Santana Deal Took Intense Negotiating  —  It was nearing 5 p.m. on Friday, when the Mets' 72-hour window to sign the star left-hander Johan Santana was to expire, and they had improved what had been their take-it-or-leave-it proposal.  But that was not good enough for Santana, and he said so — in person.

M's will pay big price if Bedard deal is a go  —  If the Mariners' trade with the Orioles doesn't work out, maybe they should call the Sonics.  —  The trio of young pitchers they're talking to Baltimore about as part of the Erik Bedard package — 6-foot-9 Kam Mickolio …

Padres nearing $11 million, 2-year deal with Greene  —  SAN DIEGO — Khalil Greene's big 2007 season with the San Diego Padres is about to pay off with a nice contract that will allow the shortstop to avoid arbitration.  —  The two sides spoke Saturday and were closing in on a two-year deal …

By the Numbers: 19 Deals with Salary Arbitration Players  —  A Detailed Analysis of 19 Major League Baseball Player Contracts that Avoid Salary Arbitration  —  On January 16th of this year, 110 players filed for salary arbitration.  Two days later, that list was whittled down to 48 players …

YES won't inject steroids into reports  —  Yankees Entertainment & Sports Network suits have already cast aspersions on George Mitchell's report on steroids in baseball.  —  After watching YES' “Hot Stove” feature on Phil Hughes, it appears, according to YES, certain allegations made about Roger Clemens don't really exist.

Cox gives Sox lessons from an old school  —  Coach will hammer on fundamental concepts from his ‘Billy Ball’ roots  —  Before Ozzie Ball, there was Billy Ball.  —  And Jeff Cox, who contributed to Oakland's 1980 resurgence under volatile manager Billy Martin, hopes to help Ozzie Guillen's White Sox master …

Taveras ready to go  —  Tucked away in the corner of the clubhouse, Soulja Boy's “Crank Dat” blaring above the screams, Willy Taveras and Kazuo Matsui celebrated the Rockies' wild-card tiebreaker victory over the San Diego Padres.  —  Matsui grabbed the bottle and showed Taveras how to pop the top.

Early opener for Strat fans  —  The fact that there was no ceremonial first pitch, no star singing the national anthem, no player introductions and fancy red-white-and blue bunting strewn anywhere was all purely incidental.  The men who were there Friday knew the score.

Mets agree to deal with pitcher Sosa  —  Organization continues to avoid going to arbitration hearings  —  NEW YORK — With so much of their attention focused on Johan Santana, the Mets still were able to negotiate a contract with another player on Saturday.

Lefty Perez hopes to catch on with Phils  —  Veteran hurler tried out for club in Dominican on Saturday  —  Pitcher Odalis Perez was found in the stands at the Caribbean Series in Santiago on Saturday and next could be spotted in a Major League uniform.  —  Perez, 30, had a tryout …

Twins are building a contender — for 2010  —  Minnesota has a nice collection of young players who could turn into stars.  But that won't happen for a couple of years.  —  This is the year to expect big things from the Twins.  —  This is the year Justin Morneau, Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer …