At last, Matsuzaka to make debut  —  Boston (1-1) at Kansas City (1-1), 2:10 p.m. ET  —  For months, Daisuke Matsuzaka has been the No. 1 topic surrounding the Boston Red Sox.  Every aspect of his arsenal has been dissected.  Every bit of his history has been reviewed.

On Field and at the Plate, Beltrán Has a Hot Start  —  It took five and a third innings for the Mets to finally break through against their former closer, Braden Looper.  And as has been the case this whole opening series, Carlos Beltrán was right in the middle of it.

MLB has deal to keep 'Extra Innings' on cable TV  —  NEW YORK — After negotiations that went into extra innings, baseball struck a deal to keep its "Extra Innings" package of out-of-market games on cable television.  —  Under pressure from Sen. John Kerry, baseball and iN Demand reached …

Exam finds Carpenter's elbow much-improved  —  Chris Carpenter was cleared to begin preparation for his next scheduled start after a meeting with a team doctor late Wednesday night confirmed the swelling had gone down in his right elbow, the Cardinals ace said.

Notes: Loney would welcome trade  —  First baseman not happy about getting sent to Triple-A  —  MILWAUKEE — The season opener for James Loney is Thursday night in Salt Lake City, not exactly where and when he was hoping for.  —  When told Saturday night he was being sent back to the Triple …

Starting Pitcher Leverage (Part 2)  —  Hi, and welcome back to The Hardball Times' ongoing series of articles on starting pitcher leveraging throughout baseball history.  In part one of this series I introduced the concept of starting pitcher leverage.  If you remember it, skip the next paragraph, which briefly summarizes it.

Bonds to join Griffey in wearing No. 42  —  Slugger will participate in tribute on Jackie Robinson Day  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Giants slugger Barry Bonds has agreed to shed his famous No. 25 for Jackie Robinson's even more famous No. 42 when Major League Baseball celebrates the 60th anniversary …

3 games is too early to panic, but not too early for doubts … MINNEAPOLIS // Apparently it's never too early to say it's way too early to panic.  —  That's where the Orioles are right now.  —  Three games into the season and they have to dust off the sacred first-month standard reserved for slow starts.

Mascot arrested on sex charges  —  Man who plays a Grump for SWB Yankees reportedly solicited sex online with a 14-year-old boy.  —  A Scranton man identified in arrest papers as a Grump mascot for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees was arrested during the weekend on charges he used the Internet …

Future Shock  —  Triple-A Preview  —  Over the past decade, Triple-A baseball has continued its transformation from a place for prospects to put the final touches on their game into more of a holding cell for veteran insurance policies that give teams a safe (if not completely dependable) fill-in for when the injury bug strikes.

Position sharing working just fine  —  The Rockies' time-sharing plan is working out just fine so far.  —  At second base, where Jamey Carroll supplanted starter Kaz Matsui in the Rockies' 11-4 win over Arizona on Wednesday, the Rockies have received .461 production.  Carroll went 3-for-4 with a double and scored twice.

Betancourt signs three-year extension  —  Terms not released, but agreement averts arbitration hassles  —  A day after launching a game-winning home run, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt landed a three-year contract extension Wednesday from the Mariners.  —  Betancourt, beginning his third season …