Top News:
Boston Globe:
Red Sox threatening Japan boycott if staff isn't paid — Red Sox manager Terry Francona (center) talks with Sean Casey (left) and Jason Varitek this morning in Fort Myers. The players are threatening to boycott the trip to Japan if staff isn't paid for the trip.
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ESPN:
Red Sox, MLB resolve dispute over coaches' pay — Red Sox Players Take a Stand for their Coaches — FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Boston Red Sox ended a threatened boycott Wednesday of their final spring training game in Florida, resolving a dispute over paying coaches for the season-opening trip to Japan.
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Coaches and staff will be compensated — FORT MYERS, Fla. - Here's what we know about the deal to compensate players. — A major league source said moments ago that all staff associated with the trip will be compensated. Not sure whether it's $40,000 or even more because the receipts from the trip will be split at the end.
Boston Herald:
Sox win standoff with MLB — FORT MYERS - Opening Day will take place after all. — Threatening to boycott their trip to Japan because their coaches wouldn't be receiving the same kind of appearance fee as the players, the Red Sox [team stats] convinced Major League Baseball this afternoon …
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Youkilis addresses agreement for coaches — Major League Baseball seemed to take the hit about this coaches flap all morning long, but in the overall blame pie, was the Players' Association mostly at fault for originally eliminating the coaches from the pool of receipts for the Japan trip?
Susan Slusser / San Francisco Chronicle:
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.
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Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Ten people to avoid at the ballpark — I'll probably cover 120 or so games this season. But I also plan on attending at least four or five as fan. It's fun to watch a game and not have to worry about coming up with a story afterward. — There are few things better than watching a game in person with your buddies.
John Romano / St. Petersburg Times:
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 …
Dchase / Brock for Broglio:
Interview With Voros McCracken — Voros McCracken — has consulted with the Boston Red Sox front office, and won a World Series during his time with the team. He revolutionized pitcher evaluation methodology by discovering Defensive Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS) in 1999.
Minor League Ball:
Assessing Fernando Martinez — I get frequent questions from Mets fans about Fernando Martinez. How good will he be? How soon will he be ready? How much power will he develop? It sounds like a copout, but the most honest answer is that I simply don't know at this point.
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
Back spasms sideline Kerry Wood — Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood has developed back spasms and was scratched from today's pitching assignment. This comes as Wood was declared the team's probable closer. — Manager Lou Piniella downplayed the significance of the injury, but Wood was examined …
Discussion:
Baseball Musings
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Stark: Reds hope to get huge spark from Cordero … SARASOTA, Fla. — Of all the franchise-changing acquisitions in baseball this winter, here's the one that might have gotten the least hoopla: — Cincinnati Reds sign closer Francisco Cordero for four years, $46 million.
Discussion:
Redleg Nation
Gordon Wittenmyer / Chicago Sun Times:
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 …
