Willingham may be odd man out in DC  —  Offseason acquisition having tough time cracking crowded outfield  —  VIERA, Fla. — When they acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Marlins on Nov. 11, 2008, the Nationals were happy to get a guy who could no longer do damage against them.

Dutch pull off second upset to advance  —  Come-from-behind victory in extras eliminates Dominican Republic  —  SAN JUAN, P.R. — The Netherlands pulled off another major upset on Tuesday night, when it came from behind in the 11th inning to beat the Dominican Republic, 2-1, in Game 5 of Pool D play of the World Baseball Classic.

Mets like Pudge but . . .  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Mets assistant general manager Tony Bernazard told a Puerto Rican newspaper the Mets have interest in Ivan Rodriguez, but having two catchers under contract has kept them from pursuing the free-agent catcher.

Strong start a ‘sigh of relief’ for Joba  —  Correction of mechanical flaw returns young righty to past form  —  TAMPA, Fla. — The final spot in the Yankees' starting rotation remains Joba Chamberlain's to lose, and a strong performance against the Reds on Tuesday displayed the progress that the organization wanted to see.

Mauer has inflammed lower back, not something more serious.  Twins hope medication is all he needs.  —  The Twins were relieved to learn today that catcher Joe Mauer only has an inflamed sacroiliac joint following an exam on Tuesday in Fort Myers and a meeting this morning with Twins team physician Dr, John Steubs.

60 seconds with Marlins pitcher Andrew Miller  —  Staff writer Joe Capozzi spoke with Marlins left-hander Andrew Miller about his visit to Lion Country Safari last month.  —  Was that your first visit to Lion Country Safari?  —  First time.  My dad is from South Florida.  He said it was a big deal when it opened.

Clemens reportedly injected at Yankee Stadium … NEW YORK (AP) — Brian McNamee says he injected Roger Clemens with drugs at the Yankee Stadium hot tub and that among the needles he gave government investigators was one he used to inject the pitcher in 2001, according to the Web site sportsimproper.com.

Sapp hospitalized following seizures  —  Catching prospect's health issues resurface  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Catching prospect Max Sapp, who suffered a life-threatening illness over the winter, was back in the hospital Wednesday after having two seizures over a nine-hour span.

Spring Game 15: Yankees at Tigers  —  YANKEES  —  Pitching today: Some big lefty, CC something.  Then Aceves, Bruney, Veras, Melancon, Jackson.  —  TIGERS  —  Inge 3B  —  Polanco 2B  —  Sheffield DH  —  Hessman 1B  —  Raburn RF  —  Cleven CF  —  Ramirez LF  —  Laird C  —  Everett SS

Rejected nuggets  —  There's another fantastic baseball book available to kick off the baseball season: the Bill James Gold Mine 2009.  This year's Gold Mine follows the same structure as last year's: lots of James' excellent essays on baseball and sabermetrics, as well as 30 individual team sections filled …

Cashman ‘not proactive’ in market  —  Yankees' GM foresees few opportunities to deal for third baseman  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said on Tuesday that he is “not optimistic” about acquiring another third baseman to fill in for Alex Rodriguez, believing his club can play on with what it has.

Cubs manager Lou Piniella promises spot to Kosuke Fukudome  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Kosuke Fukudome stopped by the Cubs' clubhouse Tuesday before working out with Team Japan in Scottsdale.  —  Though ESPN analyst Steve Phillips recently said manager Lou Piniella mishandled the Japanese outfielder …