Zimmerman to begin assignment in Class A  —  PHOENIX — Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, on the disabled list with an abdominal strain, played in his second extended spring training game, playing four innings and going 0-for-4.  —  After the game, Zimmerman went home to Washington …

Gerrit Cole still the top choice  —  But prep outfielder Bubba Starling could rise all the way to Seattle at No. 2  —  With three days to go until the 2011 MLB draft, it seems as if the names are clearer but the order is foggier.  Picks three through five are probably the same names …

Hottovy's dream of reaching Majors realized  —  BOSTON — About two months ago, Tommy Hottovy was just another Minor League reliever throwing Spring Training games when the Red Sox regulars skipped a road trip.  —  “But in Spring Training, you take a three-hour bus ride …

Source: Torre, Sabean to talk about comments  —  Joe Torre, who oversees baseball operations for Major League Baseball, plans to call Brian Sabean regarding comments the San Francisco Giants general manager made in a Thursday radio interview, a source told ESPN on Friday.

Report: Nine MLB teams out of debt compliance  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are widely known to be in financial hot water.  —  But seven other major league teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers, are out of compliance with MLB rules regarding debt …

Let's play 154!  —  Shortening the season would ease players' mental and physical burdens, improve play  —  By our count — and it took a LOT of counting — you can find 158 big leaguers hanging out on somebody's disabled list.  —  And amazingly, that counts only Rich Harden ONCE.

Rays owner Stuart Sternberg tweaks Hillsborough fans who won't cross the bay  —  TAMPA — Rays owner Stuart Sternberg insinuated Thursday night that baseball fans in Hillsborough County are reluctant to drive to St. Petersburg to watch the Rays play.  —  During an owners roundtable discussion …

Pitching will be primary target as Yankees seek to upgrade roster  —  Perception vs. reality.  —  It feels like the Yankees offense and bullpen have underachieved this year and that the rotation has been central to success.  —  Yet, at the exact one-third-of-the-season mark, 54 games …

Schafer exits after fouling ball off lip  —  NEW YORK — Braves outfielder Jordan Schafer left Friday night's game against the Mets after a fouled bunt attempt struck him above his lip on the right side of his face.  He was taken to a local hospital to undergo X-rays.

Mono forces Inge to disabled list  —  Third baseman has been struggling with bat; Santos recalled  —  CHICAGO — The Tigers have had their share of early-season injuries and maladies, but they got a new one on Friday and had to place third baseman Brandon Inge on the 15-day disabled list with mononucleosis.

The Shortest Possible Baseball Road Trip  —  (You can also read the results from this post in the Wall Street Journal here)  —  Every year thousands of baseball fans take long multi-city road trips to ballparks across the nation.  When planning such a road trip, a normal person would plan …

Experts Draft 2.0  —  Our draft writers take another crack at the first round … 1. PIRATES (Conor): It's a bit of a muddled year at the top, but my decision still came down to the two players we've had up there for most of the year: Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon and UCLA righthander Gerrit Cole.

Defending the win: Correia racks up Ws  —  We shouldn't have to defend the win.  When Felix Hernandez won the American League Cy Young Award last season with only 13 wins (and 12 losses), it was considered something of a landmark moment for the slide rule set; a validation of sabermetric analysis …

Sources: Jon Garland headed to DL  —  CINCINNATI — Los Angeles Dodgers right-hander Jon Garland, who hadn't been on the disabled list in 11 years until this spring, is expected to be placed there for the second time this season with a right-shoulder injury, the severity of which isn't immediately known …

Konerko pulled after removal of bone fragments  —  CHICAGO — White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko was scratched from Friday night's starting lineup after having an operation to dislodge loose fragments in his left wrist earlier in the afternoon at Rush University Medical Center, but was expected to be available for later in the game.