Mets not happy about ex-Met Milledge's comments  —  David Wright had some pointed words for former teammate Lastings Milledge, who blasted the Mets in a recent article on SI.com.  (Newsday / David L. Pokress / February 28, 2008)  —  JUPITER, Fla. - The Mets were patient with Lastings Milledge along …

Harper: Mets are no lock  —  JUPITER, Fla. - Let me say up front that I'm buying into the Johan Santana vibe that has everyone in Mets camp loving life as if last September never happened.  Seeing Santana up close here has been very impressive, from his low-maintenance demeanor …

Power's back on for Lugo … FORT MYERS - Stomaching portions of last season was even more difficult for Julio Lugo [stats] than most realized.  —  The Red Sox [team stats] shortstop admitted yesterday he never regained his strength during his first year with the team due to a stomach parasite …

Bobby Murcer faces new brain cancer scare  —  Former Yankee outfielder Bobby Murcer's battle with brain cancer may have taken a turn for the worse, the Daily News has learned.  —  According to an emotional e-mail sent to friends Thursday from Murcer's wife, Kay, the Yankee broadcaster …

What Port St. Lucie Tells Us About the 2008 Mets  —  Lookin' good!  Pedro Martinez, Johan Santana and Carlos Beltran.  —  While the Mets solved the single largest question about the team's roster with the acquisition of Johan Santana, there are still a number of issues at the margins …

Off the bat, Headley looks good in left  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - Like a bloodhound that had just caught the scent, the baseball rocketed off the bat of Ichiro Suzuki and took off for the grass in medium left field.  —  There stood Chase Headley, and thus one of baseball's truisms was affirmed.

Pitcher, Donnie Smith, faces battery charge  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Cardinals minor-league pitcher Donnie Smith was jailed Wednesday night and faces a felony battery charge stemming from a bloodied nose last September.  —  Smith, 25, is accused of punching a Florida man in the face …

Oedipus Bronx  —  Hank Steinbrenner was driving like he owned the place.  “This thing's got no pickup,” he said, gunning my midsize Hyundai down Steinbrenner Drive in Tampa, Fla. We had just finished lunch on a January afternoon at a Steinbrenner family favorite, an Italian restaurant called Iavarone's …

Blue days ahead for Torre?  —  VERO BEACH, Fla. — Anyone who's seen Joe Torre's picture in the newspaper recently surely had to blink back their disbelief.  That's really Joe Cool, isn't it, draped in Dodger Blue, happy in his new, post-pinstripe life.  —  Tough times may loom for Joe Torre …

Roberts puts on a show  —  With Cubs scouts in attendance, second baseman bright spot for O's  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - On a day when two Chicago Cubs scouts were on hand to watch him play, second baseman Brian Roberts stood out in the Orioles' otherwise dreary exhibition season debut yesterday.

MLB to test proposed rules in Minors  —  Length of time pitcher takes to deliver ball under scrutiny  —  Rule changes adopted by Major League Baseball's Playing Rules Committee on an experimental basis for specified Minor Leagues will affect the amount of time pitchers have to pitch and mean fewer visits to the mound.

Hoping to Become the Next Hot Baseball Export From Japan  —  NAGO, Japan — No. 81 is the eighth uniform number of Masato Yoshii's professional career.  —  He wears this one, though, with a stopwatch dangling from his neck and a folded schedule of the day's exercises protruding from his back pocket.

Durham added to team's growing injury list  —  (02-29) 04:00 PST Scottsdale, Ariz. —  Second baseman Ray Durham's sore right shoulder had been improving, but the pain was worse when he reported to work and was to undergo an MRI exam Thursday evening to determine the nature of his injury.