Rangers' revival is gaining steam  —  The Yu Darvish contract drama will end this week.  Our fascination with the Texas Rangers will not.  —  For a once-irrelevant franchise, that's an achievement to rival the consecutive pennants.  —  Darvish and the Rangers must agree on a deal by 5 p.m. ET Wednesday …

An interview with Robert Creamer  —  He was born when Babe Ruth was in just his third season as a Yankee slugger.  He went to his first baseball game when John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson were still managing.  His tenure at Sports Illustrated began months before the first issue of the magazine printed in 1954.

Report: Reds, Ludwick reach 1-year, $2.5M deal  —  Ryan Ludwick and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a $2.5 million, one-year contract Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.  —  Ludwick  —  The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Monday night …

Josh Lewin leading candidate to replace Wayne Hagin  —  According to Newsday's Neil Best, “Josh Lewin has emerged as the leading candidate to replace Wayne Hagin alongside Howie Rose in the Mets' radio booth.”  —  Last month, Mike Puma of the New York Post said WFAN recently auditioned Jim Duquette …

Herzog is off the disabled list  —  After his recovery from a serious fall in late September, Whitey Herzog finds himself reading a lot these days.  —  “I spend about 2½ hours reading the paper that's about a third as big as it used to be,” said Herzog.

Craig Counsell, the 1997 Marlins World Series hero, calls it a career  —  Congratulations to Craig Counsell, who is retiring today to take a job in the Milwaukee Brewers front office.  —  Counsell played all or part of 16 seasons, with just three of those in Florida.

Rockies trade Smith to Oakland for two pitchers; offer deal to Jamie Moyer  —  Seth Smith spent the winter in wonderland.  On Monday, the questions and uncertainty ended.  —  With the outfielder viewed as a luxury item after the signing of free agent Michael Cuddyer, Smith was traded …

White Sox Still Listening On Gavin Floyd  —  We haven't heard a ton about righty Gavin Floyd lately, but the White Sox are still listening on the soon-to-be 29-year-old, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports.  White Sox GM Kenny Williams has traded Carlos Quentin, Sergio Santos …

Cubs' apparent budgetary constraints stress need to find Next Big Thing  —  It seemed everyone at the Cubs Convention during the weekend wanted a bit of Theo Epstein's time.  Scott Stewart~Sun-Times  —  For all the new faces, packed ballrooms, countless autographs and hours of banter between fans …

Mets' rebuilding efforts are upside-down  —  Editor's note: Yahoo! Sports will examine the offseason of every MLB team before spring training begins in mid-February.  Our series continues with the New York Mets.  —  2011 record: 77-85  —  Finish: Fourth place, NL East  —  2011 final payroll: $142.2 million

Howell deal set for $1.35M, 4 still arbitration eligible  —  LHP J.P. Howell and the Rays [are finalizing] have completed a one-year deal for $1.35-million to avoid arbitration.  —  Howell also gets incentive bonuses for 45 and 60 innings pitched, which can push the total value to $1.4-million.

Report: Angel Pagan, Giants agree  —  SAN FRANCSICO — The San Francisco Giants and outfielder Angel Pagan agreed to a $4.85 million, one-year contract that avoided arbitration, a person with knowledge of the negotiations said.  —  The person spoke on condition of anonymity Monday because the club hadn't formally announced the deal.