Dodger blues: LaRoche out 2 months; Nomar hit  —  VERO BEACH, Fla. — This wasn't the way the Los Angeles Dodgers envisioned the competition for starting third baseman would play out.  —  Andy LaRoche, who was vying with Nomar Garciaparra for the job, tore a ligament in his right thumb Friday …

Twins' Liriano looks good in first outing in 18 months  —  FORT MYERS, Fla.—Francisco Liriano faced a major league team for the first time in 18 months, gave up no runs and felt no pain.  —  He even made Manny Ramirez look silly on a changeup that the Red Sox slugger flailed at for a third strike.

Short dose of Yankees highlights  —  Rivera makes first spring appearance, striking out two  —  ASTROS 9, YANKEES 5  —  Astros at the plate: Victor Diaz blasted an 0-1 offering from starter Andy Pettitte out of the park to put the Astros up 2-0 in the first inning.

Vizcaino joins Cook in trainer's room  —  SURPRISE, ARIZ. — Because it's March 7, there's no panic.  But the National League champions are dealing with their first adversity, beset by injuries.  Reliever Luis Vizcaino, the club's top offseason acquisition, sat in the trainer's room with ice …

WEAPONS OF MASS DISTRACTION  —  YANKS WORRIED OVER JOBA'S FOCUS  —  This is a new season and a new set of Joba Rules.  —  Manager Joe Girardi and GM Brian Cashman made that clear yesterday.  They want Joba Chamberlain to continue to be his outgoing self - but they also want to make sure …

Set to pay a princely price tag  —  Attanasio aims to keep Fielder in Milwaukee  —  Phoenix - Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said Friday that he did not think Prince Fielder's unhappiness with his current contract would affect the slugging first baseman's relationship with the club in the future.

Notes: Lefties vying for relief role  —  Candidates include O'Flaherty, Jimenez and Feierabend  —  MESA, Ariz. — Manager John McLaren is taking a different approach in selecting a left-handed setup reliever than he used when arranging the numerical order of the starting rotation.

Martínez's Changeup: Less Talk, More Action  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Pedro Martínez prepared to throw his first pitch of the day.  He looked in to see Damion Easley, his teammate, wearing a windbreaker and limbering up in a batting cage.

Playing at The Cell  —  The ISFA already runs and operates U.S. Cellular Field, so if the Cubs begin a $250 million renovation of Wrigley, Kenney said it's likely they would play part of a season on the South Side with a little scheduling help from Major League Baseball.

Notes: Injuries worrying Leyland  —  Skipper says plenty of work remains before Opening Day  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Just past the midway point of Spring Training, Tigers manager Jim Leyland is a little antsy.  —  It's not necessarily an alarm bell.