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.

Rockies acquire Marco Scutaro, Red Sox free up money to add a free agent pitcher  —  The trade was on.  —  Then it was off.  —  Now it's complete.  —  As Troy Renck of the Denver Post first reported in all three phases of the deal that took a little over 24 hours to complete …

Dodgers sale: Who's who in the bidding process  —  With opening bids due Monday, here is a look at the 15 individuals, groups or corporate entities publicly identified as prospective buyers.  —  Joe Torre is looking to go from the Dodgers' dugout to the owners' suite with the banker Warren Buffet trusts most.

Sabathia says new Yankees help title chase  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Michael Pineda has pitched one season in the majors and Hiroki Kuroda never has been out of the NL West, but CC Sabathia said he is convinced the pair make the Yankees the favorites in the AL East again.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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: