Did Lee damage Yankees — and front office?  —  It's no surprise to hear someone say the Yankees overpaid for a free agent.  —  But it sure is a little strange when that someone is the general manager of the Yankees.  —  That would be the same general manager of the Yankees who joked …

Reyes likes NYC, but no contract during season  —  Yesterday at Citi Field, Jose Reyes told reporters he is not interested in talking about his contract during the season.  —  “I want to be focused trying to help this team win,” he explained.  “I just want to play baseball for now.”

Twins Agree To Terms With Carl Pavano  —  The Twins have agreed to terms with right-hander Carl Pavano on a two-year, $16.5MM contract, according to a team press release.  Pavano will earn $8MM next season and $8.5MM in 2012, plus an extra $500K should he reach certain incentive clauses.

Inbox: Everyday role in Texas unlikely for Vlad  —  Beat reporter T.R. Sullivan answers questions from fans  —  Why were we going after Jim Thome very heavily, but not Vladimir Guerrero, when we just announced Michael Young as our new designated hitter?  If Thome signed, I believe …

Last Type A signing sets Draft's first-round order  —  Thirty-three selections will be made, three of them by Rays  —  When Carl Pavano re-signed with the Twins on Wednesday, the story wasn't only about the best remaining starting pitching on the open market coming to terms.

Deer antlers: the hot new PED  —  Given how many baseball players spend their offseasons hunting you'd think we would have heard about this by now, but this is the first I've heard of ground up deer antlers being used by athletes as a PED: … Apparently the active ingredient — IGF-1 …

It occurs to me that . . .  Emptying Out the Desk Drawer of the Sports Mind:  —  Tell me why anyone over 6-6 is allowed to enter a dunk contest.  —  As an aside, I saw Nate Robinson, who might be 5-8, touch a piece of padding that was a good foot above the rim at Celtics practice the other day.

Zack Greinke takes a break from vacation to talk about his friend Gil Meche  —  You probably know that Gil Meche decided to retire, but if you're like me you're still stunned he's walking away from $12.4 million.  It's a fascinating story, as I wrote this morning the man is once again by defined by money …

Green shares approach in upcoming book  —  Former Dodgers slugger puts baseball philosophy on paper  —  LOS ANGELES — Shawn Green spoke to Dodgers prospects at last week's winter development camp, but he also spoke with new manager Don Mattingly, a conversation delayed by 15 years.

Executive excellence  —  Lucchino worthy of Fuchs Award  —  You know the best thing you can say about Larry Lucchino in his role as CEO of the Red Sox?  He sticks up for his organization.  —  Whether it's challenging agents like Scott Boras, or defending the team's name nationally …

Who Gets the Scoop?  Major League Reporters, Ranked.  —  Ever wonder if there were standings ranking America's best baseball reporters?  —  Wonder no more.  This actually took a few hours, but I've compiled the standings of Major League deals broken to the public by reporter by scouring MLBTR …

Prospect Watch: Top 10 shortstops  —  Orioles' Machado tops list of young players on the rise … Teams will always say they are looking for talent up the middle.  True shortstops are a rare commodity indeed.  One who can hit and field almost automatically goes to the top of prospect lists.

Rizzo on Gorzelanny, Hairston  —  It's turned into a busy day in NatsTown.  Actually, it's been a busy week already, with the Tom Gorzelanny trade (which was officially announced this afternoon) and the signings of Jerry Hairston, Todd Coffey and Alex Cora.

Leyland excited about Tigers, ready for spring  —  Manager talks to reporters at Mud Hens' Fandemonium event  —  TOLEDO, Ohio — Jim Leyland beat the Tigers Winter Caravan to Fifth Third Field on Wednesday.  He drove here from his home in Pittsburgh and visited family in the area.