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 …

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.

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 …

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 …