McGwire's Hall hopes rest on confession  —  A confession would help.  —  A confession would liberate Mark McGwire, increasing his chances of redemption by an ever-forgiving public, not to mention the 10-year members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who vote for the Hall of Fame.

Hall door opens slightly: Rice still on outside; Ripken, Gwynn get in  —  Number 14 was always synonymous with Jim Rice, who wore it on the back of his uniform throughout a memorable Red Sox [team stats] career.  After he fell short for the 13th consecutive year in a bid to be enshrined …

Cardinals await Mulder's decision  —  The Cardinals could learn as early as today whether free agent lefthander Mark Mulder will accept their modified two-year proposal potentially worth about $18 million.  —  General manager Walt Jocketty met with Mulder and agent Gregg Clifton in Scottsdale …

Rockies sign Javy Lopez  —  Signing strengthens competition at catcher  —  In the Rockies, Javy Lopez saw an opportunity.  In Lopez, the Rockies saw someone who has faced adversity.  —  Lopez's desire to revive his career led Colorado to sign the veteran catcher Tuesday …

Edmonds has surgery on foot, shoulder  —  The club confirmed center fielder Jim Edmonds had surgery on his left foot last Friday.  Edmonds, who signed a two-year extension with the club in November, is also recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery that team medical supervisor …

Giants sign free-agent pitcher Russ Ortiz  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Adding a veteran arm in the form of a familiar face, the San Francisco Giants have signed free-agent right-handed pitcher Russ Ortiz to a one-year contract for the 2007 season, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Brian Sabean announced today.

Maine gets a head start  —  In previous winters, John Maine would have agonized over the Mets' pursuit of various big-name pitchers.  Would the possibility of a new star coming to Shea mean Maine would be bumped out of a place in the rotation?  —  By his own admission, Maine has a track record of fretting over such things.

Steve Garvey Gets No Respect  —  A couple of days ago, I wrote a quick take on 18 of the players on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot.  That meant I ignored 14 others, including such legendary figures as Bobby Witt and Scott Brosius.  —  I also neglected to discuss Steve Garvey.

Brewers to preview DVD release  —  Video salutes 25th anniversary of World Series appearances  —  MILWAUKEE — A video documentary about the 1982 American League pennant-winning Brewers is due for release on April 10, the team announced Tuesday.  —  The release of "Harvey's Wallbangers …

Kornheiser back on Monday Night Football  —  After an inaugural season in which ESPN's "Monday Night Football" drew mixed reviews but strong ratings, the network plans to have analyst Tony Kornheiser back in 2007.  —  And Kornheiser is all for it.  Early yesterday, he told Newsday …

Blue Jays agree to deals with Thomson, Frasor  —  TORONTO — Right-handers Jason Frasor and John Thomson agreed to one-year contracts with the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.  —  Frasor was 3-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 51 relief appearances last season, splitting time between Toronto and Triple-A Syracuse.

Cuban pitcher eyes majors  —  TRIBUNE-REVIEW  —  There was nothing political about Yoslan Herrera's decision to flee Cuba and defect to the United States.  —  "I wanted to pitch in the major leagues," he said.  —  Herrera, a right-handed pitcher, last month signed a three-year contract with the Pirates.