Herges making his pitch to stick  —  Veteran battling youthful duo for spot in bullpen  —  TUCSON - Ramon Ramirez and Manual Corpas are in the bullpen mix, hardly surprising because both relieved extensively last year for the Rockies.  Still competing with them is newcomer Matt Herges, something that is a bit stunning.

Willis cinches opening start  —  JUPITER — Dontrelle Willis will start the Marlins' season opener April 2 in Washington - an announcement so anticlimactic that manager Fredi Gonzalez joked that he flipped a coin to decide.  —  "It came up heads," Gonzalez said Monday before speaking sincerely …

Notes: Spring treating Miller well  —  Likely to make No. 5, righty fine-tuning approach in final weeks  —  MESA, Ariz. — For the first time since 2004, Wade Miller will be on a team's Opening Day roster.  It feels pretty good.  —  Miller is penciled in as the Cubs' fifth starter …

Non-roster invitee seizes chance  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Non-roster invitee Adam Russell has pitched himself into consideration for a spot on the White Sox's Opening Day roster.  —  "Russell, enjoy the ride, because he's in the picture," manager Ozzie Guillen said with a smile Monday …

Greinke growing as a competitor  —  "It's how you react when everything doesn't work out like you expect.  You have to be tough.  That's what it takes to be good."  —  | Zack Greinke  —  On Monday, Greinke pitched five strong innings in a spring-training game against the Chicago White Sox.

Mariners Notebook: Sherrill is latest shaky performer in bullpen  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — If you ever wondered what a deflated man looks like, then the picture of Mariners reliever George Sherrill on Monday afternoon would answer your query.  —  As the 6-foot, 225-pound Sherrill trudged …

Rangers rename their home  —  Ameriquest out; it's now Rangers Ballpark in Arlington  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  The Liberty Bell no longer tolls for the Rangers.  —  The club on Monday severed its relationship with Ameriquest Mortgage, the financially troubled lending company that uses …

Baseball Injury Report  —  From Injury Watch, March 18...  There is growing concern in Seattle circles that Putz' sore pitching elbow is more of a problem than we are being led to believe.  One baseball source close to the Mariners indicates the "word on the street" is he has a flexor mass strain in his right forearm.

For Mets Pitchers, Location Is the Word  —  Every spring when the Mets begin playing exhibition games, the pitching coach Rick Peterson puts together a forum for his pitchers near their warm-up area at Tradition Field.  —  The only item on the agenda is pitching, or, more precisely …

Yes!  It all ads up for Giuliani  —  Yankee airwaves offer free time for Rudy's run  —  Rudy Giuliani, aided and abetted by George Steinbrenner, has a history of commandeering Yankees airwaves to enhance Bombers business interests or promote his own agenda.

Cox weighs in with offer on MLB cable packages  —  The latest shot in the corporate battle between Major League Baseball and the cable industry has been fired by Cox Communications.  —  The company recently sent a letter to subscribers who purchased the "MLB Extra Innings" …

"Baseball Marty" left big impression on Mariners  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Like all the men who preceded him, Marty Martinez's tenure as Mariners' manager was unsuccessful, victimized by underachieving talent.  —  You don't remember Martinez's stint as a Seattle manager?  Not a surprise.

Waldman and Sterling ink new deals  —  Quietly - very quietly - John Sterling and Suzyn (Georgie Girl) Waldman have signed new five-year deals, which will keep them as the Yankees radio team until 2011.  —  For some, this is good news.  For others, well, look at it this way, you will have both voices to kick around for years to come.

Retooled Brewers expect big things  —  Deeper staff, return to health may lift franchise to contention  —  PHOENIX — Is this the year in which the Milwaukee Brewers finally break through to not only a winning, but a contending season?  —  Well, the reasons on their side of the argument …

Marlins taken out to sea by Astros  —  Olsen strikes out five in 5 1/3 innings, gives up four base hits  —  ASTROS 4, MARLINS 2  —  Marlins at the plate: Hanley Ramirez singled, stole second and scored on Josh Willingham's RBI single to center in the first.

Notes: Feliz's new approach paying off  —  Benitez has best outing; Lowry still searching for timing  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Anybody who has watched Pedro Feliz hit knows that he either pulls the ball or doesn't hit it at all.  —  He's trying to stop being so one-dimensional.