Was Pedro worth it?  You better believe it  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — It was worth it.  —  Even if Pedro Martinez never pitches another inning for the Mets, it was worth signing him.  For that matter, the deal that took the pitcher out of Boston and landed him in New York …

Wood's sidelined again with strained muscle  —  MESA, Ariz. — It hardly qualifies as surprising news anymore, but Kerry Wood will miss "the next couple of days" with another arm problem.  —  The good news—or what appears to be good news—is that his latest setback seems to be "only" …

Diamondbacks reliever might cost too much  —  KISSIMMEE - The Marlins are looking into Diamondbacks reliever Jorge Julio, but adding the hard-throwing right-hander would require a significant payroll hike by their standards.  —  Julio is available, but according to one baseball man monitoring …

M's Notebook |  Putz's arm 'tightens' after bullpen session  —  PEORIA, Ariz. — The much-anticipated bullpen session for Mariners closer J.J. Putz had gone well.  —  Putz had thrown 25 pitches, mostly fastballs.  All of them off a mound for the first time in 10 days.

Baseball's Deepest Starting Rotations  —  As I wrote several months ago, the average team gets about 124 starts from the five guys slated as their rotation at the beginning of the season.  That means that nearly one quarter of their games are started by a mid-season replacement …

Carp lookin' sharp at Met camp  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Mike Carp introduced himself to Damion Easley during an informal workout even before Mets position players reported, eager to share the news that they both attended Lakewood High School in Southern California.  —  "He was saying how he had a couple of records," Carp recalled.

Welcome to the club, Sammy  —  Daniels says Sosa, Hairston expected to be on opening day roster  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Maybe it was fitting Thursday that designated hitter Sammy Sosa blasted a home run on the day general manager Jon Daniels confirmed that Sosa had practically made the team.

Notes: Igawa still making adjustments  —  Cabrera flashes leather; Hughes, Ehlers honored before game  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Eight of Kei Igawa's first nine pitches missed the strike zone Thursday, and with two Atlanta Braves on base and none out, Ron Guidry made an unexpectedly early trot to the mound.

Items from around Florida and Arizona ...  Around the horn at spring training:  — The Cardinals' starting pitching has been a pleasant surprise; right-handers Kip Wells, Braden Looper and Adam Wainwright have combined to allow three runs in 352/3 innings.

Hope and Faith  —  How the Detroit Tigers Can Win the World Series … The Tigers are the paramount example of just why we're running this series.  Out of all of the major sports, baseball provides perhaps the best balance between luck and skill.  The idea of the Cincinnati Reds …

King of pain  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - Darin Erstad was going on about the wonder of his little girl taking her first solo steps this week, how he stood back and counted each trembling stride, "One, two, three, four, five ... ."  —  He sighed.  —  "Amazing," he said, sweetly.  "It was great."

Relievers in short supply around baseball  —  TICK, TICK, TICK.  The Phillies have 2 weeks left in Florida.  Their bullpen remains unsettled.  —  The Phillies are on the clock.  —  And while it's probably no consolation, they're not the only team looking for relief help.

Baseball Season Preview: Washington Nationals  —  Follow The NCAA Live Blog! … Today: The Washington Nationals.  Your author is Dan Shanoff.  —  Dan Shanoff blogs daily (and eponymously) at DanShanoff.com.  He created and wrote the "Daily Quickie" for ESPN.com.

Dollars, Not Jeers, Will Send Rodriguez Packing  —  Earlier this week, apparently as part of an ongoing campaign to irritate Yankees fans as much as possible, Alex Rodriguez said on the radio, "I want to 100% stay in New York.  Period.  That's it."  He then intimated that if fans don't stop booing him …