Cashman denies Damon deadline  —  Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has refuted the idea the Yankees are waiting for Johnny Damon to make a decision before moving on to other outfield options.  —  “That's not true,” Cashman said.  “I have a certain amount of money, and when I decide to spend it, I'm going to spend it.”

Orioles to bring back Tejada  —  Source: Club reaches agreement on 1-year deal with free agent  —  The Orioles have reached an agreement with free agent Miguel Tejada on a one-year deal, according to a team source, reuniting with the six-time All-Star who played in Baltimore from 2004-2007.

Protection has become part of the package  —  Jason Bay, in his short time here, seemed to be a nice guy.  His demeanor and his performance reminded me of Nick Esasky, who in one year (1989) with the Red Sox hit 30 homers, drove in 108 runs, and batted .277 while playing a decent first base.

Matt Stairs agrees to minor league deal with San Diego Padres  —  Free agent Matt Stairs reached agreement on a one-year contract with the San Diego Padres, his agent told ESPN.com Saturday.  —  Stairs  —  Stairs is joining the Padres on a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp.

Man Killed, Students Hurt, Speedometer Frozen at 80 mph  —  One man killed, 3 teens injured  —  A former local high school baseball star, who was drafted last year, was speeding and making an illegal maneuver when he slammed head-on into another car, CHP officials said.

Carlos Beltran, Jeff Francoeur honored at BBWAA awards gala  —  NEW YORK — Carlos Beltran and Jeff Francoeur were the two Mets players honored at Saturday's 87th annual Baseball Writers Association of America awards gala at the New York Hilton.  The event was dominated by the Yankees …

Rumor of Brewers' relocation ‘ridiculous’  —  Team official denies reports by Orlando television station  —  MILWAUKEE — A report from an Orlando, Fla., television station that the Brewers could someday move to central Florida is “ridiculous,” the team's chief spokesperson said Saturday.

Note from principal  —  John Henry endorses Sox' strategy  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  The Red Sox [team stats] just completed a $120 million-plus spending spree on the free agent market this winter.  —  Nice to know the principal owner, John Henry, approves of all the check-writing.

The Sixth Stage  —  I thought I had gone through all the stages of Royals grief.  Denial?  Well, of course.  I LOVE denial.  That has been my default stage as a sports fan most of my life.  Hey, maybe Denny Bautista WILL become a star.  Hey, maybe this is the year for Dee Brown.

One-year deal makes sense for Pence  —  The Astros signed Hunter Pence to a one-year, $3.5 million contract Saturday in his first year of arbitration eligibility.  There appears to be some kind of groundswell of support by the fans for locking Pence up to a multi-year deal, but that doesn't make sense for the Astros.