RHP Soriano, Braves agree to 2-year, $9M deal  —  ATLANTA (AP) - Relief pitcher Rafael Soriano and the Atlanta Braves agreed Thursday to a $9 million, two-year contract that avoided arbitration.  —  The Braves plan to make Soriano their closer this season.

Yanks, Cano talk long-term deal  —  The Yankees and star second baseman Robinson Cano are in serious negotiations on a deal that could keep him in pinstripes for up to six years, SI.com has confirmed.  —  The contract being discussed would pay Cano a guaranteed $30 million over the next four years …

Blue Jays sign catcher Barajas  —  The Toronto Blue Jays have agreed to a one-year contract with catcher Rod Barajas worth $1.2 million with an option for 2009.  —  Barajas, 32, spent last season with the Philadelphia Phillies.  —  In 48 games, he posted a .230 average with four home runs and 10 RBI.

2007 payroll second lowest in the majors  —  The Marlins walk out of the dugout after they completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs during their last home baseball game at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.  (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky / September 27, 2007)  —  Injuries contributed …

Fastball 101: Bringing The Heat  —  Pitchers with premium velocity have an advantage because their heat gives themselves a bit more margin for error.  A quicker fastball has a better chance of missing bats, keeping the ball out of play and leading to more strikeouts.

Quiet winter for big spenders  —  The biggest surprise this offseason could be that the big spenders didn't spend.  —  After winning the World Series in 2004, the Red Sox revamped their rotation.  They let Pedro Martinez and Derek Lowe leave as free agents and brought in Matt Clement and David Wells, a pair of signings that went bad.

Promoter sez Rickey stole more than bases  —  Rickey doesn't like it when Rickey gets sued.  —  All-time stolen bases king Rickey Henderson is being taken to court by a promoter of sports collectibles shows who says Henderson swiped more than bases.  —  MAB Celebrity Services has filed …

Sorry Sammy?  —  I hear there are rumblings throughout Latin America regarding the mistreatment of one of the greatest home run hitters of all time.  People are coming to his defense and others are angry the team that signed him last year - the same team that signed him when he was just a teenager - wants nothing to do with him.

Between a rock and a hard place  —  The Twins don't want to bring Santana to spring training amidst all of this uncertainty but they also must try to maximize trade value.  —  Johan Santana will not be at TwinsFest this weekend, but one wonders if Santana will be in Fort Myers, Fla. …

The biggest winners and losers during the offseason  —  The Minnesota Twins will hold their annual banquet tonight, but instead of a celebration, it may be a memorial.  —  The team will honor more absentee players tonight than players on its current roster.

Wright: Lo Duca deserves penalties if report true  —  David Wright's feelings about players' use of peformance-enhancing drugs are firm — even when it comes to good friend Paul Lo Duca's connection to the Mitchell report.  —  The New York Mets third baseman said Wednesday that his former teammate deserves …

Forward (and backward) thinking  —  In the palindrome game from an earlier entry, I challenged readers to list eight players whose last names are the same forward as backward.  I omitted Tampa Bay pitcher Juan Salas, who came up as Salaz, so make that nine names.