Team Prevails Over Patterson in Arbitration Ruling  —  The Washington Nationals prevailed Tuesday in an arbitration case over their presumptive ace, right-hander John Patterson.  —  A three-member panel in Phoenix ruled that Patterson — who went 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA last season …

'More Than Just A Game' Will Be Devil Rays' Pitch  —  ST. PETERSBURG - With each new baseball season, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays rally around a new marketing slogan.  —  Last season, the first under a new owner since the team started in 1998, the marketing campaign was: "Under Construction."

Save Rivera for later: Yanks  —  No deal till after season  —  TAMPA - Brian Cashman has nothing but respect for Mariano Rivera, but that doesn't mean he's planning to give the future Hall of Famer a contract extension before the end of the season.  —  Cashman said yesterday that he preferred …

Cubs don't fret over Zambrano threat  —  GM Hendry, Cubs' history suggest pitcher will stay  —  MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs aren't too worried Carlos Zambrano will carry through on his threat to walk after the season if he doesn't get a new deal by Opening Day.

Burning questions: NL East  —  As you may have noticed, we're in the midst of running down the Top 10 Burning Questions for each of MLB's six divisions.  We've already leveled our steely gaze on the AL East, and now we're culminating our East Coast bias by looking at the National League — wait for it — East.

Yankees bring back Villone  —  Left-handed reliever agrees to Minor League deal  —  TAMPA — The Yankees added one more arm to challenge for a spot in their bullpen mix on Tuesday, signing left-hander Ron Villone to a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

He Wept, For There Were No More Worlds to Conquer  —  I hope so.  But that's up to the guy upstairs.  —  Officer John McClane, Die Hard  —  I wonder if Stan Kasten ever gets tired of the implied warranty of team-building omniscience that gets assigned to him in every story, every column, and every interview.

For Martínez and Sánchez, It's Good and Getting Better All the Time  —  One is celebrated for dashing through sprinklers and revitalizing a franchise.  The other is best recognized by his goggles.  —  One is not expected to throw from a mound for a few months.

The deal with Gibby  —  Lame-duck manager underpaid  —  Vernon Wells received a contract extension.  —  General manager J.P. Ricciardi has had his deal extended twice.  —  Then there is manager John Gibbons, who has only 162 games remaining on his contract with the Blue Jays.

Catching a lot of attention  —  Matsuzaka's tosses become media event  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Accidental fame doesn't give you much of a heads-up.  —  You can be minding your own business one minute, sweating up a storm while doing your job.  The next minute, your face …

Phils players work out in Clearwater  —  Utley, Rowand report to Spring Training ahead of schedule  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies clubhouse at Bright House Networks experienced regular traffic Tuesday, despite the fact that no one was required to be there.

Risk vs. Uncertainty  —  When we try to predict the outcome of a baseball season, whether as fans or pretend-general managers, there's a whole lot of stuff we just don't know.  In fact, if you want certainty, we don't know anything: any player in major league baseball could blow out his arm …

Bullpen could be Braves' biggest strength  —  It wasn't any one factor that halted the Atlanta Braves' amazing streak of 14 consecutive division titles last year, but the failure of the team's bullpen has to be put at the top of the list.  —  "We didn't get to the playoffs last year …

White Sox grab reins after empty-handed '06  —  Set to buckle down after failing to repeat  —  The changes will extend beyond the new faces arriving at Tucson Electric Park when the White Sox's pitchers and catchers open spring training Saturday in Arizona.

Pedro happy with progress  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - When Pedro Martinez pulled back the sleeve of his T-shirt, there was hardly any trace of the Oct. 5 surgery to repair the inside of his damaged right shoulder.  Martinez said yesterday that the doctors needed to make 17 tiny holes …