Alou's hernia adds to Mets' injury woes  —  Moises Alou found out Wednesday of a hernia in his hip that will cause him to miss the start of the season.  (Newsday/David L. Pokress)  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - The Mets, despite a dizzying rash of injuries, clung tightly to the belief that they would be at full strength by Opening Day.

IN DENIAL: INJURY FLURRY CAUSING NO WORRIES  —  It is early.  Keep saying that over and over.  None of these injuries is serious.  Repeat that non-stop.  When faced with questions of age, deny, deny, deny.  —  The Mets are the Black Knight in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” …

Joba Chamberlain bitten by HR ball  —  TAMPA - Joba Chamberlain called it “just one of those days.”  —  Of course, Chamberlain had never experienced a day like this since joining the Yankees last August, at least one without midges around.  —  The hard-throwing 22-year-old allowed two runs on two hits …

Francona embraces rival Torre  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - When Terry Francona sees Joe Torre here this afternoon in Dodger Blue, he's likely to do something he couldn't have imagined when Torre still wore pinstripes.  —  “I'm glad he's in the National League,” Francona said.  “I feel like I can put my arm around him.

Spring Training: Middle infield center of bench attention  —  Josh Wilson, Rivas impress management in early games  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — It could be that Josh Wilson and Luis Rivas are battling for one backup middle infielder's job on the Pirates' roster.  —  Or, it could be that there is no job to be had.

Yankees-Reds: The live blog  —  Welcome to Ed Smith Field in Sarasota, Fla. It's 71 degrees and the Yankees are playing the Cincinnati Reds.  It'll be Chien-Ming Wang vs. Aaron Harang.  —  A swarm of bees delayed the game here last year when the Yankees were in town.  So if the live blog suddenly ends, you'll know why.

Notes: Slowey's spot not set in stone  —  Adjustments needed for young right-hander to seal rotation job  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The assumption this past offseason was that Kevin Slowey's spot in the Twins' rotation for 2008 was all but guaranteed.  —  Yet there already seems …

Nobody's perfect (cont.)  —  Mets  —  Need: Backup for first base, right field.  —  Carlos Delgado's hip problems have to be a concern even if he's telling Mets people he's good to go.  The MRI was said to be negative, and Delgado insists these hip problems aren't a recurrence of last year's hip problems.

Sox have rhetoric, but what's behind words?  —  The new ad campaign for the White Sox is “Share the Passion, Show the Swagger,” and it hits all the right notes, as far as those things go.  —  But I would like to go on record as saying “Show Some Life, For Crying Out Loud” didn't get a fair shake.

Phillies show striking out not all that bad  —  LAKELAND, Fla. - Strikeouts are a sensitive subject for hitters, and understandably so.  —  They're terrible.  —  The feeble hack at the ball.  The dejected look after the third strike.  The sad walk to the dugout.  —  Except strikeouts aren't so terrible.

Stop the revolution . . . I want to get off  —  So Jeremy Brown has called it quitskies, huh?  You'd think that the retirement of a guy who is built somewhat like me would make me sad, but it doesn't.  Instead, I danced a hora when I heard it.  —  At least, I did the dance after the person …

Ozzie Smith is Back in Spring Training... With his Barbeque  —  Ozzie Smith, the now Hall of Famer, and defensive great that played for the St. Louis Cardinals is in Spring Training.  Yes, Ozzie “The Wizard” is warming up for the season, preparing the tools of the trade …

Cano plans on Star turn in first half  —  TAMPA - Robinson Cano has hit .342 and .306 in the past two seasons, but he believes there's a lot of room for improvement.  —  Last season, Cano batted .274 before the All-Star break, then hit .343 in the second half.

Report: HOF to display Bonds ball by Opening Day  —  Barry Bonds' 756th home run ball — which owner Marc Ecko said he would brand with an asterisk and send to the Baseball Hall of Fame to comply with the results of an Internet poll — could be on display at the Cooperstown, N.Y., museum by Opening Day.

New York Yankees  —  The Yankees have a tendency to bring in players that are past their prime, which would make many think that I'd give Gene Monahan and his staff something of a pass for this team's lower-third finish in Three-Year Rank category.  However, while Monahan is almost an institution …