Matsui Works His Way Back, With Little Fanfare  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Shadows crept onto Steinbrenner Field just before 4 p.m. Tuesday.  Most of the Yankees had been gone for two hours, having finished the final practice before their exhibition opener.  —  Yet there was Hideki Matsui standing near …

Spring Game 1: Yankees at Blue Jays  —  YANKEES  —  Pitching: Brett Tomko followed by Kei Igawa, Christian Garcia, Mike Dunn, Dave Robertson, Dan Giese and Jose Veras.  —  BLUE JAYS  —  Inglett 3B  —  Hill 2B  —  Rios RF  —  Millar 1B  —  Lind DH  —  Barajas C  —  Snider LF

Decision-makers have decided on Manny  —  Whenever there are words here or elsewhere about the ugliness and the impact of Manny Ramirez's departure from Boston, there is uniform reaction from Ramirez defenders along these lines:  —  1) The suggestion that Ramirez did something wrong …

Nationals Prospect: ‘I Feel Bad, Really Bad’  —  Alvarez Says His Cousin Thought Up Scheme to Assume Fake Name, Age  —  Carlos Daniel Alvarez Lugo grew up here, where potholes and pavement compete for space just off what amounts to a thoroughfare between the south-central cities of San Cristobal and Bani.

Andy Phillips And The Bizarre Porn Star Police Report  —  Former Yankee prospect Andy Phillips is considered one of the nicest family men in all of baseball by other writers and his peers.  So why has an adult actress filed a police report against him?  —  There have been a slew …

Appreciating Carlos Delgado, the lost slugger of the Steroid Era … PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — I came here to Mets camp looking for the lost slugger of the Steroid Era.  There had to be some power hitter out there, I figured, whose profile and legacy suffered because too many other great hitters …

The US v. Barry Bonds  —  This is a story about garbage.  There's the actual garbage overzealous federal investigators examined in their efforts to prosecute a surly sports celebrity.  There's the shredding of the Bill of Rights, crudely ignored by the government in the name of obsession and ambition.

A fresh start  —  JUPITER, FLA. — Cardinals pitching coach Dave Duncan said if he was hurting for a starting pitcher last year and heard from Class AAA Memphis that the best available there was Blake Hawksworth, he would have “bypassed” him.  —  Today he's starting him.

Beyond OPS: filling in the gaps  —  I wanted to talk a little about OPS.  I love OPS.  I use it all the time when I need to know, say, whether Nick Markakis had a good year in 2008*, or if I'm wondering which was Vlad Guerrero's best year.  ** OPS will not give you a definitive answer, but it'll get most of the job done.

To Cameron, non-trade a good deal  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Phoenix - One telephone call.  —  That's all it would have taken for Mike Cameron to be wearing the pinstripes of the New York Yankees this spring instead of the blue and white of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Joe Borowski, former Cleveland Indians closer, says he's retired  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — The math didn't work for Joltin' Joe Borowski.  So to paraphrase Chief Joseph at the end of the Trail of Tears, he will pitch no more, forever.  —  Borowski said big league teams weren't buying his numbers.

Ballpark figures  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox have moved into City of Palms Park, where today, at 1:05 p.m., Josh Beckett will fire the first real, live pitch of Red Sox 2009 spring training, when the Sox face Boston College.  Later tonight, they'll head across town to Hammond Stadium …

Ruth, other monuments settle in new Yankee Stadium  —  Monuments are moved two blocks into new Yankee Stadium in Bronx.  (For more images of the historic move click the gallery link below.)  —  Rudy Lavazoli left his home in Center Moriches, L.I. at 4:30 Tuesday morning.

Cardinals manager looks to long camp as way to experiment, find solutions  —  Cardinals bench coach Joe Pettini, second from right, and Tony La Russa, forground, center, instructs infielders on bunt defense during this week during spring training in Jupiter, Fla. (Chris Lee/P-D)

M's hope Beltre chooses to skip WBC  —  If Adrian Beltre plays in the World Baseball Classic, it wouldn't be against the Mariners' permission, but it would be against their wishes.  —  The third baseman left camp for the day Tuesday saying he remained undecided about whether to play …

TV and radio coverage of spring training  —  GAMES ON YES  —  MLB NETWORK  —  GAMES ON WCBS  —  Note: ESPN is not doing any exhibition games.

Brewers reassign four players  —  Former first-rounder Rogers among those sent to Minor League camp  —  PHOENIX — On the eve of the Cactus League opener, the Brewers reassigned four players to Minor League camp on Tuesday, including former first-round Draft pick Mark Rogers.