'I've had my whirlwinds before'; Young gets Nationals 1B job  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Two months ago, Dmitri Young was out of a job, pondering retirement.  —  A week ago, he was stuck in Washington's minor league camp, trying to prove his personal demons are in the past and that he can still swing a mean bat.

Karstens leaves with elbow stiffness  —  Right-hander threw 46 pitches against Tigers on Sunday  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Yankees right-hander Jeff Karstens left his start against the Tigers on Sunday after two innings with stiffness in his pitching elbow.  —  "I didn't want to push …

Will fans say Danks for nothing?  —  ksherrington@dallasnews.com  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Brandon McCarthy figures there's no reason he'd monitor John Danks' results in Chicago's rotation, which puts the latest Rangers starter in a distinct minority among the faithful of his new team.

Rockies out to win numbers game  —  Their roster nearly finalized, their optimism fully stoked, it's time to take a closer look at what separates the Rockies from last place and relevance.  The answer is three.  —  This number holds the key to the Rockies posting their first winning season since 2000 …

Notes: Cardinals rotation announced  —  Despite off-days, La Russa plans five-man staff to start season  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa announced his team's pitchers for the first week of the regular season on Sunday.  La Russa said that the club will use all five …

Royals send Berroa down  —  'Decision speaks for itself,' GM Moore says after shortstop is optioned to Omaha.  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. |  It was a quieter Royals clubhouse Saturday morning as a subdued Angel Berroa silently watched television while slumped in a couch before pregame drills.

Ten days of Top 10s: Reasons for hope  —  Sure, these clubs haven't a prayer in 2007, but the future isn't entirely grim.  Here, then, are the ...  1. Devil Rays: The Future  —  With youngsters like Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, Carl Crawford, Scott Kazmir, Reid Brignac …

In Baseball, Searching for Balance in the Scheduling Vortex  —  As anyone holding his riddled N.C.A.A. tournament bracket will groan, records of college basketball teams — 29-5 here, 18-10 there — are often not what they seem.  The collective strength of a team's opponents over a season plays …

Prospectus Q&A  —  Curtis Granderson  —  Curtis Granderson went into the 2006 season competing for a job.  He'll go into this season on the heels of a solid .260-19-68 campaign, firmly entrenched as Detroit's centerfielder and leadoff hitter.  He'll also go into 2007 trying to cut down on his strikeouts.

Best-case scenario in NY?  —  Yankees believe they are the team to beat  —  What Johnny Damon told the New York Post last week — "We're the best team" — is no different from what he said after the Tigers eliminated the Yankees in four games in the American League Division Series: "The best teams don't always win."

Author Says Yankees Are Missing Something  —  Who could possibly question Derek Jeter's place in Yankee history?  —  Meet Howard W. Rosenberg.  —  "Derek Jeter is not the 11th captain of the New York Yankees," said Rosenberg, 41, an author and baseball historian who lives in Arlington …

Pirates Notebook: Demotion has Burnett 'furious'  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — The final makeups of the Pirates' and Class AAA Indianapolis' starting rotations became much clearer yesterday, and Sean Burnett was none too happy to learn he'll be a member of the latter.

Ready or not here's the setup  —  Duchscherer threw an inning in his first spring training game and has three more appearances scheduled before Opening Day  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Justin Duchscherer was happy to watch his bullpen mates pitch so well while he was sidelined with tendinitis in his right triceps.

Former baseball pro Bailey dies at 75  —  Congressional aide, city councilman diagnosed with cancer 6 months ago  —  Ed Bailey, former professional baseball catcher and a Knoxville City Council member for 12 years, died at 10 p.m. Friday at Parkwest Medical Center.  He was 75.