Top News:
Bryan Hoch / MLB.com:
Yankees ditch bats for pool cues — Girardi takes club to billiard hall to help build bonds, assuage distractions — TAMPA, Fla. — Joe Girardi was about 10 years old when billiards taught him an important lesson in controlling his temper. Throwing a pool cue into a piece of drywall …
RELATED:
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
Coke to pitch out of the bullpen — I stopped Joe Girardi in the clubhouse today as I wanted to get some clarification on how they plan to use Phil Coke. — The verdict is ... reliever. — “He's a guy we see being able to pitch multiple innings out of the bullpen.
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:
The Sandman rules in pool — The Yankees had two Eight-Ball tournaments. Mariano Rivera won both of them, once paired with Phil Coke and the second time with Andy Pettitte. — There will be some quotes and some photos shortly. — UPDATE, 3:00 p.m.: Via a pool reporter, some comments were obtained.
Discussion:
A DIE HARD YANKEES FAN, Heartland Pinstripes, Pinstripe Posts, River Avenue Blues and Sliding Into Home
Ken Davidoff / Newsday:
Joe: Stability in set lineup — With “The Yankee Years” causing us to look back at what “went wrong” in the latter years of Joe Torre's stay in the Bronx, let's not forget another component that had nothing to do with Alex Rodriguez's diva personality or Brian Cashman's inflammatory determination …
Peter Abraham / The LoHud Yankees Blog:We're gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool
Discussion:
Sox and Pinstripes
Chico Harlan / Nationals Journal:
Bowden Denies Wrongdoing [Updated] — Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden this morning denied any wrongful practices in Latin American scouting, saying simply, “I'm innocent of any wrongdoing, and besides that I don't have any comment.” — Bowden is the highest-ranking baseball …
RELATED:
Screech's Best Friend / Nats320:Stan Kasten Media Availability On Federal Investigation
Discussion:
NATIONALS NEWS NETWORK
Jordan Bastian / MLB.com:
Wells out with hamstring strain — Center fielder expected to miss one month after reaggravating injury — DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Blue Jays have experienced life without Vernon Wells before, and the club is preparing for precisely that once again this spring.
Chico Harlan / Nationals Journal:
Nationals Release Holdout Perez — The final line on Odalis Perez's second stint with the Washington Nationals: zero appearances, zero returned phone calls, zero benefit whatsoever. — Today, the Nationals released Perez, 31, terminating the waiting game that began almost two weeks ago …
RELATED:
Jon Heyman / Sports Illustrated:
Jon Heyman: Ramirez, Dodgers closer, but deal still not imminent … PORT ST. LUCIE — Both Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers have done some compromising in recent days, according to people familiar with the negotiations, as the two sides seem to now understand that they aren't going to get exactly what they want in a potential deal.
Darren Rovell / Sports Biz with Darren Rovell:
Mickey Mantle's “F-Bomb” Ball For Sale — I was surfing auction sites last night and I stumbled across a pretty unique item. It's a ball signed by New York Yankees great Mickey Mantle, but instead of the normal inscription like “536 HR's,” it says “F**k Yogi.”
Nate Silver / MLB:
Baseball Prospectus: A-Rod likely to fall short of Bonds — We're less than two years removed from Barry Bonds' somber, strange and soulless quest to break Henry Aaron's lifetime home run record. Unfortunately, it seems history is getting ready to repeat itself.
RELATED:
Joel Sherman / Hardball:
3 UP: GARCIA, MANUEL, CHURCH — 1. There is an assumption that Freddy Garcia is on track to be the No. 5 starter with the Mets. But not so fast. The early read in camp is that Garcia is still tight and not fully unleashing his surgically repaired right arm yet.
RELATED:
Mike Rose / On the Mets beat:Church: “I'm the rightfielder” — In the wake of Sunday's comments …
Discussion:
Mets Merized Online
Tony Jackson / Inside the Dodgers:
Contract details for Orlando Hudson — OK, I'm giving you fair warning that this is going to give you a headache. I can't imagine what the conversation must have been like when Colletti and Ng were working these details out with O-Dawg's agent. But here it is:
KNSD-TV:
Hoffy Says “See-ya” in Full Page Ad — We have all received Christmas cards in the mail with family pictures front and center - but how often have you received a thank you card in the form of a full-page ad from a baseball star? — That is exactly what San Diegans woke up to Sunday morning …
Discussion:
AZ Snakepit
Alyson Footer / MLB.com:
Berkman more comfortable in camp — Astros legend accepting leadership responsibility this spring — KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Soon after he signed his most recent contract a few years ago, Lance Berkman implied he might call it a career when that deal expired.
Discussion:
Bottom9 Baseball
Baseball Crank:
The Yankees and Their New, Veteran Starting Pitchers — Hope springs eternal in baseball, and for the New York Yankees, with an aging offense, a lot of familiar faces gone and a steroid scandal swirling around the team's biggest star, a lot of those hopes ride on the shoulders of the team's …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
