Yanks sign Thames, make Winn official  —  Left fielders expected to be compete with Gardner for time  —  On the day the Yankees finalized a one-year deal with a potential left fielder for the 2010 season, they reportedly reached agreement with a man who could give him even more competition.

Send Mark to spring training  —  When I launched this site one week ago, I honestly had no idea what to expect.  I knew I wanted to provide another outlet for news and analysis of the Washington Nationals.  But with no method of advertising other than word-of-mouth, I didn't know how many people that content would reach.

Selig to get statue at Miller Park  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  The Brewers announced today that they will honor Major League Baseball Commissioner and former team owner Bud Selig with a statue at Miller Park's Home Plate Plaza.  —  Selig's statue will join …

A look at the new sky blue jersey  —  UPDATE, 3:54: And now it appears mlb.com has taken the jerseys down.  —  DEVELOPING: The Rays were planning on waiting to unveil this new sky blue alternate jersey, but, as raysindex.com noted, since they are for sale on mlb.com (for just $219.99 generic …

Schumaker agrees to deal with Cardinals  —  ST. LOUIS (AP) -Second baseman Skip Schumaker and the St. Louis Cardinals have agreed to a $4.7 million, two-year contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing.  —  Schumaker will earn $2 million this season and $2.7 million in 2011.

3UP: Jeter, Beltran and Damon  —  The Super Bowl is out of the way, so there is nothing but clear field between here and pitchers and catchers - unless the slam dunk contest is just too much for you to resist.  —  So I figured I would open this week with three questions on my post-Super Bowl mind:

Inbox: How will shortstop shake out?  —  Beat reporter Bill Ladson answers Nats fans' questions  —  What do you think about Cristian Guzman?  Do you think he is on the way out before Opening Day?  —  I think Guzman has had a nice career with the Nationals.  I believe he made up for the bad year he had in 2005 — big time.

Yankees Announce Spring Training Invites  —  (Yankees PR) Marcus Thames, 32, was originally selected by the Yankees in the 30th round of the 1996 First-Year Player Draft.  He owns a .243 career batting average with 75 doubles, 101 home runs and 261 RBI in 522 Major League games over parts …

Players out of options  —  Tim Dierkes from the terrific site mlbtraderumors.com e-mailed this morning asking for a list of out-of-options Brewers for a project they are working on.  I, in turn, went to the equally-terrific Brewerfan.net because the guys there spent a lot of time this winter coming up with an accurate list.

Why you sign Josh Beckett, today.  —  The ‘comps’ are flying, everyone is writing about Josh and his worth to the team, his potential value this winter, his health, all the things you hear when someone enters a walk year on a contract.  —  Here's why, barring some freakish medical issue …

Ex-ESPN analyst rues ‘damage’ of sex addiction  —  Steve Phillips had affair with 22-year-old, lost job: 'I broke my wife's heart'  —  It's a familiar story: Celebrity male is caught cheating on his wife, declares himself a sex addict, goes through a treatment program, and comes out looking for forgiveness.

Royals sign reliever Marte, infielder Bianchi  —  The Royals reached one-year contract agreements Monday with reliever Victor Marte and minor-league infielder Jeff Bianchi.  —  Terms were not disclosed, but both deals are believed to split contracts with the major-league portion at or near the $400,000 minimum.