Wright Plays Through Pain as Depleted U.S. Falls  —  MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — David Wright fouled a ball off his left foot in the first inning Wednesday night, hopped around the batter's box and looked to be in a lot of pain.  The looks were not deceiving as Wright later explained that driving …

Carpenter looks good  —  On Wednesday, Carpenter added “expedient” to La Russa's plaudits.  —  The righthander became the first Cardinals starter this spring to throw a pitch in the sixth inning as he needed just 64 pitches to collect 18 outs from the Baltimore Orioles at Roger Dean Stadium.

Livan Hernandez closing in on fifth spot in Mets' rotation  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Omar Minaya referred to Livan Hernandez as “inventory” when the veteran pitcher signed on Feb. 14.  Now, Hernandez is on the verge of claiming the No. 5 spot in the rotation, while team officials appear …

Schneider out with knee, calf  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — Catcher Brian Schneider is sidelined indefinitely with a PCL strain in his right knee and a strained right calf.  Schneider injured his knee Tuesday and sat out yesterday's Grapefruit League game here against the Braves before undergoing an MRI exam.

Beltran back after All-World performance in Classic  —  The Mets can only hope that Carlos Beltran will carry his WBC performance into the regular season.  The All-Star centerfielder batted .421 (8-for-19) in six games for Puerto, with a .632 slugging percentage and .542 OBP.

Fergie Jenkins, Greg Maddux to have No. 31 retired by Chicago Cubs  —  At long last, Ferguson Jenkins received the call.  —  The Cubs plan to retire the No. 31 he and future Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux wore during a special ceremony May 3 before the Cubs host the Florida Marlins at Wrigley Field.

Giants shortstop prospect regains confidence  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — One morning a few weeks ago, Giants hitting coach Carney Lansford asked Kevin Frandsen to report to the cage for some early swings.  —  It wasn't for Frandsen's benefit.  Lansford wanted Brian Bocock to watch Frandsen's simple setup …

Steinbrenner Is Forever Young in a New Children's Book  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The illustrated George Steinbrenner is smiling and robust on the cover of “One Last Time: Goodbye to Yankee Stadium,” the latest Yankees-themed children's book by Ray Negron, an adviser for the club.

Astros take call about trade (w/more notes)  —  • Photos from Boone news conference and Astros-Yankees game  —  Not long after Aaron Boone announced he would leave the team to have open-heart surgery, Astros general manager Ed Wade received a call from another team informing him they had a third baseman available.

Not many chances so far for Young at third  —  aandro@star-telegram.comjwilson@star- telegram.com  —  My favorite baseball memory with ... Emerson Frostad  —  Catcher Emerson Frostad has done something twice a lot of players can only dream of — winning a national championship.

Boston Releases Bard  —  Josh Bard gave it a try in Boston for a second time.  It didn't work out, again.  —  Traded by the Red Sox after appearing in seven games in 2006, Bard returned to Boston as a free agent this off-season.  His second stint ended Wednesday.  The Red Sox announced they will released him.

Chipper Jones blasts Toronto, WBC  —  Chipper Jones doesn't have a lot of good things to say about the World Baseball Classic, or his time in Toronto for that matter.  —  Jones, who played third base for the United States until a strained oblique muscle forced him out of the tournament …

Some Pre-Game Notes  —  Notes, notes, notes.  —  * Reminder: Watch everything tonight on MASN.  Rob Dibble.  Bob Carpenter.  MASN, my friends.  Their updates are more instantaneous than mine.  And in HD!  (Or is it?  Not sure.  Either way, newspapers haven't mastered that trick yet.)