Nats reassign Boone to Minors  —  Belliard will most likely be named starting second baseman  —  VIERA, Fla. — The Nationals reassigned second baseman Bret Boone to Minor League camp on Thursday evening, and he will accept the assignment to Triple-A Columbus.

Girardi: No lefty in pen would be all right  —  DUNEDIN, Fla. - Opening Day may be just 10 days away, but Joe Girardi doesn't appear to be close to any decisions on the last few roster spots.  —  While 20 of the 25 slots are pretty much set, the final three jobs in the bullpen remain an open competition …

First class all the way  —  Sox trip hardly typical  —  FORT MYERS-CHICAGO—TOKYO - One day (Thursday, March 20, 2008) in the life of the Boston Red Sox [team stats] is going to be missing from the history books.  —  On their first-ever trip to Tokyo, where their plane touched down at 12:16 …

Cleveland Indians' David Dellucci has sore left forearm  —  Port St. Lucie, Fla. — David Dellucci's surgically repaired left hamstring hasn't given him any problems in spring straining.  A sore left forearm has.  —  Dellucci used Tuesday's off day and Wednesday to rest the forearm.

McNamee's grand slam  —  Roger Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee smashed his Lexus into a city bus in Queens yesterday after blacking out behind the wheel, authorities said.  —  McNamee was heading westbound on Central Ave. near Beach 11th St. in Far Rockaway when he rear-ended another car …

With no Barry by the Bay, Giants look to put ‘fun’ in fundamentals  —  Giants: Five things to know  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Oh yes, Barry Bonds has been heard from around here this spring.  Outfielder Dave Roberts has spoken with him over the telephone.  So has outfielder Randy Winn, and infielder Rich Aurilia.

Ramirez can call himself a White Sox  —  Guillen says Cuban has made the team  —  PHOENIX - Juan Uribe remained on the White Sox roster Thursday, but Alexei Ramirez's status appears more secure.  —  “Is he on the roster?  Yes,” manager Ozzie Guillen said of Ramirez, 26 …

Fixing a Pitcher's Quirk  —  Jeremy Bonderman of the Detroit Tigers is one of the best young starting pitchers in baseball — from the second inning on.  Throughout his career, Mr. Bonderman has exhibited one of the game's most puzzling quirks.  Last season, his earned run average in the first inning was a nightmarish 11.57.

IT'S TIME TO REGISTER  —  RELIEVER MAKING AMAZIN' IMPRESSION  —  Don't be fooled by the big-market status or the NL's richest payroll.  The Mets are just as willing as the Pirates and Royals of the world to work baseball's nooks and crannies for pitching talent.  —  Steven Register is proof of that.

Loretta could be answer to Dodgers' problems  —  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  —  ORLANDO, Fla. - Emptying the spring-training notebook:

Investigators to Put Focus on Canseco's Link to Clemens  —  For years, José Canseco has been a frequent guest on WEEI, the sports radio station in Boston.  So it was predictable that the station would reach out to him Dec. 13, when George J. Mitchell issued his report on the links between baseball …

Patterson Cut by Nationals  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The Mets have a fairly good idea of what Johan Santana can do as a pitcher, and they are gradually learning how talented he is as a hitter.  But they were unable to gauge how one affected the other until Thursday night.

Timlin injured; DL unlikely  —  TOKYO — Mike Timlin ended up with stitches on the ring finger of his pitching hand, after fielding a comebacker to the mound in an exhibition Wednesday.  —  Terry Francona said it was unlikely the injury would result in a stint on the disabled list for Timlin …

Management undecided on Longoria  —  Financial aspects might matter in prospect's future in Majors  —  ST. PETERSBURG — A decision must be made on Evan Longoria in the near future.  And all the Rays' top prospect has done this spring is play like a top prospect.