Tampa Bay Rays players appear excited by acquisitions of Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon  —  The Rays clubhouse could have quite a different feel this season, with all the familiar faces that have left.  —  But now that Tampa Bay is poised to acquire two big names in former All-Stars Manny Ramirez …

Galarraga deal brewing for D-backs, Tigers  —  PHOENIX — The D-backs are likely to complete a deal Monday to acquire pitcher Armando Galarraga from the Tigers, according to a baseball source.  —  Minor League pitcher Kevin Eichhorn and another player would head to Detroit …

Yankees GM Brian Cashman might want to leave Bombers and finally have a chance to be his own Boss  —  Lot of questions swirling around regarding Brian Cashman and his “Don't look at me” declaration at the Rafael Soriano soiree last Wednesday - not the least of which was …

The Fun Never Stops  —  I didn't intend to write about Bert Blyleven and me for my Monday entry until I received the following email from a Minnesota Twins Baseball Fantasy Camp player yesterday evening. … The email from Paul Bennett made my Sunday.  It was a pleasant surprise …

Astros end talks with free-agent slugger Jorge Cantú  —  CHANNELVIEW, Texas — Free-agent slugger Jorge Cantú made it known Saturday while attending the Michael Gill Benefit Ragball Tournament in Channelview, Texas, that ongoing conversations with the Houston Astros regarding …

Steelers Notebook: Running game took flight against Jets  —  Center Maurkice Pouncey started every game for the Steelers this season, and despite a high-ankle sprain that forced him to watch the final three quarters of Sunday's AFC championship game in street clothes, the rookie from the University …

My dinner date with Joey Votto  —  He cleans up good.  —  Yup, I went to the BBWAA awards dinner in NYC tonight.  I decided to go at the last minute.  I was scairt of the snow.  If there's anything worse than wading through 4' high snowdrifts, it's wading through 4' high snowdrifts while wearing an evening gown and high heels.

Another Morneau update  —  One of the biggest offseason developments for the Twins has been Justin Morneau's recovery from the concussion he suffered in July.  —  Twins GM Bill Smith provided an update last week when he appeared on the MLB Network channel.  Host Mike Ferrin asked the following question:

BEANE BALL  —  In contrast to Cashman's mostly empty winter, his buddy, Beane, has had the busiest offseason of any GM.  Despite the usual financial constraints, Beane invested $22.85 million in free agents Hideki Matsui, Grant Balfour and Brian Fuentes and added another $12 million …

Trade in one word: Cash  —  I did word clouds for Angels fans' reactions to the Vernon Wells trade at Halos Heaven and Jays fans' reactions at Bluebird Banter.  I don't think I'll need to tell you which is which.  (Click on them for a larger view.)  —  My favorite word from the Jays' chart: Jedi-Like.

Terry Collins Aiming to Eliminate Questions  —  “There's so much attention on the New York Mets and spring training I wanted to be able to limit the questions we had to deal with.  Obviously we'll have questions about [Oliver Perez], we'll have questions about [Luis Castillo] …

Will Rockies capitalize on their April schedule?  —  While making the playoffs two of the past four years, the Colorado Rockies have shown they can come from behind, make up ground and finish with a rush.  But what if they broke fast and instead of muddling through April actually played well?