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.

COUNTING SELIG'S ERRANT WAYS  —  How did Commissioner Bud Selig allow the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs to create the baseball farce of the year, and the year hadn't even started?  Let me count the ways.  — The commissioner allowed the Cubs' pursuit of Theo Epstein …

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 …

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.

Braun delivers speech at BBWAA dinner  —  NL MVP meets media for first time since news of positive test  —  NEW YORK — Ryan Braun broke his silence on Saturday, issuing his first public remarks since the revelation that the National League Most Valuable Player Award winner faces …

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.

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 …

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.

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:

SF offers Tim $100M-plus but more able on Cain  —  The Giants are talking to franchise pitchers Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain about multiyear deals, but while there are early indications they'll have a decent or better chance to lock up Cain into his free-agent years, the team seems to be focusing …