In LaRoche-White Sox flap, Kenny Williams acted on behalf of others, too  —  PHOENIX - Now, do we really think Chicago White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams acted alone here, going out of his way to alienate his own team and have one of its most popular players abruptly quit in anger?

SPORTS BLUE JAYS  —  DUNEDIN, Fla. — He sits two lockers from the wall.  —  On the concrete behind him is a massive, wallpaper-like mural of the post, post-game celebration from Camden Yards in Baltimore on Sept. 30, 2015.  —  Players are wearing eye goggles around their necks and heads …

Brewers' Liriano hospitalized after being hit by pitch  —  PHOENIX (AP) Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Rymer Liriano suffered multiple facial fractures Sunday when he was hit in the face by a pitch.  —  Liriano was carried off the field on a backboard.  The team said he was expected …

Browns moving forward on Robert Griffin III, don't anticipate more trade talks for Colin Kaepernick  —  Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III smiles as he greets fans after a win over the Colts in 2012.  (AP)  —  Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland.com By Mary Kay Cabot, Cleveland.com

Reusse: Big Papi looks back on his career ‘... the Twins treated me bad’  —  David Ortiz opens up about his departure from Minnesota and his decision to retire after this season in Boston.  —  FORT MYERS, FLA. - David Ortiz was having lunch at a table outside the Boston Red Sox spring training clubhouse.

Chone Figgins Retires  —  Chone Figgins has officially announced his retirement, as per an Angels press release.  He will sign a ceremonial one-day contract with the Halos tomorrow in order to leave baseball in the same uniform in which he spent eight of his 12 MLB seasons.

David Ortiz wants bat flip haters to shut up  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — David Ortiz can't understand why people are flipping out about bat flips.  —  Entering his 20th season in the big leagues, Ortiz insisted that those who cite “old school” values in expressing opposition to the gesture are misguided.

Rays have strict rules about kids in the clubhouse  —  PORT CHARLOTTE — The vitriolic clash that disrupted White Sox camp over how much time Adam LaRoche's son could spend in the clubhouse shouldn't happen to the Rays.  —  After taking over last year, manager Kevin Cash and team leaders worked …

By mulling shifting McCutchen, the Pirates are re-thinking big  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — You may have heard this week that the Pittsburgh Pirates are thinking about moving Andrew McCutchen up to the No. 2 hole in their lineup.  OK, that's totally true.  Nevertheless, it isn't totally accurate.

Panda leash very short  —  Subtitle: Shaw lurks as third base option  —  FORT MYERS — John Farrell had hinted he'd have a quicker trigger this season, that he didn't have the patience of last year when he watched a pair of the team's highest-paid players, Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval …

Cubs banking ‘grenade’ in Jon Lester's elbow won't go off  —  MESA, Ariz. - The Cubs bet $155 million that it won't disrupt their big plans for October the next few years.  —  And Jon Lester seems confident it will remain the “non-issue” it has been for much of his career …

Nationals Release Logan Schafer  —  Here are today's minor moves from around the league.  — The Nationals have announced that they've released outfielder Logan Schafer.  (They also reassigned infielder Jason Martinson to the minors.)  The Nats had signed Schafer to a minor-league deal in November.

Nationals pitcher Bronson Arroyo says he has torn rotator cuff  —  Washington Nationals pitcher Bronson Arroyo told MASN on Thursday that his rotator cuff is “significantly torn.”  —  He said the injury is not a torn labrum, as had been reported on Wednesday.