The White Sox say they have unretired Aparicio's No. 11 for the 2010 season, with his blessing. Aparicio said Vizquel is the one player he'd like to see don his number.

The 42-year-old Vizquel signed with the White Sox this offseason. He is a three-time AL All-Star and is considered one of best fielding shortstops of all time.

Aparicio was named American League Rookie of the Year as a member of the White Sox in 1956 and the 10-time All-Star played 10 seasons with Chicago. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1984, the same year the team retired his uniform number.

Thames, who turns 33 next month, began his major league career with the Yankees in 2002 and homered on his first big league pitch that June 10 off Arizona's Randy Johnson. Thames was traded to Texas in June 2003 for Ruben Sierra, then let go by the Rangers after the season.

He spent the last six seasons with Detroit and hit .252 with 13 homers and 36 RBIs last year, down from 25 homers and 56 RBIs the previous season. He would get a $900,000, one-year contract if added to the 40-man roster and have the chance to earn an additional $900,0000 in performance bonuses.

The right-handed-hitting Thames could find himself alongside center fielder Curtis Granderson, his former Tigers teammate, and complement the switch-hitting Winn, who hit .292 from the left side last year and .158 from the right. Thames batted .257 against lefties and .248 vs. righties.

Speedy Brett Gardner also is in the mix for outfield playing time.

Winn's $900,000 in performance bonuses are based on plate appearances against left-handed pitchers only. He would get $100,000 each for 50, 75 and 100, and $150,000 apiece for 125, 150, 175 and 200.

Winn's deal, reached Jan. 27 subject to a physical, pretty much eliminated any chance Johnny Damon had of returning to the World Series champions.

Winn hit .262 overall with two homers and 51 RBIs for San Francisco last season. The 35-year-old was an All-Star in 2002, when he batted .298 with 14 homers and 75 RBIs for Tampa Bay.

The non-roster invitees supplement the group of players who are on the 40-man roster. Most of these players will not break camp with the major league club; they are a combination of minor-league veterans and prospects that the club feels could use the opportunity to train with the major leaguers.

The non-roster invitees are pitchers Randor Bierd, Fernando Cabrera, Kris Johnson, Casey Kelly, Adam Mills, Edwin Moreno, Joe Nelson, Brian Shouse, Jorge Sosa and Kyle Weiland; catchers Luis Exposito and Gustavo Molina; infielders Lars Anderson, Yamaico Navarro, Angel Sanchez and Gil Velazquez; and outfielders Zach Daeges, Ryan Kalish, Che-Hsuan Lin and Darnell McDonald.

Kelly is normally ranked as one of the two best players in the Sox minor league system; Anderson held that rank before a dismal 2009 saw him unseated. Kalish, Lin, Navarro, Weiland, and Exposito are also prospects on the rise. Bierd, Cabrera, McDonald, Molina, Moreno, Nelson, Sanchez, Shouse, Sosa, and Velazquez have all seen the majors before, and are largely seen as depth players. Johnson and Daeges are former prospects in need of bounce-back springs. Mills is a Triple-A pitcher with smarts and talent, but perhaps not as much potential as the top prospects.

Pitchers and catchers are scheduled to report Feb. 18. The rest of the squad will follow by Feb. 23.

SCP Auctions said Thursday the buyer decided to remain anonymous.

The ball, hit off Kansas City pitcher Kyle Davies, was recovered by a college student at the old Yankee Stadium on Aug. 4, 2007.

SCP also sold the balls Barry Bonds hit for his 755 and 756th home runs.

"Everybody is looking at stats ... I get it," Millar said Friday on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000. "But my point is when you're making a team and trying to bring in a bunch of different personalities I think everybody's got a certain amount of intangibles that they bring.

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Vinik, 50, lives in Boston and is the founder of Vinik Asset Management. He bought the Lightning from OK Hockey, LLC.

"Buying the Lightning and joining the Tampa Bay community is a dream come true," said Vinik. "I've been an avid hockey fan my whole life and I pledge to our fans that I will work my hardest to build the Lightning into a world class organization both on and off the ice."

Vinik is best known around Red Sox Nation for the foul ball his son, Danny (pictured to the right), caught during the 2007 ALDS.

Vinik and his family were sitting a few rows behind the Red Sox on-deck circle when Manny Ramirez hit a lazy pop up in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Danny Vinik, then 17, reached up and outbattled Angels catcher Jeff Mathis for the ball. The play kept Ramirez's at-bat alive and eventually leading to Boston's tying run.

--JOE McDONALD

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LOS ANGELES -- The "Ramirez Provision" is no more.

The Los Angeles Dodgers -- and all other major league teams -- cannot mandate that a player donate to club charities as part of his contract, the commissioner's office and players' union have agreed.

Michael Weiner, the executive director of the players' union, said the agreement does not restrict players from making donations but ensures the choice is theirs.

"The goal here never has been to interfere with players making charitable contributions, which guys have a long history of doing," Weiner said Wednesday.

