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 …

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.

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 give young gun Shields four-year contract  —  ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Tampa Bay Rays are counting on James Shields to blossom into one of the top pitchers in the American League.  —  The 26-year-old right-hander, who has less than two full seasons of experience in the majors …

Agent: Cano interested in long-term deal  —  The Yankees could lock up Robinson Cano, their All-Star second baseman, to a long-term deal before he hits free agency.  (Newsday / Paul J. Bereswill)  —  Robinson Cano would be open to the idea of signing a long-term contract with the Yankees, his agent, Bobby Barad, said yesterday.

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.

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?

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.

Cubs unleash bold, new ad campaign  —  Promotions international in scope with dash of local flavor  —  CHICAGO — Kosuke Fukudome is among the players featured in a new ad campaign unveiled on Tuesday designed to showcase the international breadth and depth of the Cubs.

Wright weighs in on steroid discussion  —  Third baseman believes drug usage in baseball is 'behind us'  —  NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y. — David Wright's squeaky clean image is often the first thing to preclude him from discussions of baseball's problems.  Rumors of steroids — or anything like them …

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.