Victor Martinez right at home with Red Sox  —  Catcher hopes to stay  —  + Recent Articles + Recent Blog Entries + Email  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — Victor Martinez doesn't want to go anywhere.  —  Last month, he moved into an 11,000-square-foot mansion near the airport here.

Report: Mulder retiring  —  Rather than try a Minor League comeback with the Brewers or another team, two-time All-Star left-hander Mark Mulder has decided to retire, according to his former pitching coach in Oakland.  —  New Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson received a text message on Monday morning confirming Mulder's decision.

Taveras added to Nats' outfield options  —  Speedster signs Minors contract with Spring Training invite  —  The Nationals added speed to their Spring Training roster by agreeing to terms Monday with outfielder Willy Taveras on a Minor League contract with an invitation to Spring Training.

New York Yankees catcher Francisco Cervelli feels no lingering effects from head injury  —  TAMPA - Francisco Cervelli stopped playing winter ball in his native Venezuela after he was struck in the head by a hitter's backswing during a game, he said after a recent workout at the Yankees' minor-league complex.

Out Of Options 2010  —  Here is MLBTR's list of players who are out of options and have less than five years of service time.  These players would have to clear waivers before being sent to the minors.  Right now the list is missing three teams, but journalists are on the case.  —  Athletics

Clone Wars: Johnny Damon and Curtis Granderson  —  Curtis Granderson is eight years younger than Johnny Damon, but based on where they are in their careers they have many similarities.  This is strictly a fantasy/offensive assessment, though, as Granderson is a much better defender for the Yankees.

Dave's Guys: The Hitters  —  Pitchers and catchers report this week.  Yes, it's the most anti-climactic day in the history of the world, but the symbolism is real: when these guys start unpacking their bags and taking physicals, baseball is back.  And so, our attention begins to shift.

Camp presents Mets chance to start anew  —  Mended, new stars hope to erase bitter memories of 2009  —  The hibernation is over.  Open your eyes.  Stir, stand and step into the game.  Start your engine.  Go on, move closer to the mirror, examine the image peering back.

Granderson arrives  —  The weather has improved down here in Tampa and so has the star power at the Yanks' pre-spring training workouts.  New outfielder - note the term - Curtis Granderson arrived on a sunny but still a tad cool day and said, not surprisingly, that he'd be fine playing left field …

Frank Thomas is probably the most prominent non-steroid user in baseball history.  Of course, we can't know the secret lives of bees or people.  But every indication is that Frank Thomas avoided steroids.  He was so public about his disgust over performance enhancing drugs.

Get Off My Lawn  —  In my day, we had batting average, homers, and RBI.  And we liked it!!  —  I posted this on facebook a couple of days ago: … I want to expand that point a bit more and explain where I'm coming from.  —  I graduated from Northwest Missouri State in 1990 with a BA in European History and Philosophy.