Gagne to sign with Brewers  —  A little more than a week after losing closer Francisco Cordero to a four-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds, the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday morning were near a contract agreement with veteran reliever Eric Gagne, according to an industry source.

PAVANO WILL ACCEPT ASSIGNMENTTO MINORS  —  "American Idle" Carl Pavano spoke to Brian Cashman on Friday at the Stadium and said he is going to accept a minor-league assignment after the Yankees release him from the final year of a disastrous four-year, $39.95 million contract.

Matsui to Stay  —  Apologies to my good friends at BP, but I thought I'd cut and paste Hideki Matsui's numbers here to make a few points about the current rumors.  If you'll notice below, Matsui's career batting line is .295/.371/.485 and in 2007, a year that was supposedly a disappointment, he put up basically those same numbers.

A's, Padres not out of Bonds running  —  LIKE THIS STORY?  —  No lie, I had this conversation with Barry Bonds' agent, Jeff Borris, toward the end of the winter meetings.  —  Borris: "San Diego still interested in (Geoff) Jenkins?  —  Me: "Yeah, I think so."  —  Borris: "Check out Barry's numbers next to Jenkins'."

Union-Busting at the Hall of Fame  —  THE National Baseball Hall of Fame, itself based on the historical error that baseball was invented in Cooperstown, N.Y., has just let one go right through its legs.  On Monday, a committee of 12 baseball executives, newspaper reporters and former executives …

Save This Franchise: No Band-Aid big enough for these Giants  —  Congratulations to the San Francisco Giants.  With the no-longer-satanic Rays transforming their outfielder glut into pitching goodness and the other clodhopper franchises (Rangers, Orioles, Pirates) simply refraining …

Maddon already shaping '08 club  —  ST. PETERSBURG - They've added a closer, a frontline shortstop and a No. 3 starter, but the Rays have more work to do.  —  In addition to a left-handed hitting outfielder to at least platoon in rightfield, they need a third baseman (for a couple months anyway …

Report: Fukudome nixes move to Japan's Giants in favor of majors  —  Japanese free-agent Kosuke Fukudome has decided not to move to the Yomiuri Giants and will sign with a major league team instead, the Nikkansports newspaper reported Sunday.  —  Fukudome had previously indicated the Giants …

Torres traded, but weighing retirement  —  Pirates deal reliever to Milwaukee for two relief prospects  —  Just because Salomon Torres was traded to Milwaukee does not mean he has to go.  —  Torres, dealt by the Pirates yesterday for relief prospects Marino Salas and Kevin Roberts …

Giants can't afford to give up quality starters  —  (12-07) 19:00 PST — There's no way out for the Giants.  They literally can't win, whether or not they trade Tim Lincecum for Alex Rios.  I'm all for a big-time gamble, especially for someone as desperate as general manager Brian Sabean, but this one just doesn't make sense.

Yankees showing interest in Japanese reliever  —  The Yankees, searching for affordable bullpen help, met with the representative for Japanese free agent Kazuo Fukumori during the winter meetings in Nashville.  —  Alan Nero, Fukumori's agent, told Newsday he met with Yankees assistant general manager Jean Afterman on Wednesday.