Big Hurt decides to call it a career  —  Longtime White Sox star Thomas is 18th on home run list  —  The Big Hurt is calling it a career.  —  Longtime White Sox star slugger Frank Thomas, who is tied for 18th on the all-time Major League home run list with 521, told MLB.com on Thursday evening that he is officially retiring.

Sources: Tigers owner OKs two-year, $14M offer to Damon  —  Fox Sports  —  Tigers owner Mike Ilitch has authorized a two-year, $14 million offer to free-agent outfielder Johnny Damon, according to major-league sources.  —  Damon also is considering a one-year, $7 million proposal from the Tigers, one source said.

Red Sox ‘Truck Day’ has arrived!  —  The truck that will transport the Red Sox' gear to Fort Myers for spring training is sporting a new look.  It was outside Fenway early Friday morning, ready to be loaded.  (Steve Silva / Boston.com)  —  Sorry Punxsutawney Phil and your six-more-weeks …

Rangers prospect Danny Gutierrez suspended 50 games for testing positive for amphetamine Adderall  —  RHP Danny Gutierrez, whom the Rangers acquired from Kansas City last fall, has been suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for a banned substance.

Four Reasons Teams Are Staying Away from Jermaine Dye  —  We would like to welcome Joe Pawlikowski to the FanGraphs team.  We don't hold his Yankee fandom against him, and neither should you.  —  When Jermaine Dye finally decides to call it a career, his post-baseball life will likely not include a job in sales.

Minaya: Many battles to be won at spring training  —  The Mets are baseball's piñata.  They've made mistakes, and have been blasted, but when pitchers and catchers get together next week in Port St. Lucie, along with early arriving position players, one thing will be in the air that's been missing in past years: competition.

Time to give Rockies their due  —  Colorado should not be overlooked as NL contender  —  They often go unnoticed because they play in Mountain Time, two zones removed from what their fans perceive as Eastern Bias Time.  It's taken years, from their rapid ascent to the playoffs in 1995 as the …

Tony Blengino on how the Mariners use statistics  —  I've been saving this one for more than two weeks now, ever since the Mariners had their spring-training luncheon in late January.  There was a flood of information that day, followed by a flood of news.  But now I finally …

Habla usted baseball?  Spanish never bland  —  MEXICO CITY (AP) -The picturesque language of baseball lured Jim O'Neill to the game.  Not English, mind you.  What got to him was the jargon that fills parks around Latin America.  —  Take a strikeout.  Sure, English has some colorful expressions …

Phil Hughes looking to be Yankees' 5th starter  —  TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Pitching out of the bullpen, Phil Hughes helped the New York Yankees win the World Series last season.  This year, he hopes to make another championship run as the team's fifth starter.  —  Hughes and Joba Chamberlain …

A conversation with Jeter  —  I had a nice conversation with Derek Jeter after his workout Wednesday and there is a story on the website about it.  He declined to talk about his contract, which is obviously a hot topic and one that might linger through the season because the franchise icon's 10-year …