Yes, there are meetings at the meetings  —  Baseball's winter meetings get started tomorrow in Indianapolis.  Most fans, based on the media coverage, probably assume it's a bunch of general managers and agents getting together in hotel suites to talk about trades and free agents.

Nationals' Willingham on Mets' radar  —  According to source, New York interested in acquiring slugger  —  Add the Mets as one of the teams who have interest in Nationals left fielder Josh Willingham, according to a baseball source.  The Giants, Mariners and Braves are the other teams …

Cust could be odd-man out in A's DH search  —  Oakland's deal for jack-of-all-trades hitter Jake Fox in advance of the winter meetings probably wasn't good news for another Jack — slugging designated hitter Jack Cust.  —  If the A's do nothing else in Indianapolis this week …

Cubs treading water on Bradley … The Cubs are still “not close” to dealing talented yet troubled outfielder Milton Bradley to the Rays or Rangers, the two teams thought to be most interested, sources say.  —  The Cubs, according to a league official, are so far offering to include …

Betancourt Set To Accept Arbitration  —  Tracy Ringolsby of FoxSports.com reports that free agent reliever Rafael Betancourt is “ready to accept the [Rockies'] offer of arbitration.”  Betancourt is a Type-A free agent, so a team would have had to forfeit a high draft pick to sign him.

Mariners Discussing Extension For Felix  —  Ken Rosenthal reports that the Mariners have begun discussing a long-term deal with Cy Young runner-up Felix Hernandez.  Both sides are still far apart, according to one of Rosenthal's sources.  —  Hernandez, still just 23, is under team control …

Piniella may stay beyond 2010  —  After all the drama and speculation last summer about whether Cubs manager Lou Piniella would return for the final year of his contract, it now sounds as though he might be willing to consider staying beyond 2010.  —  For the first time publicly …

Haynesworth: “They're gonna remember the Redskins”  —  With the clock running down and the Redskins driving to go ahead of the undefeated Saints by two possessions, some of the burgundy and gold types stood and cheered on the muddy sidelines.  Albert Haynesworth didn't join them.

Cuban Arguelles agrees to deal with Royals  —  The small-market Kansas City Royals are betting big on a free agent they've seen pitch only a handful of times.  —  Noel Arguelles, a 19-year-old left-hander who last year defected from Cuba, agreed to a five-year, $7 million major league deal …

Guillen's words of wisdom  —  Ozzie Guillen traveled from the Florida warmth to the cold of Chicago this past weekend for an important reason other than baseball or to take in a Chicago Blackhawks contest, as he did on Friday night.  Guillen joined Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago …

Soriano mulling Braves' arbitration offer  —  Reliever reportedly looks at options prior to Monday deadline  —  ATLANTA — When the Braves signed Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito earlier this week, they did so without much concern about the possibility that Mike Gonzalez and Rafael Soriano would accept their arbitration offers.