Papelbon gets $775k from Sox  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - Jonathan Papelbon was going to be the Red Sox closer this season; there was no doubt about that.  The only question, really, was how much he would be paid.  Would the sides hammer out a multiyear deal?  Would Papelbon be renewed at a number set by the club?

KYLE'S BILE  —  FARNSWORTH BLAMES TORRE FOR STRUGGLES  —  SARASOTA, Fla. - Joe Torre's lack of confidence and poor communication skills led to Kyle Farnsworth's two years in The Bronx being ugly.  —  At least that's how Farnsworth sees it.  Not his inability to locate fastballs.

Baseball Taps Wisdom of Fans  —  If you've ever dreamed of being a Major League Baseball scout, your day has come.  —  Last month, the St. Louis Cardinals announced a novel contest: Fans are invited to submit scouting reports on promising college ballplayers.

Hillman delivers on-field lecture to players over sloppy base-running despite victory  —  It didn't matter Thursday that Ryan Shealy had just hit a game-ending homer for a 4-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Surprise Stadium.  Or that the Royals had just won their fourth game in a row.

All-you-can-eat seats for 2008  —  At least thirteen of Major League Baseball's 30 teams are offering all-you-can-eat seats for all or part of the 2008 season.  —  Ticket prices for these seats range from $30 at the low end with the Atlanta Braves to $200 at the high end with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Chamberlain holds a starting gun  —  The New York Yankees' 2007 playoff run had barely ended when Hank Steinbrenner declared that hard-throwing rookie right-hander Joba Chamberlain would be installed in the Yankees starting rotation for 2008.  As spring training approached, however …

A-Rod to DH due to sore shoulder  —  Yankees third baseman skips throwing session  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a sore right shoulder and is scheduled to be the designated hitter in Friday's game against Houston.  —  Rodriguez said he felt discomfort Thursday …

Notes: Patterson happy and relaxed  —  Right-hander healthy for first time since 2005  —  VIERA, Fla. — Right-hander John Patterson was scheduled to pitch against the Mets on Thursday night at Space Coast Stadium, but the game was canceled because of rain.

Lowry to have surgery on left arm  —  Giants starter expected to be out two to three weeks  —  TEMPE, Ariz. — Giants left-hander Noah Lowry will undergo surgery Friday in San Francisco to relieve a condition in his throwing arm, which will sideline him for two to three weeks.

Why Do Players Take Human Growth Hormone If It Doesn't Work?  —  I hear this question quite a bit when I point out that growth hormone does not improve athletic performance.  One plausible explation is that players are not well informed on the subject, given that most of their information comes …

Righty Eaton bothered by back pain  —  Veteran struggling early in bid to crack Phils' five-man rotation  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. — Adam Eaton pinpointed his struggles on Thursday afternoon.  —  The right-hander lasted two innings in his second Grapefruit League outing and complained about lower …

Pedro throws 53-pitch simulation  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — After having his spring debut washed out the night before in Viera, Pedro Martinez threw a 53-pitch simulated game here this morning.  —  Pedro pronounced himself pleased after the roughly half-hour session, which had him facing Damion Easley …

Mets' Reyes stepping up  —  VIERA, Fla. - The lineup is littered with crazy experiments and also-rans now, reason enough for the Mets to be glad Thursday's night game against the Nationals was rained out.  Pedro Martinez's spring debut was pushed back a day — he'll throw a simulated game …

Q & A: Baseball Guru Bill James  —  Bill James, the legendary baseball stat guru and godfather of the data-driven “Moneyball” movement that has changed how front offices evaluate players, has written a new book, The Bill James Gold Mine 2008.  TIME's Sean Gregory caught up with James …

Harper: Girardi's conditional success  —  SARASOTA, Fla. - At about this time last year it was the Yankees, not the Mets, who were wearing out the MRI machines, piling up injuries to such an extreme that they fired their new strength and conditioning coach.  This year, with Joe Girardi running …