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 …

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 …

Spring Game 6: Yankees at Astros  —  YANKEES (2-3)  —  Pitching today: Chien-Ming Wang followed by Tomko, Jackson, De La Rosa, Dunn, Claggett, Kontos.  —  ASTROS (1-4)  —  Matsui 2B  —  Bourn CF  —  Berkman 1B  —  Lee LF  —  Blum 3B  —  Pence DH  —  Erstad RF  —  Kata SS

Jake Peavy remains interested in joining Cubs  —  Deal might be re-examined after sale of team finalized  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — The Jake Peavy saga began in November and lasted through most of the off-season, leaving Cubs fans wondering if the Padres ace would be in blue pinstripes by Opening Day.

Is Dodgers owner Frank McCourt souring on Manny? … GLENDALE, Ariz. — Despite seeming to be practically pennies apart in his negotiation with superstar free agent Manny Ramirez, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt suggested again here Sunday that the sides were “starting from scratch.”

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.

The Nats' New Mascot  —  Suggested ledes for tomorrow's newspaper story about the moments-ago unveiling of the Nats' new mascot Screech, which was, by far, the highlight of my week.  —  * First the Washington Nationals got rid of the turkey.  Now they've done away with the chicken.

Johnny Damon feels Joe Torre's book is just not write about 2007 season  —  TAMPA - In response to the initial furor over his best-selling book, “The Yankee Years,” Joe Torre insisted he didn't throw anyone under the bus or violate any longstanding “What's said here, stays here” clubhouse confidentiality code with his former players.

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 …

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.

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 …

Wieters goes deep as O's beat Nats  —  Pauley gets start, allows one run over three innings  —  ORIOLES 7, NATIONALS 5  —  Nationals at the plate: Nick Johnson hit a solo home run in the third inning to cut the Orioles' lead to 3-1.  Joel Guzman and Jorge Padilla also had RBIs.

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.

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.