Boston Got What It Wanted, or So It Seems  —  Maybe the move will wind up serving as the catalyst that vaults the Boston Red Sox to their first American League East title since 1995, but when they began their pursuit of Daisuke Matsuzaka last fall, one of their main motivations was to keep him from the Yankees.

Five Questions: Milwaukee Brewers  —  Last year started out as an optimistic one for the Brewers.  This year, the happy thoughts are little more guarded, but they are all the more appropriate.  —  None of Milwaukee's offseason moves—signing Jeff Suppan, trading for Claudio Vargas and Johnny Estrada …

Parrish Expected To Stick  —  Barring an injury, reliever John Parrish will be on the Baltimore Orioles' Opening Day roster, according to one team source.  —  Parrish has a 3.72 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings this spring and has attracted attention from several teams, including the Kansas City Royals.

Rangers' Benoit springs forward  —  egrant@dallasnews.com  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. - How much has Joaquin Benoit's stock zoomed this spring?  —  Just consider this question posed to manager Ron Washington on Tuesday: "What reliever would you go to if you had to retire a lefty late in a game?"

Urbina sentenced to prison in Venezuela  —  CARACAS, Venezuela — Former Major League Baseball pitcher Ugueth Urbina was sentenced to 14 years in prison for the attempted murder of five workers on his family's ranch, the Attorney General's Office announced Wednesday.

White Sox's Hall opts for rehab  —  Backup catcher hopes to recover enough to avoid surgery  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — White Sox backup catcher Toby Hall will try to avoid season-ending surgery with at least three weeks of rehabilitation on his torn right labrum.

Those 'Poor' Nats  —  Right now, the Nationals are sometimes compared to the '62 Mets, the worst team in history.  In one year, they'll be compared to another New York team, the filthy-rich Yankees.  Now, the Nats are pitied.  Soon, they will be feared.  That's not a prediction as much as it is a virtual baseball certainty.

Hill feels strong despite blister  —  Rich Hill wasn't particularly sharp against Kansas City on Tuesday, but that might've been due in part to a blister on his finger and a rain-shortened outing in his previous appearance.  —  The blister isn't considered serious, but Hill was taken out with two on and two outs in the fifth inning.

Kennedy delivers sales pitch  —  He allows just one run while striking out nine in five innings in his bid for the fifth spot in the Oakland rotation  —  PHOENIX — Joe Kennedy talked about his sparkling five-inning effort against the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday with the same mellow demeanor …

Piniella chooses Miller over Prior  —  Ex-ace Iowa-bound after 5th starter battle  —  MESA, Ariz. — Mark Prior's start Wednesday at HoHoKam Park will be his last in a Cubs uniform for quite a while.  —  Manager Lou Piniella confirmed Tuesday that Wade Miller has sewn up the fifth starter's spot …

Notes: Pierre likely if Furcal can't go  —  Opening Day leadoff spot up in air with shortstop's injury  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Grady Little on Tuesday might have given a sneak peak at what the top of the Dodgers' batting order will look like if Rafael Furcal can't answer the bell for Monday's opener because of a sprained ankle.