As part of the $45-million contract he signed last March, Manny Ramirez agreed to donate $1 million to the Dodgers' charitable foundation. Owner Frank McCourt said he would implement the "Ramirez Provision," asking players to make a donation at an amount of their choosing as part of all future Dodgers contracts.

The union filed a grievance soon thereafter, alleging the Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and 20 other teams had improperly mandated donations to club charities in the contracts of at least 109 players.

Under the settlement agreement, which resolves the grievance, clubs can demand such donations from players signing as free agents or signing long-term contracts that buy out one or more years of free agency, according to a management official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement has not been officially announced.

Those players have the option to sign elsewhere. Players not yet eligible for free agency cannot be compelled to donate, the management official said, much as a company cannot compel its employees to contribute to a United Way fund drive.

Weiner said the agreement is not intended to override existing contracts. Officials still are finalizing details for donations from the 10 players that signed such contracts after the grievance was filed.

"For the most part, all existing contracts will be honored," Weiner said.

Dodgers spokesman Josh Rawitch said he was not aware of the ruling but expected the club would comment at a later date.

"It's tough," he said. "This is a situation where it's a private matter and personal photos were stolen illegally. I've always tried to represent myself and the Cleveland organization as best as possible and to put everybody through this is a terrible feeling and I apologize to everybody."

In November, the photos -- one of Sizemore standing nearly naked in front of a bathroom mirror -- appeared online. Sizemore, who said he took the photos for his girlfriend, contacted Major League Baseball officials to stop them from spreading to Web sites.

On Wednesday night, Sizemore was a presenter at the Greater Cleveland Sports Awards. After appearing on stage, Sizemore addressed the scandal but failed to accept culpability in the photos going public.

"This is a private matter," he said. "I never intended for any of this to get out. I hate to have to put everybody through this, but in the end it just wasn't meant to come out. It was meant for me and my girlfriend and it just happened to work out the way it did.

"You always have to be careful, but this was something that was stolen out of an e-mail account. It wasn't like we intended for these pictures to go anywhere. We weren't flying them anywhere. We weren't showing them to friends. This was stolen out of an e-mail account."

While Indians fans may move on, there's a chance Sizemore may hear more about the photos in opposing ballparks.

"I'm not going to speculate as to what people are going to do," he said. "I've put it behind me and I'm looking forward to this year."

A two-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star, Sizemore underwent offseason surgery on his elbow and abdomen. He has been cleared by doctors and won't have any limitations when training camp opens in a few weeks.

"I've been hitting and throwing and lifting and running and everything has felt good," he said.

Sizemore batted a career-low .248 with 18 homers and 64 RBIs before deciding to stop playing on Sept. 4.

In less than two weeks, the 35-year-old right-hander will be back in a Red Sox uniform as he attempts to fight for a spot in an already stacked bullpen in Boston.

Nelson split the 2009 season between the majors and Triple-A with Tampa Bay and posted a 3-0 record with a 4.02 ERA in 42 relief appearances for the Rays. He struck out 36 and walked 27 in 40 1/3 innings of work in the big leagues.

Originally selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round of the 1996 draft, Nelson battled injuries earlier in his career and spent parts of three seasons in the Red Sox organization at Double-A Trenton (2002), Double-A Portland (2004) and Triple-A Pawtucket (2004). He also pitched in three games for Boston in 2004, working 2 2/3 innings and allowed five runs on four hits with five strikeouts during that span.

"It is one of my favorite places on the planet," said Nelson. "I love the place. I enjoyed my time in Portland, Pawtucket and in Boston. As short as it was, some of my fondest memories in baseball are from that year."

That includes being a member of that 2004 World Series team and earning a championship ring.

"Other than my kids and my wife, it's one of my prized possessions," said Nelson. "That ring is something I will cherish forever."

--JOE McDONALD

For the second year in a row, the Pawtucket Red Sox are pleased to announce a Kids Eat Free* at McCoy Stadium initiative that will provide youngsters (aged 12 & under) attending a PawSox game at McCoy with a concession coupon good for a free hot dog, Pepsi, and bag of chips. Youngsters, who must be holding a purchased box seat ticket, must enter the ballpark through the main gate to receive their concession coupon at a specially-designated table inside McCoy Stadium. The offer will be good during designated PawSox home games on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (days or nights) from the beginning of this season through June 15.

* To be eligible for Kids Eat Free at McCoy you must be 12 years-old or younger and be holding a purchased box seat ticket. You must check-in at the Kids Eat Free table inside the main gate at McCoy Stadium upon arrival. Offer is good for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday games at McCoy up to and including June 15, 2010. There will be no substitutions to your concession coupon which is good for a hot dog, Pepsi, and a bag of chips.

"I don't ever want to speak for ownership because I have no knowledge of what they have and what they don't. (But) the feeling we're getting is more than likely (the Padres) are going to have to trade Adrian Gonzalez because (they) can't afford him."

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