Pap, Sox agree to deal  —  The Red Sox and closer Jonathan Papelbon have agreed to a one-year deal worth $775,000.  —  That's more than closer Bobby Jenks got with a similar amount of service time, as he signed a $550,000 contract.  Papelbon was looking for a deal in the range of $900,000 …

KYLE'S BILE  —  FARNSWORTH BLAMES TORRE FOR STRUGGLES  —  SARASOTA, Fla. - Joe Torre's lack of confidence and poor communication skills led to Kyle Farnsworth's two years in The Bronx being ugly.  —  At least that's how Farnsworth sees it.  Not his inability to locate fastballs.

Hillman delivers on-field lecture to players over sloppy base-running despite victory  —  It didn't matter Thursday that Ryan Shealy had just hit a game-ending homer for a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Stadium.  Or that the Royals had just won their fourth game in a row.

Johnson looks likely to start season on the disabled list  —  JUPITER, FLA. — Cardinals reliever Tyler Johnson is expected start the season on the disabled list, and he will have to be more diligent in his conditioning or risk a chronic shoulder problem, the team's doctor said.

Giants' Lowry likely out through April  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP)—San Francisco Giants pitcher Noah Lowry will have surgery on his left forearm Friday after a recent bout of wildness and is probably out until the end of April.  —  Lowry was the Giants' top winner with a 14-8 record last season.

Chamberlain holds a starting gun  —  The New York Yankees' 2007 playoff run had barely ended when Hank Steinbrenner declared that hard-throwing rookie right-hander Joba Chamberlain would be installed in the Yankees starting rotation for 2008.  As spring training approached, however …

Omar Minaya: No time to panic  —  VIERA, Fla. - The Mets might not be the picture of health, but their GM maintains a healthy attitude.  Even though his ballclub has been ravaged by injuries this spring, Omar Minaya insists it is too soon too panic.  —  “I myself have never seen so many injuries at one time,” Minaya said.

All-you-can-eat seats for 2008  —  At least thirteen of Major League Baseball's 30 teams are offering all-you-can-eat seats for all or part of the 2008 season.  —  Ticket prices for these seats range from $30 at the low end with the Atlanta Braves to $200 at the high end with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Why Do Players Take Human Growth Hormone If It Doesn't Work?  —  I hear this question quite a bit when I point out that growth hormone does not improve athletic performance.  One plausible explation is that players are not well informed on the subject, given that most of their information comes …

Baseball Taps Wisdom of Fans  —  If you've ever dreamed of being a Major League Baseball scout, your day has come.  —  Last month, the St. Louis Cardinals announced a novel contest: Fans are invited to submit scouting reports on promising college ballplayers.

Clemens Investigators Look at Houston Clinic  —  HOUSTON — Internal Revenue Service agents have contacted a former employee of a fitness center here as part of an effort to determine whether Roger Clemens obtained steroids or human growth hormone in the Houston area, where he lives, the former employee said.

Righty Eaton bothered by back pain  —  Veteran struggling early in bid to crack Phils' five-man rotation  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — Adam Eaton pinpointed his struggles on Thursday afternoon.  —  The right-hander lasted two innings in his second Grapefruit League outing and complained about lower …

Harper: Girardi's conditional success  —  SARASOTA, Fla. - At about this time last year it was the Yankees, not the Mets, who were wearing out the MRI machines, piling up injuries to such an extreme that they fired their new strength and conditioning coach.  This year, with Joe Girardi running …

Notes: Turnbow gaining attention  —  Former closer benefiting from adjustment of mechanics  —  PHOENIX — Ben Sheets pitched three more scoreless innings Thursday, but the Brewers pitcher garnering raves in the clubhouse was reliever Derrick Turnbow, who is rejuvenated since a mechanical fix.