Cashman: No new pacts for big three  —  When Brian Cashman looks at Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Joe Girardi, the Yankees' GM paints his shortstop, closer and manager with the same brush.  —  And with spring training opening next week in Tampa, Cashman has no plans to stray from his plan of not negotiating with them.

Mets' Pelfrey drops weight, not expectations  —  One week until Fat Tuesday, but Mike Pelfrey won't be participating.  —  The Mets pitcher is prepared to arrive in camp next week some 25 pounds lighter than last season and believes that will propel him to new heights after a disappointing 2009.

Mets' Citi Field to become more homer-friendly next season; center-field wall gets chopped to 8 feet  —  Broadcaster Gary Cohen may be able to proclaim, “It's outta here!” a little more often in 2010.  And David Wright may not be as inclined to frustratingly fling his Great Gazoo helmet …

Fitness might help Romero ace test  —  With lactic acid searing his legs, a heart rate-monitor recording his progress, and no end in sight to the interval workout, Blue Jays pitcher Ricky Romero gripped the handles of the exercise bike and kept pumping the pedals.

Twins Sign Jacque Jones  —  The Twins signed Jacque Jones to a minor league deal with an invitation to Spring Training, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick.  Jones, 35 in April, sat out last season after hitting poorly in 2008.  He hit one homer and posted a .147/.239/.207 line for the Tigers and Marlins that year.

Yanks sign Thames, make Winn official  —  Left fielders expected to compete with Gardner for time  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees announced Monday that they have signed right-handed-hitting outfielder Marcus Thames to a Minor League contract, inviting him and 19 other non-roster players …

Kielty hopes to try his hand at pitching  —  Veteran wants to return to Majors as reliever, pinch-hitter  —  In the course of baseball history, numerous strong-armed position players have reinvented themselves as pitchers.  —  Outfielder Bobby Kielty — a veteran of seven Major League seasons …

The five best rotations in baseball  —  From the mailbag: … A: Matt: Hmmmmm ... I'll give it a shot.  And keep in mind we're talking about pitchers No. 1 through No. 5, not just the top one or two, in which case my vote probably would go to the Mariners (with Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee) …

MLB, Granderson join anti-obesity effort  —  Yanks outfielder appears with first lady in support of campaign  —  As much as his million-dollar smile and his impressive combination of speed and power, new Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson is known for his active involvement in the community.

Webb back where he belongs — on a mound  —  Ace throws from bump for first time since August  —  PHOENIX — D-backs ace Brandon Webb threw off a mound on Tuesday for the first time since having surgery on his right shoulder in August.  —  “[It] went good,” Webb told MLB.com.

It's time to trade Greinke, Soria  —  In the midst of a 1-15 season in 1989, Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson came to the conclusion the only way Dallas would be competitive long-term is to make a blockbuster trade.  —  They did  —  They traded Herschel Walker for eight draft picks, six of which would be eventually used.

Fastball Losses  —  Previously, I looked at the pitchers with the biggest increases in fastball speed this past season.  The list of the top 20 was dominated by relief pitchers, which is not a huge surprise given how volatile relief pitchers tend to be and since they tend to throw harder …