Colorado's faith leans to Iannetta  —  Nothing official at catching position after Lopez is cut  —  TUCSON - Rookie catcher Chris Iannetta received a strong endorsement from the Rockies on Monday.  —  The team released veteran catcher Javier Lopez, who conceded he had lost the No. 1 catching job.

Under The Knife  —  The Sixth Season  —  And so we begin the sixth year of Under The Knife.  Writing that sentence proves the axiom about time flying while you're having fun, because it seems like yesterday that I sent the first experimental UTK out to three friends, asking, "is this anything?"

Braves' Jones sprains left ankle  —  Chipper Jones, who missed 44 games with various injuries last season, gave the Atlanta Braves another scare Monday.  —  The veteran third baseman left a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals after spraining his left ankle attempting to run …

Bonds Ponders 2008 and Possible Successor  —  Barry Bonds lost two fly balls in the sun in the first inning, an embarrassing development for any player at any time.  But Bonds made fun of himself by smiling and putting his glove over his eyes upon returning to the San Francisco Giants' dugout.

Phils' Gordon flies here to see doctor  —  The Phillies said the visit was routine and that their closer was healthy.  He is expected to pitch Friday.  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - Phillies closer Tom Gordon flew to Philadelphia yesterday to see team physician Michael Ciccotti.

Los Rockies  —  TUCSON—No team has increased their presence in Latin America over the last few years more than the Colorado Rockies.  General manager Dan O'Dowd has given Rolando Fernandez and his international scouting department more discretion on the Latin American market, and the Rockies system is seeing the results.

Spring hysterics: Sox, Yanks hit new heights in exhibition  —  FORT MYERS - Outside the ballpark, there was a PT Cruiser pulled over on the sidewalk.  Before long, there was a woman hanging outside the passenger-side window, screaming at a little guy covered in tattoos.  —  Red Sox forum:

Stats Geek: Pirates aren't a bad bet in weak division  —  By Brian O'Neill, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette  —  I wouldn't know a Bodog if one bit me in the wallet, but this online betting concern, bodog.com, puts the odds of the Pirates winning the World Series at 70 to 1.  —  That's relatively kind.

Will Cable Try to Bulk-Buy MLB.TV Subscriptions?  —  In an interesting twist to the Extra Innings / DirecTV deal, cable may opt to go the online route, as opposed to trying to match DirecTV's offer of placing the MLB Channel on the basic tier.  —  To compete, iN Demand may take an interesting side route …

Notes: Clayton nabs starting job  —  Veteran to play shortstop; reserve situation unsettled  —  SARASOTA, Fla. — Royce Clayton is penciled in as Toronto's starting shortstop.  The Blue Jays were just a little hesistant to say as much when they signed him over the winter.

Score one for graciousness  —  No evidence here of a bitter rivalry  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Nothing casual about the greeting exchanged last night between Yankees slugger Hideki Matsui and his Japanese countrymen on the Red Sox, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima.

O's make call: Gibbons out at first … FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. // After a total of 10 spring innings and zero ground balls hit in his direction, Jay Gibbons is essentially finished competing for the Orioles' first base job.  —  At a meeting late last week, Gibbons and manager Sam Perlozzo agreed Gibbons …

Garland denies he's blase  —  Intensity's there, he says after Cooper gets on Sox starters  —  TUCSON, Ariz. — Jon Garland said his sluggish body language shouldn't be interpreted to mean that he doesn't care about spring-training games.  —  "It might not look like it, [but] …

Needing One Starter, Mets Measure Park Against Prospect  —  Chan Ho Park thought he threw one bad pitch in Monday's game against the Washington Nationals.  So did his catcher, Paul Lo Duca.  The problem was, they were talking about different pitches, and that difference of opinion summed up Park's performance in the Mets' 9-6 loss.

Bloomquist seeks full-time position with Mariners  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — Willie Bloomquist collected a pair of hits Monday, two singles.  Another multihit game.  That's not surprising.  Few players this spring are hitting the ball as well as the Mariners utility man.

Mailbag: Why are Tigers being plunked?  —  Reporter Jason Beck answers Tigers fans' questions  —  What's with all the HBPs this spring for the Tigers?  I notice that each game they seem to have at least one player getting plunked.  Is this part of their new approach, because that'll get some runners on base this season?

Rickey Henderson: An Interview with the Stolen Base King  —  We have you covered all Spring Training here at BDD!  Even as I leave Arizona, our own Martin Gandy is just getting started in Florida.  Martin wasted no time in hitting the camps, and today he brings us the first of his exclusive interviews …