Notes: Lo Duca sidelined again  —  Catcher expected to miss few days with right hand tendinitis  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — His Spring Training already reduced by suspected food poisoning last week, Mets catcher Paul Lo Duca is likely to miss a few more days because of tendinitis in his right hand.

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.

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 …

Dice-K throws 103-pitch bullpen session  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. —Daisuke Matsuzaka cost the Boston Red Sox $103 million.  On Thursday, he threw 103 pitches in his third bullpen session of spring training.  Dice-K is very content with that magic number.  —  "It's nothing out of the ordinary for me," he said through an interpreter.

Off the Cliff  —  Manager Willie Randolph was none too pleased with today's back page story.  Tracked down by globe-trotting Newsday columnist Ken Davidoff, former Met Cliff Floyd described Randolph as "confused" in the ninth inning of Game 7 of the NLCS.  —  Floyd also said Randolph deferred …

Duque hurting  —  GM Omar Minaya just told reporters that today Orlando Hernandez headed to New York to be examined because of neck "discomfort."  —  Minaya termed it "more preventitive stuff than anything else," and he said he wasn't "concerned at all."  Interestingly, he said Duque felt …

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 …

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.

Logan a defensive specialist in center  —  Speedy outfielder working hard to improve his offensive game  —  VIERA, Fla. — It's 12:50 p.m. ET on Wednesday.  Nationals center fielder Nook Logan is eating a sandwich and talking to reliever Chris Booker in the Space Coast Stadium locker room.

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.

'J.P. tried to bury me'  —  Shea Hillenbrand tells Bob Elliott explosive tales about his stint in Toronto  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — Shea Hillenbrand speaks calmly as he reflects on his sometimes turbulent time as an infielder/designated hitter with the Blue Jays — an 18-month stretch that culminated …

Greinke trying to bounce back from personal problems  —  After getting help last year, baseball finally looks good again to pitcher  —  It is time, Zack Greinke believes, to try to explain what plunged the Royals' most-promising pitching prospect in more than a decade into such despair …

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.

Showalter no longer in the hot seat  —  Ex-Rangers manager Showalter happy to be Indians consultant  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Buck Showalter looked nearly the same as he did a year ago, when he was watching over his Rangers pitchers and catchers in Arizona.

Starting Pitchers, Part One  —  Even the least risky pitcher is risky compared to a position player, making the fantasy draft even that much more important as far as who you pick and when.  Worse, the replacement level for pitchers is a steep slope; it's not so bad when a team is forced …

Bat Out of Helton  —  Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton made some headlines this winter during trade talks with Boston.  Helton's production has certainly fallen off from a couple of years ago, but is it really that far fetched to think that he can still be a power bat during his mid-30s at Coors Field?