Baseball-Major League Baseball roundup

Jan 25 (The Sports Xchange) - The family of Ernie Banks announced Sunday that the Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer died after suffering a heart attack. The legend known as "Mr. Cub" died Friday night at the age of 83. Family attorney Mark Bogen revealed the cause of death -- just seven days before Banks' 84th birthday -- at a news conference in Chicago. Banks' wife, Liz, was also in attendance. Bogen also said that Banks' family is working with the Cubs and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel to organize a public memorial this week. - - - Alex Rodriguez made attempts to meet face-to-face with New York Yankees executives to apologize and clear the air, but he reportedly was told, "We'll see you in spring training." The New York Daily News reported that the Yankees rejected Rodriguez's attempts to discuss his season-long steroid suspension. Another Daily News source added that Rodriguez is looking "noticeably thinner and massless." The New York Post reported earlier that Rodriguez met with new commissioner Rob Manfred last week at MLB's offices.. The 39-year-old Rodriguez is working to win back the Yankees' starting third base job. - - - The Minnesota Twins avoided arbitration with reliever Brian Duensing, reaching agreement on a one-year contract worth a reported $2.7 million. The two sides compromised after Duensing requested a $3.1 million salary and the team offer $2.4 million last week. (Editing by Gene Cherry)