BASEBALL Pirates allow Fogg to go free

Bernie Williams is staying with the Yankees.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSBURGH -- Right-hander Josh Fogg became a free agent Wednesday after the Pittsburgh Pirates did not offer him a contract -- the third starting pitcher to leave the team since the season ended.
The Pirates made offers to their other five arbitration-eligible players: left-hander Oliver Perez, right-handers Kip Wells and Ryan Vogelsong and outfielders Craig Wilson and Jody Gerut. All five will settle on new contracts with the team or will have their salaries set by an arbitrator.
Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield previously said the team expected to make offers to all six players. But with Fogg likely earning $3 million-plus next year despite a poor 2005 season, the Pirates chose to let him go.
Fogg, 29, was 6-11 with a 5.11 ERA last season, when he made $2.15 million. He lost his job in the rotation during the final month of the season after having been a Pirates starter for most of four seasons, going 39-42 in 117 starts.
The Pirates are expected to begin next season with a predominantly left-handed rotation that includes 2005 rookies Zach Duke and Paul Maholm, Perez and the right-handed Wells.
Since the Pirates ended a season in which they went 65-97, they have shed three former starters: left-hander Mark Redman, who was traded to Kansas City; left-hander Dave Williams, who was traded to Cincinnati; and Fogg, who said in September that he did not expect to be back with the team.
Cardinals
ST. LOUIS -- After agreeing Wednesday to a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals, Sidney Ponson said he's changed in the three months since the Baltimore Orioles voided his contract and released him.
Ponson went to an alcohol rehabilitation facility in September and has been seeing a psychiatrist weekly.
"After my last problem, I sought help and didn't wait for anybody to push me," Ponson said. "I just did it on my own. Since the last time I had trouble I've been clean."
Ponson's agreement with the Cardinals calls for a $1 million base salary and allows him to earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses. Ponson, 7-11 with a 6.21 ERA last season, will compete for a spot in the rotation.
"We signed him with that purpose in mind, based on his past career," Cardinals general manager Walt Jocketty said. "It provides more depth to our rotation, more depth to our pitching staff, and that has been the priority of our offseason plan."
Jocketty said the team did a "thorough background check" of Ponson and met with the pitcher and his agent in Florida a few weeks ago. Jocketty thinks Ponson is "sincere in wanting to turn things around."
"Everybody deserves a second chance and we're here to provide that," Jocketty said. "That doesn't mean we're going to let things slide, either."
Yankees
NEW YORK -- Bernie Williams is staying with the New York Yankees, agreeing Wednesday to a $1.5 million, one-year contract that allows him to earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses.
Williams, coming off an $87.5 million, seven-year contract, will have a reduced role as a designated hitter and backup outfielder. New York reached a preliminary agreement Tuesday on a contract with Johnny Damon, who becomes the starting center fielder.
While there was no formal announcement by the team, Williams' agreement was confirmed by two people familiar with the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and Williams' agent, Scott Boras, spent Wednesday finalizing details of the bonuses in the agreement.
Now 37, Williams came up to the Yankees in 1991 and became their regular center fielder two years later, taking over a position made famous by Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. He helped the Yankees win four World Series and six AL pennants from 1996-03, and is the major league career leader in postseason homers (22) and RBIs (80).
A five-time All-Star and four-time Gold Glove winner, Williams hit .249 with 12 homers and 64 RBIs in 485 at-bats last season, but his range in the outfield has declined and his arm was never strong.