The Red Sox, who already have Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima, would put Tazawa on the 40-man roster but he likely would begin next season in the minors.

In other news, the Red Sox offered salary arbitration to free-agent catcher Jason Varitek and pitcher Paul Byrd. Boston declined to offer arbitration to its other free agents: Curt Schilling, Bartolo Colon, Mike Timlin, David Ross, Sean Casey, Alex Cora and Mark Kotsay.

Varitek is a Type A free agent, so if he signs with another team the Red Sox would receive two compensatory draft picks next year.

Byrd is a Type B free agent. If he signs with another club, Boston would get a "sandwich" pick between the first and second round.

CC Sabathia, likely to command the largest contract among this year's free-agent pitchers, was offered salary arbitration by the Milwaukee Brewers .

Milwaukee also offered arbitration to pitchers Ben Sheets and Brian Shouse. The New York Yankees declined arbitration with pitcher Andy Pettitte, right fielder Bobby Abreu, first baseman Jason Giambi and five others. Seattle offered arbitration to outfielder Raul Ibanez, and Kansas City offered it to second baseman Mark Grudzielanek.

PRO FOOTBALL

Burress posts bail

Taken to court in handcuffs, Plaxico Burress posted $100,000 bail on weapons possession charges as the frenzy grew around the Giants star receiver who accidentally shot himself in a nightclub.

Authorities said teammate Antonio Pierce was being investigated over his role in the weekend shooting, while the Super Bowl-champion Giants weren't sure what action they would take, if any, against Burress. The NFL said it was monitoring developments. Mayor Michael Bloomberg also weighed in, saying it would be an outrage "if we didn't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law."

Burress shot himself in the right thigh in the VIP section of the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan about 1 a.m. Saturday, police said. He did not have a permit to carry a handgun in New York.

Derek Anderson's season is officially over, yet another slap for the down-on-their-luck Cleveland Browns.

Anderson, who lost his starting job to Brady Quinn several weeks ago, will miss the final four games after tearing a ligament in his left knee on Sunday against Indianapolis.

BASKETBALL

Knicks, Marbury separate

Stephon Marbury did not get the divorce he wants, but he and the New York Knicks agreed to a separation.

Marbury was ordered to stay away from the Knicks while the team looks for a solution to its $21 million problem -- one that has lingered since the preseason and exploded last week when the team suspended him for refusing to play and he retaliated with a series of inflammatory remarks about coach Mike D'Antoni.

Marbury's future was "not resolved" during a meeting with team president Donnie Walsh at the Knicks' practice facility, according to the players' association attorney representing him. The sides will continue to talk, but Marbury won't be around in the meantime.

Former NBA standout Rodney Rogers was hospitalized after getting injured while riding an all-terrain vehicle.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol said that Rogers was four-wheeling in the woods in rural Vance County north of Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday when he fell off the vehicle.

His condition wasn't immediately known.

The Houston Comets, a franchise that won the first four WNBA championships, is disbanding. The league-owned team will be shut down because new owners couldn't be found.

The WNBA will officially announce the move today, which will result in the loss of 37 jobs.