Cardinals still need several more starters  —  The Winter Meetings are dead, mourned and buried, but the St. Louis Cardinals still have much work to do.  —  They may have the World Series trophy, but they don't have a full rotation.  That's noteworthy because their options — the serious options …

Braves' Giles, Reitsma hit free-agent market  —  ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves decided against offering a contract to second baseman Marcus Giles in a cost-cutting move Tuesday.  —  The Braves tried to trade their leadoff hitter from this past season but couldn't reach agreement on a deal.

Houston deals for Colorado's Jennings  —  The Astros have acquired right-hander Jason Jennings from the Rockies, FOXSports.com has learned.  —  The Rockies will receive center fielder Willy Taveras and right-handers Jason Hirsh and Taylor Buchholz for Jennings and right-hander Miguel Asencio, major-league sources said.

Hard for M's to proclaim upgrade  —  Rarely one to offer illumination casually, Bill Bavasi used the term "miserable" to describe his experience at baseball's recent winter meetings at Disney World.  —  You know, the place where the Mariners qualified to become the eighth dwarf.

Kapler retires, named Class-A skipper  —  Popular Red Sox outfielder Gabe Kapler today announced his retirement, though he is going to stick with the organization.  —  The Red Sox named Kapler the manager of the Greenville Drive, the team's Single-A team in South Carolina (which plays in the South Atlantic League).

No progress on Matsuzaka  —  Latest negotiating session lasts only 40 minutes  —  As day turned into evening in Southern California yesterday, a source with a direct pipeline to the Daisuke Matsuzaka negotiations reported "no progress" in the Red Sox' attempts to sign the Japanese pitcher …

Rangers, Gagne agree to deal  —  Former All-Star reliever to join Texas pending physical  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers have agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract with reliever Eric Gagne.  The agreement is pending a physical but the Rangers have already checked out his medical reports and are satisfied that he is healthy again.

Tigers make room on roster for Mesa  —  Gomez non-tendered, but could return for Minor League pact  —  DETROIT — Alexis Gomez became an unlikely Tigers hero in the playoffs after being taken off the roster twice during the regular season.  On Tuesday, he made room for a third time this year.

Mets non-tender Zambrano  —  Talented, but oft-injured starting pitcher is now a free agent  —  The Mets regularly had tracked the progress of Victor Zambrano as he rehabbed his surgically-repaired right elbow.  They appeared to maintain a level of interest in the pitcher who had been a member …

BaseBrawl of champions at TNA event  —  Catcher A.J. Pierzynski of the 2005 world champion Chicago White Sox picked a fight with World Series MVP David Eckstein of the 2006 world champion St. Louis Cardinals during the TNA pay-per-view Turning Point on Sunday, Dec. 10 from Universal Studios Orlando.

Gomez, Piniero, Guiel among non-tendered crop  —  DETROIT — Playoff hero Alexis Gomez was not offered a contract by the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, making him a free agent.  —  Gomez split last season between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo.  He batted .272 with a home run and six RBI during …