Source: Deferred payments key issue in Dodgers' offer to Manny Ramirez  —  The club's two-year, $45-million offer only included $10 million this year and $10 million in 2010 if the aging slugger picked up the player option.  The other $25 million would be paid over the next three years.

Yanks' Posada Is at the Plate, Not Behind It  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The lineup card listed Jorge Posada as the designated hitter, the only position he will play until the third week of March.  For Posada, that was just a technicality.  Posada is a catcher, and that is how he prepared Thursday …

Nats sources say GM's job in jeopardy  —  Jim Bowden's tenure as general manager of the Washington Nationals, a position he has held since the franchise relocated from Montreal more than four years ago, could be down to its final days.  —  According to team and league sources …

The Incredible Shrinking Baseball Player  —  Baseball clubhouses seem to be getting bigger this spring, with more room to move around.  Or maybe the players are becoming smaller.  —  Out of the roughly 1,000 major leaguers in spring training camps, a couple of dozen appear …

Hughes' spring debut pleases Yankees' Girardi  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Phil Hughes says things don't feel any different, but how can they not?  —  Last season at this time, Hughes was considered a big part of the Yankees' rotation.  But now, after the Yankees snagged the best pitchers …

Cards to add two pitchers to camp  —  Injuries prompt action; team toys with idea of borrowing arms  —  FORT LAUDERDALE — A couple of inconvenient injuries have left the Cardinals in a tight spot for the first week or two of Spring Training.  —  Manager Tony La Russa reiterated on Thursday …

Baldelli's energy crisis  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - He's dressing in Manny's locker, he's got Nomar's number, and he's enshrined in the Rhode Island Italian-American Hall of Fame, right there alongside Ernie DeGregorio.  —  Oh, and his name is Rocco.  —  How can he be anything but a fan favorite at Fenway Park?

Yankees, Bank of America end sponsorship talks  —  NEW YORK — The New York Yankees and Bank of America ended months of negotiations on a long-term, high-profile sponsorship agreement, fallout from the financial industry's decision to accept aid from the federal government.

Phillies release veteran Eaton  —  Right-hander has $9 million remaining on contract  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Phillies released right-handed pitcher Adam Eaton on Friday.  —  Eaton, who makes $8.5 million this season, plus $500,000 on a club option for 2010, was not a candidate to win the fifth spot in the Phillies' rotation.

Jon Lester changes up  —  Overhauls offspeed offerings  —  FORT MYERS - In the past, Jon Lester [stats] has experienced some forearm stiffness, linked to relying too much on his cut fastball.  Meanwhile, other left-handers - notably, the New York Yankees' Andy Pettitte …

Haren, Davis focus on positives  —  Starters have different levels of success in Thursday outings  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Both Dan Haren and Doug Davis took some positives out of their outings against the Indians on Thursday.  —  Only one of them, however, escaped with good numbers.

Davey thinks USA can go all the way  —  Davey Johnson stopped short of crooning the lyrics to “Crazy for You,” but the Team USA skipper made it clear Thursday that he would've liked to have Alex Rodriguez on his team for the World Baseball Classic, if for only one reason.  —  “I'm Madonna's fan,” Johnson quipped.

Ravens lose Scott to Jets; Lewis gone, too?  —  As if it weren't bad enough to lose linebacker Bart Scott, now the Ravens are in serious jeopardy of losing free-agent linebacker Ray Lewis, too.  —  Sources close to Lewis were adamant Friday that one of the game's greatest defensive players …

Believe It: A New Cap for Yankees  —  It's not every day that you see an e-mail message with the subject “New Yankees Cap.”  The navy blue cap with the white interlocking “NY” is a classic.  Why would it be changed?  —  Merchandising, of course.  The Yankees plan to wear a sleeve patch …