New Blue Jay Thomson rips Lo Duca's catching  —  TORONTO — John Thomson was surprisingly candid Wednesday about one of the reasons he chose the Toronto Blue Jays over the Mets: He didn't want to pitch to New York catcher Paul Lo Duca.  —  Thomson agreed to a $500,000 …

Steroid Cloud Stops McGwire From Entering Hall  —  Cal Ripken was the ironman who played in 2,632 consecutive games, Tony Gwynn was the hitting machine who won eight batting titles, and yesterday both were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in near-unanimous votes.

Hall voting will always be subjective  —  First of all, don't rip the eight voters who failed to vote for Cal Ripken and the 13 who failed to vote for Tony Gwynn.  It's a free country, last time anyone checked.  Solicit the opinions of 545 people on any issue, and it's doubtful they will be in unanimous agreement.

Sources: Schoeneweis close to 3-year deal with Mets  —  The New York Mets are on the verge of signing free-agent pitcher Scott Schoeneweis to a three-year deal, major league sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney.  —  Schoeneweis has experience as a starter and a reliever …

Murcer vows to battle back from tumor  —  Ex-Bomber, current Yanks broadcaster says fight just starting  —  NEW YORK — Bobby Murcer, a Yankees broadcaster and former All-Star outfielder, has learned that a tumor removed from his brain last month was malignant.

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 …

Bears Quarterbacks Love to Party  —  Assuming this photo sent in by a reader is in fact Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman - the same one who dabbles in unintentional porn on the football field - then we need to start partying with the Chicago Bears quarterbacks.  Those guys know how to throw down.

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 …

Grace will be back at Cubs Convention  —  When he told us last March that he was ready to come home, the Cubs weren't sure whether to believe him.  —  Well, they can believe it now.  —  Mark Grace has set aside six years of animosity and will return next week to the Cubs Convention …

Mini-Camp News: Pedro 'Doing Better and Better'  —  Pedro Martinez stopped by mini-camp to be examined by trainer Ray Ramirez.  Martinez, who had rotator cuff surgery in October, expects to be back after the All-Star break.  —  "I'm doing better and better," Martinez said.

Tigers invite 16 players to Major League camp  —  DETROIT — The Detroit Tigers today announced the club has extended invitations to major league camp to the following 16 players: righthanded pitchers Craig Dingman, Jair Jurrjens and Dennis Tankersley, lefthanded pitchers Tim Byrdak …

Photos: Mets Mini-Camp  —  I pulled out my trusty camera phone at today's mini-camp in Port St. Lucie...  (David Wright)  —  More after the break ...

Sammy Sosa-San Could Rack Up The Yen  —  While his old "pal" Mark McGwire is battered about on every cable channel, Sammy Sosa continues to cast about to find somewhere to peddle his wares.  With the major leagues, uh, unlikely, it is only natural that he would look eastbound.

Pirates' Gerut still not ready to run  —  Recovery from knee surgery could carry into spring  —  Jody Gerut is still recovering from surgery on his right knee in June.  —  Anyone imagining that outfielder Jody Gerut might be the Pirates' answer for that coveted left-handed power bat should know this:

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.

Mixed Up Sox  —  [Editor's note: Patrick Sullivan has agreed to join Baseball Analysts as a regular contributor.  Sully, as he is known throughout the baseball blogosphere, joins us from The House That Dewey Built.  He should be familiar to our readers, both as a guest columnist …