Dodgers would make Barnum proud on so Manny levels  —  There's a sucker born every minute, and Frank McCourt is counting on that so he can continue to fill Dodger Stadium.  —  This last week, McCourt played Dodgers fans and the baseball world for fools, ESPN buying into it with a crawl …

Former Yanks help lay dirt in Stadium  —  Crew from '98 teams up with area kids in symbolic ceremony  —  NEW YORK — Paul O'Neill strode down a flight of concourse stairs at the new Yankee Stadium on Saturday, set his feet on the warning track — a rough, dirt expanse …

He'd love Sox to catch him  —  Deal to Boston would thrill Saltalamacchia  —  Jarrod Saltalamacchia can't hide his excitement when he hears rumors of being traded to Boston.  Nothing against Texas, he insists, where he's trying to wade through a catching maze with Gerald Laird and Taylor Teagarden …

D-Backs cut 31 employees from front office  —  The Diamondbacks cut 31 employees from their front office Friday, moves that team President Derrick Hall said were a result of rising expenses and a sluggish economy.  —  “This move was strictly about efficiency,” Hall said.

Brewers tab Randolph as bench coach  —  Former Mets skipper was finalist for managerial opening  —  MILWAUKEE — The Brewers were looking for experience in their bench coach, and they found it in one of their managerial candidates.  —  Former Mets manager Willie Randolph …

Michael Young's Gold Glove may help keep him at shortstop for the Texas Rangers  —  So much for asking Michael Young to switch positions.  —  The Gold Glove American League managers and coaches bestowed upon Young on Thursday will likely entrench him even further at shortstop for the Rangers for the foreseeable future.

The infield shift is on  —  Shortstop position losing power  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  There is no rule that states a stud of a shortstop is the key to winning a World Series.  The Red Sox [team stats] certainly can vouch for that, having won two in the last five years …

Meet the big bat on the market  —  Mark Teixeira has worn No. 23 his entire baseball life because his favorite player as a boy was Don Mattingly, though Teixeira grew up in Oriole-mad, Yankee-hating Severna Park, Md. He once told his high school principal, a man he is still friends with …

YANKEES TOP 10 PROSPECTS 2009 PER BASEBALL AMERICA  —  One of the rare times that the print version of Baseball America provides the news before it's on their site...as per the Nov 17-30, 2008 edition found in my mail box today...here are the Yankees “Top 10″ Prospects for 2009, according to Baseball America:

Do the Cardinals Believe in Ryan Ludwick?  —  As the Ryan Ludwick trade speculation continues to swirl, I thought I'd dial it it back to take a look at one of the central issues:  —  Is Ludwick a one-year wonder?  —  The Cardinals probably believe that to a large extent — or they would not be shopping Ludwick.

That Awful Mets Bullpen May Return Intact  —  Most witnesses of the Mets' bullpen meltdown last season, those who can still see crucial victories squandered night after September night, would probably just as soon not see the names responsible for another missed postseason — Heilman …

Agent: Viciedo Declared Free Agent  —  Dayan Viciedo, the Cuban teenager who left the island in May seeking to become a free agent, has gotten what he wanted.  His agent, Jaime Torres, said Saturday that Major League Baseball has declared Viciedo a free agent, and that major league clubs already are in hot pursuit.