Granderson to DL  —  That pitch he took off of his hand on Saturday?  It turned out to fracture his middle finger, right around the base.  The hope at this point is that he'll be in a split for about two weeks and hopefully be able to return to action soon after that once he gets back into a rhythm.

Tigers give 3B Cabrera 8 years, $152M  —  DETROIT (AP)—Miguel Cabrera and the Detroit Tigers have reached a preliminary agreement on a $152.3 million, eight-year contract, according a personal familiar with the deal.  —  The person spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity Sunday because the contract was not yet final.

Another grand slam by Drew leads Red Sox to win over Yomiuri  —  TOKYO — This grand slam meant far less to J.D. Drew than his last one.  —  Still, his second homer in two exhibition games was a good sign that he's ready for a strong start to his second season with the Boston Red Sox beginning Tuesday night …

Jays reduce OF logjam, cut Johnson  —  DUNEDIN, Fla. — Shannon Stewart appears to have won the job as the Blue Jays' starting left fielder after Toronto released Reed Johnson on Sunday morning.  —  Johnson, who was hitting .289 with three doubles and three RBIs, had spent his entire career with the Blue Jays.

UNLIKE TORRE, GIRARDI FEELING THE BEAT IN CLUBHOUSE  —  Now here is a real difference between Joe Torre and Joe Girardi.  The perception is that Girardi's camp is different than Torre's.  However, bench coach Rob Thomson ran Torre's camp and does the same thing for Girardi, so there is very little difference.

A-Rod back on good terms  —  With new contract in tow, he's at peace in New York  —  By next week, we'll know what Jose Canseco has written, if anything, about Alex Rodriguez in his new book, “Vindicated,” but the Yankee star, when asked in a wide-ranging interview last week whether he was worried, said, “No, not at all.”

Talking to Brian Bannister  —  Finally got a chance to run into Brian Bannister today after he pitched his best outing of the spring (6 innings, 2 runs and 6 strikeouts).  He answered a few questions from the press and talked about what he's trying to accomplish out on the mound this spring …

'PEN DOOR OPEN  —  JOBA WILL ESCAPE TO ROTATION BY SUMMER  —  JOBA Chamberlain is going to be a starter this season.  Yankees officials still are privately saying that this is the plan, to make the transition during the 2008 season, not some distant date.

‘Nothing new’ in Roberts talks  —  MacPhail says meeting was routine  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A day after expressing some mild frustration that he still doesn't know where he'll play in 2008, Brian Roberts and his agent met with Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail yesterday at Fort Lauderdale Stadium.