Yanks Still Living Ugly American Dream  —  Sports Commentary  —  NEW YORK — God bless the Yankees.  While the rest of us fret over non-existent 401ks and keep one eye open for the nearest soup kitchen, the Yankees have brilliantly devised a nifty stimulus recovery package.

Back where he started: Giambi, A's finalize deal  —  OAKLAND, Calif. — Jason Giambi is returning to his professional baseball roots with the Oakland Athletics.  —  Giambi and the A's finalized a one-year contract with an option Wednesday, bringing the free-agent designated hitter …

Marquis gone; Peavy in focus?  —  The Cubs finished off the Jason Marquis-for-Luis Vizcaino trade with the Colorado Rockies as expected Tuesday.  —  But will it look more like a Marquis-for-Jake Peavy deal by the time they open spring training next month?  —  General manager Jim Hendry …

Washington Nationals  —  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 …

St. Louis Cardinals' cash flow not as fluid as many thought  —  Not that the Cardinals have spent that much this offseason, but they might have less to spend than many have surmised.  —  After a couple of minutes of calculations at his Busch Stadium desk Tuesday, Cardinals vice president …

More on Mitre; Dissecting Romero's claims  —  I managed to get hold of Matt Sosnick from Sosnick-Cobbe Sports, the firm that represents Sergio Mitre.  Sosnick is not Mitre's representative; Paul Cobbe is.  Matt was kind enough to take a few moments to help clarify some things about Mitre's story.

Dodgers offer one-year deal to all-time save leader Trevor Hoffman  —  The Milwaukee Brewers also are in pursuit of the closer, who is expected to make his decision this week.  Meanwhile, the Giants are considering offering Manny Ramirez a three-year deal.  —  The ninth inning at Dodger Stadium could be Trevor Time this year.

Corky Simpson: The writer who didn't vote for Rickey Henderson  —  So I was putting together some research on which BBWAA members had published their ballots for the 2009 Baseball Hall of Fame, trying to get a feel (albeit from a small sample size) of what the 2009 voting might look like.

Citi Field: Where Homeruns Go To Die  —  Citi Field opens for real in three months, but I feel like we still know very little about it aside from its aesthetics.  Dimensionally, we know it'll sport a similar configuration to Shea Stadium, with some variably higher walls and the odd geometric nuance to break from straight symmetry.

Reds agree to terms with Hairston  —  Infielder/outfielder expected to be everyday shortstop in 2009  —  CINCINNATI — The Reds have reached an agreement with free-agent infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. on a one-year deal worth a guaranteed $2 million, a baseball source told MLB.com on Tuesday.

Mets to meet with Boras about Lowe, Perez  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Still looking to fill out the rotation, the New York Mets are ready to make their push for a proven starting pitcher.  —  Mets executives set up a face-to-face meeting Wednesday with agent Scott Boras to talk about two of his free-agent clients …

Orioles open door to Asia  —  Pitcher Uehara to become team's first Japan native  —  The Orioles have filled one vacant spot in their wide-open rotation while simultaneously opening the door to the Far East.  —  Japanese right-hander Koji Uehara has agreed to a two-year, $10 million …

Future Shock  —  Cardinals Top 11 Prospects  —  Five-Star Prospects  —  Four-Star Prospects  —  Three-Star Prospects  —  Two-Star Prospects  —  Just Missed: Mitch Boggs, RHP; Jon Jay, OF; Peter Kozma, SS  —  Ranking Challenges: Spots one through four are almost too easy, but it's a bit messy from there down.

Marlins strike deal with Logan Kensing  —  With the arbitration filing period in full throttle, signings will soon follow.  The Marlins have struck a deal with pitcher Logan Kensing.  —  Kensing emerged as important reliever for the Marlins last season, and will likely have an expanded role …

Pitcher Patterson retiring from baseball  —  Former Nationals righty unable to overcome pain in right forearm  —  WASHINGTON — Right-hander John Patterson, best known for his years with the Nationals, announced on Wednesday that he is retiring from baseball because of persistent pain in his right forearm.

Mariners pick up low-cost reliever  —  Walker signs one-year deal worth $750,000  —  The Mariners signed free-agent reliever Tyler Walker to a one-year contract Tuesday after a month of inactivity.  —  Walker, 32, a former closer for the San Francisco Giants who has pitched setup relief …

Pirates still on Baldelli's trail  —  The Pirates remain active in a narrowing field of teams pursuing free-agent outfielder Rocco Baldelli.  —  There had been five or six suitors for Baldelli as of late last month, but two appear to have been removed this week: The Tampa Bay Rays signed …

City Trades Yankee Stadium Suite for Cash  —  After intense criticism, the Bloomberg administration has given up a perk it worked fervently to secure: a free luxury suite at the new Yankee Stadium.  —  The city will relinquish use of the 12-seat box in exchange for whatever revenue …

What I Hate About Line Drives  —  This is my first post at FanGraphs, and I would like to thank David Appelman for inviting me onboard.  I have previously written for Seamheads.com and StatSpeak.net, and frequent “The Book” blog.  If you'd like to know some more about my background, check out this article I wrote a few months ago.