Minaya to Talk to Wright About Rodriguez Interest  —  The conference call was scheduled so that Omar Minaya, the Mets' general manager, could announce that Moises Alou and Damion Easley would return to the team.  But it also provided the opportunity, when asked about the Mets' potential interest …

AL Elias rankings  —  American League slugger David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox led all major league players with a 100 ranking.  Other top performers at their positions included Jorge Posada of the New York Yankees, Michael Young of the Texas Rangers and Johan Santana of the Minnesota Twins.

Voices of Marlins nominated for honor  —  Trio among this year's nominees for Ford C. Frick Award  —  MIAMI — Their voices have informed and entertained Marlins baseball fans for years.  Now their work is being considered for their profession's highest honor, the prestigious 2008 Ford C. Frick Award.

Dodgers, Torre are near deal  —  Colletti says he's the top choice, and Selig grants the team an exemption of having to interview a minority candidate.  —  The Dodgers moved closer to making Joe Torre their next manager, receiving permission from Commissioner Bud Selig's office on Wednesday …

Baseball rocks, and other lessons learned in 2007  —  I tend to learn lessons the hard way — like that time when, as a little kid, I learned about electricity by sticking one of my dad's car keys into an electric socket in my grandparents' basement.  Thirty years down the road …

Patterson joins free agent CF class  —  Orioles speedster officially files for free agency  —  BALTIMORE — Corey Patterson filed for free agency Wednesday, joining a celebrated class of center fielders that also includes Atlanta's Andruw Jones and Minnesota's Torii Hunter.

Time for Braves to get Griffey  —  Let's try this again.  After all, we've typed these words before, but never have they made more sense.  The Braves need a center fielder until their youngsters are ready, and veteran Ken Griffey Jr. loves Bobby Cox, the accomplished Braves manager …

Pettitte's '08 with Yankees or no one  —  Veteran lefty discusses future with Houston television station  —  NEW YORK — Andy Pettitte has already come to one important decision this offseason.  The left-hander will either pitch for the Yankees in 2008, or he will not pitch at all.

Kim to test free-agent market  —  Whether Marlins will pursue right-hander undecided  —  MIAMI — In two separate stints in 2007, Byung-Hyun Kim turned out being one of the Marlins' most dependable starters.  His outings weren't always pretty, but the veteran right-hander logged some valuable innings in the final weeks.

Texas Rangers welcome back Benoit, Jaramillo  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  The Rangers had a special on two-year contract extensions Wednesday.  Both hitting instructor Rudy Jaramillo and reliever Joaquin Benoit took advantage of the offers.  —  Only hours before his contract was to expire …

Cards hire Mozeliak to replace Jocketty  —  The Cardinals will announce John Mozeliak as their next general manager today at a 3 p.m. press conference after formally offering him the job Tuesday evening, club sources confirm.  —  Mozeliak accepted a three-year contract shortly after discussions broke …

BoSox's 2007 final-out Series ball goes missing  —  Last ball goes from Varitek to Papelbon to mystery  —  BOSTON (AP) — The last ball from Boston's 2007 World Series victory might not get back to the Red Sox, after all.  —  Jason Varitek caught the final strikeout Sunday night to complete …