Yankees' roster suits Girardi just fine  —  Skipper thinks loss of Damon will be countered by additions  —  NEW YORK — The roster that Joe Girardi is considering right now should be, in all likelihood, the group that he takes to Spring Training in two weeks to begin the Yankees' defense of the World Series title.

Los Angeles Dodgers are eyeing four players for fourth outfield spot  —  With almost every item on their offseason to-do list having been crossed off, the Dodgers appear to have little else on their agenda except finding a fourth outfielder to replace Juan Pierre, whom they traded to the Chicago White Sox last month.

‘Contract year’ theory provides food for thought  —  Those who eyeballed David Ortiz a couple of weeks back when he came to Boston to have a cortisone shot in his sore left shoulder were impressed with the way he looked.  —  “He's easily 15 pounds lighter and he's been hitting the weights pretty hard,” said one Ortiz friend.

Active leader in minor-league home runs, Mike Hessman, signs with New York Mets farm system  —  The active leader in minor-league home runs has heard all the Crash Davis comparisons.  He's been asked repeatedly if it's a sore point that he's knocked 311 balls over fences from Macon to Myrtle Beach …

Ash's ideas a solid start to fixing flaws  —  At various baseball meetings this off-season, one of the priority issues has been how to fix the hit-and-miss, always-overpriced, less-than-satisfying major-league baseball draft as the problems involved in scouting and signing the next generation get worse.

Races look great on paper  —  Statistics project a fascinating year in AL East, NL West  —  This is Part 1 of a two-part look previewing the season ahead of Spring Training.  —  In New York, Yankees fans called talk shows and claimed they were canceling season-ticket plans in protest …

Reds agree to contract with Cabrera  —  Shortstop receives one-year deal with option for 2011  —  CINCINNATI — A Major League source told MLB.com late Saturday that the Reds agreed to terms with free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera on a one-year, $3 million contract.

Harper shows flair in CSN debut  —  Top prospect, 17, displays versatility for big crowd, scouts  —  Washington Nationals scout Jeff Zona was happy to talk baseball during top-ranked College of Southern Nevada's season opener against Arizona Western on Friday — so long as the discussion wasn't about Bryce Harper.

Rockies one of the finalists for Mora  —  With Orlando Cabrera likely to accept the Reds' offer of a starting shortstop job, the Rockies have become a finalist for Melvin Mora's services today.  His agent confirmed this afternoon that the field has narrowed for Mora, and that the Rockies are strongly in the mix.

Lemieux, Penguins co-owner offer to buy Pirates  —  Pirates downplay recent meeting; Nutting repeats: ‘Team not for sale’  —  Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, co-owners of the Penguins, recently made an unsolicited offer to buy the Pirates in a face-to-face meeting with that team's owner …

Lincoln in the 5th spot?  Alonso at catcher  —  These come from the sometimes-managers-say-the-darnedest- things file.  Dusty Baker was asked about the fifth spot in the rotation Saturday at the Select-A-Seat event at Great American Ball Park.  —  In his response he mentioned that Mike Lincoln would be among the candidates.

Jane Jarvis, Player of Jazz and Mets Music, Dies at 94  —  Jane Jarvis, who brought a jazz sensibility to unlikely places as an organist for the New York Mets and a programmer for Muzak, died on Monday at the Lillian Booth Actors' Home in Englewood, N.J. She was 94.  —  Her death was confirmed by her son, Brian.