Yankees' slugger Matsui getting married  —  TOKYO (AFP) — New York Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui, one of Japan's most eligible bachelors, will marry a 25-year-old former company worker, media reports said Thursday.  —  The 33-year-old outfielder, nicknamed “Godzilla” by his fans …

Barry?  Barry who?  It's as if he was never here  —  (03-26) 20:47 PDT — Ladies and gentlemen, Barry Bonds has left the building.  —  It's official, and historic, although not original.  That announcement could have been made during the eighth inning of several Giants' home games last season.

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 …

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 …

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.

Joe Torre in a New Uniform  —  He won four World Series managing the New York Yankees.  Now he's looking for a title in Tinseltown as the new manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Joe Torre will now take your questions  —  After all those years in Yankees pinstripes, what did it feel like when you first put on a Dodgers uniform?

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.

Gotay in limbo  —  The Mets informed Ruben Gotay this morning that he is indeed on waivers and now must wait until later today or tomorrow to see if he is claimed.  —  Gotay was supposed to be on today's trip to Orlando, but with his duffel bag in front of him, he sat on his stool with tears in his eyes as he talked on his cell phone.

Back with the D-Backs (cont.)  —  Around the camps  —  • The Indians are the latest to inquire about Freddy Garcia, who will wait until he regains full health before deciding where to pitch.  By the time he's ready — perhaps June — just about anyone will be able to use him.

Opening Day lineup vs. Erik Bedard  —  Manager Ron Washington has set his Opening Day lineup.  Here is what Erik Bedard will be facing  —  2B Ian Kinsler  —  SS Michael Young  —  CF Josh Hamilton  —  3B Hank Blalock  —  DH Milton Bradley  —  LF David Murphy  —  RF Marlon Byrd

Salcedo Story Takes Another Turn  —  The curious tale of Edward Salcedo has taken another strange turn.  —  Salcedo, a shortstop out of the Dominican Republic, was regarded as one of the hottest prospects coming out of last summer's international signing period, and at least …

Blister a minor setback for Texas Rangers' Mendoza  —  Pitcher will start the season on the DL, but should be back quickly  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - A blister on Luis Mendoza's right middle finger means he'll begin the season on the disabled list.

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.