Yankees honored to play Va. Tech  —  BLACKSBURG, Va. - As the Yankees visited the Virginia Tech campus memorial site dedicated to the 32 people who were killed in last year's campus shootings, a young woman approached Derek Jeter and asked if she could take a picture with him.

Report: Sox may boycott Japan if coaches unpaid  —  The sense of international goodwill Major League Baseball was hoping to spread with the Boston Red Sox-Oakland Athletics trip to Japan has been threatened before the plane even leaves the tarmac.  —  At issue is whether the Red Sox coaches …

Castro legging it out  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Ramon Castro's MRI exam revealed a strained right hamstring, but Mets trainers felt good enough about his condition to clear him to catch Mike Pelfrey's six-inning simulated game Tuesday.  Castro, who is apprehensive about running …

Marquis plying his trade  —  With 1.93 spring ERA, right-hander could help Cubs one way or another  —  MESA, Ariz. — With his name a regular part of trade rumors, Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis was asked if he had allowed himself to consider some of the possibilities — like, say …

Joe Crede likely to be White Sox's third baseman on opening day  —  Healthy and hard-to-trade, he will likely will get nod over Fields  —  TUCSON, Ariz. - Third baseman Joe Crede has timing issues that aren't limited to whether the White Sox trade him before the start of the regular season.

Don't rush him: Rays would be wise to send Longoria back to Durham  —  His time is near, on that we can all agree.  The tricky part is defining near.  ¶  If you are Evan Longoria, then opening day sounds like the nearest thing to heaven.  If you are a Rays fan, after seeing another Longoria home run …

Nationals Have Logjam Up the Middle  —  Barring a trade — and with General Manager Jim Bowden at the controls, that never is a good idea — the Washington Nationals have three players for two positions in the middle infield.  Two of those players — would-be second basemen Ronnie Belliard …

A's notes: Minor-leaguer De Los Santos hits 97 on gun  —  (03-18) 19:52 PDT Surprise, —  Ariz. - Fautino De Los Santos, who might be the real prize in the Nick Swisher deal, made his first appearance for the A's, and several other potential Oakland players also made their spring debuts with the team.

Forst says injury concerns a big reason for A's moves  —  Editor's note: This is the third in Jonah Keri's series of Q&As with players and executives from the Cactus League.  Click to read interviews with Arizona GM Josh Byrnes and Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick.

Phillies' Hamels commands attention in strong spring outing  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - Take a deep breath.  Relax.  Cole Hamels didn't forget how to throw his changeup.  In fact, he's still pretty darn good at it.  —  Yesterday afternoon, against one of the top up-and-coming lineups in the game …

Obama Business Strikes Out  —  Major League Baseball forces closure of online t-shirt operation  —  Major League Baseball has forced the closure of an online business run by a Barack Obama supporter who tweaked team logos to create t-shirts promoting the Illinois Democrat's presidential bid.

Choiceless Padres likely to start Gerut in left  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX.  —  add this  —  Jody Gerut hasn't played in the majors since 2005.

Breakfast with Bob Knight: Humble pie isn't on menu  —  In his new role as (gasp) media member, ESPN commentator is quick, even generous with his opinions during a morning interview.  Just don't say he's retired from coaching.  —  Bob Knight was late meeting me for brunch.