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.

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:

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.