Michael Pineda Flashes His Fastball  —  TAMPA, Fla. — With a solid performance Sunday, Yankees pitcher Michael Pineda might have quelled for now some of the near panic over the mysterious loss of three or four miles per hour on his fastball.  —  Pitching against the Detroit Tigers …

Dale Sveum is Losing Sleep Over Lineup Construction  —  There are folks who will tell you that lineup construction doesn't really matter - and they'll offer you advanced stats to prove it.  I'm still a bit unsold in either direction (at bottom, I do agree with the idea that you want to bat …

Marcum on upswing entering key season  —  Righty throws three innings against Dodgers, with three K's  —  PHOENIX — So far, so good for right-hander Shaun Marcum, who is playing catchup in a bid to begin the season in the Brewers' starting rotation.  —  Marcum, slowed this spring by a stiff shoulder, needs no extra motivation.

Mets close to minor-league deal with starter Chris Young  —  JUPITER, Fla. - Another survivor of anterior capsule surgery is expected to rejoin the Mets by the end of the week.  Chris Young, who started four games last season, is close to an agreement on a minor-league contract with the team …

Rosenheck & Jonas: International Draft Issues  —  MLB's new Collective Bargaining Agreement seemingly portends an international draft — Bud Selig has called it inevitable — but questions remain.  Among them are: “Is it a good idea?” and “Is it even practical?”

Video of the Miami Marlins home run feature has finally surfaced  —  It ... is ... alive!  —  With opening day fast approaching and a new ballpark to open, the Miami Marlins have been preparing by putting their highly anticipated and already much-ridiculed home run display through some dry runs.

The Jamie Moyer 49  —  Everything you ever wanted to know about baseball's grand old man  —  Age Is Just A State Of Mind  —  Jim Caple sits down with Jamie Moyer who shares his thoughts as he approaches 50 years old  —  Forty-nine things you should know about Jamie Moyer while rooting …

Contact king for Tampa Bay Rays' Keppinger  —  PORT CHARLOTTE — It has been argued quite successfully that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports.  —  A fastball thrown at 95 to 100 mph reaches home plate in about .4 seconds and it takes humans .15 seconds to voluntarily blink …

Yankees DH Ibanez hits first HR  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Raul Ibanez is entering his 15th big league season and will turn 40 in June, so he has been through spring trainings in which he didn't hit and others in which he did.  —  Despite entering yesterday's action against the Tigers …

Blue Jays demote outfielder Travis Snider  —  DUNEDIN, FLA.—The Blue Jays' competition for left field is over.  —  Fan-favourite Travis Snider was cut from the big-league team and sent down to the minors following the Jays' 6-5 spring-training win over the Boston Red Sox Sunday afternoon.

Bold predictions for 2012!  —  Well folks, it's that time of the year once again.  Let me climb out onto a limb and pontificate on my boldest predictions for the upcoming season.  —  If you're curious about my predictive prowess, feel free to check out my column from last offseason where I made my bold predictions for 2011.

Tigers option top prospect Turner to Triple-A  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — The Tigers optioned top prospect Jacob Turner to Triple-A Toledo on Monday morning as part of a half-dozen roster cuts from camp, whittling their Spring Training roster to 32 players.  —  Outfielder Quintin Berry …

Frank Francisco prefers jams in spring training  —  VIERA, Fla. - The mother has a routine.  Five or six days a week, she visits the same Pentecostal church in the Dominican Republic.  She prays for her children.  Three hours later, she returns home.  —  The son understands the importance of a routine.

Elarton settles down in Phillies' loss to Tigers  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Tigers ace Justin Verlander, the defending American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner, picked up right where he left off through his first four Grapefruit League starts on Sunday, leading Detroit …

A's beat Yomiuri Giants 5-0 in exhibition game  —  TOKYO—Kurt Suzuki hit a two-run homer in the top of the seventh inning and Tommy Milone pitched five scoreless innings and the Oakland Athletics beat the Yomiuri Giants 5-0 in an exhibition game on Sunday.  —  Suzuki connected off Yomiuri …