Kid arms have daunting task of satisfying a Steinbrenner  —  TAMPA - You can tell it is eating at Hank Steinbrenner already that he didn't turn a deaf ear to GM Brian Cashman and make the trade for Johan Santana that his gut was telling him to make.  —  Just mention Santana to Hank and you can practically hear the gnashing of teeth.

Tigers' Inge: ‘I will never be a cancer around this team’  —  LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) — Brandon Inge is upset about his situation with the Detroit Tigers.  Manager Jim Leyland is struggling with it, too.  —  Both are determined to make the best of it.  —  Inge asked the Tigers to trade …

Yankees win arbitration case with Wang  —  TAMPA — Chien-Ming Wang lost his salary arbitration case against the New York Yankees on Friday, dropping players to 0-4 this year.  —  Wang, a 19-game winner in each of the last two seasons, was awarded $4 million instead of his request …

Reyes is quick to move on  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Jose Reyes has more steals (202) than anyone in baseball over the past three seasons.  Still, the shortstop has a bold prediction for 2008.  —  “Probably I'm going to be a little faster this year,” Reyes said upon arriving at Mets camp Friday …

Julian: Spring shock  —  Schilling injury alters Tavarez' 2008 plans … FORT MYERS - Julian Tavarez [stats] was caught off-guard when he heard the Red Sox [team stats] picked up his $3.8 million team option for the 2008 season in November.  —  “I didn't think they were going to do it,” the right-hander said.

‘Moneyball’ subject Brown tells A's he's retiring  —  PHOENIX — Catcher Jeremy Brown, one of the central subjects in the book “Moneyball” that chronicled Billy Beane's unconventional methods as Oakland general manager, told the Athletics he's calling it a career.

PECOTA Projected Standings are up, and PFM  —  We've kept this a little under the radar, but the first version of the PECOTA projected standings are fired up and ready to go.  —  For the most part, these numbers conform pretty well to conventional wisdom.  In the American League …

The only Pavano post all spring (promise)  —  Carl Pavano is in camp.  He has to be because he's on the 40-man roster.  The Yankees asked him to accept a payoff on the final year of his deal then take a minor-league contract and he refused.  —  Pavano had surgery last June and almost certainly won't be ready to pitch until 2009.

Reds sign Phillips to four-year deal  —  Contract worth reported $27 million ends threat of arbitration  —  The Reds agreed to terms on Friday with second baseman Brandon Phillips on a four-year contract with a club option for 2012 worth at least $27 million.  —  The agreement means the two sides avoid arbitration.

Notes: Ozzie prepared to turn up heat  —  After difficult '07 season, Guillen fired up for spring  —  TUCSON, Ariz. — As Ozzie Guillen traveled from Florida to Arizona for his fifth year at the helm of the White Sox, beginning Saturday morning when pitchers and catchers report to the Kino Sports Complex …

Willits energized after surprise surgery  —  Gallbladder procedure cures outfielder's ailments  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — Upon further review, Reggie Willits' rookie season with the Angels was even more amazing than anyone realized.  —  Bothered all season by persistent pains in the stomach and rib cage, Willits persevered.

KCAL, FSN Prime Ticket to present 150 Dodgers telecasts in 2008  —  Schedule includes Spring Training and regular season telecasts  —  LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers will present more than 150 games on television in 2008, including 50 from KCAL and 100 from FSN PRIME TICKET.

Brewers, Hardy agree on one-year deal  —  J.J. Hardy and Doug Melvin won't have to go to Florida this weekend after all.  —  The Brewers and Hardy just agreed on a one-year deal that will avoid an arbitration hearing Monday in St. Petersburg.  I haven't gotten details of the contract yet …

SPRING TRAINING  —  Molina: Giants don't need HRs  —  (02-15) 04:00 PST Scottsdale, Ariz. — To the legions of doubters who think the Giants will be too impotent to win games in 2008, catcher Bengie Molina offers a piece of jewelry as his counterargument.  It is his 2002 World Series championship ring …