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.

Former Marlin Castillo may be on move again  —  FORT MYERS - The only thing that's changed is the uniform.  —  A season removed from the trade that sent Luis Castillo from the Marlins to the Minnesota Twins, the All-Star second baseman greeted his former teammates with a two-hit performance from the leadoff spot on Monday.

Hustling Zambrano hits the ground running  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Carlos Zambrano has always had a flair for the dramatic, but his pileup coming out of Turn 2 at Scottsdale Stadium sent a scare through the Cubs on Monday.  —  The Cubs' Opening Day starter tattooed a first-inning pitch from San Francisco Giants veteran Matt Morris.

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:

WHY LITTLE LEAGUE OPPOSES METAL BAT BAN  —  One place Where's Kernan loves to visit is Williamsport, Pa., where time stands still every August when the Little League World Series takes place.  —  The games couldn't be cheaper (free), the concessions are great and the action is non-stop.

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?"

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.

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 …

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.

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.

Five Questions: Seattle Mariners  —  When the guys here approached me to write another Five Questions piece previewing the 2007 Seattle Mariners, I started to wonder how I was going to select just a handful of key questions from a roster that apparently was built by throwing darts at a board.

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.

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?

Mets: Henderson says Reyes can steal 130  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Rickey Henderson hadn't even been in camp for five minutes yesterday when he had already raised the bar for Jose Reyes.  —  Baseball's all-time stolen base leader said he believes that, of all the players in the game …