Podres dead at 75  —  Johnny Podres, the cool and clutch lefty who pitched the Dodgers to their one and only world championship in Brooklyn by shutting out the Yankees, 2-0, in the seventh game of the 1955 World Series, died Sunday night in a hospital in Glens Falls, N.Y. He was 75.

Braves receptive to Kotsay deal  —  Veteran core thinks center fielder will fit in well in Atlanta  —  ATLANTA — There was plenty to celebrate this past weekend as the Braves hosted their most successful FanFest ever.  The organization's celebratory mood will increase on Monday …

Any Questions?  —  Normally my annual series on the Twins' top 40 prospects would have started by now, but it seemed smart to hold off for a while when a Johan Santana trade appeared imminent.  I spend way too much time as it is compiling the list, writing the profiles …

Cubans see documentary of El Duque  —  HAVANA (AP) — Cubans got their first glimpse of Orlando Hernandez on state television since he fled to the United States in 1997.  —  Authorities aired a documentary Saturday in which the New York Mets pitcher vowed he was no traitor.

A PITCHf/x primer  —  Many of you are hopefully familiar with the PITCHf/x system and at least some of the data and analysis that have been produced on the subject over the past year, but it may be completely new to some of you.  In either case, I thought it would be helpful to provide …

No Laughing Matter  —  ST. PETERSBURG - This column should come with a warning.  It is about Rays baseball and it does not focus on how good things are going to be three or four years from now.  We won't speculate about how bad things are going to be this season, which has been an annual rite of spring for more than a decade.

Baseball fan sues team over drugs  —  A long-time baseball fan is suing the New York Yankees over some players' reported use of performance-enhancing drugs, saying he wants repayment for 221 US dollars (£112) in tickets and a public response from his once-beloved team.

TIGERS CORNER: GM Dombrowski suggests Brandon Inge should catch  —  Player's future with club creates buzz at team event  —  Brandon Inge did not attend TigerFest on Saturday, but he nonetheless remained a popular topic of conversation at Comerica Park.  —  Tigers president/general manager …

Reds insider  —  Jocketty's eye for arms will be crucial  —  digg us!  del.icio.us!  —  The first advice the Reds would like newly hired special adviser Walt Jocketty to give them is this:  —  Where can we find our Chris Carpenter?  —  Jocketty signed Carpenter in 2002 after he went 4-5 with a 5.28 ERA for Toronto.

Dale Murphy comes clean  —  That Dale Murphy has not been hosting any Hall of Fame voting viewing parties says something about both his chances for induction and his humility.  In summation: “I realize I'm not knocking on the door, and it's just not my nature to campaign for it.”

Endy hurts other hammy  —  Endy Chavez, who played only 71 games last season because of a strained left hamstring, hurt his right hamstring and ankle in a play at the plate in December in a winter league game in his native Venezuela, but is expected to be ready for the start of spring training.

No 'roid rage in clubhouses  —  Teams seem to want to put report behind  —  There will be a strange phenomenon in spring training this year.  —  Camps will be full of players who have been named in the Mitchell Report.  They will play among players who weren't caught and maybe never will be caught.

Numbers, not innuendo, should keep McGwire out of hall  —  Sorry, but unlike some of my colleagues in this business — those who have a Hall of Fame ballot but might not use it — it's not about the inflated muscles.  —  I don't care.  —  It's not about expedited recovery from injuries by using human growth hormone.