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.

Baseball coach's wife arrested  —  Kim Mattingly, the wife of Los Angeles Dodgers's assistant coach Don Mattingly, was arrested over the weekend and charged with public intoxication and disorderly conduct after she allegedly refused to leave her husband's property.

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.

Potentially, he's special  —  If healthy, Quentin could be impact player for Sox  —  Carlos Quentin played his entire junior season at Stanford with a torn ligament in his throwing arm.  —  He also earned his bachelor's degree from the academically challenging university in 31/2 years.

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.

Three Offseason Questions for Yankees  —  Even by their own high standards, the Yankees have had an absurd winter.  Alex Rodriguez quits the Yankees during the World Series.  Hank Steinbrenner bloviates about pride and tradition.  Steinbrenner gives Joe Torre an even more graceless send-off …

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.

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 …

Citi Field Update 2/3/08  —  A new batch of Citi Field pictures, taken yesterday, can be found on the Refugees forum and Webshots.  Here is the latest on the construction:  —  Work continues on the Jackie Robinson Rotunda, where the arched brick facade is currently be installed inside and outside.