* As for Jones, Colletti said teams have called to inquire if he's available, amazingly Colletti not offering to immediately drive the guy over. Colletti said Jones was scheduled to arrive in the Dominican Republic to play winter ball Tuesday, and didn't argue when someone suggested it might be an "audition."
* The bum curled up in a ball just off Tropicana Boulevard early Tuesday did not appear to be Oscar De La Hoya.
* It wasn't 10 a.m. yet, and Red Sox Manager Terry Francona was already playing blackjack. Frank Sinatra could be heard singing in the casino, but it wasn't "New York, New York." That would have been perfect.
* Torre said he bumped into an astronaut, who had been on the space station, telling Torre he'd be able to see the sky lab in the heavens at 5:21 p.m. Sounded like as good an excuse as any to leave the meetings and media behind to return to the Wynn.
Manager Mike Scioscia said Francisco Rodriguez "is as good a closer as there is in the game," but the Angels made virtually no attempt this winter to retain the right-hander, who on Tuesday agreed to a three-year, $37-million deal with the New York Mets.
Rodriguez, 26, burst onto the scene in September 2002, a precocious 20-year-old whose electric arm helped key the Angels' World Series run. Six years, 208 saves and numerous contract offers later, Rodriguez is gone, leaving a record-setting 62-save season in his wake.
"Our priorities change from month to month, year to year, and there are some important things that I know Tony [Reagins, general manager] needs the flexibility to pursue," Scioscia said, alluding to the Angels' attempts to retain first baseman Mark Teixeira. "As much as we'd love to have him, it's something that's not going to happen. He's going to do a great job for the Mets."
Owner Arte Moreno said the Angels made as many as six contract offers to Rodriguez over the years, the last one for three years and $34 million in November 2007.
Rodriguez, believing his value was more in line with the three-year, $45-million deal Yankees closer Mariano Rivera signed that month, rejected the offer.
Rodriguez was hoping to parlay his record-setting season into a five-year, $75-million deal, but with a glut of closers available and only one big-market team in the hunt for one, Rodriguez's market was severely depressed this winter.
His deal reportedly includes a fourth-year option that can vest based on performance, but the guaranteed amount was only $3 million more than what the Angels offered a year ago.
"Frankie did a lot of important things for this organization; I wish him and his family well," Reagins said. "He had a historic season. He did something no other reliever has done. He's a competitor, and you have to appreciate what he's done on the Baseball field."
