Mets stub toes in quest to build trust  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — These are the 2010 Mets and their greatest curse just might be that they follow the 2009 Mets.  —  This is their closest relative, and their closest relative was a screw up.  The Mets want a clean slate.

Ortiz on D&C: ‘I would like to end my career here’  —  Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz hung out for a while with Dennis & Callahan at spring training in Fort Myers, Fla., to set the record straight about his struggles last season.  The slugger talked about looking forward to this season …

Keep Jeter in pinstripes, even as owner  —  TAMPA — The Yankees need to find a way to make Derek Jeter a Yankee for Life.  There's really only one way.  At some point the Steinbrenner family would have to take him into the ownership group.  —  The Yankees will take the field today …

Getting into a sensitive area  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. - Cup or no cup?  That is the question.  —  It's a delicate issue regarding a delicate area.  The punch lines are infinite, but it's not funny when a guy gets hit in his testicles and he's not covered by the triangular hard-shell plastic designed to protect a man's private parts.

Freddy Garcia back with White Sox  —  GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — The Chicago White Sox still believe in Freddy Garcia, even though he's won just five games the past three seasons.  —  Garcia, who has made only 23 major league starts since the 2007 season began, is slated to be Chicago's fifth starter …

Nick Swisher's stint on mound in laugher against Rays a critical point for 2009 New York Yankees  —  TAMPA - Nick Swisher's first pitching performance of his career turned out to be one of the most important moments of his 2009 season, although it had nothing to do with his spotless ERA.

Sabermetrics gains ground with Cubs  —  Ricketts said he expects organization to use statistical analysis more  —  MESA, Ariz. — Sabermetrics once was considered a four-letter word in the Cubs organization, where scouting reports trumped statistical analysis almost every time.

Darryl Strawberry sees young Mariano Rivera in New York Mets' prospect Jenrry Mejia  —  PORT ST. LUCIE - You can feel the Jenrry Mejia campaign beginning to build in earnest.  So far Jerry Manuel has only lightheartedly hinted at the possibility of express-laning the 20-year-old prospect …

Harang gets Opening Day nod for Reds  —  Right-hander to tie team mark with fifth straight start  —  GOODYEAR, Ariz. — Unlike the past few years, there was more discussion and more than a hint of doubt over who would be the Reds' Opening Day starter and ace of the rotation.

Future Shock: Top 101 Prospects by Kevin Goldstein  —  Baseball Prospectus' prospect guru rates the game's best youngsters.

Quick Q&A: Jason Bay looks to find his way with the Mets  —  It's a fact of baseball life: Players switch teams through trades and free agency all the time.  For the most part, we pay the relocations no mind outside of a baseball context.  —  I've always found it a little more interesting than most, though.

Finance plan spurs 4 teams to skip Cactus League event  —  Four teams boycotted the annual Cactus League kickoff breakfast - hosted by Mesa this year - to protest a proposed leaguewide ticket surcharge to build a new Chicago Cubs spring-training complex and to finance other improvements.

College Game 1: Huskies vs. Red Sox  —  You're looking live at City of Palms Park, the spring training home of the Red Sox.  They Sox will start their schedule today with a split-squad doubleheader against Northeastern and Boston College.  Both games will be seven innings.

Phillies pitcher Happ would love to rattle sabermetricians  —  CLEARWATER, Fla. - The words J.A. Happ had waited 3 years to hear were spoken in a hushed tone, shrouded by the consuming silence of the end of a season.  Rich Dubee pulled up an office chair in the visitors' clubhouse at Yankee Stadium …

Yankees Have To Return Approximately $10,000 Each From World Series Share  —  Winning was sweet for the New York Yankees, who won their 27th championship last fall.  But it's not worth as much as it was back then.  —  Sources told CNBC that Yankees players recently received a letter …

Checking the Numbers  —  Power Sapped  —  An anomaly is defined as a strange discrepancy or deviation from an established trend or baseline.  In baseball terms, they occur when teams or players defy expectations—in either direction—to the extent that it proves difficult to offer confident explanations.

Spring Training Game 1: Yankees vs. Pirates  —  YANKEES  —  RHP Chad Gaudin (2-0, 3.43 with NY in 2009)  —  PIRATES  —  WEATHER: Cloudy and windy.  Not especially cold, but also not especially warm.  Temperatures in the 50s.  —  UMPIRES: HP Chad Fairchild, 1B Eric Cooper, 2B Marty Foster, 3B Dan Iassogna

Turn left!  —  Curtis Granderson has weighed in on today's trip to the arcade, and he offered this gem of a story.  —  “The highlight had to be watching Igawa race on the Indy Car,” Granderson said.  “He kept racing up against the wall and damaging his tires.  He wouldn't move off of it.

Hochevar agrees to $1.76 million deal with Royals  —  Luke Hochevar, the overall No. 1 draft pick of the 2006 amateur draft, agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals that will pay him $1.76 million in the major leagues.  —  The deal includes a salary of $772,500 …