomar, Blyleven  —  ESPN.com asked 18 of ESPN's Hall of Fame voters to submit their ballots for the Class of 2011, which will be announced Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET.  —  To be elected, players must receive at least 75 percent of the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote.

Rockies and Gonzalez OK 7-year, $80 million deal, sources say  —  The Rockies agreed on a seven-year, $80 million contract with outfielder Carlos Gonzalez, pending a physical, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations.  —  The deal covers three free-agent years …

Miami Heat's Udonis Haslem eyes return in late March, April  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Forward Udonis Haslem, sidelined since sustaining a foot injury Nov. 20, said Tuesday that doctors have told him he should be able to return by late March or April “if everything goes as planned.”

Nationals Agree To Sign Adam LaRoche  —  The Nationals have agreed to sign Adam LaRoche to a two-year deal, according to MLB.com's Peter Gammons (on Twitter).  LaRoche had alternatives and so did the Nationals, but once the Orioles agreed to terms with Derrek Lee, Washington offered …

Uggla becomes highest paid 2B ever  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since August 2005.  He appears weekly on MLB on FOX.  Follow him on Twitter.  —  Dan Uggla got his wish.  —  The second baseman has reached agreement with the Braves on a five-year …

The 2010 Seattle Seahawks: Worst.  Playoff.  Team.  Ever?  —  By defeating the St. Louis Rams Sunday night, the Seattle Seahawks qualified for the N.F.L. playoffs in spite of having lost nine games and won only seven.  —  They are not, technically speaking, the first N.F.L. team …

Brandon Webb feeling good, but won't rush  —  ARLINGTON, Texas — Rangers pitcher Brandon Webb and general manager Jon Daniels are not fans of timetables.  Asked repeatedly if Webb's shoulder will make him ready to start the season in the rotation, both Webb and Daniels said they'd have to wait until spring training starts.

Scout arrested on fraud charges  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Authorities in the Dominican Republic have accused a baseball scout of fraud and of falsifying documents to obtain professional contracts for talented players.  —  Police said in a statement Tuesday that the arrest …

Reds To Sign Jeremy Hermida  —  The Reds agreed to sign Jeremy Hermida to a minor league deal, according to the team (on Twitter).  The move fills out Cincinnati's outfield and lessens the need for Fred Lewis or Scott Podsednik.  Career Sports represents Hermida, who turns 27 this month.

Heavily invested in Blyleven  —  Rich Lederer is an investment manager.  Stock and bond portfolios are his thing.  He is the president and chief investment officer of Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel in Long Beach, Calif.  —  But Lederer loved batting averages long before calculating his first P/E ratio.

(2 of 2)  —  In Blyleven's second year on the ballot, he received 14.2 percent of the vote.  —  The last Hall of Famer to rebound from a percentage of 14 or lower to make it was slugger Ralph Kiner, who was elected in 1970 with 75.4 percent of the vote.  In 1962, only 1.1 percent of writers thought he was worthy.