Deferred payments key issue in Dodgers' offer to Manny Ramirez  —  The club's two-year, $45-million offer included only $10 million this year and $10 million in 2010 if the slugger picked up the player option, a source says.  Negotiations are continuing.  —  Reporting from Scottsdale …

Yanks young pitchers learned vital lesson  —  TAMPA, Fla. - If each Yankees starter exits spring training healthy, Phil Hughes will be the ace of Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's staff - with Ian Kennedy probably following him in rotation.  —  That's a significant step back from last year …

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.

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 …

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 …

Brewers sign pair to one-year deals  —  Gallardo is only pre-arbitration player yet to reach terms  —  PHOENIX — The paydays just keep on coming.  —  The Brewers on Friday finalized one-year contracts with reliever Carlos Villanueva and catcher Mike Rivera, leaving right-hander Yovani Gallardo …

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 …

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 …

Feds pondering appeal of evidence ruling in Bonds case  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Federal prosecutors have told a judge they will let her know within hours whether they will appeal her ruling barring key evidence in Barry Bonds' perjury case.  —  U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston …

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?

Sizemore pulls out of World Baseball Classic  —  Grady Sizemore isn't going anywhere, after all.  —  Sizemore informed the Indians on Friday morning that he will not be representing the U.S. in the World Baseball Classic because of soreness in his left groin.