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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Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
A Slide Leads to a Cut and a Festering Wound — ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two of his players and two of his coaches were ejected Wednesday, but Yankees Manager Joe Girardi insisted his team had not been looking for a fight. In the visiting dugout after Round 2 of a bruising bout with the Tampa Bay Rays …
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 …
Discussion:
Hardball, Green Pinstripes, Eephus Pitch, Scott Proctor's Arm, Bombers Beat, Bronx Banter and Bugs & Cranks
Kat O'Brien / Newsday:
Yankees, Rays brawl in Florida
Yankees, Rays brawl in Florida
Discussion:
New York Post, NY Daily News, Ken Davidoff's baseball …, Awful Announcing, YanksBlog.com, Hot Foot and The Bottom Line
Mark Feinsand / NY Daily News:
Benches clear as Yankees-Rays rivalry ramps up
Benches clear as Yankees-Rays rivalry ramps up
Discussion:
Sports Scope
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 …
RELATED:
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.
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:
U.S.S. Mariner, Associated Press, Phillies Nation, Mets Today, Rain Delay, MLB Rumors and Lone Star Ball
Jim Street / MLB.com:
Capuano can't find groove vs. Seattle — Left-hander struggles for third straight outing in Cactus play — MARINERS 5, BREWERS 1 — Mariners at the plate: Outfielder Mike Morse tacked on three more hits to his productive spring: a single in the fifth, run-scoring double in the seventh …
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Adam McCalvy / MLB.com:
Cameron to seek supplement use — Brewer may need help for post-concussion issues — PEORIA, Ariz. — Brewers assistant general manager Gord Ash said that center fielder Mike Cameron is applying for a therapeutic use exemption that would allow him to take certain supplements or substances …
Discussion:
FanHouse
Chris Girandola / MLB.com:
Crystal lives out pinstripe dreams — Actor-comedian takes BP and fielding practice with Yanks — TAMPA, Fla. — When Harry met a brushback pitch. — An idea spawned on the beaches of Costa Rica a few months ago between Billy Crystal and Derek Jeter turned comedic in the batting cages of Field Two at Legends Field on Wednesday.
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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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Anthony Rieber / On the Mets beat:
Cuckoo for Coco? — Not really. A Mets official chuckled …
Cuckoo for Coco? — Not really. A Mets official chuckled …
Discussion:
Ya Gotta Believe
Alyson Footer / MLB.com:
Lee not a fan of batting in five-hole — Slugger prefers to hit cleanup, but will do what's best for team — LAKELAND, Fla. — Before the start of Spring Training, Astros manager Cecil Cooper projected the Opening Day lineup to include Miguel Tejada hitting third, Lance Berkman fourth and Carlos Lee fifth.
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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Carrie Muskat / MLB.com:
Piniella to test Soriano at No. 2 in lineup — Move an attempt to keep slugger healthy; Fukudome to bat fifth — SURPRISE, Ariz. — Lou Piniella plans to experiment with the Cubs lineup, dropping leadoff man Alfonso Soriano to No. 2 in an attempt to keep him healthy while inserting Kosuke Fukudome fifth.
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.
Marty Noble / MLB.com:
Joke's on Castillo, but he isn't laughing — Teammates play prank on veteran, putting gum atop his cap — PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — By the fourth inning, Luis Castillo retreated to the Mets' clubhouse, passed by a mirror and discovered the reasons for the behind-his-back giggles and grins in the dugout on Wednesday.
Discussion:
MetsBlog.com
Tony Massarotti / Boston Herald:
No arms surplus here … FORT MYERS — In the unlikely event you're looking for one, here's an opinion: The Red Sox [team stats] need another starting pitcher. — “Six wasn't enough,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona mused yesterday following the Sox' 12-7 win over the Minnesota Twins …
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Amalie Benjamin / Boston Globe:
Beckett looks very unlikely for Japan
Beckett looks very unlikely for Japan
Discussion:
Fox Sports, The Bottom Line, Providence Journal, Peter's Red Sox Forever, Projo SoxBlog and Sports Illustrated
Associated Press:
Ga. baseball team plans “Eliot Spitzer” theme night — MACON, Ga. (AP) - A Georgia minor league team is hoping to turn Eliot Spitzer's scandal into a packed stadium. — The Macon Music is capitalizing on the outgoing New York governor's prostitution-related downfall, by serving up a “Eliot Spitzer Night.”
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