Blog Helps a Yankee Connect With Fans  —  TAMPA, Fla. — It was a month or so before the start of spring training, and Phil Hughes had no weekend plans.  Hughes is 21 and single, a Californian living in Tampa, and he needed some advice.  —  “So tomorrow I have nothing going on and have the option …

Congress May Single Out Clemens  —  A Congressional committee has taken the first steps toward asking the Department of Justice to start a criminal investigation into whether Roger Clemens committed perjury during testimony about performance-enhancing drugs, according to three lawyers with knowledge of the matter.

WHATTA ‘RELIEF’  —  METS ECSTATIC AFTER DUANER'S FIRST OUTING  —  It was just one inning of an intrasquad scrimmage, a mere 26 pitches in all.  —  It also might have been a wa tershed moment in the Mets' season.  —  If the scouts are right and their World Series hopes hinge almost …

Vaughn headlines 2008 Sox HOF class  —  Slugger, seven others to be inducted in prestigious group  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Before Big Papi, there was Big Mo.  —  And on Monday, the Red Sox announced Maurice Samuel Vaughn would headline the latest class of inductees into the club's Hall of Fame.

A's going to Tokyo get sweet cash bonus  —  (02-26) 04:00 PST Phoenix —  All players who travel to Tokyo for the season-opening series between Oakland and Boston will receive $40,000, according to Major League Baseball officials, and that figure could rise depending on how much revenue the event creates.

Harper: Mets down on Reyes' upswing  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Jose Reyes swore he was just trying to hit a line drive up the middle, or even to the opposite field, as instructed.  Yet with a flick of his wrists he hit a screaming shot that crashed high off the 20-foot fence in center field, 408 feet from the plate.

Bonds playing in '08 would be bad for baseball  —  Ken Rosenthal has been the senior baseball writer for FOXSports.com since Aug. 2005.  He appears weekly on the FSN Baseball Report and MLB on FOX.  —  Barry Bonds has every right to play baseball this season.

Not center of attention  —  Low value for Crisp on market … FORT MYERS - It does not require much detective work to figure out that there is virtually no trade market for Coco Crisp [stats] right now.  —  In other words, for Crisp's sake, Jacoby Ellsbury sure picked a bad time to become …

Searching for the game's best pitch  —  Is it Santana's changeup or Papelbon's four-seamer?  Maybe Carmona's wicked sinker or Mariano's mythical cutter?  Smoltz's slider is right there and Beckett's curveball has to be in the discussion, right?  So, who has the very best pitch in the game?

Walker weighs in on steroids era  —  JUPITER, Fla. — When the report that called into question the era in which he starred became public, former Cardinal Larry Walker shared a laugh with a few neighbors.  —  “Gee, I might go into the Hall of Fame now,” Walker said he joked.

A Tour of the New Ballpark  —  Tom Bridge:  —  This weekend, as part of the Super Flush, I got an excellent tour of the new stadium under construction.  Nationals Park (which I hope it remains) is truly a wonder to behold.  The concrete and glass exterior was the part I was most concerned …

Notes: Igawa hopes experience will help him contribute  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Kei Igawa's first year of pitching in the United States could be classified as a disaster.  —  Igawa, to whom the Yankees committed $46 million between posting fee and a five-year contract, had a 6.25 ERA in the majors …

Two on Two: NL West Preview  —  A tradition of sorts has developed here at Baseball Analysts.  Each season, two outsiders and two of our own preview the six divisions.  We kick off this season with what may be the very finest division in all of baseball, the National League West.

Jerry Owens is Your De Facto Leadoff hitter  —  Let's forget for a moment that leadoff hitter is not a position or that Ozzie and Kenny (generally) say they just want a leadoff man who gets on base.  Their actions, as observed and relayed by the three local media-type bloggers, speak exponentially louder than their words.

Hank Steinbrenner to talk contract with Cashman  —  TAMPA, Fla. - Hank Steinbrenner sounded very much like someone enamored with his general manager as he talked about Brian Cashman's future Monday afternoon.  —  The Yankees senior vice president said he will talk with Cashman about his contract, which expires after the season.