Cards, Holliday closing in on deal  —  The wait might have been worth it for the Cardinals, as the club and free-agent outfielder Matt Holliday are working toward an agreement that multiple sources described as gaining momentum and potentially is the largest ever offered by the franchise.

Former teammate Sean Casey says New York Mets made right move signing Jason Bay  —  After the Mets suffered through a lackluster, injury-ravaged season that left them a baseball punchline, their first big move of the winter - nabbing free-agent slugger Jason Bay - is a huge step toward jolting …

Pitching notes from Mark Newman  —  Let's start the pitching notes with the very last player Mark Newman and I talked about last week.  He's not in the organization, but you know the name well.  —  • Aroldis Chapman is arguably the most intriguing free agent pitcher still on the market.

Rockies could cut ties with catcher Torrealba  —  With the Rockies and catcher Yorvit Torrealba struggling to bridge the gap on the allocation of a $6 million contract, the club is moving toward signing Miguel Olivo, according to a major-league source.  —  The Rockies and Torrealba …

Farewell, and thanks  —  This is the blog post I hoped never to have to write.  —  Alas, what has been speculated for the last month is now official: The Washington Times is eliminating its sports section, and I (along with about two dozen other colleagues from this department) …

Lowell's surgery a success  —  According to a source, Mike Lowell was found to have a 95-percent tear in the radial collateral ligament in his thumb when Dr. Donald Sheridan operated on him today.  —  The surgery went well, Lowell will return to his home in Florida tomorrow and will need 6-8 weeks of recovery.

Five worst deals of MLB offseason  —  When it comes to the Hot Stove, do we tend to talk about the sensible value additions, or do we prefer to delight in the Ed Whitsons, the Mark Davises, the Wayne Garlands, and the Mike Hamptons?  You know, they're the ones who grandly flame out before our eyes …

Cashman's made Yankees younger, better  —  Yet another testament to Brian Cashman, courtesy of NoMaas:  —  NoMaas was founded in May 2005 to protest the tremendous dysfunction that existed in the Yankees' organization.  When Brian Cashman's contract expired at the end of the 2005 season …

Talented group on Baseball Hall of Fame ballot  —  WHEN the 2010 BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot arrived at the beginning of the month, I found myself poring over nothing less than an official '90s MLB All-Star Team.  OK, it's short on pitching, catching and outfielding.