Littleton in; Morlan out  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  The bid of Rule 5 draft pick Eduardo Morlan to make the Brewers' bullpen has failed, so they're going to give someone else a shot.  —  The Brewers have claimed right-hander Wes Littleton on waivers from Boston …

‘WORLD’ OF WORRY SURROUNDS METS  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - The World Baseball Classic is starting to test the Mets' patience, and it's easy to see why.  —  No club has been more publicly supportive of the WBC than the Mets, who allowed a whopping 16 players - the most in baseball - to participate in the tournament.

Lugo has surgery, Pedroia's status . . .  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Julio Lugo underwent a successful right knee arthroscopy this morning in Boston.  Doctors repaired a torn meniscus, which is what they expected to find.  Lugo will miss 3-4 weeks, almost certainly sidelining him for Opening Day April 6, which is 20 days away.

I'M SUCH A PRETTY BOY!  —  A-ROD MADLY IN LOVE WITH HIS MIRROR  —  Nothing gets between A-Rod and his mirror!  —  Troubled slugger Alex Rodriguez gets up close and personal - with himself - in a one-man love affair photographed and published in the upcoming Details magazine.

Roger Clemens' lawyers ask judge to reconsider decision to miss most of defamation lawsuit  —  HOUSTON — Lawyers for Roger Clemens asked a federal judge to reconsider his decision dismissing most of a defamation suit the pitcher filed against his former personal trainer over allegations of performance-enhancing drug use.

Prospect Interview Series: Spring Training Edition  —  I recently returned from a week out in Surprise and was fortunate enough to speak with several of the prospects participating in major league camp.  All of the interviews are brief and most of them consist of similar questions.

Perez making most of stars' absence  —  Veteran outfielder raps four hits in victory over Cardinals  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Timo Perez is not a complicated player.  He's a left-handed line-drive hitter who will step to the plate swinging.  He won't strike out a lot, but he won't draw an abundance of walks, either.

Organizational Rankings, Part 1  —  Last Year's Ranking: 22  —  Why They Might Be Better Than This: We haven't seen what Eric Hosmer is capable of in a full season; Kila Ka'aihue's tremendous 2008 campaign was for real; young arms like those of Tim Melville, Daniel Gutierrez, and Mike Montgomery provide plenty of cause for optimism.

Marlins release reliever Garcia  —  JUPITER, Fla. — The Marlins released right-handed reliever Harvey Garcia on Monday, bringing their roster down to 52 players.  —  Garcia missed all of 2008 after having rotator cuff surgery on his throwing arm.  He appeared in eight games for Florida in 2007 …

Hanley scratched against Nats  —  All-Star shortstop takes breather to rest sore right shoulder  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez was nursing a sore right shoulder, and right fielder Cody Ross was suffering tightness in his left calf on Monday.  Both were scratched from the lineup against the Nationals.

Not to worry: Cole Hamels of the Philadelphia Phillies has inflamed elbow  —  Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels will return to the team's spring training camp Tuesday night in Clearwater, Fla., after spending part of the day having his elbow examined by team physician Dr. Michael Ciccotti.

Start believing in Joba  —  Joba Chamberlain threw another three scoreless innings today, taking his latest step toward life as a full-time starter.  I know there are still plenty of you out there that believe he should be in the bullpen, but I firmly believe the Yankees are doing the right thing with him.

Chipper positive he will heal under Braves' care  —  Slugger receives treatment for oblique strain; says WBC format needs improvement  —  Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — Chipper Jones said his strained oblique muscle will be fine, but the World Baseball Classic needs changes.

More cuts, news, lineups  —  The second wave of cuts came Tuesday morning.  Here is the list provided by the Reds:  —  Optioned to Class AAA Louisville: RHP Sam LeCure, LHP Matt Maloney and RHP Robert Manuel.  —  Optioned to Class AA Carolina 3B Juan Francisco.

Optimizing Your Lineup By The Book  —  As teams begin to pare down their rosters towards the magical 25 number, spring training conversation will shift to debating each team's ideal batting order.  Because we care, BtB would like to remind everyone that lineups are pretty overrated.

Offseason In Review: Cincinnati Reds  —  By Tim Dierkes [March 17 at 11:21am CST]  —  Next up in our Offseason In Review series, the Reds.  Here's what we wrote about them on September 26th.  Changes for 2009:  —  Additions: Ramon Hernandez, Willy Taveras, Arthur Rhodes, Jonny Gomes …

A Look at the “New” Yankee Stadium...circa 1976 … In less than one month now, the new Yankee Stadium will open amidst a sea of publicity and fanfare.  Newspapers and television networks and blogs will wax poetic about the “dawn of a new age” and the bittersweet transition of old to new.

YANKS CAN'T AFFORD HAVING MATSUI AS DESIGNATED SITTER  —  TAMPA - Hideki Matsui is still no sure thing to be ready for Opening Day, yet he is the Yankees' projected cleanup hitter.  He is trying to get his knees in shape while probably on his last legs as a Yankee.

Rox lineup: Baker scratched from lineup  —  Tucson - It looked as if Jeff Baker was finally getting back in the lineup today.  He was originally scheduled to start at second base and test his sore right elbow when the Rockies host the Royals.  —  But you can scratch that.

Spring Game 21: Pirates at Yankees  —  Pitching today: CC O'Sabathia, Mariano O'Rivera, Alfredo O'Aceves, Edwar O'Ramirez.  —  PIRATES  —  O'Morgan LF  —  O'Wilson SS  —  McLouth CF  —  O'Jones 1B  —  O'Tabata RF  —  O'Pearce DH  —  O'Walker 3B  —  O'Jaramillo C  —  O'Cruz 2B