Pirates acquire Yates from Atlanta, buy out Kim  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — The Pirates this morning acquired reliever Tyler Yates from the Atlanta Braves for pitching prospect Todd Redmond, bought out the contract of reliever Byung-Hyun Kim and made several other moves.  —  Among them:

FIFTH AVENUE  —  VARGAS COULD FILL OUT ROTATION  —  Claudio Vargas could be a candidate for the Mets' No. 5 starter vacancy.  —  The 29-year-old right hander was released yesterday by the Brewers in a salary dump, and Mets GM Omar Minaya said his club will have a strong interest now that Vargas reportedly has cleared waivers.

Sox sent packing by Harden, A's … TOKYO - Finally, the Red Sox [team stats] put Japan in their rear-view mirror.  —  If they cared to look back, the last sight would not be pretty at all.  —  The Red Sox wound up splitting this historic case of jet-lagged games against the A's with a lackluster 5-1 loss.

Phillies Notebook: Mystery, intrigue as deadline nears for Phillies' final roster spots  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - At the beginning of spring training, the Phillies clubhouse always resembles a crowded bus terminal with players here, players there, players, players everywhere.

Three for the money  —  Mike Mussina has found the fountain of youth, and it resides in the picturesque lake that can be seen on the wall next to his locker.  —  “Lake Mussina,” as it has come to be known, is the centerpiece of a corner of the Yankees' home clubhouse at Legends Field.

Reyes is likely to go to Memphis  —  JUPITER, FLA. — If it was an audition for another club, Anthony Reyes' outing Tuesday against the Washington Nationals ranked as a success.  —  If it was a last pitch for the Cardinals' season-opening rotation, better luck next time.

Moises Alou eying April return  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Don't rule out Moises Alou playing in April, the left fielder said.  —  Alou returned to the Mets' spring-training complex Tuesday for the first time since having surgery on March 6 to repair a hernia.  The 41-year-old has started riding …

Dodgers release reliever Seanez  —  LOS ANGELES — The Dodgers released veteran Rudy Seanez on Tuesday night after the right-handed reliever allowed two unearned runs and blew a save in two-thirds of an inning against the Milwaukee Brewers.  —  Seanez, 39, had a 7.71 spring ERA after being slowed …

Padres pick up Black's '09 option  —  Manager led San Diego to 89-74 record in first year at helm  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Standing inside the dugout at Miller Field in Milwaukee in September, Padres general manager Kevin Towers talked glowingly about the job that first-year manager Bud Black did.

Madden: Yankee Stadium will be missed  —  I feel as if I've spent half my life in Yankee Stadium, bearing witness to thousands of games as a fan and reporter in the grand old ballpark's two incarnations.  —  George Steinbrenner and his emissaries of progress will have to understand if I'm taking …

Rockies trade Ramirez to Royals  —  The Rockies began ironing out the final wrinkles on their roster this morning, trading reliever Ramon Ramirez to Kansas City for a player to be named later.  —  Ramirez told teammates goodbye in the clubhouse, shaking heads and gathering up his gear.

Sayonara, baseball tradition  —  Baseball used to be a game played with nine men to a side, two managers, four umpires, and the major-league season always opened in Cincinnati.  Come to think of it now, that would be sort of like “Gone With the Wind” opening in Valdosta.  But Cincinnati had a deal, see.

Pettitte throws, on target for start  —  TAMPA, Fla. — New York Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte threw 36 pitches during a 10-minute bullpen session Wednesday and remains on target to start the third or fourth game of the regular season.  —  Pettitte was originally to start New York's second game …