Top News:
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Yankees-Rays: The Live Blog — Here we are at Al Lang Field for the Yankees vs. the Devil Rays. It's 71 degrees and there's a sellout crowd on hand. — I have three stories to write (Andy Pettitte, Billy Crystal and a notebook) but I'll update this post from time to time. — FIRST INNING
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Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Tempers flare in Yanks-Rays matchup — Rays' Gomes, Yanks' Phillips, Duncan among five ejected — ST. PETERSBURG — One day after Yankees manager Joe Girardi insisted his club would not retaliate for a violent home-plate collision in Saturday's game against the Rays …
ESPN:
Yankees, Rays brawl after Duncan's takeout slide — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays brawled in the second inning of a spring training game Wednesday, an inning after Yankees pitcher Heath Phillips was ejected after hitting Rays prospect Evan Longoria with a pitch.
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:
Yankees, Rays brawl in Florida — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The bad blood between the Yankees and Rays boiled over Wednesday afternoon with a benches-clearing brawl. — The fight started when the Yankees' Shelley Duncan lined a single over Rays third baseman Evan Longoria's head.
Marc Lancaster / Rays Report:
Rays: Duncan play ‘flat-out dirty’ — Most of the Rays' starters are out of the game now and their opinions on Shelley Duncan's bench-clearing slide into Aki Iwamura in the second inning were unanimous. — “Dirty play,” said B.J. Upton. “Just a flat-out dirty play. Period.”
Discussion:
Sliding Into Home
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:Benches clear as Yankees-Rays rivalry ramps up
Discussion:
Sports Scope
Geoff Baker / Mariners Blog:
Ramirez released — There you go. Doesn't quite rate as a surprise. As many of you have noted, there was just no room on this year's squad for Horacio Ramirez. By releasing him today, the M's only have to pay him a sixth of his $2.75-million salary for the coming season.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Phillies Nation, MLB Fleece Factor, Mets Today, Rain Delay, MLB Rumors and Lone Star Ball
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Jim Street / MLB.com:
Mariners release Ramirez — Lefty's struggles, stocked rotation spell end of road in Seattle — PEORIA, Ariz. — The Mariners' first roster move of Spring Training was a stunner. — Left-handed pitcher Horacio Ramirez, who spent most of last season in the starting rotation …
Discussion:
The Transaction Guy
Associated Press:
M's release lefty Ramirez 15 months after trading for him — CBSSports.com wire reports — PEORIA, Ariz. — The Seattle Mariners released pitcher Horacio Ramirez on Wednesday, giving up on the underperforming left-hander they acquired in a trade 15 months ago.
Discussion:
Chop-n-Change
Marc Topkin / The Heater:
Baldelli's issues: “Abnormalities” that cause extreme fatigue — Rocco Baldelli will be sidelined indefinitely - but is not retiring - because of what he said are “some type of metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities,” a condition that leaves him feeling extremely fatigued after just a brief workout.
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Marc Lancaster / Rays Report:
Baldelli dealing with muscle ‘abnormalities’ — Rocco Baldelli addressed his mysterious medical problems for the first time today, saying a litany of tests by doctors around the country had revealed “some type of metabolic and/or mitochondrial abnormalities.”
Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Coco no go to Mets — Ignore that rumor started about Coco Crisp heading to the Mets for Angel Pagan. — Theo Epstein, through media relations director John Blake, said that the Red Sox have not been talking to the Mets. That the story was a fabrication. — Meanwhile...the Red Sox are leading 6-5.
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Dan Steinberg / D.C. Sports Bog:
Nats Pick Stadium Music (Updated) — Mea major culpa, full list of song choices below, Chuck Brown is indeed included, apologies to the Nats. — This asking-the-fans-to-pick-the- music trend has been percolating for a few years—remember last spring, when fans were allowed to pick David Wright's …
Discussion:
Oleanders and Morning Glories, Nats320, Nats Triple Play, Just A Nats Fan and William World News
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Maureen Mullen / MLB.com:
Manny finds wisdom with touch of gray — Slugger refines exercise, diet as career begins to wind down — FORT MYERS, Fla. — The experts will tell us one of the keys to aging well is to continue learning along the way. Older and wiser, as the saying goes.
Sports Illustrated:
John Donovan: Pirates new GM embarks on rebuilding job — BRADENTON, Fla. — I am ready to run through an outfield wall for Neal Huntington. I'm ready to jump over the Monongahela and the Allegheny and whatever the third one of those rivers is in Pittsburgh.
MLB.com:
Adam Dunn: Expecting bigger things — Reds outfielder focused on fulfilling his potential — Everywhere you go in baseball you'll hear that word “potential,” and it applies to me just like everyone else. I know I'm capable of a lot more than I've accomplished so far in my career.
Discussion:
Red Reporter
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Pettitte will skip today's start — Andy Pettitte has what the Yankees are describing as mild tendinitis outside his elbow and will not start today. — Pettitte, Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman all say that the lefty will make his next start and will be ready for the regular season.
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