Notes: Nationals shut down ailing Hill  —  Forearm pain forces veteran right-hander to stop throwing  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Nationals right-hander Shawn Hill played catch on Friday, but he had to stop after a few minutes because his right forearm was in serious pain.

A-Rod to DH due to sore shoulder  —  Yankees third baseman skips throwing session  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a sore right shoulder and is scheduled to be the designated hitter in Friday's game against Houston.  —  Rodriguez said he felt discomfort Thursday …

Orioles' Patton headed for surgery; out until '09  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Troy Patton will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, delaying the left-hander's debut with the Baltimore Orioles until at least 2009.  —  Obtained in the December trade that sent Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros …

Yankees-Astros: The live blog  —  Good afternoon and welcome to Legends Field.  It's a balmy 79 degrees and mostly sunny here in Tampa as the Yankees prepare to play the Houston Astros.  —  The Yankees beat the Astros 7-6 on Monday and you can bet Houston will be itching for revenge.  Or maybe not.

Braves' Hampton leaves with groin injury  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP)—Oft-injured pitcher Mike Hampton of the Atlanta Braves left his spring training start Friday because of a strained right groin.  —  Hampton, who hasn't pitched in a major league game since August 2005, made it to the second inning …

Cubs cut nine, trim roster to 50  —  MESA, Ariz. — The Cubs trimmed their Spring Training roster by nine on Friday, sending Billy Petrick and Tyler Colvin, among others, to the Minor League camp.  —  Petrick was optioned to Triple-A Iowa.  The others were non-roster invitees, and they were assigned to the Minor League camp.

LaRoche to miss eight to 10 weeks  —  He has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and will need surgery, which Ned said will take place in the next couple of days, probably in Los Angeles.  No word yet on how this will affect the roster makeup, other than it pretty …

Dice-K likely to go to Japan after team  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)—Daisuke Matsuzaka probably won't fly to Tokyo with his teammates because his wife's due date is March 19, the date of the flight, but the Red Sox hope he can join them in his native country.  —  Boston will play exhibition …

Baseball Hall of Fame Considering “Steroid Exhibit”  —  It's been called the “Steroid Era” in baseball, and now, the Baseball Hall of Fame may be creating a “Steroid Exhibit”.  Today, Jeff Idelson, the vice-president of communications and education for the Hall of Fame was on the Dan Patrick Show, where Patrick brought up the topic.

Lee says Hunter told him Cubs never called  —  MESA, Ariz. — Forget what White Sox general manager Ken Williams says.  Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee says it's the Cubs who really lost out on center fielder Torii Hunter over the winter.  —  Lee said he was “shocked” when his longtime friend Hunter told …

Preview 2008: San Diego Padres  —  by Lindy's  —  For a guy whose professional trademark is consistency, Trevor Hoffman certainly traversed the peaks and valleys in 2007.  —  Hoffman became the first closer in baseball history to notch 500 career saves.  He ranked third in the league …

Thumb injury sidelines Dodgers' LaRoche  —  Third baseman, who was competing with Garciaparra for the starting job, will have surgery and miss at least eight weeks.  —  VERO BEACH, Fla. — Andy LaRoche has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and will return to Los Angeles …