Herb Carneal dies at 83  —  Longtime Twins radio broadcaster Herb Carneal died this morning of congestive heart failure at his home in Minnetonka, the team announced.  —  Carneal, 83, who received the highest honor in baseball broadcasting in 1996 when he was named the recipient of the Ford C. Frick award …

Giants send Ellison to Mariners for minor leaguer  —  SEATTLE — The Seattle Mariners acquired outfielder Jason Ellison on Sunday from the San Francisco Giants for minor league pitcher Travis Blackley.  —  Ellison, who turns 29 on Wednesday, was added to the Mariners' 25-man roster …

Baseball Actively Promotes Him, Advertisers Eagerly Chase After Him  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — At age 24, David Wright has an easy smile and brown eyes that have already appeared on the covers of ESPN's magazine, Men's Health, Player and The Sporting News, and inside the pages of Cosmopolitan, GQ, Sports Illustrated and People.

Cubs, Zambrano closing in on five-year deal  —  The Cubs' chances of signing right-hander Carlos Zambrano to a new five-year contract look better than ever.  —  Zambrano has waived his Opening Day deadline for completing negotiations with the club, according to his agent, Barry Praver.

Thornton, Ozuna agree to deals with White Sox  —  CHICAGO (AP) — Pitcher Matt Thornton agreed Sunday on a $3.25 million, three-year contract with the Chicago White Sox, who also gave utilityman Pablo Ozuna a $1.25 million, one-year extension through 2009.  —  Thornton will earn $550,000 this season …

Of Rocks and Apples and the Disappearance of 20-Game Winners  —  The question was about 20-game winners, and Rich Donnelly wanted to talk about apple fights.  —  "As kids we had apple fights," said Donnelly, the Los Angeles Dodgers' third-base coach.  "I'll bet you there's no one in here who ever had an apple fight."

Bigbie, Loney fail to make Dodgers' opening-day roster  —  Furcal is put on the disabled list and veteran Valdez makes the team.  —  They batted a combined .389 in 126 spring-training at-bats.  One led the team in runs batted in while the other was tops in average and hits.

Notes: Making a fielders choice  —  Yost says Jenkins, Mench won't be strict platoon  —  Arlington, Texas - When it comes to playing outfielders Geoff Jenkins and Kevin Mench this season, manager Ned Yost said Saturday that it's not necessarily a case of "either or."

'Roid regret  —  Two-time MVP Murphy: I should have spoken up about juice when I played  —  Dale Murphy remembers sitting in front of a television screen, staring.  There were Jose Canseco and the other beefy sluggers on the 1980s Oakland Athletics, slamming home runs and then bashing their ripped forearms in celebration.

Stan Musial: Still The Man  —  JUPITER, Fla. — A hotshot rookie with the New York Mets last season once slapped high fives with fans on his way to the outfield and later found a sign hanging above his locker, "KNOW YOUR PLACE, ROOK."  —  Lastings Milledge had something new hanging on his locker this spring.

The 100-mph kid  —  In one of his few games as a pitcher, Colt Griffin threw faster than any high school player ever.  And that's when all the trouble started.  —  TYLER, Texas |  Colt Griffin moves across the mud-caked land he bought with baseball money, his face fresh, the past behind him.

Padres give Gonzalez $9.5 million, 4-year deal  —  SAN DIEGO (AP) — Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez agreed to a $9.5 million, four-year deal on Sunday, a month after the club initially renewed him at just $500 more than the major league minimum for this season.

Quiet Man, … FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. // You know his swing, so short, sweet and powerful that it prompted one baseball lifer to say that Nick Markakis could become one of the Orioles' best hitters ever.  —  But everything else about Markakis is hidden.  He gives few clues to teammates …

hermanson gone  —  Will post more when I get it, but Dustin Hermanson was saying his goodbyes.  One more cut to go  —  Apparently, Hermanson had no interest in an assignment in Louisville.  —  And, no, I promise I will never put an April Fool's joke or something like that on here.