Short dose of Yankees highlights  —  Rivera makes first spring appearance, striking out two  —  ASTROS 9, YANKEES 5  —  Astros at the plate: Victor Diaz blasted an 0-1 offering from starter Andy Pettitte out of the park to put the Astros up 2-0 in the first inning.

Twins' Liriano looks good in first outing in 18 months  —  FORT MYERS, Fla.—Francisco Liriano faced a major league team for the first time in 18 months, gave up no runs and felt no pain.  —  He even made Manny Ramirez look silly on a changeup that the Red Sox slugger flailed at for a third strike.

Martínez's Changeup: Less Talk, More Action  —  PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Shortly after 10 a.m. Friday, Pedro Martínez prepared to throw his first pitch of the day.  He looked in to see Damion Easley, his teammate, wearing a windbreaker and limbering up in a batting cage.

Destination: San Diego  —  Some pitchers agree to take less in order to enjoy perks of Padres, Petco  —  PEORIA, Ariz. - When shopping for pitching, something all 30 major league clubs do year-round, the Padres have a slight advantage because many pitchers view San Diego as one of the better destinations.

Thumb injury sidelines Dodgers' LaRoche  —  Third baseman, who was competing with Garciaparra for the starting job, will have surgery and miss at least eight weeks.  —  VERO BEACH, Fla. — Andy LaRoche has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and will return to Los Angeles …

A-Rod limited to DH duties due to sore shoulder  —  TAMPA, Fla. — Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has a sore right shoulder and is expected to be limited to designated hitter until early next week.  —  Rodriguez said he felt discomfort Thursday and the shoulder bothers him when he throws.

Notes: Nationals shut down ailing Hill  —  Forearm pain forces veteran right-hander to stop throwing  —  JUPITER, Fla. — Nationals right-hander Shawn Hill played catch on Friday, but he had to stop after a few minutes because his right forearm was in serious pain.

O's, Cubs put Roberts deal on hold  —  Talks have cooled as teams can't agree on package; standstill may push potential trade to Opening Day or later  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Orioles and Chicago Cubs have not had any recent talks about All-Star second baseman Brian Roberts …

Notes: Lefties vying for relief role  —  Candidates include O'Flaherty, Jimenez and Feierabend  —  MESA, Ariz. — Manager John McLaren is taking a different approach in selecting a left-handed setup reliever than he used when arranging the numerical order of the starting rotation.

Playing at The Cell  —  The ISFA already runs and operates U.S. Cellular Field, so if the Cubs begin a $250 million renovation of Wrigley, Kenney said it's likely they would play part of a season on the South Side with a little scheduling help from Major League Baseball.

Jon Heyman: Inside A-Rod's decision to return to New York  —  TAMPA, Fla. — A sextet of big-market teams were quietly lining up to bid for Alex Rodriguez in early November.  Meetings were scheduled with both Los Angeles teams, the Dodgers and Angels, and according to people close to Rodriguez …

LaRoche to miss eight to 10 weeks  —  He has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right thumb and will need surgery, which Ned said will take place in the next couple of days, probably in Los Angeles.  No word yet on how this will affect the roster makeup, other than it pretty …

Notes: Injuries worrying Leyland  —  Skipper says plenty of work remains before Opening Day  —  LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Just past the midway point of Spring Training, Tigers manager Jim Leyland is a little antsy.  —  It's not necessarily an alarm bell.

Baseball Hall of Fame Considering “Steroid Exhibit”  —  It's been called the “Steroid Era” in baseball, and now, the Baseball Hall of Fame may be creating a “Steroid Exhibit”.  Today, Jeff Idelson, the vice-president of communications and education for the Hall of Fame was on the Dan Patrick Show, where Patrick brought up the topic.

Orioles' Patton headed for surgery; out until '09  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Troy Patton will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, delaying the left-hander's debut with the Baltimore Orioles until at least 2009.  —  Obtained in the December trade that sent Miguel Tejada to the Houston Astros …