Source: Jorge Posada to retire  —  The “Core Four” is down to two.  —  Posada  —  New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is planning to retire, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.  —  The source told Olney that Posada, 40, is trying to determine the right time to make an announcement …

Cubs acquire Rizzo in trade with Padres  —  Club expects first baseman to start season in Triple-A  —  CHICAGO — Jed Hoyer admitted he may have made a mistake calling Anthony Rizzo up to the big leagues last season with the Padres, but that didn't deter the new Cubs general manager …

Andy Carey, 80, Played Third Base for Yankees, Is Dead  —  Andy Carey, an underappreciated cog in the powerful Yankees machine of the 1950s that won four consecutive American League pennants and two World Series, died on Dec. 15 at his home in Costa Mesa, Calif. He was 80.

In a Hemingway Idyll, Intimations of Tolkien  —  R. A. Dickey, the Mets pitcher, is climbing Mount Kilimanjaro this month to raise awareness for the Bombay Teen Challenge, an organization that rescues and cares for women and girls in Mumbai who are at risk of being abused and exploited.

Reports: Angels, Kendrick agree to extension  —  The Los Angeles Angels made a major splash in free agency at the winter meetings, but Saturday they locked up one of their own.  —  The team and second baseman Howie Kendrick have reached agreement on a four-year contract extension worth $33.5 million, according to multiple reports.

Ben Petrick's battle  —  Retired MLB catcher Ben Petrick provides a glimpse into his life as he battles Parkinson's disease. … Petrick comes running back from his SUV with the keys for the Glencoe locker room.  In that brief sprint — and it is a full sprint — he shows no signs of Parkinson's effects.

Working out well!  Alex Rodriguez and WWE girlfriend Torrie Wilson show off his and hers muscles as they get active on bike ride  —  Baseball star Alex Rodriguez may well be stacked.  —  But he has some hot competition in the form of his new girlfriend Torrie Wilson.

Yankees closer Mariano Rivera making progress after throat surgery  —  PINE BROOK, N.J. - Soon after doctors discovered that polyps had grown on Mariano Rivera's vocal cords, they assured the Yankees closer that they were almost certainly benign.  Yet, Rivera admitted that true relief came …

Marlins' Buehrle welcome in Dade, but his pit bull isn't  —  County ordinance prohibits breed  —  The Miami Marlins really wanted left-handed pitcher Mark Buehrle.  —  But a member of his family isn't welcome anywhere in Miami-Dade County.  —  It's because 18-month-old Slater Buehrle …

Kendrys Morales begins running, can increase baseball activity  —  Kendrys Morales has begun running on his own body weight and was cleared Friday to “ramp up” some baseball activities, according to a person familiar with the slugger's rehabilitation from a broken left ankle but unauthorized to speak publicly about it.