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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.