Rangers waiting to hear from Zito, Mulder  —  The Rangers' wait continues on a resolution as to who left-handers Mark Mulder and Barry Zito will pitch for in 2007.  —  The Rangers are hopeful that Mulder will choose a team in the next few days, although he is on his honeymoon in Tahiti …

Signing Barajas, trading Conine likely to be last big moves for a while  —  If signing catcher Rod Barajas and trading Jeff Conine are the Phillies' last significant moves before spring training, general manager Pat Gillick is fine with that.  —  "It's a better club now than it was a year ago," he said.

Miadich continues to excel in Mexico  —  Veteran righty recording saves left and right in Winter League  —  Right-hander J.B. Miadich continued his excellent season with Venados de Mazatlan of the Mexican Pacific League, earning saves in his last four appearances.

Angels still interested in Helton  —  While the city of Denver thaws out from the holiday blizzard, there are signs that the Angels' interest in Todd Helton are no longer in deep freeze.  —  Los Angeles officials inquired about Helton at the winter meetings and were prepared to offer a package …

Delgado charity is a hit at home  —  For Carlos Delgado, charity begins in his hometown.  —  The Mets' first baseman, who was honored by Major League Baseball with the Roberto Clemente Award for his philanthropy before Game 3 of the World Series, passed out presents to hospitalized …

Gonzalez trade talks find obstacles  —  No match yet with Yankees, Braves, Red Sox  —  By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  Mike Gonzalez to ... nowhere?  —  The Pirates' attempts to trade their closer for a left-handed power hitter appear to have hit a dry patch on all of the most prominent fronts.

Dodgers announce staff assignments for 2007 Minor League season  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers have announced minor league field staffing assignments for the 2007 season with five former Dodger players among the personnel, according to De Jon Watson, Director of Player Development.

Cabrera delays Winter League plans  —  All-Star's grandmother passes away, will decide when to play  —  MIAMI — Since being called up to the big leagues in 2003, Miguel Cabrera has continued to spend part of his offseason playing Winter League ball in his native Venezuela.

Sammy Sosa begins training for return to big leagues  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Sammy Sosa began training Thursday in hopes of returning to the major leagues.  —  "I feel like I did when I was a rookie," Sosa told The Associated Press.  "I have a lot of spirit and a desire to return.

Ripken is a 100% Hall of Famer  —  On the night of Sept. 6, 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. saved baseball.  —  The game was flickering when the Baltimore Orioles shortstop broke Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played.  —  None of us at Camden Yards that night realized how important the new Ironman's feat would be.

M's are serious about pursuit of Zito  —  The Mariners don't have the number 75 embroidered in diamonds and rubies in the Safeco Field home clubhouse in eager anticipation of Barry Zito's arrival.  —  But they do appear to be serious in their pursuit of the left-hander, who won the American League Cy Young Award in 2002 with Oakland.

Bonds not likely to break Aaron's mark in '07  —  So Barry Bonds is back with the San Francisco Giants.  —  His decision to re-up with his hometown team (one year, $16 million) means he'll be in a Giants' uniform for a 15th season.  That, in turn, means that Bonds will join Willie McCovey …