Joe Girardi still unsure of Joba Chamberlain description  —  TAMPA - With Opening Day two weeks from tomorrow, the Yankees still are deciding what role Joba Chamberlain will have on the pitching staff.  —  Chamberlain allowed four hits, including a solo homer by Curtis Granderson …

Grounded: Beckett to miss Red Sox's Japan trip  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox ace Josh Beckett will miss the team's upcoming trip to Japan, where Boston will open the 2008 Major League Baseball season against the Oakland Athletics.  —  Manager Terry Francona made the expected announcement Sunday …

Can Pedro tame Tigers in first real test for Mets?  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Johan Santana's starts already are events at Tradition Field.  Maybe not Pedro Martinez-sized events, but Mets fans down here want to get an up-close look at their new No. 1 starter.  —  Today will be a Pedro-sized event.

Help from above?  Angels' non-trade looking good right about now  —  Angels: Five things to know  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — You looked at Miguel Cabrera in a Detroit uniform this spring and imagined the possibilities.  A bat that will have a lethal impact on the American League race.

Is Pierre odd man out in Dodgers' outfield?  —  VIERA, Fla. - By all accounts, including their own, neither Andre Ethier nor Matt Kemp has been told anything specific about what Dodgers officials have planned for them once the regular season begins.  —  As a result, they have toiled …

Duncan can't slow down and doesn't want to  —  Shelley Duncan has seemed baffled by all the furor surrounding his late, spikes-up slide into the Rays' Akinori Iwamura on Wednesday.  —  Duncan never saw plays like that criticized when he was growing up in and around Major League Baseball.

Yanks' young guns face uphill fight against history  —  TAMPA - Although no one in the Yankees' high command is prepared to put a specific number on it, it is reasonable to assume they are hoping for Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy to make 25 to 30 starts apiece this season …

Big Unit sees improvement vs. Angels  —  Hurler concerned by low pitch count in second spring start  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — Randy Johnson knows he still has a long way to go in his rehab from back surgery, but he is definitely pleased with his progress.  —  Johnson allowed just one hit …

Kyle Farnsworth's softer side  —  TAMPA - Anyone who has seen Kyle Farnsworth unleash his 100 mph heater, daring the hitter to take his best shot, knows one thing about one of the game's most aggressive pitchers: He is a competitor who puts everything he's got into each pitch, sometimes at the expense of his command.

For crowd, game is its cup of tea  —  Fans even boo when told first MLB contest in China, between Dodgers and Padres, would end in 3-3 tie.  —  BEIJING — Driving balls toward the empty metal bleachers behind the outfield wall during batting practice Saturday, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp was admittedly worried.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?  RON HUNT  —  Ron Hunt, the first Mets player to get a hit, score a run and hit a home run at Shea Stadium, wants to be on hand when the team officially closes the stadium.  —  Speaking from his home in Jasper, Mo., Hunt, 67, said he hasn't been invited to a Mets alumni function …

Barton makes strong push  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, FLA. — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa long ago advanced the notion that experience breaks ties at the end of spring training.  The adage is being challenged this month.  —  Unable to carry more than five outfielders into the season …

REGGIE LOSES HIS PINSTRIPES  —  Major League Baseball has ordered Reggie Jackson out of uniform for the remainder of spring training games after the Hall of Famer was on the field during this past Wednesday's altercation.  —  Jackson, who was on the field dressed in gray baseball pants …