Yanks, Pirates in talks concerning OF Cabrera, P Gonzalez  —  CBS SportsLine.com wire reports  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees are discussing trading young outfielder Melky Cabrera in a deal that would bring Pittsburgh reliever Mike Gonzalez to New York.  —  The Yankees have talked …

Theo's solo gig ends  —  The Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and there was no hotter executive in all of sports than Theo Epstein.  He was the boy wonder of Boston, the baseball prodigy who got most of the credit for the Red Sox winning it all for the first time since 1918.

Some think Japanese bidding system for players should be explored here in U.S.  —  His cultural impact has been compared to that of the Beatles.  —  There's even a name for it (MatsuzakaMania), and he already has a catchy nickname (Dice-K).  —  Daisuke Matsuzaka's fastball reaches the mid-90s …

Baseball stats guru sees good in Phillies, even Burrell  —  It seems everybody who has read Michael Lewis' Moneyball, the tale of how general manager Billy Beane turned the low-paying Oakland A's into a winning team, became a baseball expert because they understood the importance of on-base percentage.

JOHNSON, YANKS DENY TRADE TALK  —  Despite the buzz leaking out of the desert, Randy Johnson hasn't asked the Yankees to deal him closer to his Arizona home.  —  "He hasn't called me officially and asked me to trade him, no," GM Brian Cashman said yesterday when asked if the Big Unit requested the Yankees move him.

Only war could keep him from Hall of Fame  —  Had he not come down with a severe case of frostbite while serving his country at the Battle of the Bulge, Cecil Travis' plaque might already be in Cooperstown.  —  "He'd be a major Hall of Famer," Bob Feller said.  "No questions asked."

Restocking Of Bullpen Continues  —  Sox Trade For Donnelly, Sign Free Agent Romero  —  The Red Sox continue to explore options at closer but the rest of the bullpen is filling up quickly.  —  The Red Sox added two relievers Friday, getting righthander Brendan Donnelly from the Angels …

Wooing of pitcher was wowing  —  Sox had bases covered while chasing, landing Matsuzaka  —  The wooing of Daisuke Matsuzaka began with a small dinner party on a Saturday night at Tom Werner's house, a Cape Cod-style home overlooking the green at hole No. 5 at the famed Riviera Country Club …

'Not that crazy': Redbirds believe Looper can be a starter  —  Consider the climate of the Cardinals bullpen when Braden Looper was first presented with a peculiar idea.  —  Rookie Anthony Reyes had recently found hanging in his locker an empty sunflower seed bucket, relabeled "Hair Gel" by a reliever.

Too much is a good thing  —  Teams should think before trading pitchers  —  Beware of a thing called excess.  —  The Red Sox thought they had it with Bronson Arroyo last spring so they took a chance, rolled the dice, and went after a slugger with upside in Wily Mo Peña.

White Sox trade Gload to Royals for Sisco  —  CHICAGO (AP) -First baseman-outfielder Ross Gload was traded by the Chicago White Sox on Saturday to the Kansas City Royals for reliever Andrew Sisco, a 6-foot-10 left-hander.  —  Sisco has a 3-8 record and 4.85 ERA in 132 games the last two seasons with Kansas City.

No. 31 off limits to Lilly, but not 21  —  After showing off his No. 30 jersey on Friday at Wrigley Field, Ted Lilly said he heard he couldn't wear 31 because the Cubs were planning to retire the number.  —  As it turns out, Fergie Jenkins and Greg Maddux can wait a while before working on their speeches.

With eye on the future, Padres hoard draft picks  —  Shrewdness reaps extra selections  —  The Padres may look back at this offseason as one that set up their farm system.  Without much fanfare, San Diego has harvested five to eight extra draft picks before the fourth round of June's amateur draft.

Notes: Harwell collection released  —  'Audio Scrapbook' chronicles broadcaster's legendary career  —  DETROIT — Ernie Harwell's biography came out in 2002.  Another book on his life after baseball was published a couple of years ago.  He donated much of his baseball artifacts for the public …