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 …

Francona and Theo chat with Coco  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Willie McGinest used to say “You can't make the club from the tub.”  In the case of Coco Crisp, “you can't make a trade from the shade.”  —  If Coco Crisp wants an exit out of Boston, teams want to see that he's healthy and playing before trying to swing a deal.

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 …

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 …

Crystal Puts Bat on Ball and Tongue in Cheek  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Say this about Billy Crystal, a 5-foot-5 infield prospect who bats right-handed, throws right-handed and left everything on practice field No. 2 at Legends Field during a workout Wednesday: He has a strike zone the size of a fire ant.

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.

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.

Mets looking for outfielder; how about Endy?  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Barry Bonds.  Sammy Sosa.  Xavier Nady.  Marcus Thames.  Kenny Lofton.  Juan Rivera.  Reed Johnson.  Coco Crisp.  —  These are the outfielders that have been linked to the Mets ever since it was learned …

The Yanks Need Mussina, and That's Not So Good  —  The Yankees may have been encouraged by Mike Mussina's second outing of the spring over the weekend, when the 39-year-old veteran struck out 5 batters in just 2 2/3 innings.  Then again, he also walked a pair and allowed a home run, failing to finish the third frame.

Wednesday's recap: White Sox 4, Rockies 1  —  Spring record: 8-9.  —  At the plate: Josh Fields had three singles, and Orlando Cabrera, Nick Swisher and Brian Anderson had two hits apiece.  Anderson hit his third home run, his second in as many days.  —  On the mound: Javier Vazquez allowed …

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.”

Awed Padres perched atop Great Wall of China  —  BADALING, China — Perched on the Great Wall of China, Trevor Hoffman gazed over the slick cobblestones and through the watchtowers to survey a barrier to invading armies that once stretched 4,000 miles.  —  This weekend, the Padres …

To Take or Not To Take  —  I can't imagine that many readers of this site do not have at least some form of addiction to Baseball Reference, a veritable data goldmine for any baseball junkie.  I know I sure do.  —  Recently I have taken to coming up with some point of interest …

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.