The return of Pedro?  —  Saying he would be a “bargain,” Pedro Martinez talked today about pitching this year, how great he is feeling and also detailed his winter chat with GM Omar Minaya in the Dominican Republic.  —  Martinez said he would not be inclined to take a low-base, high-incentive contract.

Murphy's blast gives Orioles the win  —  Bergesen makes sub start, hurls three shutout frames vs. Sox  —  ORIOLES 5, RED SOX 3  —  Red Sox at the plate: Second baseman Nick Green doubled in a run in the fourth inning, and then he singled and scored on Ivan Ochoa's game-tying home run in the seventh.

Sources: Oakland Athletics, shortstop Orlando Cabrera agree to deal  —  Free-agent shortstop Orlando Cabrera has agreed to a one-year, $4 million contract with the Oakland Athletics, who also are closing in on a deal with veteran infielder Nomar Garciaparra, sources told ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney on Monday.

Concerns about Castro put Pudge on radar  —  JUPITER, Fla. - The Mets were unsuccessful in their attempts to shop Ramon Castro this offseason, but they still remain very interested in Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, according to a person familiar with the team's thinking.

Lou Piniella outraged by ESPN analyst's criticism  —  MESA, Ariz. — ESPN baseball analyst Steve Phillips might want to steer clear of Lou Piniella when the Cubs play Milwaukee on an April 12 ESPN telecast.  —  Piniella was fuming over a remark Phillips made recently on Chet Coppock's WMVP-AM 1000 radio show.

The Worst Contracts In Baseball  —  For this exercise I only considered current contracts (so Mike Hampton's eight-year, $121MM deal is out).  Also, there are some lousy deals that were worth less than $15MM total that I chose to leave out. 2006 was a black hole for free agent contracts.

Mets hope small ball pays off big  —  Manuel looking to incorporate ‘more Lemke, less McGwire’  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Among the defeats the Mets endured during their September slide last season was one that particularly distressed their manager, because he was certain that it could have been averted …

Errors Cast Doubt on a Baseball Memoir  —  Matt McCarthy, a graduate of Yale and of Harvard Medical School now working as an intern in the residency program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia hospital in New York, has gained national attention in recent weeks for “Odd Man Out,” …

Wang feels fine after two innings  —  Here's what matters today: Chien-Ming Wang pitched two innings and his right foot felt fine.  Everything else is window dressing.  —  The Yankees led 5-2 when the starters came out.  The game finished in a 5-5 tie.  George Kontos allowed three runs and there was some sloppy defense.

Davies impressive in second outing  —  Potential starter allows one hit over three scoreless innings  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Kyle Davies took another big step toward securing a spot in the Royals' starting rotation with three scoreless innings Monday.  —  Davies gave up only one single …

How John Wetteland helped save baseball in Seattle  —  In a strange way former Yankees closer John Wetteland saved baseball in Seattle, by not saving the fourth game of the American League Division Series.  Wetteland, the new Mariners bullpen coach helped build Safeco Field.

About Screech's Unveiling  —  Of course it snowed.  —  I mean, this is the Nats, Spring of '09.  The prospect was four years too old, the GM resigned, the Dominican operation was dismantled, the free agent pitcher held out and got dropped, and the D.C. area was savaged by snow …

Learning to Spell Relief  —  The Yankees received a lot of attention this past offseason for the vast sums of money that they committed to improving their lineup and starting rotation.  What might be most improved, however, is a part of the team that had no attention paid to it or much money spent on it at all: the bullpen.