Marco Scutaro traded to Rockies  —  BOSTON — The Boston Red Sox, looking to free up money to pursue either starting pitcher Roy Oswalt or outfielder Cody Ross, have traded shortstop Marco Scutaro to the Colorado Rockies.  —  The Red Sox received right-handed pitcher Clayton Mortensen in return.

Millwood to sign with Seattle Mariners  —  GASTONIA - Bessemer City's Kevin Millwood apparently will become a county record-holder with a 16th major league season this spring.  —  According to a weekend Facebook posting by his sister Erika, Millwood has agreed to a contract with the Seattle Mariners.

Braun accepts MVP, talks respect for baseball  —  NEW YORK — National League MVP Ryan Braun, in his first public comments since testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug, told a packed Manhattan ballroom crowd Saturday night that “everything I have done in my career has been done …

Red Sox could get help from unexpected sources  —  Ben Cherington and Bobby Valentine were pretty convincing at Thursday's Baseball Writers Dinner when talking about their happiness with the Red Sox roster.  Are we suckers for buying this?  —  Not at all.

Michael Pineda, newest NY Yankee ready to prove himself on Yankee Stadium stage  —  END ZONE: Pinstripes and blue skies  —  The Yankees hope Michael Pineda ,23, can give the Bombers a reliable No. 2 starter behind staff ace CC Sabathia in 2012.  —  YAGUATE, Dominican Republic …

Yankees hope to find A.J. Burnett a new home  —  When we last saw A.J. Burnett, he was at the podium at Comerica Park in Detroit, basking in the glow of a performance in the American League Division Series that was as shocking as it was solid.  Seriously, who even thought Burnett would get the ball …

Prospect Watch: Top 10 second basemen  —  MLB.com's Top 50 Prospects list has been expanded to 100.  The 2012 version will be unveiled Wednesday on MLB.com, as well as on a one-hour show on MLB Network, airing at 10 p.m. ET.  Leading up to that, MLB.com takes a look at baseball's top 10 prospects at each position.

Mike Piazza wants to go into HOF as a Met  —  Last night, Mike Piazza was in attendance at the Knicks 119-114 loss to the Nuggets at Madison Square Garden, and appeared on Celebrity Row with Jill Martin during halftime.  —  When asked what hat he wants to wear if elected to the Hall of Fame, he responded:

Defense Independent Perfect Games  —  I love defense-independent pitching staffs.  I love them because a poorly positioned outfielder lets a hit drop him and then the pitcher gets blamed.  I love them because a third basemen cant react fast enough when playing in on the line and a ball gets by him into left field.

Q.  & A. With Tom Seaver  —  The Mets will be honored on the franchise's 50th anniversary at the Baseball Assistance Team's annual fund-raising dinner Tuesday in Manhattan.  B.A.T. helps former players and baseball employees who have fallen on hard times.  —  The Hall of Famer Tom Seaver …