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.

Sheppard will miss final opener  —  Bob Sheppard, the Yankees' public address announcer since the 1951 home opener, will not work the final opener at Yankee Stadium Monday as he continues to recover from health problems that have limited him for the past six months.

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 …

201 Feet to Left, 440 Feet to Right: Dodgers Play the Coliseum  —  LOS ANGELES — The foul pole stands only 201 feet down the left-field line.  A 60-foot-high net snickers beside it, ready to entice hitters and tickle the necks of two laughably cramped left fielders.

Cincinnati Takes its Shot  —  Dusty Baker was watching ESPN the other night, when he caught a SportsCenter segment in which Bob Knight, Digger Phelps, and Dick Vitale were breaking down the first round of the NCAA Tournament.  “There was a lot of knowledge there, and it was pretty interesting to watch,” Baker said.

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 …

I See See A Bright Future ...  You may know that Cleveland's C.C. Sabathia won his 100th game in 2007, and as such became the first pitcher in 16 seasons (and only the third born in the last 50 years) to win 100 major league games before turning 27.  It should be mentioned right up front …

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.