Manuel's Mets lineup impacted by Baseball Classic  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. - With 15 of his players scattered among the teams, Jerry Manuel refused to identify the nation he will be rooting for in the World Baseball Classic.  —  Based on the manager's comments, however …

Ex-Yank pitcher Sturdivant dies at 78  —  Tom Sturdivant, a control artist and stalwart starting pitcher who won a combined 32 games for the 1955 and 1956 Yankee championship teams, has died.  —  Sturdivant, who died Saturday in Oklahoma City, was 78.  —  Before an arm injury in 1958 hampered …

Minnesota Twins' Joe Nathan, Toronto Blue Jays' B.J. Ryan pull out of World Baseball Classic  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Team USA is minus two closers.  —  Joe Nathan of the Minnesota Twins and B.J. Ryan of the Toronto Blue Jays are skipping the World Baseball Classic, leaving the United States without a pair of first-rate relievers.

Myers committed to having a big 2009  —  Phils righty dropped 35 pounds this winter to get in better shape  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Brett Myers not only dropped 35 pounds this winter, he cleared his mind.  —  He no longer considers himself a closer trapped in the rotation.  —  He is a starter.

For All His Hard Work, Bowden Needn't Look Elsewhere for Blame  —  Jim Bowden was never going to be the Nationals' ultimate general manager, the man who, the franchise hoped, would oversee a potential champion.  His methods were too suspect, his moods too unpredictable, his reputation too checkered …

It's the going rate  —  Several key Sox depart for WBC  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - Trash talk already had begun flying in the Red Sox locker room yesterday, which is what one would expect from any competition including Dustin Pedroia.  As players leaving for the World Baseball Classic packed …

Manny willing to ‘compromise’ with Dodgers  —  Manny Ramirez is speaking out, and he's willing to “compromise” and accept deferred payments in a contract to re-sign with the Dodgers, agent Scott Boras said in a statement Sunday.  —  Boras said Ramirez directed him to make the Dodgers a third …

Orioles sign Eaton (updated)  —  The Orioles have signed pitcher Adam Eaton to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.  —  I guess they actually do have plans to add another starting pitcher.  —  The Phillies released Eaton, 31, two days ago.

Dominican baseball agents skim players' bonuses  —  SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - “Why doesn't anybody do anything about the buscones?  I get that steroids are a big problem, but the buscones are a much bigger problem here.”  —  That was the query of a Major League Baseball official in the Dominican Republic last week.

Mike Francesa says he and David Wright talked it out  —  Just when it seemed as if the world had become a dark, bitter, unfriendly place, a ray of sunshine appeared late Sunday night.  —  Mike Francesa announced on his Ch. 4 TV show that he and the Mets' David Wright had spoken for 45 minutes Friday …

Yankees' Mattingly Was the Man to Teixeira as a Boy  —  The aging poster is encased inside a flimsy plastic frame and hangs on the wall of what used to be a boy's bedroom.  The boy became a man and moved out, but the poster has survived.  He has made sure of that.

Bowden's fifth tool was hubris  —  Ex-GM always thought himself the smartest  —  The problem was never that James G. Bowden IV wasn't smart.  The problem was, he thought he was smarter than everyone else.  Sometimes, he was, acquiring the likes of Pete Harnisch, Pete Schourek and Jeff Brantley …

Yankees lose by a safety, 13-11  —  On a windy day in Sarasota, the Yankee lost 13-11.  There were eight home runs, maybe more.  I stopped keeping score when we went to the clubhouse.  The Reds scored in every inning but the second.  —  Two injury updates:

Santana's elbow linked to WBC?  —  After this morning's bullpen session, Johan Santana suggested that his elbow tightness may have resulted from his push to get ready for the World Baseball Classic.  Santana admitted that he had to hurry coming off knee surgery and it wasn't until he was dropped …