O's dealt another dose of guilt by association  —  It is Groundhog Day all over again in Baltimore.  —  This time, cute little Jerry Hairston Jr. has poked his head out of the steroid suspicion hole, guaranteeing at least six more weeks of baseball's seemly endless performance enhancement scandal.

It didn't take long to get in a zone  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Larry Bird's first game in a Celtics uniform was against the Philadelphia 76ers in a preseason doubleheader at Madison Square Garden, the most famous indoor arena in the world.  —  Larry's first game in green certainly wasn't as big as Dice-K Friday at City of Palms Park.

Guillen's 'feuds' are more like cheap shots  —  Tribune baseball reporter Phil Rogers gives his take on the latest Ozzie Guillen outburst.  —  Here we go again.  —  Ozzie Guillen's swipes at Brandon McCarthy on Mike North's morning radio show Friday set the stage for a carbon copy of the Guillen-Magglio Ordonez "feud" of 2005.

Eckstein setback  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Apparently the Cardinals won't be able to avoid some unpleasant leftovers from 2006.  —  Shortstop and leadoff hitter David Eckstein probably will miss at least two weeks of Grapefruit League competition after experiencing discomfort in his left side …

Systems Retrospective, American League  —  Next week, I'll begin the State Of The Systems series that served as my debut at Baseball Prospectus.  Before that begins, however, let's look back at last year's columns.  How did I do?  For each team I selected one player I liked better than most …

Dunn understands basis of 'mediocre' comment … SARASOTA, Fla. — It took a few days.  But word finally reached big Reds bopper Adam Dunn on Saturday that Mike Schmidt can't understand why he strikes out so much.  —  Dunn's bemused response: "I can't either."

Zambrano springs eternal  —  After sharp debut, emotional optimist thinks World Series  —  MESA, Ariz. — Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano dominated for two innings in his spring debut Friday, then declared he will win the Cy Young Award he just missed winning last year.

Rangers officially take on Young look  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — Just before noon Friday, Michael Young officially became the face of the Rangers.  —  If everything goes according to plan, this era won't end until Young hangs up his spikes sometime in the next decade.

Pitcher Tracey wants to find dream team  —  Feels he won't reach big leagues with Sox  —  TUCSON, Ariz. — Pitcher Sean Tracey welcomes the chance for White Sox general manager Ken Williams to discuss a future that could involve a change of scenery.  —  "If that's the case, that's good," Tracey said Friday.

DirecTV Promises to Improve Baseball Package, but Others Wonder How  —  The head of DirecTV yesterday defended the satellite programmer's seven-year, $700-million deal with Major League Baseball for exclusive control of the Extra Innings package of out-of-market games.

Rockies' Matsui comfortable at long last  —  "I wasn't Kaz Matsui in New York.  I'm not sure why, but I wasn't the player I really am," the Japanese-born Matsui said through his interpreter, Yoshi Ono.  —  The 31-year-old second baseman never lived up to the hype after signing a US$20.1 million …

How the Blue Jays saved more than $90 million … DUNEDIN, Fla. — Here's a little factoid we guarantee will inspire you to teach your kids to throw a gyroball:  —  Know what the price of starting pitching was this winter?  —  How 'bout 628.925 million bucks.

Burning questions: NL West  —  Today, we wrap up Top 10 Burning Questions for each of MLB's six divisions.  Last but least only to those with an East Coast bias, is the NL West.  —  Let's light this candle ...  1. Will Barry Bonds catch Hank Aaron?  —  This one should be close.

Notes: Jenkins laying into lefties  —  Club signs five, renews Fielder; Villanueva blanks old team  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Brewers outfielder Geoff Jenkins, who was outspoken early in camp against giving up at-bats against left-handers, is apparently letting his bat do the talking.

HE'S NO AVERAGE JOE  —  METS' SMITH MAKES MARK  —  JUPITER, Fla. - So I walk up to side-arming Joe Smith, and playing the part of the wise guy, say, "Joe Smith.  That's the most common name in America."  —  "I've heard that my whole life, but I've never met another one," …