Boras' rejection of Ramirez offer riles Dodgers  —  At 8:30 p.m. tonight, the Dodgers made the rather unusual move of issuing a statement that shows their exasperation with Manny Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras: … It's interesting to note that the Dodgers aim their venom at Boras, even though ostensibly Boras is working for Ramirez.

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 …

“It Was Time To Cut That Cord”  —  Here's the story Barry and I double-teamed for Friday's fishwrap edition.  —  The Washington Nationals on Thursday abandoned the training facility they once boasted of here and officially fired José Rijo, the former face of their efforts in the Dominican Republic …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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?

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.

Waiting for a call, Hughes prepares  —  Unlike last season, righty forced to earn spot in Yankees' rotation  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The fanfare has died down from last spring, when the Yankees were banking that Phil Hughes would step up as the youngest pitcher in the Majors and handle the American League with aplomb.