Pirates sign Snell, beat Boston  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — Ian Snell today agreed to a multi-year contract that could keep him with the Pirates through the 2012 season.  —  The Pirates made the announcement moments after beating Boston, 6-3.  A three-run double by Freddy Sanchez sparked a four-run seventh inning.

More injuries for hurting Mets  —  Delgado hit with piece of bat after Castro stresses hamstring  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A bloody mess, it was.  Corpuscles, plasma, cells — red and white — and all sorts of things that aren't supposed to leak from a person's forearm were doing precisely that on Sunday.

Beleaguered Jim drops in for visit  —  TAMPA - The Yankees have dealt with plenty of controversy during spring training, most notably due to the fallout from the Mitchell Report.  —  But Sunday, controversy strolled into Yankeeland through the front door of the team's own clubhouse.

An Accident With One Door Opens Another  —  TAMPA, Fla. — It was not the best way to pave a path to the major leagues.  It was painful, and purely accidental.  But when Scott Patterson jammed his right middle finger in a door three years ago, it turned his career around.

Yankees' Duncan, Cabrera to appeal suspensions  —  New York Yankees first baseman Shelley Duncan and center fielder Melky Cabrera said Sunday they will appeal their three-game suspensions for their roles in a spring training fight against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Wood closing in on closer job  —  Righty earns first save, to be tested on consecutive days  —  MESA, Ariz. — Maybe it was a sign of things to come, but on Sunday, Kerry Wood picked up his first save.  —  Wood retired the side to preserve the Cubs' 4-1 Cactus League win over the Angels, needing just seven pitches to end the game.

‘Upset’ Varitek moves on without Mirabelli … FORT MYERS - When the Red Sox [team stats] announced last week that longtime backup catcher Doug Mirabelli [stats] was being released to make room for Kevin Cash, Jason Varitek [stats] thought it best to keep his feelings about the move to himself.

Selig: ‘This is where it started’  —  Commissioner believes baseball will soon be big in China  —  BEIJING — On the return drive from a Sunday pregame trek to the Great Wall, Commissioner Bud Selig passed a local university where he saw Chinese students playing baseball and softball.

Patterson trying to regain form  —  Despite shaky outing, Acta pleased righty is healthy  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Nationals right-hander John Patterson had his toughest outing of the spring on Sunday afternoon, pitching four innings and giving up six runs on eight hits in an 11-3 loss to the Orioles.

Some photos from Spring Training  —  I'm going to try to post most of the photos I took from Spring Training from last week.  Here are a series of photos of Reds minor leaguers, whose pitchers and catchers had just reported when we got there.

Podsednik's bid for roster spot bolstered by diving catch  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Scott Podsednik has shown the Rockies plenty this spring: .360 batting average, .529 on-base percentage and six stolen bases in seven attempts.  —  But manager Clint Hurdle was still waiting to see Podsednik turn …

Beckett throws pain-free but will skip Japan trip  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Josh Beckett will stay behind when the Red Sox fly 7,500 miles to Tokyo on Wednesday, even though he threw a ball 75 feet without back pain on Sunday.  —  Boston manager Terry Francona made official what had been obvious …