Pedro pitching for new deal … PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - You didn't honestly think he was going to make the trip, did you?  —  The New York Mets will be in Fort Myers to face the Red Sox [team stats] (again) today, and it is Pedro Martinez' day to pitch.  But by the time the Mets take the field …

Blue Jays take flyer on veteran pitcher Benitez  —  DUNEDIN, Fla.-The Blue Jays added another veteran arm to their spring training bullpen mix Tuesday morning, signing 35-year-old reliever Armando Benitez to a minor-league contract.  —  Benitez will report Thursday's to the Jays' minor-league camp, said general manager J.P. Ricciardi.

Harper: Kennedy's brain wins games  —  TAMPA - If Joba Chamberlain is the box-office phenom, and Phil Hughes is the can't-miss kid, what does that make Ian Kennedy, the least heralded of the three young guns the Yankees are banking on this season?  —  Call him the thinking man's pitcher.

Only the stragglers are left  —  Extremely quiet morning here at Tradition Field.  Most of the club is on a bus now, heading across state to Fort Myers for the Red Sox redux.  So for the few that are left, it meant an opportunity to catch up on much-needed sleep.  —  It wasn't a good morning, however, for Jose Reyes.

Beckett update  —  I have to apologize for my tardiness in blogging the lineups.  It's been a busy morning, with an appearance by Mike Greenwell.  Greenwell walked into the clubhouse and had to go by a security guard.  The exchange:  —  Security guard: “Umm.  Can I help you?”

Barmes draws interest from O's, Angels  —  TUCSON — With Troy Tulowitzki cemented as the Rockies' shortstop for arguably the next decade, the Orioles and Angels are among the teams monitoring Clint Barmes this spring, hoping he becomes available in a trade.

On the Beat: Talking With Peter Abraham  —  On the Beat is FanHouse's conversation with some of the game's top sports writers.  Today we're talking with Peter Abraham, who covers the New York Yankees for The Journal News and whose immensely popular LoHud Yankees Blog sets the online standard for beat writers.

Matsui absence likely to last four to five days  —  Astros second baseman Kaz Matsui is expected to miss four or five days after being diagnosed with a condition known as anal fissure.  —  Matsui, who returned to central Florida on Monday night, will go through individual workouts …

Two on Two: 2008 AL Central Preview  —  We're bringing out the big guns for the American League Central.  We hope you enjoyed the AL West and NL West previews and trust you will find today's roundtable discussion with two of our favorite writers informative and entertaining.

Stats I Like  —  The day is here!  The Soul of Baseball paperback is now officially out, available on-line, available in bookstores, available at my house (send your checks!).  Buy the award-winning book that President George Bush called “Thank you for the copy.”

Give him a roster spot already  —  It's time to just put Angel Pagan on the Opening Day roster.  Done deal.  Pagan is playing out of his mind this spring and is doing it again today against the Red Sox.  Guy never makes an out.  In the first inning, Pagan hit a laser off Tim Wakefield …

Sox may have (computer) chip on their shoulder  —  If computers ran the world, Steven Seagal probably would have won a few Oscars by now, assuming they judged him on the $2 billion his movies have earned.  If computers had a way of measuring acting ability, he'd be running a martial-arts school in a strip mall.