A-Rod: I wish the Yankees had Jose Reyes  —  Even when Alex Rodriguez is trying to stay positive, things seem to turn out wrong.  —  A-Rod paid Mets shortstop Jose Reyes a high compliment today after the Dominican Republic's first exhibition game before the World Baseball Classic …

Straw: ‘Hell yeah,’ I would've used 'roids  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Darryl Strawberry would have taken steroids had they been widely available in the 1980s, the former Mets great said Tuesday.  —  “Hell, yeah, I would have used it.  Are you kidding me?”  Strawberry said in Mets camp, as he kicked off a week as a guest instructor.

J.D.'s back is back  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Despite the protestations of both J.D. Drew and manager Terry Francona earlier in camp that the outfielder's back was not an issue, Drew was sent back to Boston to get an injection in his lower back.  The injection, administered by Dr. Bill Palmer, was given yesterday.

No Santana for Opening Day  —  The Mets finally came to terms this afternoon with the reality that Johan Santana is not going to be their Opening Day starter for April 6 in Cincinnati.  —  Santana will have another bullpen session tomorrow morning, but the delay caused by the tightness …

Agent: Phillies made offer to Ohman  —  The Phillies made an offer to free agent lefty reliever Will Ohman, and are engaged in ongoing negotiations with the pitcher, Ohman's agent tells the Inquirer.  —  We reported last month that Ohman and the Phillies had communicated …

Some young bloggers need a little seasoning  —  Was Evan Longoria's rookie season the best ever by a third baseman?  Over at DRaysBay, R.J. Anderson says yes, it was ...  Well, it's not true: Longoria's rookie season was quite probably not the best ever.  One problem that no one's solved yet …

Spring Game 7: Team USA at Yankees  —  YANKEES  —  Pitching: Phil Hughes followed by Coke, Dunn, Veras, Hacker, Robertson, Texeira  —  TEAM USA  —  Pitching: Roy Oswalt followed by Jon Broxton, Matt Lindstrom, Brad Ziegler, Matt Thornton and LaTroy Hawkins.  —  Notes: The game will be on YES.

Pedro Martinez wants big contract or he'll retire and ‘go fishing’ … JUPITER, Fla. - Pedro Martinez wants to pitch in the majors this season, but the three-time Cy Young winner prefers retiring to his fishing boat if the alternative is accepting a Tom Glavine-like contract.

YANKS SIGN KENNEDY AND ALBALADEJO  —  The Yankees completed the signing of their 40-man roster players by coming to terms with Jonathan Albaladejo ($220,000 in the minors/$403,075 in the majors); Francisco Cervelli ($65,000/$400,700); Wilkin De La Rosa ($23,500/$400,000); Michael Dunn …

Bonds' agent again shops for a contract to play in 2009  —  PHOENIX — Barry Bonds, whose federal perjury and obstruction-of-justice trial has been indefinitely delayed, gave permission Monday for his agent to solicit interest from major league teams in hopes of resuming his career.

Where Are They Now?  —  This is the first in what will hopefully become a series about Angels of yesteryear.  —  As we increasingly wax nostalgic, we got to thinking about how cool it would be to start a series of interviews with former Angels who, in one way or another, left their mark on the franchise.

Hastings: Cutler is an “arrogant little punk” and a “little bitch”  —  Denver TV analyst Scott Hastings joined Dan to discuss the Nuggets playoff run, the Broncos and other Denver news.  —Jay Cutler lost Hastings' respect when he claimed his arm is stronger than John Elway's.

Crosby not keen on being A's backup  —  Former Rookie of Year wants to play shortstop ‘somewhere else’  —  PHOENIX — Bobby Crosby's five-year run as Oakland's starting shortstop is over, but Crosby still sees himself as a starting shortstop and is hoping that another team agrees.

Odalis Perez: On holding out, getting fired and his future  —  In what might be a bigger exclusive than the raccoon chase at Rays camp, free-agent left-hander Odalis Perez told Big League Stew on Tuesday that “nine or 10 teams” are interested in him and he expects to sign “soon” with another major league squad.

Garciaparra announcement to come Friday  —  A source close to Nomar Garciaparra tells me that the A's have already agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the veteran infielder and that the team will announce the signing on Friday.  —  Garciaparra had been weighing retirement vs. the A's offer …

Wang gets back in step … KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The last time Chien-Ming Wang pitched against the Astros - against any team, for that matter - he suffered a foot injury that wrecked his 2008 season and helped send the Yankees spinning, too.  So when Wang climbed the mound at Osceola County Stadium Monday …