Spring Game 13: Blue Jays at Yankees (includes A-Rod surgery update)  —  YANKEES  —  Pitching today: Andy Pettitte followed by Ian Kennedy, Dan Giese, Dave Robertson, Jose Veras and Jon Albaladejo.  —  BLUE JAYS  —  Adams LF  —  Hill 2B  —  Lind DH  —  Overbay 1B  —  Lane CF  —  Snider RF

Lester extension makes good business sense  —  One can make the case that of all the left-handed pitchers younger than 26 years old, Cole Hamels and Jon Lester would have the most value on the open market.  Each is 25.  Each has pitched World Series-clinching games.

South Korea edges Japan 1-0 in WBC  —  TOKYO — Kim Tae-kyun drove in the only run Monday to help South Korea beat defending champion Japan 1-0 and finish first in Pool A of the World Baseball Classic.  —  Both teams had already advanced to the second round, and Monday's game was to determine the seedings.

Delgado believes Pudge can help Mets  —  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - An Ivan Rodriguez-to-the-Mets campaign could pick up steam if Pudge continues to have a strong showing in the World Baseball Classic.  —  Rodriguez, teammates with Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran on the Puerto Rico team …

Blalock a healthy gamble for Texas Rangers  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - A torn left hamstring.  Carpal tunnel release surgery.  Thoracic outlet syndrome.  —  And, on the flip side, career highs in on-base and slugging percentage.  —  The last two years have been the strangest of Hank Blalock's Rangers career.

Is Strasburg the best prospect ever?  —  So just how good is Stephen Strasburg, the San Diego State right-hander who is regarded as the No. 1 talent in this year's draft?  —  “The best I've ever seen,” says a longtime scout.  “And it's not even close.”  —  C'mon. Better than Mark Prior?

WBC Five Cuts: USA-Venezuela … 1. I would not want to be Luis Sojo.  The Venezuela manager was on the hot seat even before the WBC began, with the highly enthusiastic Venezuelan press grilling him to the extent of asking questions about “life and death.”  And it has turned out to be a rough tournament for Mr. Sojo.

Pirates prospect to miss all of 2009  —  Infielder Cunningham tears the ACL in his left knee Saturday  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — Jarek Cunningham, one of the more promising young prospects in the Pirates' Minor League system, will miss the entire 2009 season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Saturday.

Franklin is in the mix to be St. Louis Cardinals closer  —  JUPITER, FLA. — Cardinals manager Tony La Russa on Sunday officially placed righthander Ryan Franklin squarely “in the mix” for the team's closing vacancy, insisting that in many ways Franklin is the more qualified to take on the job …

US routs Venezuela to reach 2nd round of WBC  —  TORONTO (AP) — The World Baseball Classic has been a blast so far for the United States.  —  Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, Adam Dunn and Ryan Braun added solo shots and the United States powered its way into the second round of the WBC by beating Venezuela 15-6 on Sunday night.

Seems like Yankees are panicking  —  The Yankees are acting as if Alex Rodriguez is Babe Ruth or Mickey Mantle, the kind of player they can't win without, despite the sorry fact that so far, he has only been the kind of player they can't win with.  —  By announcing that A-Rod will undergo …

Royals not talking Teahen with Yanks  —  Club official denies rumor of discussions about infielder  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — There seems to be no credence at this point to a rumor that the New York Yankees might be interested in obtaining Mark Teahen from the Royals.

PINSTRIPE POSTS  —  From the clubhouse to the diamond, Pete Caldera tells you everything you want to know about the Yankees.  —  Read “Pinstripe Posts”  —  O'Connor: Yankee haunted by brush with death  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Bodies and blood were all over the desert freeway, and somehow Cody Ransom landed on his feet.

Gomes is Red hot out of the gate  —  Non-roster invitee making roster decisions difficult  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — In his situation, non-roster outfielder Jonny Gomes knew he couldn't afford a slow start to camp with the Reds.  —  Anything but that, in fact.

Lowell set to play tomorrow  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — With his name scheduled to be written into the lineup tomorrow against the Orioles here at City of Palms Park, Mike Lowell is more than ready.  “Yeah, absolutely,” he said when asked if tomorrow would be a big day for him.

Brewers release pitcher Gagne  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Surprise, Ariz. - This hardly qualifies as a surprise (no pun intended with today's game site) but the Milwaukee Brewers just announced they have released reliever Eric Gagne from his minor league contract.