Bedard trade talks still in limbo  —  O's hoping to finalize deal to send pitcher to Mariners  —  Orioles officials remained mum on the status of the proposed deal that would send ace pitcher Erik Bedard to the Seattle Mariners for five players, including young center fielder Adam Jones.

Late Bloomer or Dirty Cheater?  —  What does Roger Clemens's on-field performance have to say in the case of McNamee v. the Rocket?  —  What does Roger Clemens's on-field performance have to say in the case of McNamee v. the Rocket?  The trainer alleges he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in 1998, 2000, 2001.

Yes, you can have too much pitching  —  Many contenders for few vacancies on Cubs, Brewers staffs  —  Pitching depth is unlikely to decide a race between the Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers.  Both of the NL Central front-runners will head to spring training with more arms than they will need.

Marlins caravan arrives tuesday  —  The Marlins' promotional pre-season caravan will make two stops in Palm Beach County on Tuesday.  —  At 4 p.m., players and staff will sign autographs at JJ Muggs Stadium Grille, across the street from Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter.

Minors: New Baseball America's Top 10  —  In a chat at Baseball America, Jim Callis re-ranked the Mets Top 10 Prospects List to look as follows: (1) OF Fernando Martinez, (2) RHP Eddie Kunz, (3) RHP Brant Rustich, (4) LHP Jon Neise, (5) LHP Nathan Vineyard, (6) RHP Robert Parnell, (7) …

MLB INSIDER: Free-falling times for free-agent list  —  An attorney actually concerned about conflict of interest!  —  Mets threat  —  With Johan Santana aboard, are the Mets the National League's best team?  Perhaps.  But you could make a strong case for Arizona.

Padres get Greene for two years, offered longer  —  The Padres will never have to sit across an arbitration table from Khalil Greene.  —  The shortstop gave up the rights to two possible years of arbitration yesterday by agreeing to a two-year, $11 million guaranteed contract with the Padres.

MLB whispers: Around the league  —  Roger Clemens is doing the right things these days in his defense from the steroid charges contained in the Mitchell report.  His presence at a pitching mini-camp for Houston prospects last week was a class act.  That Feb. 13 congressional hearing in Washington is headed toward carnival proportions.

Cleveland Indians may need to up offer to C.C. Sabathia  —  No matter how it's put, the Indians' offer to C.C. Sabathia is probably going to need some rewriting to keep him in Cleveland.  —  Last week it was reported that the Indians made a four-year offer to Sabathia at the end of December.

Hot Stove: Free-agent misses illustrate rigid approach to valuation  —  The Pirates' new management is setting a price and sticking to it.  —  Team president Frank Coonelly, the man overseeing baseball operations, and general manager Neal Huntington, the man conducting them …

Licey Remains Undefeated  —  SANTIAGO, D.R.-It took 11 innings, but Licey finally eked out a 2-1 win against Mexico to remain undefeated in the Caribbean Series and set up an even more meaningful matchup when they square off against Aguilas Monday night.  —  After lefthander Adrian Ramirez …

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 …