Hank bashes Canseco, backs A-Rod  —  Yankees general partner Hank Steinbrenner compares Alex Rodriguez to a modern-day Mickey Mantle in terms of ability.  —  In his spirited defense of A-Rod on Wednesday, Steinbrenner told The Record that “if [Sandy] Koufax, [Mickey] Mantle, [Babe] Ruth …

Durbin put on waivers  —  Down to 11 healthy pitchers, the Phillies could drop to 10 by today after placing struggling reliever J.D. Durbin on waivers.  —  Apparently the Phils are pretty confident they'll be successful in their desperate search to add a veteran arm from outside the organization before Monday's season opener.

Late-arrival Tatis may have right timing for Mets  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - Delayed by visa problems, Fernando Tatis finally showed up on March 13, and his absence was already a running joke with his teammates.  Earlier in camp, Pedro Feliciano impersonated Tatis by taking the field for morning drills in his No. 17 jersey.

Murton Very Available  —  Per the Chicago Sun-Times, Matt Murton is officially not a part of the Cubs' plans.  Today Lou Piniella named Mike Fontenot as the final player on the five man bench, ruling out the possibility of Murton making the roster and going on to say that the Cubs will try to get him a spot on a major league team.

SportsBiz: Jeter, A-Rod top baseball list  —  New York's dynamic duo are tops, but baseball stars still lag behind  —  New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, left, and Derek Jeter have movie star looks and squeaky clean images.  —  Baseball is enjoying a boom period.

Back to US in no time  —  LOS ANGELES - It is 6:50 Wednesday night in Los Angeles and I am thinking about Marvin Barnes.  —  You remember Marvin.  Providence College.  Final Four.  Wasted potential.  Bob Costas tells a story of his days with Marvin when both worked for the Spirits of St. Louis of the old ABA.

Chasing Jose, By Pat Jordan  —  Pat Jordan is the author of 13 books, including “A False Spring,” hailed by Time as “one of the best and truest books about baseball, and about coming to maturity in America.”  A prolific freelance journalist for 40 years, Jordan was recently dubbed …

Cubs and WGN: Losing team, winning combination  —  Former Cubs owner P.K. Wrigley was hardly a baseball genius.  His idea to employ a “College of Coaches” was a colossal calamity.  —  But Wrigley made one decision that transformed the face of the franchise: Against the advice of his fellow owners …

Zito, Giants beaten by Triple-A Fresno  —  (03-27) 04:00 PDT Fresno —  The Giants' visit to their Triple-A affiliate really was a big deal.  Chukchansi Park was sold out long ago, local hero Mark Gardner tossed the ceremonial first pitch and the teams lined up along the base lines …

TBS breaks out new lineup for baseball  —  In its first new take on TV baseball in three decades, TBS has made key roster moves: adding Ron Darling and Buck Martinez, to be formally announced today, as game analysts.  —  Those analysts, TBS executive producer Jeff Behnke says …

Tigers place Guzman on waivers; Thomas more likely 25th man  —  LAKELAND, Fla. - The Tigers have placed outfielder Freddy Guzman on outright waivers, a sign that he is not a leading candidate to make the Opening Day roster.  —  Detroit officials should learn by this afternoon whether Guzman has cleared waivers.

Rockies release 2B Giles  —  TUCSON, ARIZONA (TICKER) —The Colorado Rockies on Wednesday released second baseman Marcus Giles.  —  Giles, who will turn 30 in May, signed a minor league contract with Colorado on January 8.  He batted .333 (7-for-21) this spring.

Spring Training: The unkindest cut of all  —  After flurry of moves, Burnett looks to be last one out  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — One extra player remains in the Pirates' camp, a number that could drop to zero by the end of today.  —  And the odd man out, based on strong indications yesterday, will be Sean Burnett.

Ten Things I Didn't Know a while ago  —  We took a little bit of a break over the winter, but THT's Ten Things I Didn't Know Last Week column is ready to go another season.  Many thanks to the two people who encouraged me to keep going a fourth year.  —  Some of these items will be old news to you, but I've got to start somewhere.

Ziegel: Figure on Figueroa following his dream  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Nelson Figueroa, one of the Coney Island Figueroas, is a day or two away from finding out if the Mets have room for him in this part of the world.  If they don't, they don't.  He's a big boy.  And this won't be the first time the Mets have told him where to go.