Brewers' Ryan Braun, NL MVP, pleads case to special panel Thursday trying to avoid 50-game suspension after failing drug test with elevated testosterone level  —  Brewers slugger wants to start season  —  Ryan Braun is trying to avoid a 50-game suspension from Major League Baseball.

Brewers OF Aoki cashes in on longtime ‘dream’  —  TOKYO — Even with a significant cut in salary, Japanese outfielder Norichika Aoki is pleased to be a Milwaukee Brewer.  —  “I'm just happy to get the opportunity to play in the major leagues,” Aoki said at a news conference on Friday.

Cherington confident about Red Sox's rotation  —  BOSTON — The Boston Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner, which took place Thursday night, is always the first hint that Spring Training is finally in the not-too-distant future.  And when it comes to the 2012 Red Sox …

Detroit Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski: Prince Fielder ‘not a good fit’  —  LANSING — After the season-ending injury to Victor Martinez, speculation has turned to whether the Tigers would sign free-agent first baseman Prince Fielder to fill the void.  —  Martinez hit .330 and drove in 103 runs for the Tigers last year.

Prospect Watch: Top 10 catchers  —  Recently traded to Mariners, Montero heads list again … The name atop this year's Top 10 catching prospects list is the same as in 2011, but the team isn't.  The biggest offseason prospect splash happened recently, with Jesus Montero going from the Yankees to the Mariners.

Rays To Sign Carlos Pena  —  The Rays have agreed to sign Carlos Pena to a one-year deal that will bring the powerful first baseman back to Tampa Bay, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports on Twitter.  He'll obtain approzimately $7.25MM, Heyman reports.  Yahoo's Tim Brown reported earlier …

Mike Napoli running on injured ankle  —  Texas Rangers catcher Mike Napoli did some straight-line running on his left ankle, and expects to be ready when pitchers and catchers report for spring training on Feb. 22.  —  Napoli suffered stretched ligaments in the ankle as he tried …

As 2012 MLB Season Approaches, Blackout Policy Likely to Remain  —  File this one in the “broken record” department: prepare for yet another season of MLB's blackout policy remaining in place.  —  The reason for the broken record?  This story has been written repeatedly for years.

Gary Carter's fight with cancer takes turn for the worse; new tumors found on NY Mets Hall of Famer's brain  —  Family reveals Kid's grave condition after recent MRI  —  Gary Carter, one of the heroes of the '86 World Series champion NY Mets (below), is found to have four small tumors …

Fausto Carmona arrested in Dominican Republic for using false identity  —  Jorge Arangure of ESPN.com passes along word from reporter Yancen Pujols that Indians right-hander Fausto Carmona was arrested in the Dominican Republic and is being charged with using a false identity.

Q&A: Larry Walker on his Hall of Fame snub  —  Former Colorado Rockies and Montreal Expos outfielder Larry Walker received only 22.9 per cent of support recently from the Baseball Writers' Association of America in his second year of eligibility, well shy of the required 75 per cent …

Petaluma's Jonny Gomes nearing a deal with the A's  —  A source close to the situation tells me that Petaluma's favorite son, Jonny Gomes, is so close to signing a contract with the A's “he could be in green and gold by Monday,” and a second source confirmed that a deal is likely.