Spring Games 17 and 18: Yankees vs. Astros; Yankees at Pirates  —  * SEE THE UPDATE AT 10:08 A.M. FOR TICKET INFORMATION *  —  SPLIT-SQUAD YANKEES vs. ASTROS  —  Pitching: A.J.Burnett followed by Dan Giese, Brian Bruney, Edwar Ramirez, Christian Garcia.  —  ASTROS  —  Matsui DH  —  Michaels CF

Redding to start season on DL  —  Omar Minaya said Tim Redding will start the season on the disabled list with shoulder fatigue.  —  Redding has a guaranteed contract for $2.25 million, and was headed for the long-relief role.  The 31-year-old righthander is experiencing achiness and weakness …

Lugo: 'I'm worried'; Francona fears torn meniscus  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Julio Lugo has not received the results from the MRI on his right knee, but this morning he spoke in a hushed tone as he explained how his knee was first hurt and expressed his level concern about the injury …

Pudge open to playing other positions  —  Rodriguez says he'd move to first or third if it would help a club  —  MIAMI — Ivan Rodriguez, one of the greatest defensive catchers of all time, is willing to play other positions.  —  A free agent who is showcasing himself playing for Puerto Rico …

METS AND YANKEES ON JIMMY'S HIT LIST  —  MIAMI - Everybody knows how much Jimmy Rollins loves to beat the Mets.  His world champion Phillies are the team to beat but Rollins' ultimate baseball dream is to beat both New York teams in the same season.  —  Whip the Mets in the NL East or in the NLCS …

Astros lose Nieve to Mets on waivers  —  Right-hander was candidate to be Houston's fifth starter  —  KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Fernando Nieve first joined the Astros' organization as a 16-year-old nearly a decade ago, but at no point did he stay healthy enough or pitch well enough to become a mainstay on the Major League level.

Sox pass on Bonds  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Red Sox recently took a pass on Barry Bonds after the slugger's agent, Jeff Borris, wrote a letter to the Red Sox and 29 other major league teams asking to give Bonds a job according to major league sources.  —  It does not appear …

Off night doesn't unnerve Wang  —  Righty expects to iron out mechanical glitch with little trouble  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — It was a second successive ineffective outing for a Yankees starter, both having recorded only five outs.  —  After Chien-Ming Wang repeated the same slow walk …

For starters, Rays at Reds  —  UPDATE, 3:42: Rays win 3-1, SS Tim Beckham makes a running, diving catch in shallow leftfield for the final out.  —  UPDATE, 2:53: Kazmir said everything felt good, and he was happy with his slider, which he threw about 10 times.

Rox lineup: Hawpe starts in right, Fowler in center  —  Tucson - As expected, Brad Hawpe will start in right field today against the Mariners.  Hawpe, out since Feb. 27 since slicing his left pinky while diving back to the bag, is eager to play again.  —  “Starting to get a little antsy, but I'm feeling good,” Hawpe said.

Beimel close to choosing offer  —  Left-handed reliever considering A's, Padres, Dodgers, Rockies  —  Free-agent reliever Joe Beimel is weighing his options and could soon ink a deal.  —  Beimel, who spent the past three seasons with the Dodgers, is considering offers from the A's and Padres, according to ESPN.com.

Wieters humble about the hype  —  Despite being considered one of baseball's top prospects, Orioles catcher remains focused on continuing to improve  —  FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Brian Roberts walked briskly from the dugout toward the batting cage one morning last week and waited for Matt Wieters …