Francis' purpose pitch shows Rockies can play rough, too  —  Tucson - The knee-jerk reaction to Jeff Francis' five-game suspension is easy.  He shouldn't have thrown at Kevin Kouzmanoff.  It made no sense for the Rockies to retaliate Tuesday when it could cost them a late April win because of Francis' absence.

McAnulty springing forward for Padres  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - Paul McAnulty is having one of those springs that typically leads to a major league job.  —  A pinch-hit single yesterday raised McAnulty's spring batting average to .344.  —  "And it's not just his hitting," Padres manager Buddy Black was saying yesterday morning.

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 …

March 18: Mets in the Morning — I have this theory  —  Mets at Jupiter to play the Cardinals today.  They are taking BP now.  Gorgeous day.  Chamber of Commerce stuff.  —  Two pitching questions could be further answered today: Orlando Hernandez and Ambiorix Burgos.

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 …

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.

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.

Rangers' Millwood grades outing on curve  —  Starter puts emphasis on breaking pitch - and comes away pleased  —  rdurrett@dallasnews.com  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - Rangers starter Kevin Millwood had one goal for his first "A" game start of the spring: Get the curve ball working.  —  Millwood said he did that Saturday.

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 …

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 …