Top News:
David Lefort / Extra Bases:
Schilling plans to test free agency — In an interview this morning on Boston sports radio station WEEI 850 AM, Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said he plans on filing for free agency after the season after learning the Sox weren't planning on offering him a contract extension before the end of spring training.
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Associated Press:
No dice — Red Sox deny Schilling's request for extension — FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Curt Schilling said Thursday he would file for free agency once the season is over after being told by Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein that the team would not offer him a contract extension in spring training.
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Baseball Musings
Gerry Callahan / Boston Herald:
Hubbub lost on Drew: Boston pressure can't sour his carefree way — FORT MYERS - The blood-red cap looks as odd and out of place on his head as the buzz cut does on Britney's, but J.D. Drew [stats] has one thing going for him as he embarks on his Red Sox [team stats] career: He doesn't care.
Adam Rubin / NY Daily News:
Glavine slips into Opening routine; Ambiorix amazes — PORT ST. LUCIE - Still 38 days from the April 1 opener in St. Louis, the Mets have already placed Tom Glavine on a throwing program to ready him for that assignment. — Glavine will make his eighth career Opening Day start, and fourth in five years as a Met.
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David Lennon / AM New York:
Mets rip Phils' Rollins for NL boasts — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — On the morning of the first full-squad workout, it is customary for manager Willie Randolph to deliver the keynote address as sort of a pep talk for his returning team. In doing so yesterday, Randolph mixed in some praise …
Discussion:
Hot Foot
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David Lennon / Newsday:
Mets Spring Training Buzz — One annual rite of spring (training) is that anxious moment when batters finally step in the box to face pitchers, and that happened yesterday when the Mets had their first full-squad workout. Usually, the batters are the ones lagging behind …
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Notes: Mets deal with 'own business' — Defending NL East champs disregard Rollins' comments — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Whether the Mets' reactions were genuine or couched to avoid a cross-state he-said, he-said, the defending National League East champions essentially dismissed challenging comments …
Mike Phillips / Miami Herald:
Johnson throws, says arm is `fine' — Right-hander Josh Johnson threw Wednesday as he tries to get ready for the season. Johnson (12-7, 3.10 ERA last season) had irritation in his right biceps/triceps area three weeks ago and was shut down. — He reported to spring training Saturday …
Discussion:
FishStripes
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Evan Grant / Dallas Morning News:
Deals not driving Young, Teixeira — As negotiations loom, Rangers stars keep focus on playing ball — egrant@dallasnews.com — SURPRISE, Ariz. - On their last free day before reporting to Rangers training camp, Mark Teixeira and Michael Young got together for a round of golf Tuesday.
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Dave Sessions / Dallas Star-Telegram:
Time is right for Rangers — SURPRISE, Ariz. — For Michael Young and Mark Teixeira, the recent past is hardly worth remembering and the future is extremely uncertain. — The present, however, is exactly how the Rangers' most influential players want it to be.
Lee Jenkins / New York Times:
The Japanese Gyroball Mystery — Most major league pitchers throw a fastball, a curveball, a slider and a changeup. Some mix in a sinker. The experimental ones use a knuckleball. None of them throws a gyroball, at least not on purpose. — For most of the past decade …
Discussion:
The Biz of Baseball
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Barry Svrluga / Washington Post:
Nationals Expect to Shore Up Defensively — The monotony began setting in on Felipe Lopez's spring training Wednesday morning, just the second day the Washington Nationals held a workout with the complete squad. He must keep reminding himself, as he prepares for his first full season in the District, of who he is and what he's doing.
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Gordon Edes / Boston Globe:
Auction may be in plans — Ramírez will travel to Atlantic City, says ad — FORT MYERS, Fla. — While Manny Ramírez's teammates are scheduled to be working out here Saturday at the team's player development facility, the Red Sox left fielder is scheduled to appear …
Thomas Boswell / Washington Post:
Numbers Might Add Up to One Shot in the Arm — VIERA, Fla. Go on and laugh at the Nats' starting pitchers now while you still have time. Get it out of your system. The surprise of camp so far is the growing realization that the mocked Washington rotation will be better than it was last year.
Ben Shpigel / New York Times:
His Father May Write About It, but Newhan Plays the Game — The father and son walked into Yankee Stadium together and went down a narrow stairwell last August. At the bottom, they paused. — The father, Ross Newhan, a Hall of Fame baseball writer for The Los Angeles Times, turned right, into the press room.
Baltimore Sun:
A stadium scolding … In a scathing report released yesterday, state auditors scolded the Maryland Stadium Authority for a variety of management moves - including the payment of $42,000 for less than an hour of consulting services to a former executive director who left under an ethical cloud.
