Valentin among seven cut by Mets  —  Veteran second baseman hopes to catch on with another team  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — The composition of the Mets' Opening Day roster came into somewhat sharper focus Friday night, when the club removed seven players from its Spring Training roster.

Duchscherer to start season on DL  —  Projected Opening Day starter will have surgery, miss at least six weeks  —  PHOENIX — A's right-hander Justin Duchscherer, a 2008 All-Star and Oakland's projected Opening Day starter when Spring Training opened last month, is headed for surgery …

BREAKING THE GENDER BARRIER  —  A woman pitched for a Japanese professional team today, Friday. … I've thought for a while that the path for women to professional baseball would be through the knuckleball.  Glad to see that happened in Japan.

Tabata addresses wife's charges  —  Bucs prospect believed 2-month-old girl was his daughter  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — Under his own insistence, Pirates prospect Jose Tabata wrote and delivered a statement on Friday concerning the kidnapping charges his wife, Amalia Tabata Pereira …

Tie game, decisions  —  It's tied 1-1 after three innings.  Derek Jeter led off the game with a double and went on to score on a Mark Teixeira single.  CC Sabathia has allowed one run on four hits, with three strikeouts.  —  Joe Girardi said before the game that he wants to have the centerfield job settled by Sunday or Monday.

Melhuse informed he won't make team  —  Rangers decide to go with youth tandem as veteran ponders options  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Adam Melhuse is hitting .632 for the spring.  He is 12-for-19, giving him the highest batting average anywhere in Spring Training for a player with a minimum of 15 at-bats.

New York Mets' Johan Santana ‘ready to go’ on Opening Day after throwing seven innings Friday in 4-1 victory over Nationals … PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It has been only a month since Johan Santana was sidelined by elbow soreness, sparking widespread concern about his status for Opening Day.

A's Acquire Curtis Thigpen  —  By Tim Dierkes [March 27 at 2:23pm CST]  —  According to a press release, the A's acquired catcher Curtis Thigpen from the Blue Jays today for a player to be named later or cash considerations.  They also signed catcher Eric Munson to a minor league deal.

Taschner to the Phillies done  —  UPDATE: The Giants have traded left-handed reliever Jack Taschner to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Ronny Paulino.  The Giants just announced it.  —  Paulino, 27, is a .278 hitter in 304 big-league games with Pittsburgh, which traded him to Philadelphia in December.

Levine Emerges as the Yankees' Voice  —  When politicians questioned the propriety of the Yankees' $1.2 billion in tax-exempt bonds for their new stadium, Randy Levine, the team's president, scolded them for having their facts wrong or for failing to examine similar financing for the Mets' Citi Field.

Organizational Rankings: #1  —  And we reach the end - the healthiest organization in baseball.  —  Rankings So Far  —  #30: Washington Nationals  —  #29: Florida Marlins  —  #28: Houston Astros  —  #27: Kansas City Royals  —  #26: Pittsburgh Pirates  —  #25: San Diego Padres

Spring Game 30: Reds at Yankees  —  YANKEES  —  Pitching today: CC Sabathia, Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte and Jon Albaladejo.  —  REDS  —  McDonald CF  —  Hairston SS  —  Phillips 2B  —  Nix RF  —  Gomes DH  —  Rosales 3B  —  Jones 1B  —  Hernandez C  —  Hopper LF

Justice: If Tejada regrets anything, it's getting caught  —  Drayton McLane loves it when his players do community work, so he has to be thrilled Miguel Tejada has agreed to do an extra 100 hours this summer.  —  Nice going, Miggy.  Way to represent The Good Guys.