Rays keep Gomes, send Cantu down  —  Former starting second baseman asks for trade after demotion  —  ST. PETERSBURG — Jonny Gomes is on the team, Jorge Cantu is not.  —  That's how it went down early Saturday morning when the Devil Rays pared down their roster to 25.

For Tavarez, Starting Job Comes As Major Relief  —  PHILADELPHIA — All along this spring, Jonathan Papelbon's heart was in closing, not starting, and last week he got his wish.  —  All along this spring, Julian Tavarez said his heart was in starting, not closing.  Thanks to Papelbon, Tavarez got his wish, too.

To Tighten Drug Tests, Baseball Teams Secretly Monitor Players  —  When the Yankees' pitchers and catchers arrived for spring training in mid-February, they saw signs taped up in the clubhouse bathroom reminding them that they would be tested for drugs.  They knew the drill …

No Reason to Use a Designated Hitter Who Doesn't Hit  —  "Moneyball" was supposed to have taught baseball a lesson.  —  A 2003 best seller by Michael Lewis, the book recounted how Billy Beane, the general manager of the low-budget Oakland Athletics, won a string of division titles by assembling …

Grit goes long way  —  Erstad's old-school work ethic impresses new Sox teammates  —  ATLANTA — With Darin Erstad, what you see is literally what you get: Toughened scruffy-growth-of-beard exterior, jaw-jutting determined look, forward-slant walk and all-out run.

Notes: Brewers' double-vision in left  —  Veterans Mench and Jenkins will platoon in left field  —  FRISCO, Texas — As planned since the start of Spring Training, the Brewers will enter the regular season by platooning Kevin Mench and Geoff Jenkins in left field.

A's Loaiza could start season on disabled list  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Oakland right-hander Esteban Loaiza was scratched from his scheduled start Saturday for the second time in three days and might begin the season on the disabled list with tightness in his right shoulder blade.

Friendly Confines getting nasty  —  Demanding Cubs fans become more vocal, impatient each year  —  LAS VEGAS — Juan Pierre spent only one season in Chicago, but it was long enough to learn that modern-day Cubs fans aren't nearly as docile as their reputation suggests.

Zambrano's deal appears nearly sealed  —  Hendry optimistic he'll beat deadline  —  LAS VEGAS — Negotiations over Carlos Zambrano's contract extension heated up Friday with a face-to-face meeting between general manager Jim Hendry and the pitcher's agent, Barry Praver.

Wrapping Up the Countdown  —  I should reiterate a point I made Thursday: there's as much parity in baseball right now as at any time in history.  I didn't intend to have this mass of teams clustered in the 80s in wins, but when I sat down to do my runs projections—not PECOTA's, my own …

Basic logic points to Indians being better … WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — They scored more runs than the Red Sox.  They pounded more extra-base hits than the Yankees.  Their starting pitchers threw more innings, and had a better strikeout-walk ratio, than that vaunted rotation in Detroit.