Opener belongs to Cookie  —  Tucson - The Rockies wanted more than a pitcher on the mound opening day, they wanted a tough guy.  —  So they chose right-hander Aaron Cook, the feisty redhead who nearly died on the mound 2 1/2 years ago after suffering blood clots in his lungs.

Notes: Abreu injures shoulder vs. Astros  —  Promising prospect out 2-4 weeks with moderate bone bruise  —  VERO BEACH, Fla. — Promising Dodgers infielder Tony Abreu will be out two to four weeks with a moderate bone bruise to his left shoulder suffered when he dived headfirst into second base …

Time for Rangers to perform  —  Three pitchers vying for No. 5 spot enter a key stretch  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - Welcome to the final phase of the chase for the No. 5 spot in the Rangers rotation.  —  Manager Ron Washington said starting today …

Get used to this roster … ST. PETERSBURG - For all the time the Devil Rays have invested in trade talks, they might not make any deal.  At the point of spring when trade talks are heating up, the Rays seem more likely to stick with what they have.  —  "We continue to touch base with teams …

DAMON: METS WERE WISE TO SIGN SCHOENEWEIS  —  Johnny Damon was pleased when Scott Schoeneweis signed with the Mets.  He didn't mind sharing New York with the southpaw as long as he did not have to share a division with him.  —  "I thought Schoeneweis was the best left-hander out of the pen in our division," Damon said.

Sheff rips Torre, Yankees  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Detroit Tigers are Gary Sheffield's seventh team and the slugger says many of those clubs made him feel "like family."  —  But his last team, the Yankees, are "strictly a business," Sheffield says in a recent Q&A with ESPN.com that discusses his upcoming book.

A-Rod has short circuited  —  Alex Rodriguez thought he would be more than a star here.  He thought he would be the good guy.  Not greeted as a baseball liberator at Yankee Stadium, the Yankees were way too good for that, even if they were already three seasons away from winning …

Papelbon solid in first spring start  —  Red Sox only able to produce one run as they fall to Reds  —  REDS 2, RED SOX 1  —  Red Sox at the plate: Wily Mo Pena went 2-for-3 with a double.  Manny Ramirez doubled for his only hit, while five other Sox batters added singles.

Piazza's three RBIs not enough for A's  —  A's catcher hits first homer of spring; Kennedy allows five runs  —  BREWERS 11, A'S 4  —  Brewers at the plate: Leadoff man Rickie Weeks singled to open the game and started a string of six consecutive hits for Milwaukee, including an RBI single …

Vargas taking nothing for granted  —  Not guaranteed No. 5 spot, Brewers righty out to impress club  —  PHOENIX — Brewers manager Ned Yost has spent parts of the last week insisting that his starting rotation is not set in stone.  —  But Claudio Vargas, the frontrunner for the only spot remotely …

Stats mean little in Spring Training  —  If you take a gander at the Spring Training statistics from any year, you'll find some interesting things.  —  As of Wednesday, for instance, we find that Mets shortstop Jose Reyes is batting only .125, while the Nationals' Shawn Hill has a 2.00 ERA after three starts.

COOPERSTOWN 500  —  WOULD MILESTONE, AND CLEAN REP, PUT DELGADO IN HALL?  —  FOUR players have a strong chance of reaching 500 homers this season, and that severely endangers Carlos Delgado's shot at immortality.  —  Delgado's Hall of Fame candidacy ultimately will be based on the consistency …

Nothing's changed about Ponson … FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. // Different uniform and different hairstyle.  Same old Sidney Ponson.  —  The Prodigal Right-hander was back at Fort Lauderdale Stadium yesterday, happily greeting old teammates, taking jabs at Orioles fans and stiffing the Baltimore media.