A-Rod, Tiger Woods may face query about doctor Tony Galea from feds who interviewed Jose Reyes  —  Alex Rodriguez and Tiger Woods may be on deck to be questioned by the federal agents who interviewed Mets shortstop Jose Reyes last week about a Canadian doctor who is under investigation …

Cheating and CHEATING  —  “Above all, the story of Willie Mays reminds us of a time when the only performance-enhancing drug was joy.”  — Pete Hamill  —  The above sentence — which concluded Pete Hamill's New York Times review of James Hirsch's excellent Willie Mays book …

Barry Zito: “I want to be a top-of-the-rotation guy again”  —  Many people have chalked up Barry Zito's post-gajillion dollar contract struggles to complacency, comfort, wealth or poor character.  If you believe what he told MLB.com recently, however, his competitive fire still burn:

Alonso trying third base, outfield  —  Many have wondered what would happen to Joey Votto when Yonder Alonso reaches the big leagues since both are good young hitters and of course, both play first base.  —  In an effort to see if can be versatile, the Reds have had Alonso working out lately at third base, left field and right field.

Texas Rangers' Borbon will be thrown into the fire in center field  —  SURPRISE, Ariz. — For every ground ball that Elvis Andrus took and for every decision he made early last year, someone had his back.  —  Either an experienced Texas Rangers teammate, the club's fielding coach …

Minor leagues ban many maple bats for safety  —  NEW YORK — Many maple bats will be banned in the minor leagues this season, part of Major League Baseball's push to stop shattered shards of wood from flying dangerously through the air.  —  New regulations will prohibit bats made from ultra-light maple.

New York Mets scrap Tony Bernazard's opposite-field approach  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - Tony Bernazard is long gone as a Mets' executive, rather famously fired last summer for bad behavior, but the legend of his notorious influence on all phases of the organization continues to grow.

Expiring contract doesn't faze Cubs' Lee  —  MESA, Ariz. — The last time Derrek Lee was up for a new contract, he signed a five-year extension at the outset of the 2006 season and suffered a season-changing wrist injury a couple of weeks later.  —  Now Lee is in no hurry to get a deal done …

Minor League Transactions  —  Atlanta Braves  —  Signed: C J.R. House, SS Edward Salcedo  —  Released: RHP Rico Reid, 1B Ryohei Shimabukuro  —  The Braves inked Salcedo, 18, to the richest bonus in franchise history ever handed out to an international amateur—$1.6 million.

Inbox: Which option is best for Choo?  —  MLB.com's Castrovince answers your Tribe questions … I read the article about Shin-Soo Choo regarding his South Korean military obligation.  If Korea doesn't win the gold in the 2010 Asian Games, he is considering either gaining American citizenship or just not going back to Korea.

Dunn ready to commit  —  VIERA, Fla. — Adam Dunn has spent the last nine years in the major leagues, during which time he has established himself as one of the game's most-consistent sluggers.  Yet he believes he's never produced a full season up to full capability.

Mets lost at ‘C’  —  Opening day is a month away, and the Mets are already falling apart.  —  A giant piece of the marquee Citi Field sign came crashing down on Jan. 25 — more evidence for beleaguered Met fans that the sky really is falling.  —  The cover of the sign's C flew off …

Talking to an anonymous scout about the Yanks  —  I recently had a chance to sit down and talk about the Yankees with a long-time scout.  I'm not going to tell you who it is or what team he works for or if he even exists, but he's been around the game all of his life, and he knows of what he speaks.