Whirlwind courtship ends with Hunter in Angels' OF  —  Center fielder Torii Hunter heard the words, and suddenly couldn't breathe, his heart pounding against his chest.  —  "Are you sure?"  —  It was a simple question posed by his agent, Larry Reynolds, and now it was time to finalize …

Kielty waiting to make next move … Bobby Kielty is on quite a roll.  —  Since hitting the homer that proved to be the game-winning run in the Sox' World Series clincher, life has been a whirlwind for the outfielder.  —  There was the team's celebratory parade, autograph signings in Boston …

Hall ballot welcomes 11 newcomers  —  Lean list could bode well for holdovers Gossage, Rice  —  The 2008 Hall of Fame ballot that was released Monday and will be mailed at the end of the week to more than 575 voting members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America contains merely 25 names …

Cubs Sign Kerry Wood  —  According to Bruce Levine of ESPN Radio 1000, the Cubs have signed Kerry Wood to a one-year, $4MM deal with no options.  Wood apparently had four other offers for two years worth $5-6MM.  The Padres, Brewers, and Red Sox were among them.

2008 New York Mets Prospects  —  New York Mets Top 20 Prospects for 2008  —  All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change.  — Fernando Martinez, OF, Grade B+  — Deolis Guerra, RHP, Grade B+  — Carlos Gomez, OF, Grade B (undecided, may raise to B+.

Hank Steinbrenner eclipsing GM Cashman  —  In the not so distant past, the New York Yankees' information flow was about as tight as the Soviet-era Kremlin's, which was to say, good luck trying to get a front-office response to the most benign questions.  News blackouts from Tampa, Fla. …

Indians reliever Lara seriously injured in crash  —  Indians left-hander Juan Lara was seriously injured Saturday night in an automobile-motorcycle accident in the Dominican Republic.  —  Lara, 26, suffered what an Indians spokesman called "life-threatening injuries" when the car …

Dodgers' activity absent after Torre  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  After signing Torii Hunter and trading for Jon Garland, the Angels are pushing hard to acquire Miguel Cabrera.  —  The Dodgers?  —  Their off-season might have been over before it began, judging from comments by owner Frank McCourt in Sunday's Boston Globe

Marlins may find Angels may be best fit in any deal for Miguel Cabrera  —  If the Marlins don't budge from their four-player demand for Miguel Cabrera, here's one potential return from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: second baseman Howie Kendrick, catcher Jeff Mathis …

Hot Stove: Prices for Bay, Wilson might be 'outrageous'  —  The Pirates are not shopping Jason Bay or Jack Wilson.  —  That was the insistence of general manager Neal Huntington earlier this week in his PNC Park office.  —  "No, none of our players is being actively shopped," he said.

SERBY'S SUNDAY Q&A WITH...  HANK STEINBRENNER  —  The Post's Steve Serby chatted with the new Yankees boss about his expectations for 2008 and beyond, his life as George Steinbrenner's oldest son, and his memories of a lifetime in and around the world's most famous ballclub.

Top 10 under-the-radar free agents  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  The 2007-08 class of free agents was already a relatively weak one, and now that the ranks are dwindling by the day, it's even less impressive.  —  With that in mind, let's overlook for the moment the remaining marquee names …