Cabrera's status a hot topic at meetings  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - The Marlins are almost certain to trade third baseman Miguel Cabrera.  The question is where.  —  The Cabrera talks intensified at the general managers' meetings on Wednesday, with the Angels emerging as a particularly intriguing possibility.

Twins seem willing to part with pitching  —  The team has plenty of good, young arms, so teams such as the Padres and Devil Rays might deal talented hitters.  —  ORLANDO - The San Diego Padres are one of several teams that have expressed interest in the Twins' young starting pitchers this week at the general managers meetings.

Red Sox sit down with Boras  —  Agent pitches Rodriguez to Epstein at meetings  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein and his staff headed into a meeting with agent Scott Boras last night as good listeners.  —  There was no need to jump feetfirst into the Alex Rodriguez sweepstakes.

Lidge Is Here, Romero Is Near  —  The Phillies bolstered their rotation and bullpen yesterday when they acquired Brad Lidge from the Houston Astros for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo.  —  The move makes Lidge the Phillies' closer next season.  It also returns Brett Myers to the rotation.

O Captain!  My Captain!  Rise up and Hear the Bells  —  Dave Pinto over at Baseball Musings just posted his Probabilistic Model of Range for Shortstops in the 2007 season.  This year Dave worked out the models both by team and by individual.  I've listed his findings below.

Posada and Rivera at Top of Yanks' List  —  The Yankees are preparing new offers to their top free agents, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera, in an effort to sign them before other teams can negotiate with them.  —  "The offers are going to be very generous offers," the senior vice president Hank Steinbrenner …

Nationals target Gomez, Pelfrey  —  Outfielder, righty would help add youth to roster  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals are not close to making any deals at the General Managers Meetings in Orlando, Fla., but, according to a baseball source, the team has its sights on Mets outfielder Carlos Gomez and right-hander Mike Pelfrey.

Players may squash trip  —  Spring trek to Japan jeopardized by Sox  —  Johnny Damon will be the Yankees leadoff hitter and left fielder.  (FILE/ASSOCIATED PRESS)  —  Text size - +  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - While Major League Baseball is pushing hard toward Boston and Oakland playing in Tokyo March 22 …

Damon meets with Girardi, Cashman, likely will stay  —  Johnny Damon waits for a decision by the umpires about his first inning home run.  (Newsday/Paul J. Bereswill / October 4, 2007)  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - With the general managers' meetings here a "12-minute" drive from his house, Johnny Damon met Joe Girardi for breakfast yesterday.

Park Returns to Dodgers  —  With his Major League Baseball (MLB) career hanging by a thread, Park Chan-ho is heading back to where the magic all started.  —  The 33-year-old South Korean said Thursday he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he started his Major League career in 1994 …

Kinsler deal a priority for Texas Rangers  —  Club looking to sign second baseman to a five-year deal  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  ORLANDO - The Texas Rangers are making a renewed effort to lock up second baseman Ian Kinsler to a contract that would keep him with the club through at least 2012.

Baseball Coaches to Wear Head Protection  —  ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — General managers decided Thursday that first- and third-base coaches will wear some sort of head protection during games next season, an action taken four months after Mike Coolbaugh was killed when he was struck in the neck by a line drive.

Runner's Reluctance - Part One  —  Sometimes I think most baseball strategy has been figured out thanks to sabermetricians like you and me.  Then I discover that a major facet of the game is being mismanaged at a shocking rate.  —  Let me explain.  I recently undertook a study to analyze …

Risky strategy in place  —  ORLANDO, FLA. — With the Chicago Cubs expressing serious interest in second baseman Kazuo Matsui, the likelihood he returns to Colorado will decrease dramatically if he chooses the biggest contract over personal comfort.  —  Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd …