Rangers visit Lee, but Yankees are favorites  —  Tweet  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — The Rangers sent their top executives to meet Cliff Lee on Monday in an attempt to retain the free-agent lefty, but the strong feeling among executives canvassed is that Lee will end up a Yankee.

Numbers tell surprising free-agent story  —  Sure, Lee, Rivera and Soriano are recongizable, but don't forget these other arms … You don't need Rumblings and Grumblings to tell you that Cliff Lee, Mariano Rivera and Rafael Soriano are the three most ballyhooed free-agent arms that money can buy this winter.

Sox OK with Saltalamacchia as No. 1  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — In the end, one major league general manager speculated Tuesday, whether Victor Martinez returns to the Boston Red Sox will probably depend on whether the team is willing to give the free-agent catcher a four-year deal, and he doubts the Sox are.

Twins' Gardenhire voted AL's top manager  —  Twins manager Ron Gardenhire has been a perennial contender for the American League Manager of the Year honor since he took the helm of the club in 2002.  And now, he's finally the winner of that prestigious award.

Counting Down to Managers  —  The BBWAA countdown clock is set to announce both Managers of the Year at 2 PM EST. Bud Black and Ron Gardenhire rated highest for me.  Black took a team with little hope of winning and almost pulled off a division victory.  I rated Black, Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker 1-2-3.

Ron Gardenhire, Bud Black honored  —  NEW YORK — San Diego's Bud Black has barely beaten out Cincinnati's Dusty Baker as the NL Manager of the Year, while Minnesota's Ron Gardenhire has won the AL award.  —  Black topped Baker by one point in results released Wednesday by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.