PECOTA loves the Red Sox  —  If you think baseball statistics begin and end at batting average and ERA, this is not the post for you.  —  There, you've been warned.  —  The latest PECOTA projections are up at Baseball Prospectus and Red Sox fans will like what they see.

Questions abound for ‘maybe’ Mets  —  The Mets took a pass on John Lackey and ended up with Still Lacking.  —  Even with the $66 million spent to upgrade the lineup with Jason Bay's addition this offseason, the Mets will open spring training on Thursday in Port St. Lucie facing significant questions.

Yankees prospect Jesus Montero's a big hit with bat, but 20-year-old working hard on his defense  —  TAMPA - Under a slate-gray sky, the Yankees' best prospect steps in front of home plate, prepared to block it.  About 10 yards away, a coach with a thin fungo bat swats a ball at him …

Dave Eiland-'Hughes Rules' not like Joba's  —  In an interview yesterday with WFAN's Ed Coleman and Yankee beat reporter Sweeney Murti, Yankee pitching Coach Dave Eiland cleared up some of the confusion surrounding the restrictions that will be placed on Phil Hughes this season.

Talking baseball with Marlins Scout Roger Jongewaard  —  Today was my lucky day.  My wife Cheryl and I headed over to one of our favorite restaurants in Long Beach this morning; Jongewaard's Bake n' Broil (a place I mentioned in an earlier post) and while we were waiting to be seated …

Cubs Open Ticket Line Early for Fans Willing to Pay Extra  —  Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a few days, which means diehard fans are gearing up for an annual ritual: the start of ticket sales for individual games.  —  In Boston and Chicago in particular …

Love in the air for all-time Valentines  —  From Rose to Valentinetti, a lineup that is fit for Feb. 14  —  It's Valentine's Day, and since there are still at least 72 hours before we hear about pitchers and catchers reporting to some Spring Training camps in Florida, it's …

Hinske has unrivaled Series streak  —  Has played for three teams in past three Fall Classics  —  The Major League career path that began when Eric Hinske won 2002 American League Rookie of the Year honors might have included a number of All-Star appearances and a long list of other individual accolades by now.

OnLove: The wedding of Josh Wilkie and Jesse Keith  —  In the electric first days of her freshman year at college, Jesse Keith began to worry that she might not like a lot of the other kids at George Washington University.  So many of them seemed unfriendly, and overly interested in designer jeans.

Orioles' Bergesen injured filming TV ad, not unlike ‘King of Pop’  —  OK, so Baltimore Orioles right-hander Brad Bergesen  —  doesn't quite have the “Q” rating a young Michael Jackson (near right) did back in the mid-1980s.  —  And, no, his hair didn't catch fire because of premature pyrotechnics during …

Monahan to miss spring training  —  NEW YORK — New York Yankees trainer Gene Monahan will miss his first spring training in 48 years because of what the team called “a significant illness.”  —  The team said Sunday that the longest-tenured active head trainer in the major leagues could also miss the start of the regular season.

Divorce (Mc)Court drama could impact Dodgers  —  LOS ANGELES - Frank McCourt picks up the phone on a cold and gray day and there is lightness in his voice.  —  He has vacationed recently with his four sons, he says, which has filled his heart.  And now, after an unusually dark winter …

Rays win arbitration hearing with Upton  —  Panel sides with club, outfielder to make $3 million in 2010  —  ST. PETERSBURG — An arbitration panel has sided with the Rays in their hearing with B.J. Upton, which means Tampa Bay's center fielder will make $3 million in 2010 rather than the $3.3 million he sought.