Unit wants to savor time with Giants  —  Johnson realizes 2009 could be swan song to his Hall of Fame career  —  SAN FRANCISCO — If 2009 is Randy Johnson's final Major League campaign, he intends to cherish it.  —  The “Big Unit,” known through most of his 21-year career as a glowering …

Reds sign Willie Taveras  —  The Cincinnati Reds filled their leadoff hole by signing free agent outfielder Willy Taveras to a two-year deal.  —  Taveras, who turned 27 on Christmas Day, hit only .251 with a .308 on base average with the Colorado Rockies, but stole 68 bases in 75 tries.

Yankees may go with Phil Hughes if Andy Pettitte balks  —  Before the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira, they told Andy Pettitte's camp that the pitcher's chances of rejoining the Bombers would be in jeopardy if they signed another big free agent.  Now that the Yanks have landed their new first baseman …

A's target Abreu, Angels' Anderson  —  (12-26) 21:01 PST — Jason Giambi is the A's next free-agent target, but there are others on Oakland's list, too.  —  The Chronicle has learned that the team has had preliminary conversations about free-agent outfielders Bobby Abreu and Garret Anderson …

Andruw Jones seeks contact in the D.R.  —  Buzz up!  —  SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic - Andruw Jones' search for solid contact has landed him in the heartland of a baseball-crazed country that isn't his own, accumulating at-bats in the dead of winter.  —  The skills that made Jones a five …

Orioles: Catching up  —  Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail is in Florida for a few days of R&R, so there probably won't be much going on until after New Years Day, but I'm pretty sure he'll still be trading phone calls with the representatives of some of the remaining free agents.

The End Zone: Joba at the crossroad  —  It takes Joba Chamberlain a few moments to realize that the boys are in awe of him.  It is mid-December and the Yankee righthander is sitting behind a long table in the back of Last Licks, an ice cream and memorabilia store on the upper East Side.

McKay makes Canada proud  —  Hard work pays off for Cards' first-base coach, a Vancouver native  —  He might be baseball's most unlikely “lifer.”  —  Raised in a hockey-mad country without playing organized baseball until he was 11, Dave McKay's road to the big leagues was anything but typical.

New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2009  —  He was NOT the next Bobby Bonds. . .  New York Yankees Top 20 Prospects for 2009.  —  All grades are EXTREMELY PRELIMINARY and subject to change.  Don't get too worried about exact rankings at this point, especially once you get out of the top 10.

No offer (yet?) for Ben Sheets  —  Rangers general manager Jon Daniels was on The Ticket with Norm Hitzges on Friday and said that the club has not made an offer to Ben Sheets.  He didn't indicate when or if the Rangers would do so, but said he's in communication with Sheets' agent.