Graffanino is placed on waivers  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Unable to find a suitable offer for Tony Graffanino, and uninterested in taking the financial hit to cut him or keep him, the Sox have placed the spare second baseman on waivers.  —  At least a few teams — including the Mets, Cardinals …

Pirates Notebook: Fifth starter might come from a trade with Atlanta  —  BRADENTON, Fla. — Both Victor Santos and Brandon Duckworth pitched well for the Pirates in their 8-3 victory against Philadelphia yesterday, but in the short run it might not have mattered.

Notes: Damon returns to center field  —  Leadoff hitter scores two runs in Yankees' win over Rays  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Johnny Damon strolled out to center field on Saturday for the first time since March 10, when he played the outfield for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Bagwell's long career is just about over  —  Maybe now people will understand why the Astros filed their insurance claim on first baseman Jeff Bagwell — and why they would have preferred that he had not come to spring training at all.  —  The Astros' case for insurance was damaged …

Notes: Arroyo kicks off Reds career  —  Sprained ankle ends Wise's spring; flexible lineup expected  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Bronson Arroyo's career with the Reds launched on Saturday, as did what the pitcher hoped would be only a brief period of adjustment.  —  His pitching line wasn't spectacular.

Leicester 1-1 Reading  —  Reading sealed promotion to the top flight for the first time in their history with a draw at Leicester.  —  Leicester took a deserved lead against a lacklustre Reading with Iain Hume's powerful finish after being set up by Matty Fryatt.

Notes: Unit in midseason form  —  Johnson strikes out six Twins over 6 1/3 sharp innings  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Randy Johnson is ready for Opening Day.  Now, he just has to wait another nine days to take the ball.  —  Johnson made his penultimate start of the spring on Friday …

Notes: Francoeur practicing patience  —  Right fielder hot since returning from World Baseball Classic  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — While there might be better ways to develop patience, the eye infection that confined Jeff Francoeur to his living room much of November might have actually been a blessing in disguise.

Cards contenders despite so-so offseason … JUPITER, Fla. — Excitement builds and emotions crest in the weeks before a ballpark's debut.  Just don't expect St. Louis manager Tony La Russa to get all Dick Vermeil-ish over something as mundane as a change of workplace.

Three vets out for redemption  —  Frank Thomas and Tim Salmon were playing against one another in the Cape Cod League in 1988.  Steve Finley already had made it to Triple-A with Rochester.  Ronald Reagan was the president.  —  Now, 18 years later, Thomas, Salmon and Finley came …

Nats Look to Overcome System Failures  —  VIERA, Fla., March 25 — The days when the Montreal Expos' farm system cranked out major leaguers — from Tim Raines to Tim Wallach, from Javier Vazquez to Vladimir Guerrero — were long gone by the time the franchise moved to Washington and became the Nationals.

New fielding book may leave Rangers feeling defensive  —  Management using 'Fielding Bible' as evaluation tool  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Two new books sit prominently on the desk of Rangers general manager Jon Daniels.  One, the memoirs of John Schuerholz called Built to Win …

Wagner throws without pain  —  Mets closer believes return by Opening Day is still a possibility  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It was the most fundamental and mundane activity for a pitcher — simply "hurling the sphere," as Randy Jones used to call it.  It was nothing more than a game of catch …