Talks stall on trade for Roberts  —  With less than four weeks left before pitchers and catchers report to camp, the Cubs are still pushing hard to add players, but their long-running efforts to make a deal with the Baltimore Orioles may have hit a dead end.

Yanks begin arbitration process  —  Figures exchanged with Wang, Cano, Bruney; Betemit signs  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees set grounds for salary arbitration with three of their players on Friday, while avoiding the process completely by agreeing to a one-year contract with Wilson Betemit.

Mets avoid arbitration with Heilman  —  Righty signs one-year deal; five others remain unsigned  —  NEW YORK — More gadgets and toys probably will find their way into the Mets' clubhouse this year.  Aaron Heilman, the electronics-obsessive pitcher called “Wall Street” by some of Mets teammates …

Pen help on the way?  —  The White Sox are no strangers to pursuing relievers who recently wore the powder blue of the Kansas City Royals, but as of Friday afternoon, the club was keeping mum on reports that it had agreed on a two-year, $11 million contract with Octavio Dotel.

Clemens to Testify Under Oath  —  Roger Clemens will go to Capitol Hill on Jan. 26 to answer questions from staff members for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Clemens's lawyer said Friday, setting the stage for a possible perjury showdown against the former trainer …

Youkilis gets help in arbitration process  —  Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who is seeking almost a tenfold increase in his salary through arbitration, didn't have to do anything to strengthen his case for a raise yesterday.  He left that up to his fellow first basemen.

Rays paying it forward … ST. PETERSBURG - By giving more than $24-million over three years to Carlos Pena and going up to nearly $4-million for a one-year, arbitration-avoiding deal with Scott Kazmir, the Rays on Friday put two of their best players under contract for the upcoming season.

Astros sign Wigginton to one-year deal  —  Team exchanges arbitration figures with four players  —  HOUSTON — The Astros avoided arbitration with third baseman Ty Wigginton by signing him to a one-year contract worth $4.35 million, plus incentives, on Friday.

Notes: Hardy, Bush submit figures  —  Anderson claimed off waivers; Arctic Tailgate set for Feb. 23  —  MILWAUKEE — Brewers shortstop J.J. Hardy and right-hander Dave Bush are each seeking about $3 million in arbitration according to figures filed Friday, the day on which eligible players and teams swapped contract proposals.

Santana not worth the tariff  —  Any contending team in a major market would want Johan Santana to anchor its starting rotation.  Yet the Minnesota Twins have not been able to trade the two-time Cy Young award winner despite months-long talks with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and more recently, the New York Mets.

Steve Aschburner: It's the stats, stupid!  —  When Bill Clinton first ran for president in 1992, his campaign posted the now-famous slogan “It's the economy, stupid!” in its headquarters to keep the candidate and everyone around him on point about what the electorate truly cared about.  And it worked.

Arbitration process begins for Mets and Yankees  —  Major League Baseball's teams and players exchanged salary figures in the arbitration process Friday, and it's clear that the two New York clubs have significant work to do if they want to avoid taking key players to a hearing.

Team will play two games in Beijing in March  —  Dodgers Manager Joe Torre will be in Beijing on Thursday to announce a two-game exhibition series against the San Diego Padres on March 15-16.  It will be the first time two Major League Baseball teams play in China.