Jonathan Papelbon pops off on Manny Ramirez  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  FORT MYERS - Jonathan Papelbon [stats] minced few words about the dark, final days of Manny Ramirez [stats]' tenure with the Red Sox [team stats] in an interview in the April issue of Esquire magazine.

Inbox: Time to bring back Pedro?  —  Beat reporter Marty Noble answers Mets fans' questions  —  I can't believe it's come to this, but I'm actually coming around to the idea of re-signing Pedro Martinez.  At first, I was adamantly against re-signing him because I wanted to see Jon Niese in the fifth spot in the rotation.

Thames sidelined by strained oblique  —  Tigers outfielder out a week; Treanor also taking breather  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — Tigers outfielder Marcus Thames is expected to miss about a week after he was diagnosed Wednesday with a strained abdominal muscle.  Backup catcher Matt Treanor …

Perez out at least three months  —  Update 10:32 An obviously disappointed OF Fernando Perez, out at least three months with a dislocated left wrist, tried to take the setback in stride, but said he learned a valuable lesson in the process.  —  Perez said he knew instantly …

Piazza vs. Bench vs. Pudge  —  In case you missed it, Sean Smith introduced his historical WAR database last week, providing seasonal wins-above-replacement values for every significant player since 1955 (the retrosheet era).  Since he was kind enough to include a measure of catcher defense …

10 Reds prospects to watch  —  Bumper crop of middle infielders maturing on the farm  —  With the 2009 season quickly approaching, MLB.com takes a look at 10 of the Reds' most intriguing prospects that you should keep an eye on.  —  Yonder Alonso, 1B: The seventh overall pick in 2008 out of Miami …

McGehee stating his case  —  By Tom Haudricourt of the Journal Sentinel  —  Glendale, Ariz. - Even if Bill Hall recovers from his calf injury in time to be the Brewers' starting third baseman, as expected, there might be room on the roster for Casey McGehee.

Harper: Sabathia is bigger than life but maybe not Yankee concerns  —  LAKELAND, Fla. - CC Sabathia didn't forget how to pitch, let's get that out of the way first.  Getting smacked around in early March is practically a rite of spring for veteran pitchers, and hardly cause for concern.

CC lacks feel, but confident he'll find it  —  Ace yet to show top form in first Spring Training with Yankees  —  LAKELAND, Fla. — This was bound to happen.  —  Despite the money and the expectations and the hope for perfection, there was bound to come an outing in which CC Sabathia would be wholly ineffective.

MLB investigates alleged DR age discrepancies  —  SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Major League Baseball is investigating more than 40 cases involving Dominican Republic prospects suspected of lying about their age upon signing professional contracts, according to the league's vice president of international affairs.

Willingham may be odd man out in DC  —  Offseason acquisition having tough time cracking crowded outfield  —  VIERA, Fla. — When they acquired outfielder Josh Willingham from the Marlins on Nov. 11, 2008, the Nationals were happy to get a guy who could no longer do damage against them.