NO SYMPATHY FOR LO DUCA  —  WRIGHT WARY OF PAL'S STERIOD RAP  —  Close friends or not, David Wright has no sympathy for Paul Lo Duca if what the Mitchell Report says is true.  —  Speaking at a charity event in New Hyde Park, Wright yesterday said his ex-Mets teammate deserves “a harsh penalty” …

Canseco Is Said to Have Sought Favor to Omit Name  —  José Canseco, the former major league slugger and admitted steroid user who exposed other players in his 2005 best-selling book “Juiced,” offered to keep a Detroit Tigers outfielder “clear” in his next book if the player invested money …

Sox' Henry delivers hard sell … Fenway Park isn't getting any younger and that will not help the Red Sox [team stats] compete on the revenue front with the Yankees and Mets in the years to come, team owner John Henry pointed out yesterday.  —  The final payroll information regarding …

A Long Struggle To Get Back Up And Running  —  16 Months After Breaking Leg, Nats' Johnson Is Ready to Battle for the Job at First Base  —  SACRAMENTO — It is 8:40 a.m., and the sun is just beginning to bake through the windows of a gym that sits anonymously in a business park on the edge of California's capital city.

Santana's Hometown Awaits His Next Move  —  TOVAR, Venezuela — “Welcome to the territory of Johan Santana,” reads a sign on the wall of the local baseball field in this Andean town more than 6,400 feet above sea level in southwestern Venezuela.  —  Santana, the Minnesota Twins' ace and perhaps …

Feds unable to locate, serve Knoblauch subpoena  —  WASHINGTON — Former major leaguer Chuck Knoblauch had not been tracked down as of early Wednesday evening by federal marshals trying to serve him a subpoena from a House panel investigating steroids in baseball, a committee staffer told The Associated Press.

Wright, Bucs agree to Minor League deal  —  PITTSBURGH — Oft-injured pitcher Jaret Wright and the Pirates agreed on a Minor League contract Wednesday with an invitation to Spring Training.  —  Wright, a 15-game winner for Atlanta in 2004, had a 6.97 ERA while losing all three games he started for Baltimore last season.

Yankees again set payroll record: $218.3 million  —  NEW YORK — The Yankees did finish first in something last year — spending.  —  While their streak of AL East titles ended at nine, the Yankees wound up with a record payroll of $218.3 million.  —  The World Series champion Boston Red Sox …

Gammons and Cyberspace  —  A nice column yesterday by Peter Gammons on the impact of the Internet on the sports as well as the political culture (similar to another column he wrote back in 2006).  Two quotes in the column in particular caught my eye (other than the mention of this blog …

Tulo lands a big deal  —  Rapid rise rewarded with record contract  —  Troy Tulowitzki isn't a shortstop.  He's a pixie dust-speckled short story.  —  Seventeen months ago he wore topsiders and jeans on his first big-league road trip.  Eleven months ago he arrived at spring training without a starting job.

D-Backs set to make Foulke offer  —  Representatives from more than 20 teams watched former major league reliever Keith Foulke throw off a mound last week in Tempe.  The Diamondbacks were among them, and they seem to have been adequately impressed to pursue the former All-Star closer.

Auto dealer Braman files legal challenge to Marlins stadium plan  —  Luxury auto dealer Norman Braman filed a legal challenge Wednesday to a plan to fund $3 billion worth of projects in the city of Miami, including a Marlins ballpark at the site of the Orange Bowl.

MacPhail checks swing in first offseason  —  With spring training looming, O's president takes a lot of pitches for Bedard, Roberts  —  Three weeks from today, pitchers and catchers will take the field at Fort Lauderdale Stadium for the Orioles' first workout of the spring.