The Excerpts From “Vindicated” About Alex Rodriguez  —  Ever since Joe Lavin announced he'd bought a copy of Jose Canseco's Vindicated earlier today, people — OK, some people — have been curious what EXACTLY Canseco said.  After the jump, the selections from Vindicated concerning Alex Rodriguez.

Sosa may get rotation shot  —  Struggles by Pelfrey, Hernandez open door for righty  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Jorge Sosa temporarily became an effective solution for a rotation problem the Mets developed in May.  For five weeks, the castaway right-handed pitcher provided consistent performances …

Brewers release Vargas  —  Phoenix - In a somewhat surprising move and a definite commitment toward youth, the Brewers just released veteran right-hander Claudio Vargas.  —  The move paves the way for two young pitchers, Manny Parra and Carlos Villanueva, to make the starting rotation, along with Ben Sheets, Jeff Suppan and Dave Bush.

MLB Transactions  —  View by team:  —  TEAM  —  Agreed to terms with outfielder Reed Johnson, who had been with the Toronto Blue Jays, on a one-year contract; optioned outfielders Sam Fuld and Eric Patterson to Iowa of the Pacific Coast League (AAA); assigned pitcher Les Walrond …

Red Sox survive shaky outing from Dice-K to win opener … TOKYO — If butterflies the size of Mothra fluttered inside Daisuke Matsuzaka's gut Tuesday, it would be understandable.  —  After all, he was only the Opening Day starter for the defending world champions.  And he was pitching in his hometown.

Congress questions whether Clemens lied  —  Roger Clemens got some new Republican support in his dispute with Brian McNamee.  —  Reprising the partisan nature of last month's congressional hearing that examined whether the seven-time Cy Young Award winner took performance-enhancing drugs …

Lineups  —  Welcome to the Tokyo Dome for our final day before the Red Sox head back to the States and some semblence of normalcy.  —  You'll notice that Brandon Moss is in the lineup again.  Coco Crisp has also replaced Jacoby Ellsbury in centerfield, which Terry Francona said was the plan all along.

Do players turn “clutch” when chasing a personal goal?  —  The better a level of performance, the harder it is to achieve it.  There should be more .270 hitters than .275 hitters, more .275 hitters than .285 hitters, and so on.  —  But, surprisingly, there's an exception …

Padres pick up Black's option  —  PEORIA, ARIZONA (TICKER) —The San Diego Padres on Tuesday exercised their 2009 contract option on manager Bud Black, who last season guided the team to its best record in nearly a decade.  —  Black, 50, made his managerial debut with the Padres last year and posted an 89-74 record.

Gibby's 1.12 ERA: 40 years later  —  JUPITER, Fla. — On his way to changing baseball history, Bob Gibson was willing to break baseball tradition.  —  During one particularly low-scoring game in 1968, the Cardinals' opponent had runners on first and third bases with no outs.

Game 2  —  The second game of the Japan series is about to get underway with Jon Lester facing Rich Harden.  In a way it's the come back game.  Lester made his return from cancer in 2007 to help the Red Sox win the World Series.  Harden tries to come back from a series of injuries.

Perez ready for Opening Day start  —  Veteran righty allows three runs in his final spring tune-up  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Nationals left-hander Odalis Perez pitched his last Spring Training game on Tuesday afternoon and threw six solid innings in a 3-0 loss to the Cardinals.

Cubs, outfielder Reed Johnson agree to one-year contract  —  Additionally, Cubs announce fifth round of roster cuts; Place right-hander Angel Guzman on 60-day disabled list  —  MESA, Ariz. — The Chicago Cubs today announced the club has agreed to terms with outfielder Reed Johnson on a one-year contract.

PETTITTE: I'LL BE READY TO GO IN FIRST WEEK  —  WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - Even though Andy Pettitte hasn't pitched since March 17, has just eight spring training innings and won't face live hitters - minor leaguers at that - until Saturday, he believes the Yankees can count on him to start …

Pelfrey looking like Mets' fifth starter  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Mets decisionmakers appear set to overlook top pitching prospect Mike Pelfrey's poor spring and name him the No. 5 starter in coming days, sources said.  Club officials will gather here Wednesday, but the momentum is strong …