Sources: Schoeneweis, Sosa being shopped  —  VERO BEACH, Fla. - Mets GM Omar Minaya has let teams know that relievers Scott Schoeneweis and Jorge Sosa can be obtained in trades, according to sources briefed on the players' availability.  Schoeneweis has two years and $7.2 million left on his original three-year deal.

Notebook: Ponson reappears; reassignments loom  —  JUPITER, Fla. — The Cardinals will lend former pitcher Sidney Ponson a place and a mound to throw for scouts Thursday at lunchtime.  —  Ponson, who made 13 starts for the Cardinals in 2006, is said to have slimmed down to 245 pounds and cranked up his fastball to 91 mph.

Warm day in the sun for Giants' prospects  —  (03-03) 04:00 PST Mesa, Ariz. — The Joe Crede rumors have become such a fixture of the Giants' spring training, you expect him to stroll through the clubhouse at any moment, in search of his new uniform.  —  For the sake of the Giants' infield defense …

Papelbon sticking to his guns over contract  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Jonathan Papelbon may be young, but he knows how the business of baseball works.  —  He knows that, with a little more than two years of major-league service time, he has no contractual leverage with the Red Sox.

Roberts trade talks heat up  —  Orioles second baseman could go to Cubs with Payton  —  The Cubs and Orioles have resumed trade talks involving second baseman Brian Roberts, and one person familiar with the talks indicated discussions were starting to get serious.

Live blogging the Yankees-Astros game  —  You're looking live at Osceoloa County Stadium in strip-mall strewn Kissimmee, Fla.  —  It'll be Mike Mussina against Wandy Rodriguez.  We're about to get underway.  I have some work to do but I'll throw in some updates from time to time.

Looper solid, but Cards lose to Nats  —  St. Louis right-hander allows one run over three innings  —  NATIONALS 3, CARDINALS 2  —  Cardinals at the plate: In the seventh inning, Skip Schumaker drove in the team's first run with a single to left field off right-hander Tristan Crawford.

Cole Hamels is out of line  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - Cry no tears for Cole Hamels.  —  This isn't Ryan Howard all over again.  —  Not even close.  —  Hamels is bent out of shape over having his contract renewed yesterday.  Howard was in a similar mood after having his deal renewed a year ago.

Crosby pulled from lineup due to back spasms  —  TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) - Oakland Athletics shortstop Bobby Crosby was dropped from the starting lineup for Monday's exhibition game against the Los Angeles Angels due to back spasms.  —  Crosby, who missed the final two months of 2006 …

D-Backs' Owings skips start with sore shoulder, hopes to pitch soon  —  CBSSports.com wire reports  —  TUCSON, Ariz. — Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Micah Owings skipped a scheduled start Monday because of a sore shoulder.  —  “Right now I'm just nipping it so I'll be ready to go here shortly …

Burnett's fingernail throws curve to team  —  DUNEDIN, FLA. — This is so A.J. Seriously.  I mean, you couldn't make it up.  —  Spring training's just a couple of clichés old and already the 2008 Toronto Blue Jays have been given another reminder about what life with A.J. Burnett really means …

Kenny Rogers gets by without curveballs while ‘frustrated’ Brandon Inge catches  —  WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Kenny Rogers is 43 years old.  He missed more than half of last season because of shoulder and elbow issues.  He has lost range and quickness.  His fastball has lost velocity throughout his career.

Prospecting in Long Beach  —  The first two weekends of the college baseball season brought three-ranked teams into Long Beach to play the Dirtbags.  I was able to see a number of pro prospects, most of whom will be eligible for the draft this June.  —  The newly implemented uniform start date pushed …

In-game audio from Mike Mussina  —  Mike Mussina wasn't too upset with his performance, noting that worrying about the results this early in spring training would be counter-productive.  He also noted that four of the six hits he allowed came on two-strke counts.  —  “I didn't have an out pitch,” he said.