Orioles reach agreement with Huff … The Orioles reached an agreement early this morning on a three-year contract with free agent Aubrey Huff, several industry sources confirmed today.  —  Huff, a 30-year-old slugger who can play first and third base and both corner outfield spots …

Solid Witt pitched with guts, savvy  —  Longtime Ranger held his own with league's best  —  The Rangers were 44-44 and six games out of first place on July 13, 1997, when they sent Bobby Witt to the mound to face the division-leading Seattle Mariners at the old Kingdome.

Season of Plenty, but No One Reached 20  —  The 2006 season was filled with highlights.  —  The Braves' unparalleled run of 14 consecutive division titles ended; the Yankees won their ninth consecutive division title.  The Pirates endured their 14th successive losing season.

Howard dismisses agent; Phils mull raise  —  Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard reportedly has dismissed his agent, Larry Reynolds.  —  The Phillies said Howard, the 2006 National League MVP, is looking for a new agent and has not yet informed the team who will represent him, the Philadelphia Daily News reported for Saturday editions.

Signing doesn't make sense for Zito, Giants  —  In the run-up to his recent signing, Barry Zito said his aim was to join a team with a legitimate shot at winning the World Series.  However, his recent decision to ink with the San Francisco Giants suggests other priorities.

Zito deal gives 126 million reasons to expect Santana will be gone  —  The lefty's Giants contract means Johan Santana's price tag will be well out of reach of the Twins' budget.  —  The Twins' offseason officially became depressing on Thursday.  This happened when Barry Zito …

Boone agrees to deal with Marlins  —  Ex-Indian, Red will be backup corner infielder  —  The Marlins finally made a purchase in the free-agent market, landing Aaron Boone as their backup corner infielder.  —  Boone, who has played all but 54 of his 969 games with the Reds and Indians, agreed to a one-year, $925,000 deal.

Pos-itive Royals thoughts  —  WARNING: The following column contains blatantly positive comments about the Kansas City Royals, including compliments of the Glass family, continuing belligerent optimism about the Gil Meche signing and a closer look at how general manager Dayton Moore intends …

AP: Bulked-up Pedro still recovering  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — New York Mets pitcher Pedro Martinez is recovering well from rotator cuff surgery, but the ace right-hander still doesn't plan to return to the mound until July or August.  —  "The progress has been excellent," …

The wild and wacky from 2006 … Once again this year, baseball proved that truth is stranger than sci-fi, stranger than a Britney Spears marriage, stranger even than Nicole Ritchie's interpretation of her GPS instructions.  —  So with 2007 lurking over the horizon, let's look back at the Strange But True Feats of the Year:

Yankees, Diamondbacks Agree to Trade  —  There had been rumors for days and many thought the deal was falling through.  That was not the case as the New York Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks agreed to a trade that will send Randy Johnson back to Arizona.  —  This has not yet been announced, so yes you've heard it here first.

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