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.

Prospect Watch: Top 10 outfielders  —  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.

Dan Patrick: Braun ‘may be innocent’  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Citing information from “somebody involved in the process,” sports commentator Dan Patrick said on his radio show Monday morning that “Ryan Braun may be an innocent man” and “may be exonerated.”

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.

Rays keep beating the odds  —  Tampa Bay has relished being underdogs, but they've shed label  —  ST. PETERSBURG — A year ago, the Tampa Bay Rays were doomed.  Their best all-around player, Carl Crawford, had defected to Boston, and scores of others, including three other All-Stars, were gone via free agency and trades.

Orioles Release Kyle Hudson  —  The Orioles released Kyle Hudson, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports.  Baltimore had designated the outfielder for assignment on January 10th to create 40-man roster space for Wei-Ying Chen.  —  Hudson, 25, posted a .296/.375/.336 line with 41 stolen bases …

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 …

Scouting reports for the Top 10 Prospects (How to subscribe) … One game, one strike, is all that separated the Rangers from winning their first World Series and completing the organization's transformation.  —  Texas twice squandered a two-run lead to the Cardinals in Game Six of the World Series …

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 …

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.

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.

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: