Yankees' Rivera hints 2012 could be final season  —  Mariano Rivera, while he waits to find out if he needs a surgical procedure done on his vocal cords, speculated on Tuesday that 2012 could be the final year of his career.  —  “I don't know what will happen,” said the Yankees closer …

MLB deal a dagger to small-market teams  —  The deal got done, and that fact overrides every other.  As the NBA will learn, labor peace alone carries great value, helps a sport achieve continued growth.  —  Unfortunately for baseball, low-revenue teams got trampled in its new collective …

What's new in baseball's new labor deal?  —  The negotiating path to baseball's new labor deal might have been the smoothest ever between the once-contentious sides.  But it's full of significant changes for fans.  —  Realignment, expanded playoffs, more replay, testing …

Draft Cap May Not Be So Harsh  —  When Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association announced a new five-year Collective Bargaining Agreement today, including several changes to the draft, reaction from club executives and player agents was as swift as a Justin Verlander fastball.

Deadline arrives on arbitration offer for Ortiz  —  There is some baseball business to handle on Thanksgiving eve.  Teams have until 11 p.m. (EST) to offer their free agents arbitration.  —  David Ortiz joins Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, C.J. Wilson, Roy Oswalt, Jose Reyes and Jimmy Rollins …

Royals To Sign Bruce Chen  —  Piece by piece, the Royals' rotation is taking shape.  They have agreed to sign Bruce Chen to a two-year deal worth $9MM.  The deal also includes a $1MM roster bonus and up to $1MM in incentives.  —  Before agreeing to terms with Chen, Royals GM Dayton Moore told Bob Dutton …

PADRES: Team acquires catcher Baker for LeBlanc  —  The Padres have strengthened their catching situation with the acquisition of John Baker from the Miami Marlins on Tuesday in exchange for pitcher Wade LeBlanc.  —  Baker is two-plus years removed from reconstructive elbow surgery …

Answer Man: Pete Rose talks Vegas, Sparky, Kool-Aid Man and exile  —  Can it really be 25 years since Pete Rose retired as a Major League Baseball player?  The man called “Charlie Hustle” collected 4,256 career base hits for the Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies and Montreal Expos, more than any other player in history.

Baseball sticks it to Pirates  —  There was an awful lot of backslapping going on Tuesday at Major League Baseball's news conference in Manhattan over a new five-year collective bargaining agreement.  I'll have to presume Yankee Stadium was booked.  —  Twenty-one years of labor peace, the suits crowed.

Sizemore reaches one-year deal with Indians  —  Grady Sizemore's trip into free agency didn't take him far.  —  The Cleveland Indians have agreed to terms with the former all-star outfielder on a one-year, incentive-based contract.  It's a deal that could work for both sides if he can stay healthy and on the field.

Braves decline to offer Gonzalez arbitration  —  The Braves did not offer salary arbitration to free agent shortstop Alex Gonzalez on Wednesday's deadline, choosing not to risk him accepting and commanding more than $3 million in arbitration.  —  The Braves forfeited a chance at gaining …