Cain signs multiyear deal with Giants  —  Young right-hander goes for four years with option for fifth  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Noah Lowry used the calendar to put Matt Cain's brand-new deal with the Giants in perspective.  —  "When he's done with that contract, he'll be almost my age," Lowry said.

Day Two of Not Caring  —  Honestly, I've tried, and I just can't bring myself to care about this whole Gary Matthews thing.  Quite honestly, I'm much more concerned about UCLA vs. Wazzu, and Anze Kopitar missing the game against the Ducks tonight, because really, if he's not playing, what point is there in watching?

Blogging the Detroit Tigers versus Philadelphia Phillies - 3/1/07  —  Check back throughout the afternoon as I'll be providing details on the game as they happen.  Game time is less then an hour away and Jamie Moyer will get the start for the Phillies.  —  ***UPDATE 1***  —  Interesting lineup.

Mismatch made in heaven  —  Northeastern gets a whiff, and is simply awestruck  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Imagine.  You play college baseball in Boston.  You spent the winter hitting in poorly lit indoor cages with poor backgrounds.  Finally, you get to play outside for the first time and you step in to face . . .

Notes: Borchard leans on football  —  Marlins outfielder uses gridiron experience on the diamond  —  JUPITER, Fla. — You can take Joe Borchard out of football, but you can't take the football player out of Borchard.  —  A former quarterback at Stanford, Borchard's all-out hustle …

Rangers give Young 5-year deal  —  All-Star shortstop's extension worth $80 million  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Michael Young will remain a Ranger until he's not so young anymore.  —  The club and its All-Star shortstop agreed early Thursday morning …

2007 Top 100 Prospects  —  We proudly present our annual list of the best young players in the game, the culmination of our offseason prospect rankings.  —  But this year we bring you the list with a twist.  While we'd like to think that every player here will go on to big league success …

First base a first for Boone  —  JUPITER — After 10 major-league seasons, Aaron Boone had another first Thursday.  —  Boone made his first career start at first base in Florida's 8-6 victory against the Orioles.  His first putout came in the first inning when Melvin Mora bounced into a 6-4-3 double-play.

Francona bets Lucchino he can quit tobacco habit  —  Chew on this: Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona has bet team president and CEO Larry Lucchino a $20,000 donation to Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute that he can quit using tobacco this season.  —  Call it smokeless, chaw …

Notes: A dash of soreness for duo  —  Fielder, Gross hurting after timed sprint; Braun makes noise  —  PHOENIX — First baseman Prince Fielder was scratched from the Brewers' first Cactus League game because of a sore right quadriceps, another casualty of the team's much-ballyhooed 60-yard dash.

BAT WRIGHT SECOND  —  David Wright batted in the two-hole today in the 4-3 win over the Cardinals.  I think that is a better place for him than fifth, even though fifth is an RBI gold mine.  —  Paul Lo Duca was given a day off so that is why Wright batted second, but this is something Willie Randolph should think about.

DRays Bay Takes on Stuart Sternberg, Devil Rays Owner  —  This is an interview that needs no introduction and I'll let it speak for itself  —  RJ Anderson: So Mr. Sternberg, how does it feel to be an owner of a professional baseball franchise?  —  Stuart Sternberg: Feels great …

Maddux, Wells more alike than you'd think … PEORIA, Ariz. — San Diego's pitchers were participating in some routine spring drills last week when one of the younger players asked David Wells if he had a cough drop to spare.  Always happy to oblige, Boomer pulled a lozenge from his back pocket and handed it to his teammate.

Get this...  Josh Hamilton's last home run?  2002. He hit 9 in 2002 before having season-ending surgery on July 18 of that year.  —  Add to that — he called it.  —  Hamilton and David Ross were talking before that at-bat.  Ross was counting all the homers that had been hit already during the game.

Glavine off to great start in spring  —  Lefty hurls two scoreless innings, allows just one baserunner  —  METS 4, CARDINALS 3  —  Cardinals at the plate: Scott Rolen, who has a .493 career on-base percentage against Tom Glavine, was the only Cardinals batter to reach base against the left-hander; he was hit by a pitch.

Matos, McCutchen go deep in slugfest  —  Bucs, Reds combine for eight home runs on the day  —  REDS 9, PIRATES 7  —  Reds at the plate: Second baseman Brandon Phillips had a towering, two-run homer to left-center in the fifth inning, and Mark Bellhorn followed with one of his own three batters later.

Marching orders a success  —  Tucson - Seeking more power, Todd Helton switched to a slightly heavier bat this spring.  It should come in handy in his new role as the Rockies' cleanup hitter.  Manager Clint Hurdle has flip-flopped Helton with Matt Holliday, leaving the all-star outfielder in the fifth spot.

Getting his groove back?  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — All the progress Rangers pitcher John Koronka made as a rookie last season was just good enough to get him right back where he was a year ago.  —  Koronka became the Rangers' fifth starter after Adam Eaton was injured at the end of camp in 2006.