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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Advantage, Livan Hernandez (update with quotes)  —  In today's showdown between two of the No. 5 candidates, Livan Hernandez won the first round convincingly over Freddy Garcia.  —  Hernandez cruised through his two innings of work.  With limited velocity — one gun had him at 83-84 mph …

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.

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 …