Kendall was best available option  —  Let me say this right off the bat: The catching market in baseball is bleak.  Very bleak.  —  Few teams have catchers who can both hit and catch.  If they have them, they have them locked up.  —  Anybody with a young catcher who might be expendable …

Hooray! ...  The good old-fashioned trade is back … It's been a long, long time since we've had a baseball winter like this.  —  A winter dominated not by dollar signs, but by buzzing phone lines.  —  A winter in which a two-time Cy Young Award winner (Mr. Johan Santana, ladies and gentlemen) might get traded.

Dukes on Nationals' radar  —  Talented Rays outfielder comes with plenty of baggage  —  WASHINGTON — The Nationals have serious interest in Rays outfielder Elijah Dukes, according to a baseball official with knowledge of the situation.  Asked what the chances are of acquiring Dukes' services …

Hot Stove: Holiday cools market  —  Many baseball officials taking short break for Thanksgiving  —  Thanksgiving eve was a relatively quiet session on the Hot Stove front as most teams, free agents and their representatives took a break from business to get home for the holiday.

Hunter's list may start with Sox  —  At least five offers are there, but Twins' star CF calls GM Williams 'impressive'  —  A day after feasting on a steak dinner at the 30-acre estate of Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks and receiving a six-year offer, free-agent outfielder Torii Hunter …

Happy 87th to a genuine American hero  —  On this day in 1920, in the grainy borough of Donora, Pa., a smoggy 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, Stanislaw Franciszek Musial was born.  Precious few days in St. Louis history have been more significant.  —  Tom Brokaw wrote a best-selling book …

Youngman column: Judge Angels GM Reagins when he's done  —  Youngman column: Judge Angels GM Reagins when he's done … •  —  Sorry to disagree with you, Tony, but your first trade as Bill Stoneman's successor, judged by itself, did not make your team better.

Notes: Vazquez signs one-year deal  —  Rangers avoid arbitration with utility infielder; three remain  —  ARLINGTON — The Rangers have signed utility infielder Ramon Vazquez to a one-year contract and avoided a potential arbitration hearing, the club announced on Wednesday.

Hendry hot on trail of Matsui  —  Cubs general manager Jim Hendry was on the road Tuesday, perhaps courting free-agent second baseman Kaz Matsui, who played for the National League champion Colorado Rockies.  —  Hendry wouldn't give his location, but the Cubs are hot after Matsui.

Ex-Mets attendant gets another sentencing delay  —  Sentencing has been delayed until early next year for Kirk Radomski, the ex-New York Mets' clubhouse attendant who looms as a key figure in the Major League Baseball steroids investigation headed by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell …

MLB to auction bug spray Yanks used at Jacobs  —  NEW YORK — Start the bidding on Yankees bug spray.  —  Who could forget New York rookie Joba Chamberlain getting doused with pest repellant during the American League playoffs last month?  Well, here's your chance to own an authentic bottle.

Yankees Should Avoid Linebrink  —  Numerous reports have the New York Yankees interested in right-handed reliever Scott Linebrink.  They should avoid him because:  —  1. Since his impressive 2004 and 2005, most of his stats indicate a structural decline:  — Stat: 2005/2006/2007

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Holliday second to Rollins  —  Philadelphia's shortstop edges the Rockies' left fielder for MVP  —  Rockies Nation howled with indignation Tuesday when it was announced Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins beat out their man, Matt Holliday, for the National League MVP award.

Less was more for Lowell  —  He deemed Boston most valuable place  —  Thirty seven and a half million was enough for Mike Lowell.  —  The Red Sox third baseman cast aside bigger and better offers (the Yankees, Phillies, and Dodgers all were reportedly in the hunt at one time) to stay in Boston and accept three years.