Yankees again set payroll record: $218.3 million  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees did finish first in something last year — spending.  —  While their streak of AL East titles ended at nine, the Yankees wound up with a record payroll of $218.3 million.  —  The World Series champion Boston Red Sox …

Rincon lands Minor League contract  —  Reliever gets Spring Training invite, looks to return to Majors  —  NEW YORK — The Mets extended an invitation to their big league Spring Training camp to veteran relief pitcher Ricardo Rincon on Wednesday after the left-handed specialist had signed a Minor League contract with them.

Canseco Is Said to Seek Favor to Omit Name  —  José Canseco, the former major league slugger and admitted steroid user who exposed other players in his 2005 best-selling book “Juiced,” offered to keep a Detroit Tigers outfielder “clear” in his next book if the player invested money …

Meet the Mets  —  Former darkhorse takes the lead in Santana derby  —  Once written off as an extreme long shot in the long-running Johan Santana drama, the Mets may actually be the favorite now.  At the very least, there are indications now that they are engaging in more regular dialogue …

Wright treks to dedicate Mets room  —  Discusses team's chances during charity stop in Long Island  —  NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. — The Mets have added some players, subtracted some others, and now stand awfully close to where they were when this offseason began.

Feds unable to locate, serve Knoblauch subpoena  —  WASHINGTON — Former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch had not been tracked down as of early Wednesday evening by federal marshals trying to serve him a subpoena from a House panel investigating steroids in baseball, a committee staffer told The Associated Press.

New faces aplenty in NL Central  —  The NL Central underwent a major off-season makeover.  There are new GMs in St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Houston.  There are new managers in Houston, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati.  There are new players on all six rosters.  —  It's not like any of the six division members were tampering with success.

Rays ink Shields to long-term deal  —  Contract guaranteed for four years with three one-year options  —  ST. PETERSBURG — James Shields is going to be with the Rays for a long time.  —  As expected Wednesday afternoon, the Rays announced at a news conference they had signed …

Chat Answers....  Thanks to everyone for submitting so many great questions.  Wish I could get to all of em.  —  zellyanks91 asked: Phil...What goes on in the Yankees clubhouse before and after games..of course the media is there asking questions..but what do you guys do?  —  It's pretty laid back for the most part.

Q and A with Alan Horne  —  Q: How were you informed of your spring training invitation?  —  A: I got a call from our head of minor league operations Mark Newman. and Nardi Contreras, our pitching coordinator, also gave me a call over the last week sometime.  —  Q: What was your reaction?

Betancourt earns raise from Tribe  —  Reliever tied for American League lead in holds in 2007  —  CLEVELAND — When it comes to the job of setting up a closer, Rafael Betancourt is one of the best in baseball.  —  And in doing that job, Betancourt has set himself up with a hefty raise and a measure of stability.