Giants sign LHP Jeremy Affeldt  —  The Giants made a potentially significant upgrade to their depleted and ineffective bullpen, signing left-hander Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year contract Monday.  —  Terms haven't become public yet, but Affeldt made $3 million with the Cincinnati Reds.

Pujols is MVP; Braun 3rd, Sabathia 6th  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  St. Louis first baseman Albert Pujols claimed his second NL MVP award today, collecting 18 of 32 first-place votes in balloting by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Towers: No recent talks with Yanks  —  Padres' GM dispels rumor of Peavy negotiations with Cashman  —  SAN DIEGO — Don't count the New York Yankees as a player in the Jake Peavy sweepstakes — not just yet, anyway.  —  Padres general manager Kevin Towers said on Monday …

Yankees to play first-ever exhibition games at New Yankee Stadium on April 3 and 4 against the Chicago Cubs  —  The New York Yankees announced today they will play the first-ever exhibition games at the new Yankee Stadium against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, April 3 at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday, April 4 at 1:05 p.m.

Braves interest pleases Furcal  —  With their pursuit of Jake Peavy put on hold, the Braves don't know if they'll have a need to find a shortstop.  But if they eventually opt to deal shortstop Yunel Escobar, who was at the forefront of the Peavy negotiations, they'll likely attempt to lure Rafael Furcal back to Atlanta.

Chicago White Sox  —  Baseball America's Top 10 Prospects lists are based on projections of a player's long-term worth after discussions with scouting and player-development personnel.  All players who haven't exceeded the major league rookie standards of 130 at-bats or 50 innings pitched (without regard to service time) are eligible.

Joe McDonald: Monumental season puts Red Sox' Pedroia in leadoff spot for A.L. MVP … At 3 p.m. today the American League Most Valuable Player Award will be announced.  —  To save everyone the trouble of waiting, let's just say who it's going to be right now.  —  Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia will be named MVP.

Citi Field Name Safe, According to Mets  —  Just over two years ago, the New York Mets announced that they had reached an agreement with Citigroup for the naming rights to their new ballpark slated to open in 2009 for a record $400 million over 20 years, or $20 million annually.

Is K-Rod getting closer to becoming a Met?  —  1050 ESPN's Met Insider Rich Coutinho thinks so  —  Reports surfaced early on Sunday that Francisco Rodriquez has inched closer to becoming a New York Met.  Sources indicate that K-Rod and his representatives will come to New York early this week to take some physical exams.

Mussina's Decision: Leave on High Note, or Go for 300 Wins?  —  On the last day of the regular season, when he celebrated the victory that had always eluded him, Mike Mussina smiled as he sipped a soda in the manager's office at Fenway Park.  He considered the idea of finishing his career …

MLB.com drops Silverlight for Adobe Flash  —  Microsoft is losing MLB.com, Major League Baseball's online unit and one of the Web's most successful subscription services, as a Silverlight customer.  —  MLB Advanced Media said Monday it will use Adobe's Flash Platform to deliver all live and on-demand video starting next year.