Mets' injured Valentin is mulling retirement  —  VIERA, Fla. - Jose Valentin sounded as if he were on the brink of retirement yesterday in talking about a pinched nerve in his neck, but general manager Omar Minaya later insisted the situation is not that desperate.

Pettitte backs Papi off the plate  —  TAMPA - Andy Pettitte admitted he did try to back Big Papi off the plate in his second at-bat today which seemed to irritate the Sox slugger.  —  Pettitte, who hadn't pitched in 10 days because of elbow soreness, came in tight to Papi's midsection, but didn't hit him.

Hard Feelings Emerge as Mets Face Lo Duca  —  VIERA, Fla. — Paul Lo Duca and Lastings Milledge, two players no longer with the Mets, sat in the opposing clubhouse Monday and did their best not to say anything controversial about the fact that they now play for the Washington Nationals.

Lightning Rod  —  After a stormy off-season, Alex Rodriguez is back on course for the record books and, perhaps, that ever-elusive ring.  Can baseball's $275-million man redeem himself — and the game?  By Seth Mnookin  —  On Opening Day last season, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez hit …

Wood over Marmol: Cubs will regret it  —  Piniella shouldn't put most-pressing need all on Kerry's shoulders  —  He's one of those blue “I Believe” wristbands.  He's the shriek in Ron Santo's voice, the quiver in the soul of every diehard, the ongoing template of hope in Cubdom.

Linden Doesn't Have Spot With A's  —  Outfielder Todd Linden hit .353/.421/.482 in 85 Spring Training at-bats in 2007.  That and the fact that he was out of options helped him snag the Giants' fourth outfielder job that year.  Linden can play all three outfield positions.

For Dukes, Joining Nats Is a Move Toward Stability  —  More than four hours before an exhibition game last week, sweat poured off Elijah Dukes's face, soaked through his red shirt.  He worked alone with one of the Washington Nationals' batting practice pitchers, drilling baseballs …

Tigers prospect dislocates shoulder  —  Hollimon suffers injury during game against Reds  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Tigers prospect Michael Hollimon's spring is likely over, and possibly more than that, after he dislocated his left shoulder on a play in the field during Monday's loss to the Reds at Ed Smith Stadium.

Businesses near Shea bracing for uncertain future  —  In the foundry behind Howard Feinstein's cramped office, men were fabricating structural steel, some of which would be used across the street in the construction of Citi Field.  —  As the Mets' new home moves closer and closer to completion …

Bob Costas Addresses Last Week's Comments  —  Last night, while preparing for today's tournament lunacy and trying to find a picture of Mississippi Valley State's logo (he is Ming, and he is merciless), our phone rang.  We didn't have time to answer it, so 20 minutes later, we checked our messages.

Mailbag: Best course with Parra?  —  Beat reporter Adam McCalvy answers Brewers fans' questions  —  The Crew can't really keep Manny Parra out of their rotation, can they?  He has been fantastic, while Chris Capuano and Dave Bush have been pretty much the polar opposite.

Lohse to pitch Saturday vs. Twins  —  Right-hander impresses Duncan, will take hill vs. former team  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Kyle Lohse is rocketing up through the levels.  A week after facing college hitters, Lohse stepped to the mound to throw to low Class A players.

Dusting Off the Archive for the Web  —  As magazines and newspapers hunt for the new thing they need to be to thrive in the Internet era, some find that part of the answer lies in the old thing they used to be.  —  Publications are rediscovering their archives, like a person learning …

Liriano remains work in progress  —  Lefty shows signs of former self, but has more work to do  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Left-hander Francisco Liriano said that he threw at “100 percent” in his start on Monday, the first time he's done so all spring.  —  But one question remains …

Dice-K will start opener; Lester in Game 2  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Red Sox manager Terry Francona today announced his starting pitchers for the two regular season-opening games in Japan next week: Daisuke Matsuzaka gets the nod on Opening Day in his home country, and Jon Lester will start Game 2.