I dated A-Rod, claims former madam  —  A former Manhattan madam who supplied Eliot Spitzer with hookers also counted Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez as a customer - and found him so charming she dated him herself for free, former employees of the call-girl agency tell the Daily News.

Manuel plans to bat Murphy second in Mets' order  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Daniel Murphy recently took some ribbing from teammates after adding his few-year-old Honda Civic to a sign-up sheet for transport to New York.  After all, the car stood out on a list that included new Mercedes, BMWs and Cadillac Escalades.

Busting the Bank: Top Seats at New Yankee Stadium Will Run as High as $2,625  —  Attending games during the inaugural season at the new Yankee Stadium will be decidedly elitist as the club today released single game prices for tickets that go on sale Tuesday.

Ozzie Guillen's muses include advising Obama  —  Buzz up!  —  GLENDALE, Ariz. - President Barack Obama's apology for his Special Olympics crack to Jay Leno while lampooning his bowling skills may not be enough to satisfy Gov. Sarah Palin, who ripped Obama for a “degrading remark.”

Brewers decline Palmisano's return  —  Astros offer back Rule 5 catcher, but instead send him to Minors  —  As recently as one year ago, it would have been very difficult to imagine the Brewers declining an opportunity to add a catcher to the system.  But that's exactly what they did on Saturday.

Pitching surplus gives Braves trade bait  —  Josh Anderson, Prado also could be moved  —  Lake Buena Vista, Fla. — A surplus of pitching is starting to bubble up in Braves camp.  —  Javier Vazquez and Jorge Campillo are back from the World Baseball Classic, and Tom Glavine pitched his first spring training game Saturday.

Glavine throws it back at Pedro  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Tom Glavine already is a bargain, so the Braves probably felt as if they got more than their money's worth in yesterday's 12-1 rout of the B-list Mets sent north to Disney.  Glavine, who barely broke 80 mph, retired nine of the 11 batters he faced.

Corey Koskie makes it official: He's retired  —  Dizziness forces him to leave Chicago Cubs  —  PHOENIX — Corey Koskie ended his comeback bid Saturday, deciding the risk of suffering another concussion wasn't worth it.  —  The 35-year-old veteran, who received a minor-league invitation …

More Sox moving down  —  The Red Sox made another significant round of cuts this morning, sending down four players, including Junichi Tazawa and Michael Bowden.  Tazawa, who, as expected, will start the year in Double A Portland, had a sterling camp with the Red Sox.

Pudge, Astros make deal official  —  Rodriguez expects to be in uniform vs. Nationals on Sunday  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — For the majority of his career, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez has worn uniform No. 7.  —  But with the Houston Astros?  —  “No chance,” he said with a laugh.  “I know that number is untouchable.”

Trade to A's was best thing for Holliday  —  Matt Holliday's new Oakland teammates speak in reverential tones about his work ethic and his modesty.  One general manager, who has known him since he signed, says, “Matt has to be one of the 10 best players in the game.”

Vets Giambi, Johnson are happy ex-Yankees  —  (03-21) 17:21 PDT — Two old-timers are back in the Bay Area, their hair down and their spirits up.  The scruffy look is OK again now that they're ex-Yankees and in a more relaxed setting.  One won 34 games in two years in the Bronx.

Andruw Jones Situation May Be Taking Dramatic Turn; He Could End Up Rangers' Right-Handed Hitting DH  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - The three-day extension to Andruw Jones' minor league contract with Rangers may end up turning into a much longer stay.  —  Less than a week after informing Jones …