Madoff Had Wide Role in Mets' Finances  —  When Fred Wilpon's son Jeff was married at Fresh Meadow Country Club on Long Island, Bernard L. Madoff and his wife were there.  When Mr. Madoff's son Mark was married at the same country club, Mr. Wilpon, the principal owner of the Mets, was a guest as well.

Joe Maddon on The Big Show: Why Manny Ramirez will fit with the Rays, and why Boston will ‘dig’ Carl Crawford  —  Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon were introduced by the Rays on Tuesday.  (AP)  —  Rays manager Joe Maddon was a guest of The Big Show on Tuesday, the same day a press conference …

Kotsay deal close  —  The Brewers were working Tuesday to finalize a contract for veteran outfielder Mark Kotsay, who would bring another left-handed bat to a righty-heavy Milwaukee roster.  —  The pending deal was reported by FoxSports.com, which said Kotsay would get a one-year, Major League contract.

Healthy once again, Dave Roberts ready to coach  —  For Dave Roberts, being back on the baseball field is a blessing.  It's where he knows he belongs.  —  Roberts is already hard at work in his new gig as San Diego Padres first-base coach less than a year after learning he had Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 37.

Inbox: Is Moreland ready for breakthrough year?  —  It would seem to me that the media doesn't think Mitch Moreland is a solid first baseman, yet as an avid Rangers fan and longtime Little League coach, everything I see and hear about the guy shows that he's a solid, good hitter and an excellent athlete.

Indians in talks with righty Bonderman  —  CLEVELAND — The Indians may be on the verge of landing a starter to help augment their young rotation.  Cleveland is currently working to sign free-agent pitcher Jeremy Bonderman, according to a Major League source.

Storm causes Wrigley Field damage  —  CHICAGO — Wrigley Field has been damaged by a severe storm that caused tiles to fall from the top of the press box at the 97-year-old ballpark.  —  Emergency Management spokesman Roderick Drew says high winds from the snowstorm battering Chicago on Tuesday night sent the tiles flying.

Cashman a steadying force amidst Yanks storm  —  There is always a sense of a reality show when one is running the Yankees, Mets or Red Sox.  Go back to November 2005.  Theo Epstein walked out of Fenway Park in a gorilla suit, and Brian Cashman received a call from a writer claiming that …

Inbox: What will top of batting order look like?  —  Orioles beat reporter Brittany Ghiroli answers fans' questions  —  What do you see the first four spots in the Orioles' batting order looking like?  —  When asked about his batting order during Saturday's FanFest, Orioles manager Buck Showalter …

Orioles unlikely to make a move with Simon until Feb. 26  —  The Orioles aren't commenting on the Alfredo Simon situation.  They haven't at all since the Orioles' 29-year-old reliever was named as the primary suspect in the New Year's Day shooting death of his cousin and jailed in the Dominican Republic.

New NPB Imports for 2011  —  Last November, I asked you who should play in Japan this upcoming season.  With NPB camps opening and offseason acquisitions basically complete. let's take a look at who went over.  Here's the breakdown, using the categories I outlined in my original post: